Next Door Daddy (15 page)

T
he little white church's parking lot was packed. As usual, Gil immediately ran off to find Max, leaving Polly and Nate alone to walk up to the church. Because of the crowd, they'd had to park down the road on the grass.

“The entire county must be here,” Polly said, settling her purse strap on her shoulder. The purse strap was just fine, but adjusting it gave her an excuse to slip her hand out of Nate's the moment he'd helped her from the truck. He slipped his hand beneath her elbow and guided her forward along the road. His touch had her brain muddled.

“Everyone loves Jake and Cassie. They're really excited about taking this step into a life together. I'm glad we came to wish them well.” He paused at the steps of the church and looked down at Polly. “Thank you for coming with me today.”

“You're welcome. I envy them their fresh start. I remember feeling so happy and full of dreams,” Polly said, meeting Nate's eyes. Shaken by the intensity she saw there, she started up the steps. He stopped her, tugging her around to look at him again. When he slipped his arm around her back and slowly pulled her close, her heart was beating so erratically she felt dizzy.

“Pollyanna—” he started as his gaze bore into her, “you make me want to dream again. To take those steps—”

“Ah-hem.” Applegate Thornton cleared his throat, poking his head out the door. “You two coming in or ya gonna stand out thar all day?”

Polly whipped away from Nate, knowing Applegate was enjoying what he'd just witnessed. The twinkle in his eyes was too bright, and the twitch at the corner of his frowning lips too apparent.

What had just happened between them? Polly's thoughts were reeling. Nate had looked almost as if he wanted to…as if he wanted to kiss her. And she'd responded to what she'd seen in his eyes. His words.

Shaken but struggling for composure, she let his words sink in. She made him want to dream.

That's what he'd said. What did that mean, exactly?

Spotting the bridal party waiting at the door of the Sunday-school building, she waved and couldn't help feeling ecstatic for the glowing young woman in her white wedding dress.

“Hello, you two,” Max's mother called as she hurried up to them. “We are so glad you both could make it. Polly, Gil is sitting with Max, I just checked on them, and since I'm bridesmaid and Dottie is the maid of honor and can't sit with them, I would appreciate if y'all could sit with them. Just in case they decided to start a wave or something when the preacher announces Jake and Cassie are husband and wife.”

Polly nodded, glad to have a distraction, but more than aware that Nate had stepped close. “Sure,” she managed to say.

“Great, see you after,” Rose said, then hurried back to the wedding party.

“Shall we?” Nate said, leaning so close his breath tickled her ear and raced down her neck.

Polly swung around and took the arm he offered without meeting his eyes. She was feeling so off-kilter that they were inside the building before she registered that they were moving.

The church was packed and the pew they found the boys sitting in was so full they felt like sardines when they squeezed in beside them.

When Nate placed his arm on the back of the seat behind her shoulders, Polly told herself it was simply to relieve the tight fit of what seemed like twenty people on a pew built for ten. But she was more than aware of the man beside her. And his words would not cease rolling over and over inside her head. It was worse than Pepper repeating himself.

It was a lovely ceremony, despite Polly being distracted by Nate's proximity. The moment Bob Jacobs started singing a love song for the couple, the entire sanctuary went still. His amazing voice set the stage for a wedding ceremony as sweet and God-centered as Polly had ever seen. And it brought with it cherished memories of her own wedding. And the wish for something more.

Max and Gil didn't start a wave when Pastor Allen pronounced Jake and Cassie man and wife. But Polly found herself tearing up. “What's wrong, Mom?” Gil asked, looking up at her.

“Nothing, honey.”

He scowled and looked at Max. “Girls are weird.”

“Yeah, but they smell nice.”

Polly dabbed at her eyes as the boys scrambled over her and Nate and hurried out the side door, forgoing the slow procession filing out after the bride and groom.

“It's easy to tell Max is a couple of years older than Gil,” Nate said, leaning close to her ear. Again, his warm breath whispered along her skin and sent tingles through her. She shivered from the way that she'd awakened to this awareness of Nate. Her head was feeling fuzzy, and because of the crowd, the sanctuary was hot. Still, she shivered again.

“Are you cold? You look pale,” Nate asked, seeming totally unaware of the affect he was having on her.

“I'm fine. I just feel like I need some air.”

Looking concerned, he took her arm and led her out the side door. Polly took a deep breath and hoped it would help ease the odd feelings mixing it up inside her. She knew it was simply from the emotions of watching the wedding and remembering hers. That was what it was.

“Hey, you two,” Lacy called, hurrying up. “You're coming over to the community center, aren't you?”

Polly nodded and Nate, too. Lacy grinned.

“Good, great, in fact. See y'all there. By the way,” she called over her shoulder as she sailed by, “you two look really snazzy together.”

Like a whirlwind, Lacy raced away to join Norma Sue and Esther Mae, who had slipped out early to beat the crowd and make sure things were ready for the reception. Polly figured Adela would have left with them, but she was playing the piano.

Polly was thinking about all these points, and trying not to focus on what Lacy had just said. She already knew she and Nate looked snazzy. Nate would make anyone look fantastic. The man was a walking cologne ad. With or without his Stetson. Still, they weren't a couple.

You could be.

“Mom, can I ride with Max?” Gil asked, skidding to a stop. He was moving so fast, he bumped into her. If Nate hadn't reacted quickly and caught her they'd have fallen to the ground in a heap. As it were, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and kept them on solid ground.

“Whoa there, pardner,” he drawled, holding Polly steady while she held Gil steady. His arms were strong and she could feel his heart pounding against her shoulder as she looked up at him then back to her son.

Gil's eyes twinkled impishly. “Sorry,” he said. “But can I, please?” If Polly hadn't known better she would have thought he'd knocked into her on purpose. But her brain wasn't sparking on all cylinders, as she was still shaken by the fact that Nate was still holding her in his arms.

Polly barely nodded but that was enough for Gil. He raced off, tossing a thank-you over his shoulder. She stepped away from Nate immediately.

“Is something wrong?”

Polly hugged herself, her hands clutching her arms in a death grip. “No. Fine.” Like that sounded convincing.

“Look, I know you want to go to the reception, but can we walk for a bit before we head that way?”

Walking meant more time with him. Alone time. Polly met his gaze and her nails bit into her biceps. “Sure.”

No, no, no!
her better judgment squeaked.

Nate smiled and tucked his fingertips into the front of his jeans, causing his suede jacket to flair at his narrow hips. He looked relaxed and comfortable.

Polly was neither.

It didn't help that she was noticing far too many details about Nate. Like the way his hair curled slightly at his nape. And that when she stood beside him, her shoulders came exactly to the right level for him to comfortably drape his arm across them…a thought that reminded her all the more of the comfort she'd drawn from being held in Marc's arms. Only, she was suddenly having a hard time thinking of Marc. And for that she felt guilty.

Basically she was a mess. And he wanted to walk.

Which meant talking.

She wasn't so sure she could talk at the moment. Her mind was too full. She kept thinking about what Nate had said earlier. He said she made him want to dream. What had he meant by that?

“It was a nice ceremony.”

His soft baritone eased a bit of tension from her and she nodded, falling into step beside him as he started strolling toward the side of the church. Behind them, gravel crunched as cars drove out of the parking lot and headed toward town.

“I miss the ease that I used to feel when I was here.”

Polly glanced at him. “Did you and Kayla belong to this church long?”

He nodded. “I met Kayla at A & M. She'd inherited our house from her grandparents. But they'd used it as a weekend home for years, and it was pretty rundown when we decided to make our home here. We loved it, though…young dreams. That's what we had when we started attending church here and fixing up our place.”

Polly understood about those dreams. She'd come to Mule Hollow to fulfill her and Marc's “young” dreams. What kind of dreams had he meant before the wedding? Was he saying he wanted to share dreams
with
her?

“Can we sit for a minute?” Nate asked when they came to a park bench sitting to the side of the small playground.

“Okay.” She glanced at the iron bench. It seemed far too small, but she would have been silly-looking if she'd hugged the arm of it. Managing a smile, she settled as casually as possible beside Nate. Not so easy when his arm was draped on the back of the bench and his thigh brushed hers ever so slightly. Once again she was more than a little aware of him as a man. Not just any man, but a man she could—

“Can we try something?” he asked, cutting into the thought that she couldn't quite get into focus.

She looked at him, his dark eyes drawing her. He shifted so that his arm no longer draped behind her on the bench. Instead, his hand rested exactly between her shoulder blades. She could feel the tension in his knuckles through the thin material of her dress.

“I know the wedding was a sentimental journey for both of us. But can we spend the rest of the afternoon trying not to think about our past?”

Marc and Kayla. Polly stiffened.

“Please don't tense up again, Pollyanna. You don't have anything to be afraid of with me.”

Polly wasn't so sure. His thumb gently caressed the spot where it touched her back, and she felt the gentleness all the way to her toes. She met his gaze, seeing the intense look she'd glimpsed when they'd first approached the church earlier. The pull was strong, magnetic, and she found herself leaning ever so slightly toward him.

“You make me want to get on with my life. I'm just asking for us to step out there and try.”

“Try.” Polly bit her lip. Could she?

He nodded again. “They would want us to at least try to move forward.”

Her entire world revolved around those two words.
Move forward.
She sucked in a deep breath. Marc's words echoed in her mind. “Life is for living.” He'd said it over and over, like a mantra. She blinked back the burning sensation that welled behind her eyes. She'd never thought she would even want to try after having loved Marc so much…but she'd never thought she would meet someone like Nate.

These unnerving feelings had snuck up on her. And they scared her. And what was new about that? Everything scared her.

“The last thing I want to do is hurt you,” she said. “But more than that, I can't hurt Gil any more than he's been hurt. I'm already worried about the attachment he has for you. If…” She looked away. Nate took her hand between his two strong hands and squeezed gently. Drawing her to look at him.

“I would never hurt Gil. Or you.”

Polly searched his eyes. “That's a promise none of us can make. We both know that.”

“True. But are the risks worth it? I think so. I think you and Gil are worth it.”

Polly hadn't expected this when she'd moved to Mule Hollow. She'd expected to settle in and grow content with the life she'd been given. She hadn't expected to fall…to find someone she could—She couldn't finish the thought. Couldn't bring herself to let the idea come fully into her consciousness. It might be back there, hovering, but for some reason, she couldn't think it. Instead, she shoved it away and stood.

“We can try,” she said, and held out her hand.

Nate stood, took her hand and tugged gently, pulling her into his embrace. He cupped her head against his shoulder and whispered, “thank you,” against her hair.

Trembling, she closed her eyes and for a moment relished the feel of him. The strength of his arms, the steady, sure beat of his heart against her cheek, the gentle caress of his hand upon her shoulder snuggling her closer. For the first time in two years Polly felt safe and alive.

And terrified.