LITMIR.BIZ

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about Julia Alcott the entire time. Carrie’s parents hadn’t known her that well. Of course after Julia had been kidnapped, Daisy and Paul Lipton had been glued to the TV, worrying and wondering about the young woman who used to work for them. Carrie had been fretful, too. Things like that weren’t supposed to happen in Cactus Wren County.

      She glanced out the floor-to-ceiling windows, her mind wandering. Cactus Wren had been named after the state bird, a little creature that built a variety of nests, living in one and using the others as decoys.

      Ironically, Carrie knew all about phony shelters, about keeping herself safe, at least in an emotional sense. She was notorious for dating men like Kevin, for using them as decoys. Only her relationship with Kevin had just blown up in her face.

      Why?

      Because Kevin didn’t challenge her. He didn’t ignite her blood. He didn’t make her long for more.

      But Thunder did, damn him. So she’d confided in Kevin, admitting how Thunder affected her, even after all these years.

      And what did Kevin do?

      He’d remained true to character, letting her go without a fight. Of course he’d offered to stay friends with her, to lend an ear if she ever needed to talk. But that didn’t ease her frustration or make her any less angry at Thunder. Just like that, he’d spun back into her life, creating chaos like the human tornado he was.

      And despite her better judgment, she wanted to have a knockdown, drag-out affair with her former spouse, then boot him straight out of her bed.

      Only knowing Thunder, he wouldn’t give a damn. He wouldn’t care if she cleansed her soul with sex, as long as he was getting his rocks off, too.

      No, she thought. She wouldn’t sleep with him.

      The office door opened and voices emerged. Carrie turned around and saw her parents with Thunder. The familiarity made her ache.

      Daisy and Paul had loved Thunder like a son.

      Carrie’s mom had her arm looped through his. She was a medium-boned, slightly plump, pretty brunette who wore stylish clothes and chattered incessantly. Carrie’s dad stood tall and trim and quiet. His dark, thinning hair was laced with gray, and the desert sun had bronzed his skin. Although he was one-quarter Cherokee, he didn’t have a CDIB card, a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood, to prove it.

      Thunder glanced up and caught Carrie’s gaze. Daisy released his arm and gave it a maternal pat. He didn’t seem to mind, but his mother was the sort of woman who fussed and fawned over grown men, too.

      “Do you have a minute?” he asked Carrie.

      “Of course she does,” Daisy said. “She’s due for a break.”

      Carrie wanted to give her mother a swift kick in the rear. Her dad, too. He remained much too silent.

      “We can go outside.” Carrie headed to the glass door that led to the front of the building, and Thunder opened it for her. She knew her parents were watching.

      Once she and Thunder were standing on the walkway that led to the motel rooms, he squinted at her. Although the spring weather was comfortable, the sun was bright.

      “How about a soda?” he asked.

      “That sounds good.” Her throat was suddenly parched. Being this close to him was giving her that knee-jerk reaction she’d stupidly told Kevin about.

      They strolled to the nearest vending machine, and he fed it the appropriate amount of coins, choosing a grape drink for her and a lemon-lime for himself.

      Carrie glared at him.

      “What?” he said.

      “You didn’t even ask me what I wanted.”

      “I know what you like.”

      “Maybe my tastes have changed.”

      “Then take this one.” He thrust his can at her.

      She accepted the lemon-lime and stiffed him with the grape, knowing that it was his least favorite, that it reminded him of cough syrup.

      He popped the top and took a swig. He didn’t make a face. He drank it as though it quenched his thirst just the same.

      She followed suit, waiting for him to speak. He finished his soda first, crushing the can and chucking it in the recycle bin.

      “I invited your parents to dinner,” he said.

      She glared at him all over again. “What for?”

      “Because my mom asked me to. She wants my family to entertain yours.”

      Good grief. “When? And where?”

      “Tomorrow at the old homestead.”

      The ancient property where he’d grown up, she thought. A place with mesquite trees, an adobe patio and a weathered barn.

      “My family misses yours,” he said, his expression deep and dark, his frown lines more pronounced. “They wanted to stay in touch, but it got awkward after the divorce…”

      His words trailed, but his meaning was clear. For him, it was still awkward. For Carrie, too. They’d got married on the homestead.

      “Our folks were compatible in-laws,” she said.

      “Yeah.” He tugged his hand through his hair, making the strands spike. “I’m supposed to invite you, as well. My parents miss you, too.”

      Her heart squeezed. She’d loved the Truenos as much as they’d loved her. “Will you be there?”

      He nodded. “Mom would pitch a fit if I bailed out.”

      “What about Dylan?”

      “He’ll be around. He just got back in town.”

      “I’d like to see everyone.”

      “Then I’ll tell my meddling mom that you’re coming.” He smiled a little. “I don’t know how my dad deals with having such a pushy wife.”

      She smiled, too. “The same way my dad does.”

      “Poor bastards.”

      “Thunder.” She scolded him, and they both laughed.

      Then she caught him giving her one of his blatant looks, stabbing her with hot, hard energy. She lifted her soda and took a sip, wetting her mouth.

      But it didn’t help.

      Carrie’s ex-husband was seducing her all over again.

      On Monday Carrie took her own car to the Trueno’s house. She pulled into the graveled driveway and parked behind her parents’ sedan. Scanning the other vehicles, she noticed a big black Hummer vehicle with California plates. Thunder’s L.A. lifestyle was showing.

      Nervous, she climbed out of her car and smoothed her clothes. She’d chosen jeans and a white eyelet blouse, with a turquoise tank top underneath. Her belt and boots were tooled leather.

      The property looked nearly the same, close enough to pincushion her memories, to leave sharp little points in her brain. The house had been built before Cactus Wren had become an official county. The Truenos’ neighbors were still few and far between. Carrie looked at the trees that shaded her path. They were twenty to thirty feet tall, with smooth, dark brown barks that separated into long, shaggy strips. On her wedding day, they’d been decorated with silver ribbon.

      She shook away the image and proceeded to a wraparound porch. While she knocked on the door, her heart pounded just as hard. Margaret Trueno, Thunder’s mother, answered the door.

      The older woman squealed, invited her inside, then latched onto her for a hug. Margaret had gained about twenty pounds, and her shoulder-length hair was salted with gray, marking the years they’d been apart. She smelled sweet and earthy, like the herbs she’d always grown on her windowsill.

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