LITMIR.BIZ

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got enough wood for the stove and plenty of propane in the tank.”

      “He doesn’t need to stay there after tonight.”

      She took a seat at the heirloom vanity and picked up her silver-handled brush. One thin strap of her silky blue gown slipped like a tease over her shoulder and made his mouth water.

      “You’ll have the water heater replaced by tomorrow afternoon,” she said, shooting him a stern glance from the mirror.

      “Maybe Burke will decide to stay right where he is.”

      “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

      “You made that plenty clear earlier this evening.” Watching the way that brush was getting tugged through her pretty gold-and-silver hair, Will figured she was still upset that her wishes in the matter had been dismissed. Jenna may have spent a lifetime cultivating a pleasant and easygoing facade, but underneath her soft, Southern debutante manner was a stubborn streak with a steel spine to support it.

      And a big and generous heart, a heart that gathered folks deep inside and loved them hard and long, a heart that was prone to splinter a mite too easily when those she’d grown fond of drifted beyond her reach. To Jenna, home and family tended to blur together until they were one and the same, and she expended a great deal of energy to keep the whole of it corralled within the same geographical boundaries.

      She’d made a habit of taking in strays, and she was well on the way to embracing Nora in much the same way she’d adopted Ellie when she was a girl—a casual acceptance, a growing bond, a maternal commitment. And now the comfort of that close relationship was threatened by a man from the outside who just might remove Nora from Jenna’s tight family circle.

      “I didn’t mean to offend anyone.” Jenna frowned at her reflection. “I just don’t…well, you know what I think.”

      “Yes, I do.” He traced the edge of an appliquéd leaf on the old quilt and waited for her to get around to confessing to the reasons behind her resentment of Burke’s decision to bunk with Nora.

      “You don’t like the fact that he’s staying with her, either.” She shot him a dark look in the mirror. “And now you’re going to lie awake half the night, worrying about the weather and whether he’ll drive off the edge of the creek bridge tomorrow morning.”

      “Thank you, darlin’, for being so solicitous about my worries.” He smiled at both their reflections, noting again the vivid contrast his dark skin and black hair made against her fair features. “But I suspect you’ve got some of your own worries about the matter, too.”

      “His coming here is upsetting Nora.”

      “She didn’t appear all that upset with the situation at dinner tonight.”

      “She was being polite. Making the best of the situation. She is an actress, you know.”

      “And a damn good one, from what I’ve seen.” He smoothed a wide, tanned hand over the pastel spread. “She really got into the role, what with inviting him to stay at her place and all.”

      “Humph.” Jenna dismissed that topic and warmed up another one. “And did you notice what was going on across the table tonight?”

      He met her gaze. “I’m not sure you and I noticed the same things.”

      “Flirting.” Her lips pressed together in a thin line of disapproval. “The two of them.”

      “Maybe I noticed some of that on Nora’s part. Truth is, I don’t pay it much mind anymore, seeing as how she simpers and flutters now and again just to keep her feminine wiles from going rusty.” He frowned. “I can’t say I know Burke well enough to judge his reactions. But I’d be hard-pressed to apply that label to any of his behavior tonight.”

      Jenna punished her hair with another series of short-tempered strokes. “I don’t like the way he looks at her.”

      Will met her gaze in the mirror. “How does he look at her?”

      “You know what I mean.”

      “Yes, I think I do.” He sat up and shifted to the edge of the mattress. Last summer, before Jenna had agreed to marry him, they’d had a talk about the kinds of looks men and women gave each other. And then he’d kissed her and asked her to take a good, long look at him.

      “All I saw tonight,” he said, “was two old friends getting together for the first time in several months.”

      Jenna tapped the brush against her hand. “That wasn’t a completely friendly look I saw him giving her.”

      Will shrugged. “Maybe he’s not feeling all that friendly about getting sent clear out here to fetch her back.”

      “That’s not what I meant.” Jenna set the brush down and turned to face him. “And she’s not going back.”

      “Seems to me that’s up to her to decide.”

      “If it’s up to her to decide, then he wasted his time coming out here.”

      Will stared at his wife’s mulish expression and hoped he wouldn’t end up adding another trouble to his list of things to worry over tonight. “She’ll have to leave eventually, you know.”

      “She doesn’t want to.”

      “Has she discussed that with you?”

      “Not in so many words.”

      “Jenna.” Will stood and reached for her hand. “She can’t stay here forever.”

      He waited patiently, and after a few seconds she surrendered to his silent request and turned to enclose her slim, pale fingers in his big, rough hand.

      “She likes it here.” Jenna’s voice grew soft and wavery. “And she’s been happy here.”

      “I’m glad to hear it. Means she’ll come back for visits now and again.”

      Jenna stroked her thumb over a scar on his knuckle. “I don’t want her to go, Will.”

      “I know you don’t, darlin’.”

      “She’ll take that sweet baby girl with her, and I won’t get to see her grow up.”

      “You’ll have a couple more babies to love in a few months.”

      “They won’t be Ashley.”

      “No, they won’t.” He pulled her from her chair to wrap his arms around her waist and hug her close, and her gown quivered and shimmered and hinted at the womanly curves beneath the silk. “They’ll probably sleep for more than an hour at a time and keep the milk they drink in their bellies, where it belongs. No fun at all.”

      She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he breathed in the scents of her shampoo and soap and creams. They brought to mind a meadow lush with wildflowers, a woman warmed in the summer sun.

      “It won’t be the same around here without her.”

      “No, I don’t suppose it will,” he said. “It’ll be a whole lot quieter and cleaner, that’s for sure.”

      He guided her down, down to their soft bed, and he shifted over her to press a gentle kiss to the spot behind one ear, right where he’d watched her dab on some of that perfume he’d told her he liked so well.

      Her pulse stuttered beneath his lips. “You’ll miss her, too.”

      “I s’pose I will.”

      He skimmed his fingers across her shoulder, pushing the silk aside. “I have an idea or two about how we can keep those worries of ours off our minds for a while.”

      She lifted her arms to circle his neck. “You do, do you?”

      “Yes, ma’am. I’m surprised you can’t tell just by looking at me how friendly I’m feeling right now.”

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