Mountain Laurel (16 page)

She pushed open the door halfheartedly, dreading the inevitable confrontation. Snapping on the light, she immediately heard Michael gun the engine and drive away.

The door closed softly behind her and she looked around the empty room. Surrounded by silence, she cocked her head in confusion when she identified the sound drifting down from the loft as the quiet snoring of her sleeping sister.

What was it that had made Michael think Ginny had been watching them from the window? Maybe a curtain on one of the windows was askew.

But maybe…just maybe he'd seen nothing at all, she mused. A slow smile curled the corner of her mouth. Maybe he'd kissed her purely out of his own desire to do so. How delicious was
that
idea?

However, she laughed right out loud when she saw the arm of Ginny's jacket hanging over the back of the sofa, pressing against the window glass. So that was what he had seen! So much for that last delicious yet crazy notion.

Chapter Seven

L
aurel paced back and forth across the floor. The quiet cabin held no defense as the rush of crowding thoughts converged in on her, thoughts of Michael and his overwhelming effect on her. After having spent every evening this week with him, Laurel was at her wit's end wondering how she could go on with this farce.

Fierce contemplation kept her unaware of how she prowled from room to room. How could she possibly spend any more time with him without looking utterly foolish, unable to control her mind or her body?

Her thoughts drifted back to his gentle parting kiss the night of the bonfire. The urgency with which she had clasped him to her had both surprised and shocked her. The flippant remark she'd made had been an off-the-cuff attempt to cover her brazen reaction to him—to his kiss. But had it been enough? She desperately hoped so; however, she had good reason to doubt.

Ever since that night there had been a whisper of change in Michael's attitude toward her. It started out with small things, a gentle caress or a searching look that lasted a moment too long to be called casual. What made it stranger still was that this behavior took place even when Ginny wasn't around to benefit. And as the glorious autumn days ripened, so, it seemed, did Michael's romantic attentiveness.

And in the last couple of days his intense affection toward her had become constant. Every moment she was with him was spent in nervous internal chaos. The caring she saw in his chocolaty eyes, the feel of his warm touch on her face, his light feathery kisses, all of these things left her senses screaming to respond to him.

It was clear that he remained 'in character' at all times now. Well, he certainly had the act down pat. So pat, in fact, that it was easy for her to forget he was performing, nearly effortless to overlook that it was all make-believe. She couldn't allow that to happen, though.

Michael's opinion had come to mean a lot to her. She would risk just about anything rather than appear to be a dim-witted idiot again.

"Guess where I've been!"

Laurel jumped, every muscle tensing at the sound of her sister's voice. "I didn't even hear you come in," she said. Ginny hung her coat on the rack by the front door.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.

"Nothing." The lies just seemed to roll off her tongue with ease these days. "Nothing at all. I was just going to make some tea."

"Well," Ginny said, following her into the kitchen, "are you going to guess?" She stood close to the sink as Laurel put water in the tea kettle and turned on the burner.

Finally, Ginny waved her hands in frustration. "Never mind. I can see you're not up to it, so I'll tell you." Sitting down at the table, Ginny lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I had a visit with Jim's fiancée."

"You met Darlene?"

"How did you know her name?" Ginny demanded. "When did you meet her?" She tilted her head and frowned. "And how come you didn't tell me?"

"Wait a minute, now. I never met her. I saw her once. At a distance. Michael told me about her." She told her sister about having seen Darlene the night of the dance but kept the details sketchy. "I was going to tell you it, but I forgot." Laurel slid into the chair opposite Ginny and eyed her curiously. "How did you meet her?"

"Eric and I got to talking about Jim. He told me about Darlene. Can you believe Jim's engaged? And he never said a word to us." Then she shook her head. "Anyway, I wanted to meet her, so Eric took me to her apartment early this morning."

"How did it go? What did you think?"

"She's nice, Laurel. Really nice. And she loves Jim. I mean, she
loves
Jim." The kettle whistled and Ginny got up to pour boiling water over the tea bags that Laurel had tucked into the ceramic mugs. "Why do you think Jim never told us about her? Or the wedding?" Her tone lowered. "Or the fact that he's going to be a daddy?"

"Michael seems to think Jim felt it might jeopardize his job." Laurel accepted the steaming mug, and after spooning sugar into it, she slowly swirled the liquid with a spoon.

"But that's silly."

"I think so, too. But Michael says that this is the longest Jim's ever held on to a job, that it means a lot to him. Makes sense, if you think about. Michael also told me that Jim intended to come back to marry Darlene and then take her back to Ocean City."

"Well, there's no need for that now." Ginny smiled smugly.

"Why? What do you mean?" Laurel stopped stirring her tea to look questioningly at her sister.

"Darlene wants to come home with us. And I don't think we should wait, Laurel. She wants to be with Jim when the baby comes. She says the baby's not due for another month, but if you ask me, she looks as though she could have it tomorrow."

"Darlene wants to leave with us?"

"Yes. That's okay, isn't it?"

"I can't see why it wouldn't be." But as Laurel said the words she wondered what Michael would think.

"I'm going to change," Ginny said.

But Laurel didn't even hear her go up to the loft, she was so wrapped up in her own thoughts. It was apparent Ginny wanted to go home. And Darlene wanted to come along. And from the sound of it they wanted to leave soon, at the earliest opportunity.

She'd been so worried about going out with Michael again. She'd brooded about it and mulled it over in her mind until she was sick. But now it would all be taken out of her hands if they left Western Maryland.

But how would Darlene's arrival affect her mom? The idea of having a baby around might deepen her depression, make her pine for the son she'd lost. Or a giggling baby might lift her spirits. And how would Jim feel about them bringing Darlene? Oh, but surely Jim would be more than pleased. He was planning to come back here to marry Darlene anyway. The two of them could just as easily marry in Ocean City as here.

And then there was Michael. How would he feel about all of this? Well, he had said he thought Jim and Darlene should be together, that they loved each other. Now they would be together.

But, she thought ruefully, more than anything else Michael would be relieved that this stupid game he and she were playing would be over, that he would no longer need to fritter away his time with her.

Deep inside Laurel felt a little relieved at the idea of leaving, too. But it was an odd sort of feeling. Empty and hollow.

"Laurel," Ginny said, waltzing down the steps, "I'm meeting Darlene for dinner. We're going to make plans about the trip home. I just need to drag the brush through my hair. You want to come along?"

"Thanks, but no." She shook her head. "Michael said he'd call."

"Michael, Michael, Michael!" Ginny scowled. "That's all you've been talking and thinking about. And you're sitting around waiting for him to call?" she asked, horrified. "God, Laurel, you don't wait around for a guy to call! What's the matter with you? Anybody'd think you were in love or something!"

Ginny disappeared into the bathroom. Laurel hadn't literally meant she was waiting for Michael to call. She had a lot on her mind and thought he might call while she was here. She shook her head. That didn't make sense.
Was
she waiting around for him? Her sister emerged, her long blond hair smooth and shiny.

"Look, Laurel, the purpose of this whole thing was for you to have a little fun. And I thought you were doing that. I admit, you looked a tiny bit stiff at times, but all in all, I thought you were doing a great job of having a good time."

Laurel stifled a sigh, remembering all the hard work she'd put in to making Ginny think she was having a good time in the midst of all this emotional turmoil play-acting caused her.

"I never for a minute meant for you to fall in love," Ginny continued. "You've only known the guy a week, for goodness' sake! And I could count on my fingers the number of times you've been out with him."

Ginny looked at Laurel piteously, shaking her head. "You just don't wait around for a guy to call."

"Okay, okay!" Laurel said. "I get the message."

"So, you're not in love?"

"Ginny." Incredulity widened her eyes.

Her sister's expression was unrelenting.

"No, I am not in love!" Laurel stated emphatically.

"And instead of hanging around here, you're coming with me?"

"Yes," Laurel replied. "I'm coming with you."

But even as she grabbed her coat and shrugged into it, she was shaking her head dubiously. She wasn't so sure a woman couldn't fall in love in just a handful of days with a man she'd met only a handful of times. Then she opened the front door and felt the warmth of the sun on her face, and she laughed out loud at the ridiculous notion. She
couldn't
be in love. It simply wasn't possible.

Michael drove up as she was locking the door of the cabin.

He greeted Laurel with a wide smile and a warm embrace, igniting flashes of fire in every part of her.

Trying to pull away from him, she found herself pinned to his side by the arm he held firmly around her shoulder.

"We were just on our way out, Michael." Although Ginny smiled, there was brashness in her tone.

"Yeah." But Laurel's agreement sounded limp even to her own ears.

"That's impossible. You see," he said, placing a tender kiss on Laurel's temple, "I have plans for you."

"Plans?" Laurel shied away from his kiss, fearing he might feel the blood pounding through her veins.

"Mm-hm. Plans that include soft music, candlelight...and solitude."

"But, Michael..." The rest of Laurel's sentence trailed off.

"It's okay, Laurel." Ginny laughed as she plucked the keys out of Laurel's hand. "You can't possibly miss out on something that sounds as good as that!"

"But what about Darlene?" Laurel questioned.

"Don't worry about it. I'll go myself. You can meet her another time." Ginny hurried down the porch steps and opened the car door, then turned back toward them.

"Hey, how about we meet back here for dessert, hot fudge sundaes? Say around eight-thirty? I'll stop at the store and pick up ice cream and all the toppings I can carry."

"Sounds good to me." Michael waved after Ginny. Turning to Laurel, he asked, "She knows about Darlene?"

"Apparently Eric introduced them."

Laurel could feel the desire emanating from his eyes, almost as though it were a tangible thing. She had thought herself out of the woods when it came to this game playing. With Ginny wanting to go home, Laurel had been convinced that she'd no longer need to be a pawn in this false romantic frolic.

Taking what she thought was a safe step away from Michael, she realized that even if she was a mile away from the man she wouldn't be safe enough. Just being near him, her body felt flushed with heat, ripe with anticipation. It became more and more unbearable each time she was near him as she found herself hungering for a look, the sound of his voice, the feel of his fingertips on her cheek.

She wouldn't,
couldn't
, put herself through it again.

"Look, Michael, I'm not feeling well." She closed her eyes, embarrassed at the lame excuse.