The Texan's Tennessee Romance (11 page)

“So did I.”

“What are you going to do tomorrow?”

She gave a little shrug. “Read, maybe. Catch up on e-mail. Drive into town and pick up a few supplies.”

“Are you sure you won’t come with us?”

He had asked her during the drive back if she would like to join Molly and him the next day when they took Olivia to the amusement park. She had politely declined then, and she did so again now. “Thank you again, but I’m still going to pass. I think Olivia will enjoy having your complete attention, along with Molly’s.”

He looked as though he might argue a little more, but to her relief, he let it go. “I’ll miss having you with us” was all he said.

“That’s very nice of you.”

“I wasn’t being nice,” he muttered, leaning toward her. “I mean it. I’ll miss seeing you tomorrow.”

Her gaze captured by his, she rested a hand on his chest. “I’ll miss you, too. And I can’t help being a little worried about that.”

His mouth quirked upward into a wry smile. “Let me try to reassure you,” he murmured, then kissed her before she could roll her eyes.

She slid her hand around his neck and returned the kiss. He gathered her closer, and she thought fleetingly that this would have been much more difficult in her car with a console between them. The bench seat of the truck gave them unimpeded access to each other—and Casey took full advantage of the opportunity. He shifted so that she would have had to sit in his lap to be any closer—and that was becoming a definite temptation as the kiss lingered and deepened.

He tilted his head to a new angle and kissed her again, his tongue teasing her, his teeth nipping lightly at her lower lip. As the kisses heated, so did the embrace. Hands wandered, explored, caressed. Their breathing grew rapid and ragged, and Natalie wondered if the heartbeat she heard thundering in her ears was hers, his, or a duet of both.

He finally pulled away with a low groan, shifting his weight on the plush seat as if he had suddenly become very uncomfortable. “It’s been awhile since I’ve made out in a car,” he muttered ruefully. “I won’t lie, it’s still fun…but maybe a bit more awkward than it used to be.”

He could always make her smile, she thought as she had before—even when she shouldn’t. Her hand wasn’t quite steady when she brushed a tangle of hair away from her flushed-feeling face. “Maybe we should go inside,” she suggested after only a momentary hesitation.

His eyes flared in the dim light, and she knew he was fully aware of what she meant. She had suddenly realized that she wasn’t eager to go into that empty cabin alone, to spend another night tossing and turning and obsessing about her problems. Casey would definitely take her mind off anything else but him. And he didn’t seem to mind being a pleasant distraction…

“I can’t,” he said with a sigh.

She blinked. “Um…you can’t?”

He shook his head, and she didn’t think she was imagining his regret, though he sounded definite. “I told Molly I would join them early. I guess I’d better get some sleep first.”

Frowning, she searched his face. “That’s a pretty lame excuse.”

He sighed. “I know. I just…well, I don’t want to rush into anything here. There are quite a few things you and I don’t know about each other yet.”

“I wasn’t proposing a long-term relationship,” she said shortly.

“I know. You’re looking for a diversion,” he said, repeating the term she had used before.

She shrugged. “That’s all I can even consider at the moment. My life’s in too much chaos right now to even think about anything more. But if you’re not interested…”

He caught her arm when she shifted toward the door. “You know better than that.”

She told herself that she would probably be relieved tomorrow that he’d declined her suggestion, but just then she was still irked. She really hated when someone made a decision on her behalf, “for her own good.” Always had.

“I’d better go.”

He trailed his fingers down her arm. “Okay if I call you tomorrow?”

Reminding herself that she was too old to pout, she nodded. “Yes, I suppose so. Don’t bother walking me to the door,” she added, when he reached for his door handle.

He dropped his hand. “Okay. I’ll talk to you tomorrow then. Sleep well, Natalie.”

Even as she closed the passenger door behind her, she suspected he knew exactly how unlikely it was that she would sleep at all well that evening. If there was any fairness in life, he would do some tossing and turning himself that night, she thought grumpily.

She looked thoughtfully at the ladder still propped against the side of the cabin. Casey had said he was going to wash the cabin windows next. There was no reason at all she couldn’t do that. It would take a while—the back wall of the cabin was almost all window to take advantage of the spectacular views. But it wasn’t like any of her other options were any more appealing. And she could feel useful again.

In preparation for the chore, Casey had left a bucket with a telescoping squeegee and a reeled garden hose with a spray nozzle tucked beneath the deck. She gathered a couple of bath towels, a roll of paper towels and a bottle of detergent from inside, donned the driving gloves she had been using for work gloves and propped the ladder securely in front of the first window.

She had just set her foot on the bottom rung when she realized she was not alone. Looking down, she smiled. “Hello, Buddy.”

The stray had materialized out of nowhere. Sitting only a few feet away from the ladder, he wagged his tail and gave her a doggie smile in return.

“I’ll get your food and water.”

He made a rumbly sound that was somewhere between a whine and a soft bark. It was the closest he’d come to making any noise around her, she realized.

He let her come very close to set the bowls on the ground. While she knelt nearby, he gulped down part of the kibble and lapped some water. And then he walked over to her and rested his head on her knee, gazing up at her with a soulful look that put a lump in her throat.

“You’re welcome,” she said huskily, patting his head. “You know, you could really use a bath. I don’t suppose you’d let me wash you while I’m washing windows.”

He wagged his tail against the ground and made another friendly sound that told her nothing about his openness to being bathed. Giving him another pat, she straightened. “I’m going to start washing windows now. If you decide you want me to wash you while I’m at it, let me know.”

The dog sat near the base of the ladder when she went back up. She set the bucket of soapy water on the top shelf of the ladder and got to work, swabbing the glass of the nearest window with the telescoping squeegee. She didn’t know if this was the most efficient way to do the job, but the windows would be clean when she finished.

She’d been working for well over an hour when she took her first break. Sitting on one of the steps leading up to the deck, she sipped from a bottle of water and eyed a few clouds gathering on the horizon.

“Looks like it could rain this evening,” she commented to Buddy, who sat beside her, leaning against her leg. “Where do you take shelter when it rains, Buddy? Under a tree out there? That can’t be fun.”

The dog made that funny sound again, making her smile. “You know it’s going to be winter very soon. The forecasters say this moderate weather’s going to end in a few days. They’re expecting some pretty low temperatures by the end of next week.”

Buddy yawned.

“Yes, well, that’s easy for you to say, but it gets cold here in the mountains in the winter. Snow, ice, freezing rain. Maybe you survived one season like that, but there’s no guarantee you would survive another. You need a home.”

He wagged his tail and lightly butted his head against her leg, hinting for her to rub his ears.

“I can’t take a dog,” she told him firmly. “I live in an apartment complex that only allows cats. I know that’s rather discriminatory, but that’s the way it is. So Casey’s going to find you a home, okay? With a nice family who’ll feed you and make sure you have a warm, dry place to stay when the weather turns bad.”

Curling up on the ground beside the stairs, he rested his head on her leg and closed his eyes.

Suddenly feeling a bit foolish for engaging in a conversation with a dog, Natalie stood and went back to work.

She finished the windows by mid-afternoon. Tired and a little sore, she stood back to admire her work. She prepared to roll the hose back onto the wheeled metal reel, squeezing the spray nozzle first to empty any remaining water from the hose. To her amusement, the dog dashed forward to play in the spray. He’d seemed fascinated all afternoon by the water that had shot from the hose and splashed from the windows.

She let up on the nozzle and the spray stopped. Buddy turned to look at her expectantly, almost bouncing with eagerness.

“You want to play in the water?” she asked him.

He barked.

She turned on the spigot again and squeezed the nozzle, aiming a little lower this time. Buddy leaped into the spray, biting at the water as if trying to catch it. Natalie laughed, squeezing and releasing the nozzle to add to the game.

Inspiration suddenly struck and she set down the hose. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

The dog sat and watched as she dashed into the cabin. She was back only minutes later, this time carrying a bottle of baby shampoo and some more towels. Because she was prone to sties, she cleaned her eyelashes with baby shampoo every morning during her shower. She figured if it was gentle enough for her eyes, it would be the same for Buddy.

He was sitting right where she’d left him. She set the bath supplies near him and though he looked at them curiously, he didn’t seem bothered by the sight of them. She pushed the sleeves of her sweater higher on her arms and picked up the hose. Buddy jumped to his feet, barking excitedly again.

She couldn’t help laughing at his antics. Who’d have imagined that the skittish, elusive mutt Casey had first spotted only days earlier would turn into such a clown after a few good meals and a little attention?

The bath got her almost as wet as the dog, but he didn’t try to resist her when she sprayed him down and rubbed shampoo into his medium-length hair. He actually seemed to enjoy the process, and she decided that he must have been someone’s pet at one time. The bath process seemed familiar to him.

She should call the local animal shelter and ask if anyone had reported a lost pet matching Buddy’s description. She should have done that already, she thought with a shake of her head. She blamed her distraction with her personal problems and her growing fascination with Casey for keeping her from thinking clearly about the stray dog.

She toweled him dry briskly, and he seemed to like that, too. He emerged from the towel grinning and panting. The bath must have made him hungry. As soon as he was reasonably dry, he trotted to his food bowl and began to munch on kibble.

Natalie stood back and watched him in amazement. He looked almost like a different dog. He was mostly reddish-brown with scattered white patches that were quite visible now that he was clean. Though she knew little about dog breeds, her stepfather owned a springer spaniel he called Monty. Buddy reminded her a little of Monty, though his coat wasn’t quite as long. Maybe there was some springer spaniel in his mixed genetic makeup.

“Wait until Casey sees you,” she said as she began to gather her supplies. “He’s going to be so impressed.”

Buddy wagged his tail, which was feathery now that it was clean. He could still use a good brushing, but she didn’t own a dog brush and she had no intention of using her own good hair brushes on him. Her doggie altruism went only so far.

After stashing the window washing supplies where Casey had left them and making two trips inside to put away the things she’d brought out, she settled in a rocker again with a cup of hot tea. She needed to rest. She’d changed into dry clothes and donned a light jacket because the temperatures were falling as the sun set.

It would be dark within half an hour, she mused, looking at the purpling sky. It got dark so much earlier as winter approached. As he watched the light fade, her mood darkened as well. The mild euphoria left over from a day of productive hard work and playing with the dog leeched into a gloominess that matched the shadows creeping over the mountaintops toward the cabin.

As if sensing the change, Buddy rested his head on her knee and gazed sympathetically up at her. She hadn’t even realized he’d come up onto the deck. She set her hand on his head, ruffling his soft, but still slightly matted ears.

Maybe there was something to the adage that pet owners were less prone to stress and depression, because having him there did make her feel a little better. Not that she intended to keep him, of course. It was just nice to have his company for now. Sort of like Casey, she thought with an attempt at humor that didn’t particularly amuse her.

It must have been the thought of Casey’s name that conjured him. “Wow,” he said from where he stood at the bottom of the deck steps. “Where’d you get that handsome dog?”

Both Natalie and Buddy turned to look at him. Natalie, for one, certainly appreciated the view. Casey’s hair was wind-tousled around his face and his bright eyes glittered in the sensor-activated security lighting that had just come on around the cabin. He wore an open-throated white shirt beneath his denim jacket, and dark, bootcut jeans with brown-and-tan, bowling-styled shoes. He looked like he’d just stepped out of a celebrity magazine, she thought with a slight sigh. One of those “most beautiful people” issues.

“Hi, Casey,” she said, feeling her mood lighten even more.