Willow had been riding in Micks car the day of the tornado. Hed been hashing things out with her, using her as a sounding board as he tried to come to terms with the big changes in his life. Then the storm had sent his car crashing off a bridge and into the swollen Coombes Creek.
Unlike Willow, Mick hadnt suffered any serious injuries, but the accident had forced him to set new priorities. Now he was looking forward to his new family life. She couldnt recall ever seeing him so happy.
As she moved through the reception line a little later, Nana walked behind her and whispered names into her ear.
You know that ones Tonya, right? Nana said.
The frilly white dress and veil tipped me off. She gave Tonya a hug, then Mick.
I finally know what youve been talking about all these years, Mick said.
What?
You said I would know when I found my passion, that there wouldnt be any doubt. You were right. Im where Im supposed to be now.
Willow squeezed Micks hand. Hows Amanda taking it? Amanda was Micks older sister, whod been taking care of him since their mother died years ago. Shed been frustrated with his lack of direction, and downright distraught when shed found out about Tonyas pregnancy.
Amanda is delirious shes getting rid of me.
Hey, I heard that, said the platinum blonde in a pale blue bridesmaids dress, standing next to Mick. Identifying her was easyno one else had hair that color. Amanda smiled and addressed Willow. Im going to miss him, strange as that may sound. Willow, you look great.
Ill second that. A dark-haired man with a chiseled face stood next to Amanda, a possessive arm around her waist. He could be none other than Dr. Hudson Stack, one of the rescue workers who had pulled Willow from the submerged car. A whole lot better than when I helped load you into the ambulance. You must have remarkable recuperative powers.
I had good doctors, Willow said humbly. Thank you again, Dr. Stack, for what you did.
Call me Hudson, please. And this must be the lovely Clea Marsden.
Willow could certainly see what Amanda saw in Dr. Stack. Handsome, brave and charming. On vacation from his demanding job in Boston, hed rented the lake house next door to Amanda. Hed fallen so hard for his neighbor that hed returned to Boston just long enough to tender his resignation and put his house on the market.
The rest of the wedding reception passed in a blur. Willow sat at a table in the gussied-up VFW hall, her cheat sheets hidden under her purse and her grandmother there for backup, and she continued to put on a good show. She had a few panicked moments when strangers approached and she couldnt place them, but she was always able to gloss over the fact that their names werent on the tip of her tongue.
When she wasnt busy studying clothes and jewelry and hair color, she kept tabs on a certain man in a gray suit with a red carnation in his lapel. She couldnt help noticing that he was dancing up a storm. A regular social butterfly. But he seemed to be avoiding her corner of the room, and that was all she cared about.
SHERRY HARDISON could cut a mean jitterbug, Cal Chandler thought as he twirled her across one of his hips, then the other, her gauzy skirt flying so high she almost showed her panties. Sherry was his bosss new wife, a fun-loving party girl with a mop of blond curls and a dazzling smile. A nurse from Dallas, shed come to Cottonwood last fall to take care of Jonathan when hed broken his leg. Shed had a hard time fitting in at first, but soon everyone was able to see beyond her fancy clothes and her fast sports car to the truly kind, gentle person she was. She and Jon had married at Christmas, as soon as he could walk down the aisle under his own power, and all the ranch employees were crazy about her. She brought them lemonade on hot days and remembered their birthdays and their kids birthdays.
And, boy, could she dance. Cal had learned to dance in college, when he and all his dateless buddies hung out at the C&W bars and took swing lessons from curvaceous instructors wearing tight denim just so they could hold a pretty girl in their arms. He seldom got to show off his skills with a partner this good.
But as fun and nice and pretty as Sherry was, there was someone else he would rather be dancing with.
Why dont you just ask her, instead of staring at her like a scolded puppy? Sherry asked.
Cal groaned. Is it that obvious?
Like an elephant having an allergy fit.
I cant ask her. She would freeze me solid with one look.
You two have a history, I take it?
Since Sherry was relatively new in town, she wouldnt know all the ancient history. We dated for almost four years, when she was still in high school.
Your first love.
His only.
What went wrong? Sherry asked in her forthright way. Not nosy, just concerned. She was always trying to help people.
Oh, I couldnt tell you. Its too embarrassing. But just ask around. Almost everybody knows about it.
Now Im intrigued.
Shoot, she was going to find out anyway. Her parents caught us in, shall we say, a compromising position?
He could tell Sherry was trying not to laugh. And thats why you broke up?
Believe me, it was no laughing matter. Her folks went ballistic. She was supposed to go off to college in the fallStanford. But after the incident, as it was referred to, they didnt let her go. They thought she would go wild way out there in California.
Sherry looked confused. Did she need their permission?
She needed them to pay for it. Stanfords not cheap. Willow didnt have the funds to do it without their help. She had to live at home and go to junior college for a couple of years.
The song ended, and by silent, mutual agreement Sherry and Cal headed for the refreshment table. And thats why you broke up? Sherry asked as Cal filled a cup with punch for her.
I ruined her life.
Oh, and I suppose she had nothing to do with it? Sherry scoffed.
Well. This was the part Cal hated to admit. It was my fault. I sort of pressured her into it. She wasnt ready, but I was older and Id waited all this time for her to grow up, and I was facing the prospect of her running off to California, half a country away
And you wanted to bond with her more closely.
Yeah. He couldnt believe he was talking to his bosss wife about sex, but Sherry was really easy to talk to.
Jonathan sauntered over, putting an end to the conversation. You gonna monopolize my wife all night, Chandler?
Sometimes, Cal couldnt tell if Jonathan was kidding or not. Hed always been kind of serious, though Sherrys freewheeling style had loosened him up quite a bit.
Sherry just punched Jonathan in the arm. Why would you care? You dont dance. And this young man She plucked the red carnation from Cals buttonhole. can dance. Then she stuck the flower between her teeth and struck a flamenco dancers pose.
Jonathan grinned and took his wifes arm. Come on, Sherrita, Ill show you some dancing. As he dragged her off, Sherry looked at Cal and nodded toward Willow, as if to say, Ask her.
Well, hell, why not? What was the worst that could happen? Willow wouldnt make a scene, not at her friends wedding.
WILLOW DRAINED the last of her punch from the glass and checked her watch. She was getting tired. Ever since her hospital stay, she had almost no stamina. But her grandmother was having a good time, dancing with the brides grandfather, and Willow didnt want to be a wet blanket.
A shadow fell across the table. Willow looked up, and her breath caught in her throat. A handsome, tanned man with sun-streaked hair stood before her, somber-faced. Uh-oh, no woman to anchor him to. And he wore the ubiquitous gray suit, though his broad shoulders filled it out much better than the average man.
Momentarily panicked, her gaze darted to his lapel. Thank goodness, no red carnation. Shed thought she was in trouble there for a minute. Still, she had no clue who this man wasonly that he made her palms damp and her mouth dry.
Whoa. Get a grip, there, Willomena.
He flashed a dazzling smile, and Willows heartbeat accelerated to hyperspeed. Hi, Willow.
H-hello. How could she not remember a guy as appealing as this? He had a rugged outdoorsy-ness about him that made her think of sunshine and fresh airand a few less innocent thoughts, as well.
Its good to see you. I heard about your accident.
Its nice to see you, too. Whoever you are. Im fine now. Except for the black eye. She reached up and touched her discolored eye self-consciously. Almost two weeks since the accident, the bright purple bruises had faded to green and yellow, which shed mostly disguised with makeup. But her cover-up job wasnt perfect.
I think you look beautiful.
Ohh, a flatterer. Shed better be careful with this one. She resisted the urge to flirt back. What if he was married? The husband of a good friend?
Could he be Jeff Hardison? Handsome, blond
No matter who he was, she had no business entertaining ideas. She had work to do. Preparations to make. A brain to fix.
Your grandmother told me you were recuperating at her house, the man said.
Nana is spoiling me rotten. Just keep talking. Maybe she would figure it out.
She always did. Do youwould you dance with me?
The exhaustion Willow had felt moments earlier vanished like mist on a hot day. Sure, she heard herself say. Oh, why not? It was just a dance. No law said she couldnt dance with a sexy guy at a wedding.
The song was an old number by Clint Black, and the man took Willow into his arms in an easy two-step. She didnt consider herself much of a dancer, but her partner was easy to follow and soon they were gliding across the floor with little effort, a veritable Fred and Ginger.
So, what are you up to these days? Willow asked. This question had served her well all evening. Once someone started talking about themselves, she could usually figure out who they were.
The man shrugged his broad shoulders. Same old stuff. Making a living. Trying to stay out of trouble.
That was no help!
I hear youre off to med school in a few weeks, he said.
Mmm-hmm.
Youve worked pretty hard to get there. You must be proud.
Still a lot of work ahead. More than anyone knew.
Willow didnt want to talk about herself, and her dance partner wouldnt talk about himself. So they danced in a highly charged silence, gliding across the floor in perfect harmony. The mans hands were large, slightly rough from hard work and unusually warm. The one at her waist felt like it could burn a hole through her silk dress.
She avoided looking straight at him because something in his eyes made her want to squirm uncomfortably. It was almost as if he knew more about her than she knew herself, that he could see deep to her core and know her innermost secrets.
But how could that be? This man could not possibly be someone she knew well or she would have figured out his identity by now. Although his voice struck a slight chord of familiarity, she couldnt place it. It was deep, a little bit hoarse and husky, as if he were just recovering from a cold or had been yelling too long and too loud at a baseball game.
The bouncy song came to a close, then immediately blended into a slow ballad, some dreamy old thing by Patsy Cline. Willow knew she should thank the man for the dance and sit down. A song like this was reserved for lovers, so they could hold each other close and murmur into each others ears and be intimate in a public place.
She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead she nestled into the warm embrace of her mysterious stranger, where she seemed to fit perfectly. There wasnt even a moment of awkwardness. His strong arms slid around her waist, hers went around his neck and she laid her head lightly on his shoulder. She could smell traces of his aftershave, something old-fashioned like English Leather, or maybe just lime-scented shaving cream. Shed never been good at telling one smell apart from another, which was unfortunate, because smell was one of the main cues face-blind people used to distinguish friendsand lovers.
Mmm, she was sure she would remember this scent, though. Shampoo? Starch? Laundry detergent? Whatever it was, the blend was intoxicating.
Willow hoped no one was watching her. They might think it strange to see her so intimately wrapped up withwhom? Who could it be? Was she behaving inappropriately? Surely if the man was married he wouldnt act like this in public. But men could certainly be cads.
Oh, shoot, she didnt care. Anyway, the lights had been turned down so low, no one could see who was dancing with whom. An old-fashioned disco ball spun in the air above them, the tiny bits of mirrored glass casting glittering flecks of light over the dancers, creating a cocoon of surrealism.
Her partner had maneuvered her away from the main crowd on the floor, Willow realized. Spinning slowly through the songs smoky tendrils, theyd angled toward some ivy-festooned, papier-mâché Roman columns, then into a shadowy alcove. And there, behind a screen of ivy leaves, he kissed her.
Chapter Two
It was an amazing kiss, Willow thought dazedly as she sank into it, her bones turning to mush. Amazing as the kiss was, it was even more astonishing that she let him kiss her. She didnt offer even a token protest as his warm mouth closed over hers, tentatively at first, probably prepared for an objection. And when none came, his kiss became more sure as he took control of her mouth, as well as all her senses.
Shed never been kissed like this, as if the man were pouring his entire soul into one embrace. If his kiss was this intoxicating, what might it be like to actually
She shut down that line of thought and dived headfirst into the kiss, living in the moment. That was something else she wasnt very good at. She was always thinking forward, planning ahead, worrying about all contingencies. But for this moment, she didnt worry. And it felt pretty darn good to just shed everything but the feel of the mans arms around her, his hands in her hair, and his amazing mouth caressing hers with such strength and gentleness at the same time, playing her the way a master musician would play even a run-of-the-mill violin and make it sing.
His curious fingers found the stitched cut on the side of her head, which shed artfully hidden by combing her hair just right. She took his hand and pulled it away from her injury, suddenly self-conscious about it.
Im sorry, he murmured. Youre probably still tender there.