Paradise Valley (Virgin River #7)(87)

It wasn’t long before she drove up to the house, turning a rented truck into the driveway that led to a detached garage out back. He filled his eyes with her—she looked exactly as she did when he drove up to her house back in Virgin River. Jeans, T-shirt covered by a denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up, boots, a cowboy hat. She walked toward him, he came down the porch steps and immediately put his arms around her. He gave her a nice little kiss and said, “I shopped for our dinner. I’ll cook for you.”

“That would be so wonderful. I could have showered out at the set, but I was in a hurry to see you. It’s been long and sweaty and horsey. Let me shower off the grime, then I’ll join you for a drink.”

“Perfect. Try not to take all night.”

“I’ll be quick,” she promised.

She went into the house, Walt following. She hung her hat on the antique rack just inside the door, sat to pull off her boots and headed for her room. He heard a door close and momentarily, the banging of old pipes as the shower turned on. He’d already checked out the bathroom across the hall from her bedroom—nothing in this house was remodeled. It had a claw-foot tub with a shower curtain.

He sat at the same old hat rack and pulled off his boots, placing them next to hers. He studied the sight and liked it. Her boots should be by his all the time. He walked down the hall to her bedroom, pulled his shirt out of his pants and off, laying it over the only chair in the room. And then, despite the noise of the shower, he heard something odd. Soft sounds, as if maybe she was singing off-key in the bathroom.

He pulled off his socks and pants and decided to join her, whether she liked it or not. He gave a knock, then let himself into the bathroom. When he pulled back the shower curtain, she had the washcloth over her face. “Make room,” he said. “I’ll wash your back. Then I’ll wash anything else you have in mind.” And he stepped into the tub.

She turned away from him and he knew—something was wrong. He turned her back and pulled the cloth away from her face. It was hard to be certain with the water flowing over her, but he thought maybe she was crying. Muriel didn’t cry. Not unless the director said, “Cry!”

He wiped a big thumb under her eye. “What’s this?” he asked softly.

“Silly,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m just tired.”

“Muriel, honey, I’ve seen you knee-walking tired after working on that house of yours. You saying movie work is even harder than that?”

She looked up at him. She put her hand against his cheek. “I didn’t think you’d come,” she said quietly.

“But we talked. You knew I was coming.”

“I mean ever,” she said. “I thought that if I didn’t come to you, if I didn’t live across the meadow, you’d let days and weeks and months separate us if I wanted to work. I thought I was a convenience. I didn’t think you’d meet me halfway.”

He smiled down at her, slipped his arms around her na**d body and pulled her against him. He lifted her chin with a finger and kissed her tenderly. “I was foolish,” he said. “I don’t know what was the matter with me. I let that whole business of you being famous intimidate me. This won’t happen to us again, Muriel. The next time we’re in this situation, we’re going to plan our weekends and days off together. I’m just so damn happy I got a second chance. I knew you were pissed.” He gave a shrug. “Besides, you haven’t been the least bit convenient. You’re actually a lot of trouble.”

“I missed you,” she said. “I thought you wouldn’t make the effort. Just for me.”

“Just for you? For God’s sake, I’m in love with you!”

“That’s what I hoped. But then you grew so distant. I didn’t know if you were in some kind of pout, or you were letting go of me.”

“I’ll be honest—I didn’t want you to leave. It took you no time to spoil me, Muriel.” He kissed her and ran a hand over her breast, the other sliding over her bottom and bringing her close. “It’s a real spoiled man who just wants everything to stay the same.” He chuckled. “And if there are going to be any changes to the routine, the man gets to bring it on.”

“But you said I should fulfill all my ambitions, that you’d be rooting for me!”

“I knew that was the only decent thing to say, and I meant it. Until you left and I was missing you.”

“You understand, it had to be something important for me to give up the contentment I found with you.”

“I’m getting that, Muriel. By the way, this is the part where you tell me you’re in love with me, too.”

“I don’t want to jinx us,” she said. She gave a little hiccup of emotion. “Plus, I miss my animals.”

He shook his head, then lowered his lips to her breast, kissing. He ran a tongue over her nipple and lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “I want to hear it.”

“I swear to God, I didn’t cry over my last three husbands.”

“Do you always have to bring them up?” he asked.

She smiled at him as her hand wandered. “Maybe we should talk about the fact that even when I mention ex-husbands, you’re hard as a baseball bat.”

“Are you done with your shower?” he asked. “I might have the erection of a twenty-year-old right now, but if I try to do it in this tub, I could break my sixty-two-year-old back. And then I’ll be no good to you.”