Love Is in the Air (73 page)

“Meryl, that was very rude. Apologize to your father right now.”

As the food was being put onto the table, Wayne begrudgingly accepted Meryl’s mumbled apology. There was nothing like a huge rack of ribs to temper Wayne’s rage.

Taking one last glance across the room, Regina sought out the stranger’s eyes, but he was busy talking to his companion. It looked like the stranger was giving the young man a chiding as bad as she had just given Meryl. Sighing, Regina brought her attention back to the table. She had a family to raise and a husband to cool down.

CHAPTER 5

Quinton startled awake. The knocking at his motel door was persistent. Groaning, he rolled over and bumped into Hurricane. The dog seemed no more eager to greet the day than his master did. To his surprise, the clock read nine-thirty in the morning. Damn, how had he overslept that badly?

“Who is it?”

“Just me,” Ralph said, all bright and cheery.

Throwing a sheet around his waist, Quinton opened the door a crack. “Look, I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”

The younger man waved Quinton off. “No need to hurry. I went over to Blue Mountain already. Mr. Togglehorn is out of town today—” Quinton began cursing, but Ralph hurried on. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. We’ve got an appointment at eleven with the head foreman to go over their proposal and previous logging records. Just wanted to let you know.”

“Thanks,” Quinton said, still a bit groggy and trying to assimilate everything that Ralph had reported.

“Do you want to go to try the continental breakfast?” his assistant asked as he munched a pastry. “Great Danishes. I’m heading back for a second helping.”

“You go on. I’ve got some things to do.”

Ralph shrugged. “I can wait.”

“Um, I need to walk Hurricane.” During the conversation, the Lab had awakened and was now constantly goosing Quinton from behind and trying to pull the sheet off his hips.

The younger man was already backing away. “Got it. Yeah, I think I’ll skip that ritual. See you over at the office at eleven?”

Quinton nodded and closed the door. In addition to getting rid of Ralph so easily, it looked like they might actually be starting the survey on time. Perhaps today wasn’t going to be as bad as he thought.

After their disastrous meeting with Mr. Togglehorn last night, he half expected the sheriff to show up at his door this morning. They had gotten lucky, and Quinton knew it. He was sure that the owner of the logging company had the ability to make one’s life very uncomfortable if the man put half a mind to it.

Walking over to the shower, Quinton dropped the sheet and immediately regretted it. Hurricane sometimes had the most annoying habits, and being naked just gave the dog one more excuse to be even more exasperating. Shooing Hurricane away, Quinton stopped for a moment in front of the mirror.

Unconsciously, his hands felt over his abdomen. Those muscles were not quite in the shape they used to be. Sadly, the rest of his body was not, either. Dropping to the floor, Quinton did a few quick push-ups; that is, until Hurricane decided this was a fun new game.

Chuckling despite himself, Quinton got up and headed to the shower. Why was he bothering to exercise now, anyway? He had not worked out in months.

Quinton did not want to admit it to himself, but he knew exactly why he was suddenly so worried about his appearance. That woman the night before had gotten to him. For the first time in forever, Quinton cared what somewhat else thought. He had overslept this morning because he had stayed up late turning the encounter over in his head. What had she been thinking? Did she find him appealing? If she were not married, would she be interested in him?

Quinton was being a fool, but luckily he knew it. There was no way, no how, that he would ever know the answer to those questions. More than likely, he would never even see the woman again. No, the best thing for him to do was forget the whole thing even happened and get on with his day. Hurricane could not agree more as the dog jumped in the shower before Quinton could shut the curtain.

Despite the other signs to the contrary, Quinton realized it was going to be one of those days.

* * *

“Wayne, you can’t go out of town! We’ve got a meeting with the principal in half an hour,” Regina reminded her husband, but knew it would not do any good.

As usual, Wayne brushed her concerns aside. “The deal at Backwash is going sour. I’ve got to drive over there and kick their sorry asses until they sign the damn papers.”

There was much that Regina wanted to say, but long ago she had realized it was futile. Wayne was going to do what he wanted to do, and there was nothing she could say to stop him. Sighing, Regina resigned herself to taking the terminally awkward meeting with the principal by herself. Wayne was out the door without even saying good-bye. All the better. It meant that she did not have to force a smile and begrudgingly accept a kiss on the cheek.

Fury jumped up and down, begging for a walk. The dog knew their routine. As soon as the kids and Wayne were out of the house, Regina would take the dog to the state park that bordered their property. Poor Fury did not understand that you did not always get what you wanted.

“I’m sorry, girl,” Regina said as she patted the dog on the shoulders.

More important duties had to be fulfilled.

Immediately after the awful meeting at Michael’s school, Regina had to head over to Meryl’s junior high and help reshelve the new library books. From there, she would have to pick up Wayne’s dry cleaning, and then the whole afternoon ritual of shuttling the kids would begin again. She had barely started her day, and already it was booked solid. Fury would not be denied, though. The dog jumped and leapt and nearly knocked Regina over.

“I’ve got to go, girl.”

Regina stopped in mid-stride. Did she? Did she really
have
to meet the principal? If Wayne could bail on the meeting, why couldn’t she? What was the school going to do? Suspend Michael because she canceled a meeting? After all, her son had broken out and gotten into a fight, and they still took him back. Couldn’t she wait to have the meeting when Wayne was back in town?

Besides, which would Regina rather do? Get ragged on by the principal or fantasize all morning about the handsome stranger? Well, that decision was easy enough. Gaining courage as Fury urged her on, Regina picked up the phone and dialed the school’s number before she chickened out.

Luckily, Regina got the receptionist. “Yes, I’m Mrs. Togglehorn. I need to cancel my appointment with Principal Snyder.”

The receptionist tried to put Regina through to the principal’s secretary, but Regina knew that she would buckle under if she had to talk to that witch of an assistant. “No thanks. Just let them know I will reschedule when my husband is back in town.”

Not waiting for the receptionist’s response, Regina hung up the phone. She felt so deliciously bad in this moment, like she herself was playing hooky or something.

Michael was not the only one who knew how to squirm out of responsibility. Before the principal’s office could call back, Regina picked up Fury’s leash and headed for the car. They both were going to have some fun before the monotony of the day set in.

* * *

Hurricane had to be the funniest damn dog in the world. Quinton laughed as the dog ran around in circles looking for the stick that he had just thrown. No matter that there were a thousand other branches littering the forest floor that the dog could pick up. Hurricane insisted on finding the one stick that Quinton had just tossed. Of course, this mission was complicated by the fact that Hurricane had the worst sense of smell in the Labrador kingdom. The dog could not sniff out a pound of steak on a silver platter.

“Get that dog on a leash!” a shout came from behind.

Quinton turned to find a park ranger striding forward, looking very official. The man even had his gun unsnapped, hand hovering over the weapon. Was this guy a jerk, or what? But Quinton knew the chances he took when he had brought Hurricane into the state park. “Yes, sir.”

Before Quinton could get Hurricane under control, another dog, a Doberman, came careening out of nowhere and tackled the Labrador. Hurricane did his best to initiate play, but the other dog ran off. Which seemed fine with the Lab, since Hurricane simply gave chase.

Rushing over toward the dogs before the ranger could get any more bent out of shape, Quinton ran straight into a woman. Not any woman, he realized, but
the
woman. Stammering his apologies, he backed away from Mr. Togglehorn’s wife.

“Oh my gosh, are you all right?” the woman asked, until she saw his face. Then she too backed away awkwardly.

Well, if that encounter did not confirm that he had made a fool of himself last night, nothing else would. By the time Quinton came to his senses and tried to corral Hurricane, the two dogs had set off on a grand game of tag.

The Doberman was lightning fast, bolting around the trees and chewing up the distance. Hurricane was clearly outmatched by speed but was smart enough to cut corners and always kept himself just a step behind. The two of them streaked through the green forest. All of this would have been wonderful, if it were not for the anal-retentive ranger who was breathing down Quinton’s neck and the awkward silence that hung between himself and the woman.

“Sir, restrain your dog, or I will be forced to—”

“Gary. Please. The dogs are just playing,” the woman interrupted the ranger’s tirade, which Quinton was grateful for.

If the man had dared to threaten his dog again, Quinton was not quite sure what he would have done about it, but Quinton knew both the ranger and he would have regretted it.

“Mrs. Togglehorn, this is a state park, and the rules have to be observed.”

The woman led the ranger away a few steps, but Quinton could still hear the conversation. “Gary, you let Fury run all the time. Just go back to your station.”

“Do you know who that is?” the man said, obviously livid.

“Yes, and Mr. Togglehorn wants the surveyors treated with the greatest courtesy. Now get back to your post, or I’ll have to call Wayne.”

Quinton was pretty damn sure that Mr. Togglehorn had said nothing of the sort. What was the woman up to?

The ranger took a few seconds to fume but finally turned back. “Don’t let me catch you—”

“Gary…” The woman’s voice was low and threatening, as if she were scolding her children. The man’s face turned bright red, but the ranger finally left without another word. Togglehorn’s wife just stood there, lightly hugging herself.

The woman had the look of someone who did not believe what she had just done. Quite frankly, Quinton was equally surprised by her behavior. The way the woman had looked the night before, so shy and reserved around her husband, Quinton had not taken her for the assertive type. He was drawn to her even more for her courage, but he could not figure out for the life of him how to start a conversation with Togglehorn’s wife.

They both stood there silently. The longer the quiet stretched, the more uncomfortable it became, but speaking at this point seemed even more awkward. Luckily, they had the dogs that ever so conveniently ran into the woman, bowling her over. With a few licks on her cheek, the dogs were off again.

Quinton could not apologize enough. “I am so sorry. He doesn’t know his own weight. He still thinks he’s a pup.”

Togglehorn’s wife shook off his offered hand and rose to her feet under her own power. “Don’t worry. Mine doesn’t, either. I got lucky. She usually does that in the mud.”

The woman’s smile was beautiful. The way her lips turned up just the slightest bit, like there was something behind them she wanted to say but kept to herself. The woman looked like she understood what privacy meant. Funny, he was usually so worried about personal space. Yet right now he wanted to know everything about her.

Quinton did not want the silence to stretch out again, so he offered his hand, this time to shake. “I’m Quinton Spear.”

The woman seemed flustered by his closeness but finally shook his hand. “I’m Regina… um, Togglehorn. Mrs. Wayne Togglehorn.”

Quinton almost said “I figured that out already,” but something stopped him. He wanted to impress this woman. He wanted to make her feel more at ease. What in the hell would Ralph say right now?

“Oh, I wasn’t sure. I mean you look like you could have been a daughter of his.”

Regina’s hand fell out of his grip, but he could see the faintest hint of a blush before she turned away. Her full lips had parted to show a glint of teeth. Quinton was so very glad he had said that. He had not wanted to make someone smile like this in a long time.

* * *

Regina could feel her cheeks turn red, but there was nothing she could do about it. Quinton had used the cheesiest line in the universe, yet somehow it worked.

Of course, cheesy is better than none, and none was what she was used to getting. Every man in town either did not want to give her a compliment or were too scared to do it. This man, however, was either stupid or had balls to match Wayne’s.

No matter the reason, Regina wanted the conversation to continue. But what did you say to the man you had an NC-17 dream about last night? She had allowed her imagination to wander last night because Regina never thought she would see him again. Yet, here he stood just a few feet away. So close in fact that Regina could smell his musky aftershave. His clothes had that lived-in scent. Not too clean but not dirty either.

“How’d your dog get his name?” she asked, figuring it best to start with their only obvious mutual interest.

“Long story. How about yours?”

Regina demurred, “Long story, too.” The woman certainly did not want to bring Wayne and his temper up at this moment.

Hurricane dragged a huge branch over with Fury attached to the other end. Regina had to laugh; normally Fury was above fetching, but the dog seemed to be enjoying herself now.

“That’s a beautiful… um… Doberman you’ve got there,” Quinton said.

Regina got brave enough to look the stranger straight in the face. For a second, she did not think the man was talking about her dog, but she could not be sure. It was Quinton’s turn to stare intently at the ground and pretend this was not horribly awkward.