In the Line of Fire (8 page)

He couldn't help himself from brushing his fingers over the fine smooth skin of her cheek before dropping his hand back to his lap. Kissing her had been reckless and careless on his part. He wouldn't, however, make the same mistake twice. Well, actually
he already had. But he wouldn't repeat his lunacy a third time.

“We're not going there again, Andi,” he said, mentally arming himself to withstand what he knew was sure to be an argument now.

“Okay,” she said.

There was nothing wrong with his hearing, but perhaps he'd heard her incorrectly. “Okay?”

“Sure. We won't go there again.” She looked altogether too smug, and his Andi, the woman he knew, would've never capitulated so quickly. “I told you I was crushing on you when I was younger. I always wondered what it would be like to kiss you. Apparently, you always wondered what it would be like to kiss me, too. So, now we both know.” She shrugged as if to say
no big deal
.

That was good. Great, in fact, but she'd said nothing had ever felt that right. “But you said—”

“I know. It did feel right. It could've been a little longer, but overall it was a heck of a kiss. But if you don't want to kiss me again, it's okay. I'm not going to beg any man to kiss me, regardless of how good it was. Not even you.”

Damn her, she was twisting his words. “I didn't say I didn't
want
to kiss you again.”

“Colton, you said we weren't going there again.”

“But that doesn't mean I don't want to.”

“I'm so confused. If you want to and I want to—
and I'm not making any bones about it, I'd sure like to—why wouldn't we?”

He didn't think for a minute she was confused but she sure as hell had him all tangled up. She was talking circles around him.

“You know good and well why not.”

“No, I don't. For a man of logic and reason, you're not making a bit of sense.”

“You're off-limits. You've always been off-limits.” Dammit, that wasn't what he'd meant to say. “I'm too old for you. Our mothers are best friends and your brother is my best friend.”

She shook her head, obviously not buying into it. “I'll be the first to admit when I was twelve, you were a little long in the tooth for me. Even when I was sixteen and you were twenty-two, that would've been a huge gap but come on, give me a break. I'm twenty-six and you're thirty-two. That's perfectly acceptable.” She glanced around the car. “And I don't see either of our mothers or my brother here. Besides, I know Rion made out with Mattie at least once because I saw them.”

Rion and Mattie? What the hell? And was Colton totally clueless when it came to what was going on around him? Apparently so. “When was this?”

Andi waved her hand in dismissal. “Oh, roughly sixteen years ago or so. And now what? Does that make you want to go find him and protect her honor
or something? Does that change anything between the two of you?”

He was surprised, but that was it. “No.” But that was in part because they'd made out as teenagers. They hadn't been involved in anything more. Rion was his best friend but Colton wouldn't appreciate his friend applying his same love-'em-and-leave-'em standards to Mattie that he did to the other women in his life.

“Seriously? Knowing that didn't ruin your friendship?” She feigned shock. “You haven't lost all respect for him? I don't know what to think.”

“Very funny.” And even though he was the object of her mockery, it
was
funny. Andi had always had a good sense of humor. And he wanted to make sure she knew exactly what their situation was. “You realize you're rebounding?”

She shrugged off his comment. “If that's what you want to think. I consider it celebrating my good sense not to marry a man I don't love and then to kiss a man I've been wanting to kiss for years.”

Although her words were light and playful, he could feel her longing, so like his own, that had been held at bay for years. “You're killing me, Andi.”

“That's not my intent, Colton. Now, you tell me what it's going to be. Do I take you home or do you go with me? If I thought I'd get away with it, I'd kidnap you but that's not going to really work out well and I don't want you under those conditions.” Her smile
never failed to tangle him up inside. She bridged the gap between them and placed her hand on top of his. Her touch echoed through him. “I don't want you coming with me because I've forced you or because you feel obligated to look out for me. If you come with me I want it to be because you want to spend time with me, because you want to get to know me. So, what's it going to be? I'll respect whatever decision you make with no hard feelings.”

There wouldn't be any hard feelings but there'd sure as hell be hurt feelings. But where would they both be at the end of this trip? The bottom line was he desperately wanted this time with her. And when would they ever have this opportunity again?

He could spend time with her without crossing that line again. It would be a chance to get to know the woman she'd become before he returned to Afghanistan. They could be friends. He turned his hand so they were palm to palm and clasped her hand in his. “I want to go with you.”

“You're sure? You're not just being nice?”

“I'm sure and there's nothing nice about it.” Her smile was like being handed a prize. “Now are you going to put this car back on the road, because you can't have a road trip without doing that, or do I need to drive?”

“I
DON'T LIKE IT
.
I don't like it one bit. At all,” Daisy said, shaking her head, perched on a bar stool in the kitchen. “What do they mean they're going to take a couple of days before they come back home?”

Martha Anne, browning ground beef and garlic at the stove for spaghetti sauce, loved her best friend, but the woman could be very trying sometimes. “Well, I think they mean just that. You were fine with it earlier.”

“But now that I've had a nap and sobered up, I've changed my mind,” Daisy said, sipping at a glass of iced tea.

Daisy had slept for over an hour. “Honest to Pete, Daisy, they're both adults.” Martha Anne pulled tomato paste and canned tomatoes out of the pantry. She'd been a little taken aback by the news when she'd talked to Andi, but Colton had always been like one more big brother to Andi. “And I can't say I much
blame either one of them for not wanting to rush back so you can tear a strip of hide off of them. And I'll include myself there, as well. Colton was probably just as happy to give me time to chill, as Mattie likes to put it.”

“Well, that's part of the problem. They are both adults. It's a matter of decorum. How's it going to look to everyone that they're off together?”

Everyone in their circle of friends and acquaintances knew how responsible Colton was. Heck, it would probably only enhance Andi's reputation that she was with Martha Anne's son. “Daisy, need I remind you that Andi's near-miss—that would be Blanton—has taken off for their honeymoon destination with the maid of honor in tow?” Lola, the town crier, had called earlier to break the news. “Who in the heck is going to really care that Andi isn't here for a couple of days?”

Mattie came in through the kitchen door from the garage. “What's up?” She washed and dried her hands at the kitchen sink.

“Your mother has lost her mind, that's what's up,” Daisy said, crossing her arms over her chest. Martha Anne opened the cans while Mattie grabbed a glass from the cabinet. “She doesn't seem to find it a problem that my daughter and your brother have decided to take a few travel days together before they come back home.”

Mattie paused in the middle of putting ice in her
glass, glancing from Daisy to Martha Anne. “You're kidding, right?” she said.

Pursing her lips, Daisy said, “I wish I was.”

Mattie's eyebrows shot up. “Well, that is news. Not as big as the news about Blanton and Patrice, but still….” She poured tea into her glass from the pitcher sitting on the kitchen island.

Martha Anne gave her daughter a sharp look. “I'm sure your brother is just looking out for Andi.”

Mattie sent them an incredulous look. “You both do know that Andi's had a crush on him for forever?”

“My Andi?” Daisy said. “No. You're off the mark, Mattie.”

It was news to Martha Anne.

Mattie propped against the doorjamb. “You'll need to double-check that, Ms. Daisy. Remember when I used to babysit her? She kept a diary.”

“Dear God, you read the child's diary?” Daisy said.

Humph. Martha Anne barely bit back a snort. Daisy would've read it in a heartbeat if she'd found it.

“Of course,” Mattie said, matter-of-factly. Sometimes Mattie reminded her so much of herself. “But it wasn't as if I went looking for it. She left it open in the den one night after she went to bed. She'd only written
Andi loves Colton
about a million times and had drawn all the squiggly hearts and stuff.”

“That was a long time ago,” Daisy said with a sniff.

Mattie nodded. “It was and Colton's definitely uglied up since he was eighteen.”

“Sarcasm is totally uncalled for, young lady,” Daisy said.

“Well, she does have a point.” Martha Anne added the canned tomatoes to the skillet. “Colton is an attractive man.” He looked so much like his father. “And if she had a crush on him once upon a time…”

“My Andi's a beautiful woman.”

“There's no disputing that,” Martha Anne agreed. Andi had definitely grown into her own. There had been a time when the child was awkward but she'd matured into a vivacious woman with her dark red hair and lovely skin so like Daisy's. Martha Anne added the tomato paste and a generous amount of oregano and basil.

“I'm fairly certain Colton's noticed,” Mattie drawled. She looked from one mother to the other. “Am I the only one who noticed the way the two of them were looking at one another the last time he was home and Andi was around? It was right before he was shipping out to Iraq that first time.” She sighed and shook her head at the expressions on their faces. “Apparently I was. Okay, consider this. Andi had six gorgeous available attendants today and she and Blanton have a slew of friends. But Colton insisted on driving separate. He told me he was cutting out right after the ceremony to go to Ray-Ray's. Why doesn't a guy who's been stuck in camp Afghanistan
for a year not want to be at a party afterward with lots of attractive twentysomething females? Give me a break. We all saw
Wedding Crashers.
A wedding reception is the easiest place in the world for a single guy to pick up a date.”

Martha Anne had never entertained the thought. “You think Colton and Andi—”

“No,” Daisy interrupted. “Absolutely not.”

Although Daisy was overreacting, she had had a trying day. Much as Martha Anne hadn't wanted Mattie to marry Marcus, it would've still been awkward and embarrassing to have had her climb out of a window and leave them all waiting and then to have to explain to several hundred guests that there wasn't going to be a wedding that day. So, she understood Daisy's nerves were shot, but still…

“Maybe Mattie does know something we don't, Daisy.” Martha Anne smiled. “They'd certainly make a nice-looking couple and Andi would keep Colton on his toes and that's just what he needs.” She'd been waiting for years for her son to find the right woman. If that woman was Andi, Martha Anne couldn't be more pleased.

Daisy's composure seemed to dissolve right before them. “I'm sure you're wrong. You have to be wrong.”

“Now, wait a minute, Daisy. Exactly what would be so terrible about Andi and Colton getting together?” They were both adults. Andi was a nice girl and Col
ton certainly beat Blanton Pritchard hands down in the man department.

“What would be so terrible? It would be a disaster.”

Really bad day or not, Martha Anne didn't care to have a relationship with her son defined as a disaster. “Mind yourself, Daisy. Colton is my son and I don't see a thing about him that lends itself to disaster.”

Daisy stood, her back uncompromisingly rigid. “Colton's already taken one of my children halfway around the world. I'll be hanged if he's taking Andi, too.”

Martha Anne reduced the heat on the stove to low and turned to face her friend across the kitchen island. They were going to get this thing straight right now. “You've inferred before that Colton's the reason Rion went into the military. My son didn't talk yours into anything. And joining the army is probably the best thing that could've happened to Rion, so you may want to rethink your position, Daisy.”

“He's too old for Andi.”

Perhaps at one time, but not anymore, as she'd just deduced a minute ago. “That's ridiculous.”

“What? You want them to get together?”

“Just because they're taking a little trip together does not mean they're going to get together—”

“Yes, it does,” Mattie threw in.

Martha Anne merely glared at her daughter for
stirring the proverbial pot and continued. “But my son is a fine man and a damn-good catch.”

“He's wrong for Andi.”

“Well, you didn't exactly hit a home run when you picked out Blanton, now did you? Because we all know he was your choice.”

“I still say he would've made her a fine husband. He has a good job—”

“He's a
junior
bank executive.” Martha Anne stood ramrod straight. “My son is a
major
in the United States Army.”

“And he's from a good family,” Daisy finished on a spiteful note.

“I'd rather be a DeWitt—” Martha Anne's side of the family “—or a Sawyer any day than a Pritchard. You are skating on thin ice, Daisy Mitchell.”

“I'm going to find my daughter and bring her home.”

“That's it,” said Martha Anne, “you've truly lost your mind. Andi is twenty-six, not a sixteen-year-old runaway.” Lord, this had shades of when Rion decided to join the military. “Give her some breathing room, Daisy.”

“I will not have her getting involved with Colton. I simply won't have it. That would mean her moving and I want my children near me, not scattered to the four corners of the world. I'll find her and bring her home. I believe Andi's phone has GPS. Can you help me with that, Mattie, dear?” Daisy said.

Martha Anne didn't give her daughter an opportunity to respond. “Matilda Eugenia Sawyer, you will not help this crazy woman track down her poor beleaguered daughter.”

Daisy bristled. “Did you just call me crazy?”

“Well, your mind may be gone but there's certainly nothing wrong with your hearing.”

“It is not crazy that I don't want my daughter involved with your son.”

Enough. She wouldn't stand here and have her son impugned in her home, best friend or not. “Daisy, it's time for you to leave. You are no longer welcome in my home.”

Daisy slammed the door on her way out. Mattie stood wide-eyed. “Mom, wow, I didn't think… Is she going to have another freak-out the way she did when Rion left?”

An eerie sense of déjà vu washed over Martha Anne. “I don't know, Mattie. I don't think so. I hope not.”

“Mom, I think she needs help. Do you know how much pressure she put on Andi when Rion left?” Mattie shifted from one foot to the other. “When I used to babysit Andi she'd talk all the time about how she was going to travel and see the world. Half the time I'd tune her out because I was sixteen and way more interested in my world, but I do remember that.”

Martha Anne stood stock-still, considering Mattie's words. Sometimes you were so close to a situation or
a person, that you couldn't clearly see the changes going on in front of you. Sort of like seeing someone every day and not noticing they were losing weight until you didn't see them for a period of time and then it smacked you in the face when you did see them.

Daisy had spent months barely leaving her bed after Gerald's death, and Martha Anne and Allen had done all they could for her and gladly taken care of Rion and Andi. But they'd given her space to recover on her own. She'd similarly taken to her bed when Rion had left, although not for as long. Once again, Martha Anne had given her time to mourn and recover. But now, through Mattie's words and eyes, Martha Anne saw that perhaps Daisy hadn't truly recovered.

Perhaps Daisy did need professional help, but cooler heads and a good night's sleep were needed before that subject was broached. And if Mattie was correct and Andi and Colton were attracted to one another, all hell was bound to break loose.

 

E
XHAUSTION TUGGED AT
A
NDI
. Although the early-spring sun had already sunk below the horizon, it was still fairly early evening. “Let's look for a place to stay for the night. My day is really catching up with me,” Andi said from the passenger seat. Colton had taken over the driving when they'd stopped to fill up the gas tank. “I need a shower and a bed.” And you.

Ever since that kiss, she hadn't been able to think of much else. And she knew it was on his mind, too.
She felt it in the way his gaze lingered on her mouth, in the flicker of desire he couldn't seem to control in his green eyes. The air between them seemed to fairly hum with want and need…and denial.

“Are you hungry?” Colton said.

Only for you—for another kiss, for your touch, for the warmth of your skin against mine. “No. I'm still full from earlier. What about you?”

“Same here.” And she could swear he was echoing the same hunger for her. “So, what kind of accommodations do you require for the evening?”

“My big requirement is clean. We're just going to be there one night.”

“Clean works for me, too. Pickings may be sort of slim because we're about fifty miles from the next sizable city.”

“I don't have another fifty miles in me right now.” They passed a billboard advertising The Daisy Inn at the next exit. Andi nodded. “Why don't we check that out? It sounds kind of picturesque.” And there was an irony in that it was her mother's name.

They pulled off of the interstate and looked at one another at the stop sign at the top of the exit ramp. The Daisy Inn sat within spitting distance of the interstate, across the street from the Roadside Truck Stop. “We might as well check it out. We'll look at the room and if it's not satisfactory then we'll just keep driving,” Colton said.

“Do you have a flashlight in the car?”

Colton made the left and looked at her questioningly. “In the glove box, if the batteries aren't dead. Why do we need a flashlight?”

“Bedbugs.” Andi couldn't suppress a shudder. “Haven't you read about them?”

“It hasn't been an issue where I've been,” Colton said on a dry note.

“Yeah. I guess you've been worried about slightly bigger issues—like staying alive.”

“There's always that.”

Now that they were here, she was slightly nervous. Who was she kidding? She was about to check into a motel with a man she'd wanted forever, and who seemed to want her to some degree. She was a crazy mixture of apprehension, excitement and near exhaustion.

Colton drove beneath the covered pull-through in front of the office door. The place looked as if it had been originally built in the sixties. “I'll go in with you,” Andi said. She was more than ready to stretch her legs. They climbed out of the car and the sound of music floated across the air. In an adjacent empty lot, a group of teenagers sat on the tailgates of several pickups, country music playing on a radio turned up loud enough for all of them to hear it. All of the boys sported ball caps except for one who wore an oversize cowboy hat.