Carla Cassidy - To Wed and Protect

“Sorry to bother you,” he said, “but I’m going to nail the front door shut, then knock off for the day.”

She quickly turned off the faucets, gestured Jessica to get in the tub, then stepped into the hallway and pulled the bathroom door closed behind her to afford the little girl her privacy.

The first thing she realized was that the hall seemed far too small. He stood close enough to her that she could smell the masculine scent of him, a mixture of fresh cologne and a whisper of hot male. The heat from his body radiated outward. “You’ll be back tomorrow?” she asked.

“Yeah, but before I leave, I wanted to talk to you for a minute about my hours here.”

She wanted to move him out of the hallway, step back enough from him that she didn’t feel so vulnerable, so overwhelmed by his presence.

“If it’s all right with you, I’ll work here each day until about three. Then I need to knock off. I work on the family ranch in the afternoons, then in the evenings I work at the Honky Tonk, a little bar on the edge of town.”

“Three jobs? You must be an overachiever.”

He laughed, a deep, rumbling sound that echoed in the pit of his stomach. “Not hardly. In fact, most people would tell you the opposite is true, that I’m just kind of drifting through life, dabbling here and there.”

“And what would be closer to the truth?” she asked curiously.

“I’m not sure. I’m still trying to figure it out,” he admitted with a wry grin. He started down the hallway toward the kitchen, and she followed.

“I’ll be back around seven in the morning,” he said as he reached the door.

“That would be fine,” she agreed.

“Then I’ll see you first thing in the morning.” With another of his beautiful smiles, he turned and left the house.

To Abby, his parting words felt like a nice promise, and that worried her. She closed the door after him and for a moment leaned against it.

What was wrong with her? Why did Luke Delaney make her feel so shaky inside, so vulnerable and needy? And why did she have the feeling that once he’d discovered she wasn’t married, he’d been subtly flirting with her?

She knew exactly what was wrong with her and knew she couldn’t trust her own perceptions. For the first time in a little over a year, she was feeling relatively safe, anticipating the beginning of a normal life…a new beginning.

For a moment, as Luke had looked at her with his flirting gray eyes, she’d been taken back in time, back to a time of innocence, before tragedy had taken its toll.

She responded to Luke because for the first time in a very long time she felt the stir of wonderful, frightening hope. But she knew how quickly hope could be destroyed, how fast lives could shatter. She knew better than to hope for anything.

Abby and the children had driven into Inferno the day they had arrived for a brief visit to the grocery store, but this was their first real foray into town.

As far as Abby was concerned, it was a delightful little town, with a main street typical of hundreds of other small towns across the United States.

When they’d been driving from Kansas City, Missouri, to Inferno, they’d gone through dozens of towns just like this one, and each time Abby had thought how nice it would be to call one of those small towns home.

The businesses were all in one-or two-story buildings, and each had a charming facade that spoke of what lay inside. The barbershop had an actual barber pole just outside its doors, and the floral shop had two barrels of wildly blooming flowers. The sidewalks were wide and shaded with small trees planted here and there.

It was just after five when she pulled her car into a parking spot directly in front of the Inferno Diner. The kids tumbled out of the back seat as Abby stepped out of the car. In the past month, the kids had grown accustomed to diners in small towns.

Stepping inside the establishment, Abby sniffed appreciatively. The air spoke of good home cooking and strong black coffee. She gestured the kids into a booth near the jukebox, knowing they would eventually end up there, feeding coins to the brightly lit machine to hear songs they didn’t know.

“I want a cheeseburger, French fries and a chocolate shake,” Jason pronounced as they got seated.

Abby nodded and looked at Jessica, who sat next to her brother in the red plastic booth. “What about you, sweetheart?”

Jessica shrugged.

“How about a grilled cheese sandwich with fries and a soda?” Abby suggested, knowing it was the little girl’s favorite. Jessica nodded.

“Hi folks.” An older woman with gray hair and a big smile greeted them and handed Abby a menu.

“The special today is meat loaf, but I highly recommend you steer clear away from it.”

Abby laughed. “Thanks for the honesty.”

The waitress grinned. “The cook here does just about everything to perfection, but there’s something scary about his meat loaf.” She tilted her head and eyed Abby. “You just passing through, or one of the dude ranch guests, or are you new in town?” the woman asked with unabashed curiosity.

“We’ve just moved into the old Graham place on the edge of town,” Abby replied.

“Whooee, you’ve sure got your work cut out for you. By the way, I’m Stephanie…Stephanie Rogers, head waitress of this fine establishment.”

“Abby Graham. The local space alien was a great-uncle of mine.”

Stephanie laughed, a loud, robust sound of one accustomed to laughing often. “Ah, honey, every family has at least one in their family. I’ve got a brother we all try not to claim because he’s nuttier than a fruitcake.” The laughter in her blue eyes faded and she looked at Abby seriously. “But that old Graham place is kind of a wreck.”

“It isn’t as bad on the inside as it looks on the outside,” Abby replied. “Besides, I’ve already hired a carpenter to work on the place…Luke Delaney. Do you know him?”

Stephanie rolled her eyes. “Honey, every woman in the four-state area knows Luke Delaney.” She leaned closer to Abby. “That man is sin walking on two legs.” Her gaze flickered to the children. “Course, if you’re married, then you’re safe.”

“I’m widowed,” Abby replied.

“Then you’d better watch yourself. That handsome devil drips charm from every pore in his body, and he can seduce a woman before she knows what’s happened.”

Stephanie used her order pad to fan her face. “There are days when I see him and wish I wasn’t so long in the tooth and could have a go at him.”

“At the moment all I want from him is a new front porch,” Abby replied with a laugh, although she was more than a little unsettled by Stephanie’s characterization of Luke.

“Famous last words,” Stephanie replied with a wry grin. “Now, what can I get for you all?”

She took their orders and small talked a moment longer, then left the booth and disappeared into the kitchen area.

“Can we have money for the jukebox?” Jason asked.

“Not until after we eat,” Abby replied. “You know the rule, eat first, play the jukebox afterward.” It was a rule she’d instigated the first time she and the kids had eaten at a place that had a jukebox.

She’d mistakenly allowed them to play songs before their meals were served and had had to fight with them to get them in their seats to eat.

Before Jason could lodge any real protest, Stephanie returned to their table with their beverages. A thick chocolate shake effectively stilled any complaint Jason might have uttered.

“Cute kids,” Stephanie said as she lingered for a moment at their table.

“Thanks, I think so,” Abby replied.

“What’s your name, cutie?” Stephanie asked Jessica.

Jessica’s gaze instantly went to her brother. “She doesn’t talk,” he explained soberly. “She doesn’t talk to anyone but me.”

“Shy, huh. My oldest boy was like that,” Stephanie said to Abby. “He’s twenty-five now and still doesn’t talk much unless he’s got something really important to say.”

“Hey, Stephanie, how about some fresh coffee over here,” a guy hollered from the counter.

“No rest for the wicked,” she said with a wink, then hurried away.

Abby took a sip of her soda and settled back in the seat. She wished it were just shyness that kept Jessica silent. But she knew it was much more than that, and it ached inside her that after a whole year Jessica still didn’t trust Abby enough to speak to her, that the little girl trusted and depended solely on her brother.

Within a few minutes, Stephanie had served them their meals and they were all eating. It was only then that Abby allowed the conversation with the waitress to replay in her mind.

Sin walking on two legs. Yes, that was certainly an apt description, at least physically, of Luke Delaney. From the moment she’d seen him standing at her doorstep, with those gorgeous eyes and that drop-dead lean body with his mountain-broad shoulders, she’d been affected on a purely hormonal level.

But Stephanie’s words warned Abby away from what she knew would be foolishness in any case. She could not get involved with any man, not yet…not until she knew for certain they were safe and her secrets were secure.

Even if she was in the market for a relationship with a man, the last kind of man she wanted was a handsome charmer with seduction on his mind.

If and when she decided to invite a man into her life, it would be a man who had the capacity to parent two wounded children, a man who could be a source of strength, support and love for Abby. She certainly didn’t need a good-looking cowboy carpenter with a reputation of being a ladies’ man.

As they ate, the diner began to fill with people, and Abby was glad she’d taken Luke’s advice and come early enough to beat what appeared to be a dinner rush in the making.

She felt the curious gazes of other diners on her and the kids and knew that probably strangers in town were a topic for gossip. It wouldn’t be long and everyone would know she was Inferno’s newest resident, and not just a passerby who had stopped in for a meal.

“How about some dessert?” Stephanie asked when they had finished the meal. “I’ve got a fresh apple pie back there that’s still warm from the oven.”

Abby looked at the kids, who both shook their heads. “I’ll take a piece, and a cup of coffee,” she said, deciding she could enjoy the pie and coffee while the kids played the jukebox.

Minutes later, the kids stood at the music maker armed with a handful of quarters, and Abby nursed her coffee and cut into the luscious-looking apple pie.

She’d just taken her first bite when Luke Delaney walked into the diner. Instantly, she felt as if the air pressure in the room subtly increased.

He paused inside the door, his long-lashed eyes scanning the room. When his gaze landed on her, a slow smile curved his lips. As he sauntered toward her, she was aware of every other woman in the room watching his progress.

He stopped at her table and smiled. “I see you got here okay.” He flickered his gaze to the empty space beside her. “Mind if I join you?”

She wanted to tell him no but found herself scooting as close to the wall as possible to allow him plenty of room to sit next to her.

“Stephanie.” He raised a hand to the waitress.

“Bring me the usual.” The waitress nodded, and Luke slid into the booth next to Abby. “Where are the munchkins?” he asked.

She pointed to the jukebox near the door where the two were feeding in coins and punching buttons. “On the cross-country drive they discovered the joys of the jukebox,” she said.