Harvest Moon (Virgin River #15)(43)

She was shocked. “But what about…your teenager!”

“She can’t drive. The Hawkinses wouldn’t leave her on the doorstep if she needed to come home—they’d call me. I’d go get her. Go write a note to Jill. Come home with me.”

“Seriously? Because I’m not sure I’m ready for that. Quite yet.”

“I was sure the minute I met you.”

Oh, she wanted to. She knew what it was like to be off the market, too—it had been a couple of years that she’d been unable to see anyone but Luca in her vision. And she felt the pull with Lief. Like him, she’d felt it almost immediately. It would feel so good to slip into his bed, feel his arms around her, experience him. She had the craziest idea that with him she wouldn’t feel she’d just wasted her time… But…

“I’m sorry, Lief. That’s not going to happen tonight…” She took a breath. “And believe me, I am sorry…”

He kissed her brow. “Just not ready yet?”

She shook her head.

“I think I could get you ready…” he said, kissing the corner of her mouth, her neck, her ear.

“I’m not really old-fashioned, either. And I’m not going to kid you—you’re very tempting. But my life is a little unsettled now. And yours isn’t exactly—”

He tightened his arms around her. “I know. It’s cumbersome. It is what it is. I’m not going to apologize.”

“Then you’ll understand this,” she said. “Before I find myself in love with you, I’d better make sure I’m up to it.”

“Perfectly understandable. Maybe I should have waited, too.”

“Waited?” she asked.

“To fall in love.”

Nine

Kelly was up long before the sun, burrowed into the kitchen, chopping, dicing, cooking, boiling jars. Thinking.

Jillian was an early riser, and by the time she came into the kitchen, there were already two dozen filled canning jars lined up on the counter and another large pot simmering with a new batch. Jillian looked in the pot. “Nana’s peach chutney?” she asked.

“And spicy peach and tomato,” Kelly said.

“Good lord, what time were you up?”

“I’m not even sure. At least three hours ago.” She gave her pot a hearty stir.

“Did Lief leave right after Colin and I turned in last night?” Jill asked.

“No. He stayed late. We pulled a second Duraflame out of the shed.”

“And you’ve been awake for hours? What’s up with that?”

Kelly looked at her sister and shook her head. “I didn’t sleep well at all.” She banged the spoon on the side of the pot, laid it in the spoon rest and leaned against the counter. “I always saw myself as a good planner. Real sensible and logical and not overly emotional.”

“Pragmatic, I would say,” Jill agreed. “But sensitive. You’re very sensitive, Kelly. What’s the matter? Did he hurt your feelings?”

She shook her head again. “He told me he loves me.”

“Get out!” Jillian said. “Love? Really, love?”

“What a fool, huh?” Kelly asked, wiping her hands on a towel. “He must be crazy.”

“Well… I wouldn’t call him a fool. I’d just call him quick and to the point. And obviously someone who doesn’t need a lot of time to know what he wants…”

“Honestly, my ridiculous romantic situations lately make your romantic foibles look like kid’s stuff.”

Jillian perched up on one of the stools at the workstation. “I’ve given all that up since I met Colin. He is my last impulsive act.” Then she smiled sentimentally.

Kelly took the chair opposite her sister. “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I had a real boyfriend? I mean, a reasonably available, totally single, relatively normal boyfriend? Over two years and that was a brief one. Since then I’ve fallen in love with a married man with five grown kids and the wife from hell and a single father with one of the most…interesting teenage daughters I’ve ever met.”

“At least you didn’t sleep with the married man…”

“I haven’t slept with the single father, either! And trust me, I’m not feeling any more calm because of that decision!”

Jillian smiled. “Love talk didn’t lead to sex talk?”

“No,” Kelly said, clearly disappointed. “I couldn’t let that happen. I don’t think I’d better get any closer to him right now. He has a complicated life. Issues with his daughter.”

Jillian grinned. “I met her. She liked my costume.”

Kelly lifted a brow. “Did she ask you to black out a tooth for her?”

“Hey, I liked her.” Jill laughed. “She’s a smart aleck.”

“Well, clearly you’re no threat to her. She wasn’t all that nice to me.”

“Oh, that’ll probably pass. When she gets used to you.”

“Jill, yesterday was pivotal for me in some ways. While we were hosting the town I fell in love with Virgin River. A person just won’t grind their molars flat in a place like this—there are too many good souls around to shore you up, lend a hand, make you laugh, make you feel like an important part of something. And here’s a perfect man, too—gorgeous, sexy, sincere, strong and ready. But I’m not equipped to take on a teenage girl who lives to press the edges of the envelope. And no one takes on Lief without taking on the daughter. She wasn’t dressed up for Halloween, you realize. That’s her look!”