The Bride Takes a Powder (9 page)

"It's so pretty here, but what
must the early pioneers have thought when they first saw it. It couldn't have
been easy to drive covered wagons up and down the roads, if there even were
roads."

"Hardy people. There were
probably narrow Indian tracks."

"You know I've read that the
women walked all the way west. Men drove the wagons, and women walked
alongside. Thank you very much." She laughed.

"As I said. Hardy women."
He flicked a glance in her direction then back to the curvy road. "You
knew Garrett in college. Why did it take you so long to decide to get married?"

For a long moment she glared at
him, at his profile. He seemed to be watching the road very carefully, but his
question had aimed for the jugular. "How long have you wanted to ask that?"

He chuckled and shrugged. "We're
both in our thirties and out of school a long time."

"Why aren't you married yet?"
she challenged.

"You first."

She watched him handle the steering
wheel and shift lever with skill. She'd barely known him years ago, and he'd
seemed a bit geeky. But now that she really looked at him, his profile was
perfect. His nose was nice, well a little wide at the bridge which made his
eyes wide-set. She was finally seeing his blue eyes that matched the color of
the day's clear sky. His mouth was smooth and firm, and she bit at her lips as
she well remembered the way he kissed her. And that long, strong chin was
killer with a healthy hint of beard. That and the midnight black hair on his
head probably meant he'd be pretty hairy all over. Heat flushed her cheeks, and
she turned her head to look out the side window not wanting him to realize she
was taking stock of his features.

Okay, there was one more thing. She
imagined a dark downy chest. Ah, another—a trail of hair from his bellybutton
down…
Stop it!

"Norah? Why the wait?"

Oh,
damn.
Now all she could think of was his… Rolling her eyes in consternation
at her wayward thoughts, she collected herself. "I wanted us to be well
established in our careers."

"What did Garrett want?"

What
indeed.
"He wanted it too." Then she felt sick. Had he been going
out drinking and to strip clubs all along? "I don't know anymore."
Her voice drifted low. "Maybe he was cheating on me all that time."

Mike put the blinker on and pulled
off the road at an overlook. Turning the car off, he shifted in his seat to
face her. "You didn't suspect anything?"

She couldn't look at him. "I
don't know why I would have. It never occurred to me." A tear trickled
down along the side of her nose. She refused to acknowledge it or her
vulnerability.

But he reached for her, catching
the drop and brushing his fingertip along her lower lip. She struggled to
contain her tears.

"It sounds like you needed to
be in control."

She shrugged his hand away. "Maybe."
She stretched out the word. "Control isn't such a bad thing, is it?"

"We don't have it in every
situation."

"Well, duh. I guess I learned
that the hard way," she snapped, not disguising the bitterness in her
voice. "I'm sorry. You're in the midst of your own out-of-control
problems." He slid his big hand over her closest shoulder, comforting her
with its warm weight. Before she realized what she was doing, she dipped her
head and brushed her cheek over his fingers. Tears fell unheeded now. "And
now I have to worry whether or not he gave me a disgusting disease."

"Good God! Norah, I didn't
think of that. I hope…"

Meeting his gaze, she said, "I
had some blood tests done. I'm supposed to find out tomorrow."

"Oh, baby, talk about feeling
out of control. Look Norah, I'll help you whichever way it goes."

She waved her hand. "Oh no. I'm
not your responsibility."

"That's not the point. I'm
your friend. I'm here for you."

She chuckled drily. "That
sounds like one of the
Seinfeld
shows. Re-runs of that show are my guilty pleasure. Jerry and Elaine each
comforting a married couple breaking up with an 'I'm there for you' crap."

"Yeah, I heard myself say that
too. But I mean it." He cupped her cheek.

She felt his fingers slide along
her nape. Lord, he had big hands. If he would just hold her, put his arms
around her, maybe she could…

As if reading her mind, he met her
over the center console, guiding her head to his shoulder, and resting his
cheek on top. "It'll be all right, Nor."

"You don't know that,"
she murmured.

"Yes, I do."

Well, how could you argue with
that? Mike was the most confident man she'd ever met. She smiled suddenly. He
made her feel happy even while her life was collapsing. "Who's there for
you, Mike?" Lifting her hand, she covered his heart, thudding beneath her
palm. The chest hair she'd imagined felt like a thick cushion over hard muscle.

He growled sexily and, leather
creaking, shifted in the seat. But before they could become any more intimately
entangled, she said, "Why don't we get out and take advantage of the
beautiful weather. There's a picnic table." Sneaking a peek at him, she
saw the confusion cross his face. She didn't want to hurt him, but they needed
to de-escalate things.

Clambering quickly out, she headed
for the weathered wooden picnic table. He followed and sat at the other end of
the table, their feet on the bench. "What about you, Mike. Why haven't you
married yet?" No one in town had mentioned a wife for him, but he could be
divorced. "Or have you?"

He hunched over, balanced his
forearms on spread knees, and dangled his clasped hands between them. Shaking
his head, he replied, "Nope, not married."

"I would have thought between
college and teaching…"

"Nope," he repeated. "I
never met a woman I could see myself living with for the rest of my life. I
know my folks worry a little. But this is a small town. I don't want to get too
serious, have it not work out, then have to live in the same place."

"Don't you get lonely?"

"Sure, sometimes. But I love
teaching and love working with my folks at the bar. I keep busy, and time just
seems to go by."

"Well, the years do go by
fast."

"Yeah." He shifted off
the table to pace to the crest of a hill overlooking farm fields neatly
sectioned off with tree lines and roads and fences.

"I'm sorry. We both sound kind
of depressed, don't we?" she said.

Standing, feet braced stiffly
apart, arms crossed over his chest, he shook his head. "I just can't
figure this out. Why did someone include my name in the cheating. What did I
ever do to them?"

"Mike, it's not necessarily
personal." When he started to speak, she quickly added, "Yes, it's
personal to you, but people point the finger at others to get the spotlight off
themselves. It happens all the time."

"I guess. I'm afraid I'm going
to be suspended. There's been talk of that. Once it happens, it'll be harder to
prove my innocence. Once you're accused of something, does the question of
guilt ever go away?"

She touched him and felt the
muscles in his forearm tense. "Listen, I don't know what'll happen, but I
believe you. And I'll be there for you." She smiled. It was like a little
joke between them. "And that isn't crap."

Suddenly, he turned, wrapped his
arms around her, crushing her to his chest. "Oh, Norah, we're a pair, aren't
we?

Sliding her arms around his waist,
she massaged his back. Damn, he was so nicely muscled. All over. And the
erection behind the zipper placket of his jeans pressed determinedly against
her belly. Searing desire flushed her skin, her breasts felt swollen, and her
nipples contracted painfully. She kept her cheek against his chest, not knowing
what the hell else she should do.

This was all beyond her experience
with Garrett. Sex with him had been routine even in the beginning. Mike made
her want things she'd never felt before. He scared her. Beneath her ear, she
heard his heart race and knew hers was beating just as hard. Was she feeling
all this because she hadn't had sex in a while? She hadn't realized how long it
had been because of the wedding preparations.

"Norah?"

She let him lift her chin with his
finger until she was gazing into his brilliant blue eyes. Their contrast with
the black-as-midnight hair was so sexy. The first time she'd seen him in the
bar, his smile had been all happy with the world. He wasn't smiling now. His
lips parted and his wounded, sad eyes focused on her mouth. He was going to
kiss her, and it actually felt like the exact right thing to do at this moment.

There was no tender lead-up. She
groaned at the hungry explosion of need and want. On both their parts. She
tightened her grip on his back and felt his big palms cover her bottom. Their
bodies collided—from their knees, their thighs, hips and chests. They kissed,
if that's what you could call the intoxicating, crazed way he devoured her
mouth. Nothing lay between them but heat and clothing. His tongue thrust deeply
into every corner of her mouth. She bit, scraping her teeth along its living
slippery length. His hand captured her head to secure his hold.

She wrapped her arms around his
neck and gripped the thick muscles on his shoulders. Gasping, she dug her nails
into him as she strained upward wanting to crawl inside him.

He lifted his head and attacked her
mouth from another angle with frenzied kisses, hungry and noisy. She'd never
felt this kind of desire before. And she should have with Garr—
Damn.
Just the thought of him sapped her
passion. She started shaking, couldn't control her knees as they threatened to
give out.

Wrestling her hands between them,
she put pressure on his chest. They had to stop and, oh boy, she didn't want to,
but this was going in a direction she didn't think she could handle. Or
control. Turning her head to the side, she felt his lips drag a trail of wet
kisses across her cheek to her ear.

"No, Norah. Don't turn away.
God, you taste so good."

"I'm sorry," she cried. "We
have to stop."

"Why, Nor?"

Chapter Six

"Because my life is a
fucked-up mess. Because I was going to marry another guy just a few days ago.
Because I could have…have a…"
Damn!
That was what Norah should have said instead of walking away. Instead of
silence on the drive back to town.

His "Why?" threaded
through her mind all night. She was every bit as attracted to Mike, wanted him
every bit as much as he wanted her. Somehow in the last few years with Garrett,
passion had died. Was that why he cheated? He'd never acted like he wanted more
sex with her than they had. The way she felt now proved that the once every
couple of weeks with Garrett wouldn't be nearly enough with Mike.

She'd had no cogent answer for him
except there was no way she would have sex with anyone, condom or not, until
she knew the results of the tests. Her whole future hinged on them. She couldn't
think beyond that. And continuing to kiss Mike was just playing with the
proverbial fire.

The silence between them had been
palpable on the drive back, and the moment she'd entered her apartment after
Mike dropped her off she collapsed on the soft flower-upholstered sofa. She'd
never fallen asleep on her modern, sleek designer couch but this one beckoned
to her, wrapping her in its cozy comfort. Sad and with worries churning her
stomach, the couch and an old movie channel on TV was all she could manage that
night. The sound of pouring rain outside her windows also insulated her from
reality. This wasn't like her. She'd always been an in-the-moment woman.
Tonight though, she wanted escape. Just for a short while.

The sound of the TV awakened her
early Monday morning. She felt stiff and a little lost after the restless night
on the sofa. Dragging herself up, she went to the bathroom, then hobbled into
the kitchen to make coffee. Grabbing the newspaper from in front of her door,
she took it to the window seat to sip coffee and check out the street below.
Still more rain pelted the roadway, big drops bouncing off the hard blacktop
and soaking the already waterlogged grass. Rivulets of mud flowed across the
sidewalk from the flower beds. She could hear the loudly rushing river even
from her second story vantage point. An article in the newspaper warned about
flooding. Mike had mentioned the possibility. Business owners were worried.
There was talk about citizens making sand bags as well as letting the high
school kids out to help with that.

The other main headline in the
Herald
was that several teachers had
been suspended, Mike among them. They'd made that decision Sunday night, not
wasting any time in handling the situation. He'd predicted it. Her heart ached
for him. Convinced of his innocence, she knew he'd be devastated. She couldn't
get Mike out of her mind.
You have your
own problems, girl.

Yeah.
I desperately needed to hear from the doctor.

The article added that Mike was
quoted as saying he had not been involved with the cheating and was positive he'd
be vindicated and back on the job soon. None of the other teachers had been
quoted about the suspensions. He must have been told the news last night, and
she hadn't been there for him, if she even would have been of any comfort. He
probably hated her after her actions yesterday.

She was still mulling that over
when her cell rang. It was the doctor's office. Her heart skipped a beat, but
she told herself this was another in the long list of things she was
discovering she had no control over. "Hello."

The doctor didn't waste a minute. "Ms.
Ballard, I have good news for you. No STDs were found in your blood test."

She leaned her head on the window
frame, closed her eyes, and took what felt like the first real deep breath in
days, releasing the built-up tension. "Thank you, Doctor. I'm so relieved."