He turned back to Jenna and caught the unwitting look of sheer longing shed cast toward Sara. It wasnt the thought of pizza that put that look on her face, he somehow knew, but loneliness.
Something he understood all too well. It called to him, but was he really ready for this? Come on, he said quietly with an inner sigh of resignation. Hell, no, he wasnt ready, but he couldnt ignore the strange pull of attraction. He held out a hand. Lets go eat.
Her deep-rooted fear of again being shunned by the town nearly overcame her, but Jenna had a stiff talk with herself as she followed Stone and Sara in her own car to the pizza joint.
Clearly no one was going to recognize her.
And though shed come back with the intention of letting everyone know who she was, especially Sara, Jenna was beginning to see the advantage of remaining silent, if only for a little while.
Until she proved shed changed.
She was no longer a young terrified girl on the path of destruction. Shed become a woman who could control herself and her destiny.
A woman who was going to show everyone how worthy she was. A woman who hoped someday soon to have her daughter back in her life.
Having decided this, it was all she could do to contain herself as she stepped from her car and looked at the two people standing there waiting for her. Stone was leaning against his truck, long legs casually crossed, one hand tucked into his sweatshirt pocket, the other resting on Saras shoulders. He was relaxed, yet so clearly strong and vital and content with himself and his surroundings. Jenna knew what iron will and inner strength existed just beneath the surface of that body, and admired him for it.
To be half as confident as he
He smiled a greeting then, his face transforming into the easygoing carefree Stone she used to know, and Jenna was forced to add yet another trait to her list-utterly sexy.
She stumbled at the thought, as again, ridiculously, she found herself rendered stupid by the impact of Stones fathomless gaze. He reached for her, an automatic gesture. Their hands brushed, his large one grasping her much smaller one, and she jumped at the contact. It was startling, that someone who moved and talked with such languid ease had such heat in his skin.
And in his eyes as they held hers.
Stone held open the restaurant door, letting first Sara, then Jenna, into the noisy but warm and welcoming place. It was packed, filled to the brim with hungry laughing talking people. Some Jenna recognized from her past and some she didnt.
She hesitated, suddenly unsure, panicky.
What if she saw him-the man shed let destroy her life? It had been so long ago, but seeing the man who had molested her would really make her lose any bit of control she still had. Hed likely be here, principal of the only school in town. Her heart thumped against her ribs as she whipped her head back and forth, searching the crowd.
She was making a big deal of nothing, she told herself when she didnt find him. For all she knew. Rand Ridgeway had moved on, or at least changed occupations.
No sight of him. Still, she couldnt relax, couldnt make herself step farther in.
But then she felt Stones big warm hand gently rest on the small of her back in an old-fashioned gesture to guide her, and she nearly leaped right out of her skin.
When was the last time shed been touched like that? As if she mattered? She looked up and he murmured something incoherent, something meant to be soothing, and it was.
She forced herself to relax, to lose the wide-eyed panic she knew shed displayed. Stone didnt keep his hand on her; in fact, he removed it immediately, making it the casual chivalrous gesture it had been meant to be-which in no way explained why her knees wobbled.
Im so ready to eat, Sara declared as they wound their way through the sea of tables.
They were stopped several times by people who wanted to say hello or to congratulate Sara and Stone on the win. Several were business associates, and Stone nodded politely to everyone, while a portion of his mind remained occupied by the enigmatic woman walking in front of him as if to the guillotine.
The farther they went into the restaurant, the stiffer her shoulders became, and again, he wondered why.
Who was she? Why did he care? And why couldnt he be attracted to someone without problems? Someone who had nothing to hide?
Hello, Stone.
He sighed. The woman whod stepped between him and Cindy was Nellie, the postal clerk. She loved to keep her nose in everybodys business but her own. Hed known her since high school, and in all that time, her crush on him had never faded.
Short and wide as the aisle in which they were standing in, Nellie effectively blocked their way, making Stone want to groan, for he knew there would be no moving past her until she was good and finished with him.
Nellie eyed Cindy with undisguised interest, but spoke to Stone. You didnt pick up your mail today, hon. Everything okay?
He used a post-office box for his business because he often received huge shipments of supplies for the prototypes he put together. He had to, dealing as he did with hundreds of school districts and the way his business was growing by leaps and bounds.
Nellie read the return address on every package.
Everythings fine. And if he had told her otherwise, hed probably hear it on the evening news. Ill get it later.
Nellie still stared at Cindy, who stood directly in front of Stone, her back to him. He had no trouble detecting Cindys rigid stance, her increasing stress, which told him exactly how uncomfortable the unwarranted scrutiny was making her. Excuse us, Nel, he said, risking another light touch to the small of Jennas back so that she at least attempted to move around the postal clerk.
Startled, Jenna glanced at him over her shoulder, her lips slightly parted. And right there, surrounded by insanity and a hungry daughter, Stone felt the most unexpected urge to bend down and kiss her. Just plant his lips on hers and lose himself until her fear was gone, until she wrapped her slender arms around his neck and whimpered with desire into his mouth.
You have a new friend.
Nellie again.
Cindy took a tiny step backward, as if terrified he was going to introduce her. But shed miscalculated their closeness and bumped right into his chest. Automatically his hands came up to cup her shoulders, steadying her.
Beneath his fingers, she trembled, and any erotic thoughts fled in the face of his concern.
What was so threatening about this place? he wondered. The crowds? Nellie?
The scent of pizza teased his nostrils. His stomach grumbled, reminding him hed skipped lunch again, working through it so he could take off early for Saras game.
Maybe he was just imagining Cindys fear. Hed find out. He had the advantage, for he rarely gave up on something once hed set his mind to it, and for whatever reason, hed set his mind on Cindy Beatty.
Are you new in town? Nellie asked Cindy.
Yes, Stone answered for her, squeezing Cindys shoulders gently when she made a sudden movement as if preparing to run. Shes new and were starving. Excuse us?
Smoothly he maneuvered around Nellie, and walked toward the back where there were still a couple of booths available.
Sara stood there grinning broadly, endearingly, before leaning forward to whisper loudly, She always wants to talk to Daddy. She likes him.
Sara
Well, she does. Mrs. Potts said so.
A startled laugh escaped Cindy, which Stone enjoyed because he could tell she wasnt a woman who laughed often.
Sara blinked innocently. Mrs. Potts says Nellie likes your bones and the way theyre put together, Daddy.
Enough, he said firmly, torn between embarrassment and the urge to laugh. Mrs. Potts came to clean his house once a week, had for the past five years, and this apparently gave her pecking rights. And like Nellie, she continuously attempted to run Stones life.
Im starving, Sara announced again.
Stone was starving, too, not just for food but for another touch of the woman he knew nothing about yet couldnt seem to get out of his head. He waited for Cindy to sit, and though his ingrained politeness had him reaching to support her as she slid into the booth, he brought his hand quickly back to his side, not eager to feel the jolt of awareness again.
Not for a woman he sensed was deeply troubled and far too vulnerable. Not for a woman who didnt know he had commitments in his life he could never turn away from, including the short pigtailed grinning one standing next to him.
Daddy- Sara didnt sit, but shifted eagerly from one foot to another, her hand held out, palm up -can I have some money while we wait for the pizza? Pretty please?
Why? So you can lose it all in the arcade over there?
I wont lose. Saras bony shoulders straightened with pride. You taught me how, remember?
Caught, Stone reached into his pockets. Stay where I can see you, okay?
Daddy-
Just do it, sport Ill call you when the pizza gets here. He handed her a fistful of change he knew would last all of ten minutes and watched her race off with the abandon of youth, his heart contracting with that odd mixture of bittersweet pride and love.
Cindy watched Sara, too, her expression filled with a longing so acute it took Stones breath away. Cindy?
The woman sitting across from him didnt move, just kept watching his daughter with that haunted expression on her face, making him wonder what she could possibly be thinking. It wasnt happiness that had her so lost to him, not with that much pain in her expression, and he hoped she hadnt once lost a child.
The woman sitting across from him didnt move, just kept watching his daughter with that haunted expression on her face, making him wonder what she could possibly be thinking. It wasnt happiness that had her so lost to him, not with that much pain in her expression, and he hoped she hadnt once lost a child.
Cindy. It was as if shed forgotten her name, which was ridiculous of course. Finally he reached across the table and removed her sunglasses, smiling when she seemed to nearly leap out of her skin. You okay?
She blinked and flushed. Your daughters remarkable.
Yes, and expensive, Stone said dryly, hoping to tease her out of whatever had disturbed her.