He dropped his hand, but all that provocative feeling was still there. Electrified because she was looking at him. Because their eyes met and neither could seem to break the sudden sharp connection between them. He could smell that raspberry shampoo of hers. See the pulse in the hollow of her throat. Hear the worry and tension in her scattered breath.
Hed known itd be like this. Or hed hoped it would. All hed wanted was the chance to spend some time with her, be with her, do something to make her notice. Not notice him. But notice that something had a chance of firing hot and bright between them.
But he figured, for now, hed pushed enough. He smiled, made a slow, easy business out of fishing the truck keys from his side pocket, letting her see that he was leaving. A little worry was fine. A few nerves were fine. But she really did seem like a fawn, standing in bright headlights, ready to bolt and flee.
He had no idea what made her so wary, but now, he just might have a chance to find out.
How about trying the plan with the boys, say, next Tuesday afternoon?
Sure. That sounds fine. But her eyes hadnt left his. Her voice still couldnt muster more power than a whisper.
I think weve got a good idea. If it doesnt work, then it doesnt. But no harm in giving it a try.
I agree. I appreciate your coming up with the plan.
He shot her an easy smile, took one step off her porch. You know the old legend about Whisper Mountain, dont you?
She started to speak, then seemed to correct herself. I heard a really foolish story, about when the winds coming from a certain direction, people can hear the sound of voices, or something like that.
She wasnt getting off that easy. The legend is that its a lovers wind. That only lovers can hear the mountain whisper.
Silliest thing I ever heard, she said.
Yeah. Thats what I think, too, he concurred, and with another grin, strode off toward his truck just as the sky opened with a noisy crack of thunder.
Well, fine, Garnet thought irritably, as she yanked on a yellow slicker and fumbled in the back hall for a flashlight. Hard to imagine this day getting any more upsetting. First thered been the stomach-knotting talk with Mrs. Riddle, then the foot and head scrapes that hurt the whole darned afternoon, then behaving like a goose with Tucker and no, of course she had no illusions whatd been going on there. Hed been kind. Looking at her sore head.
She was the one imagining his interest when she knew perfectly well she was invisible to men. Always had been. Always would be. Particularly with powerhouse alpha guys like Tucker.
And now, an unexpected torrential rain put a sharp cap on the day. Petie! she called from the back door. Im going to check on the greenhouses!
She heard a distant okay, then pelted outside into the deluge. The rain was warm, coming down in sheets, making the ground slick and blurring her vision. Her plantsall of themloved rain more than well water, but a downpour like this could erode the soil and smash down delicate leaves.
She unlocked the door to her precious vanilla house first, then checked the other greenhouses at a run, ending up at the raised garden beds closest to the shop. The raised beds all had shade curtainsmesh that rolled out twelve feet above ground. The curtain protected the plants from too much sun as well as allowing rain inbut not this kind of gully-washing rain. She cranked out the roll of curtain, which shouldnt have been hard except that her hands were wet and her eyes blinded with rain.
The whole task shouldnt have taken fifteen minutes, but by the time she charged back into the house, she was soaked to the bone and trailing more water than a river. Im back! she called, so Petie wouldnt worry.
She peeled off the slicker and shoes, exchanged the rest of her clothes in the bedroom for a long robe, grabbed a brush and started tracking down her son.
Likely hed be near either a TV or computer screen, but that hardly limited the possibilities. Her bungalow was built in the old-fashioned Southern style, with all rooms having a window view, and storage located in the windowless center of the place. The back sidethe woods and mountain sideshad her bedroom, a den/TV room and Petes bedroom, which she checked first.
His sanctuary had walls of cracked pine, with a built-in desk and shelves. Unlike her bedroom, Petes bed was tidily made and his clothes put away. The only noise in the room came from a pair of hamsters, furiously running their wheels. She spotted Petes bare feet propped on the bed, but she had to lean over the bed to find the rest of her son. Petie was nestled in a down comforter on the floor, reading from a Kindle.
Well, if this isnt petrifying, she said. Is the sky falling? Your laptops shut down. The TVs off.
Mom. There was some thunder. I had to turn everything off. Behind glasses too dirty to see, Peties eyes looked hopelessly mournful.
But it looks like you found a book to read. She perched on the bed, resisted the urge to tickle his feet.
Actually, its boring. And how come Mr. MacKinnon came over, anyway?
She was ready for the question. We were trying to think up a plan to torture you and his Will.
If you cant think up a better story than that, Im going back to my book.
Im serious! We came up with the idea that you and Will might like to trade places for a couple afternoons.
Pete marked the spot in his Kindle and shut down. Now his eyes were suspicious. Why would we want to do that?
Because summer vacations are fun. But they can also be boring.
He crossed his skinny arms. Mom, Im about never bored. You know that.
I do. But Mr. MacKinnon has a gorgeous spot on top of the mountain. Theres a lake up there. Cliffs
I know. We had a field trip there a couple years ago. Its pretty awesome.
Thats what I thought
Pete interrupted her. Just tell me straight. Is this one of your schemes to make me go outside and have fun?
She tried to think of a way to color up the truth. Couldnt think of any. Sort of, she had to admit.
Petie emitted one of his old-souls sighs. Listen. You need me. If Im not here, you cant find your car keys. And you put the milk in the cupboard. And sometimes you forget its dinnertime. And sometimes you need me to help with the plants and stuff.
Thats all true. I do need you. And youre wonderful at being responsible and taking care of things, Garnet agreed. But thats not a lot of fun for you.
Mom. I dont know why you cant get it. I have fun all the time. Its just not noisy fun. He sighed again. This is about something Mrs. Riddle said to you, isnt it? She says I never cause trouble. She says its not natural. So she got you all worried that youre not a great mother, right?
It scared her. If he could out-think her at age ten, how could she possibly cope when he was a teenager? Not exactly.
Okay. Well go through this again. Youre a great mom. Even if you forget and put the peanut butter in the fridge. Even if you dance around like a goon when youre making cookies. But this is like when Grandma and Grandpa call. You get all upset. You start scrubbing floors. You gotta quit listening to other people. Listen to me.
Peter. Sometimes you need to remember that Im the parent, and youre the kid. Sometimes I actually know a little more about life than you do.
When?
Hey. That wasnt funny. It was mean.
He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. Okay, okay. Ill go over to Mr. MacKinnons if you want me to. Its not like its terrible there. Hes a good guy and all. His tone conveyed that he was caving, but shed better realize she was going to owe him forever for agreeing to this.
I just want you to try it a couple of times. See if you like the setup there. Thats all Im asking. For you to check it out.
Okay, okay. I said I would.
She escaped while she was ahead, aimed for the kitchen and the end-of-the-day cleanup. There wasnt much. Crumbs here, a quick sweep, a couple glasses to pop in the dishwasher, and last, scouring the sink. Garnet knew perfectly well she was the worst housekeeper in the universe, so heaven knew how shed picked up an obsession about a clean sink, but there it was. Another character flaw.
By the time the sink had a blinding gleam, her mind had skidded back to Tucker. How she felt around him. How she didnt want to feel. How every single thing that happened today had been unsettling.
MacKinnons were blue blood in this part of the country. So was her family but not her. She was plain vanilla all the way, went to bed with the first boy who asked her, got instantly pregnant, married Johnny because she was wildly in love with himbut he chose to fight in the Middle East rather than live with her. She wasnt just an underachiever in her family.
She was the one who always made the wrong choices.
Tucker, with his background, had understandably been attracted toand marrieda sorority girl from Ole Miss. So the marriage hadnt worked out. Eventually hed find another woman with the beauty and grace and class of a traditional Southern belle, because thats what MacKinnons did.
And Garnet would still be working in the dirt, struggling to make an ordinary living, to just raise her son and do a good job at it.
Nothing wrong with that.
But shed made enough bad judgments. Her heart was impulsive and unpredictable. Her life had gone much, much easier since shed just kind of abandoned men. And that resolve hadnt changed just because she had a major zing thing for Tucker.
Shed had zings before. They always turned out wrong.
A razor-sharp blade of lightning knifed the sky, followed by an angry growl of thunder as if she needed a reminder that she and nature didnt always get along.