Promise Canyon (Virgin River #13)(42)

"See that?" Clay said. "That's pretty much how my father and your grandfather will look when they meet--standing nose to nose and yet a hundred miles apart."

"Do you think they'll meet?" she asked.

"I'm counting on it," he said.

Her world was going to get larger and she knew it.

When Lilly delivered feed on Thursday afternoon, she found Clay waiting for her. "I'm planning to watch my son play football tonight," he said. "Would you like to come with me?"

"I wish I could," she said sincerely. She was crazy about Gabe. "I have a commitment."

"That boyfriend?" he asked with a smile.

"No," she said, laughing. "I promised to help with a yoga class--it's a little extra money, which I need for Blue."

"Well, tomorrow night Gabe has plans with his friends and, you and I, we should spend an evening together. Not with the Toopeek family, but just the two of us, so we can talk. And not just about horses. Let me take you to dinner or something," he said.

"I can't," she answered. "I have plans."

"The boyfriend?" he asked.

"With a very close friend, and these plans were made a while ago. Sorry."

"Cancel," he urged.

"I can't this time. Maybe another time."

Friday was an extremely busy day for Lilly and for that she was grateful. She did in fact have plans with Dane--they were going out for a movie and a bite to eat. Of course, not only would Dane be completely fine with a cancellation, he'd probably cheer. He had been urging her to take the dating game seriously for years. But the fact was, a man who made that very idea tempting had just barely come along and she was moving as quickly as she could. She just wasn't quite ready for the intimacy she knew was coming; she was serious when she'd told Annie and Shelby it had been a very long time.

She was getting closer to taking that step, however. Much closer. Thinking about it caused her to tremble.

Sometimes, if she could ignore the trembling, if she closed her eyes and was honest with herself, she could admit that since Clay had entered her life she'd hungered for the intensity of a night alone with him. She needed to be held, to be kissed, to be loved. And while his very power intimidated her, she didn't want anything less.

Dane finally knocked on her front door on Friday evening and she was so glad to see him. He was so good for her; he propped her up when she was down, laughed with her when she needed to laugh, never failed to be there for her. And as always, seeing him filled her with a feeling of affection. She smiled brightly.

But her smile quickly faded. He looked awful. "My gosh, what's wrong?"

Dane put up a hand as if to ward her off. "Don't get too close, Lilly," he said. "I thought I could ignore this, but I'm coming down with something. I feel terrible."

She took a couple of steps toward him, frowning. His handsome face was in a grimace, his eyebrows furrowed. "What in the world is the matter?"

"It started out as a headache and a tickle in my throat. I thought a couple of aspirin and a good gargle would do the trick, but on the way over here it got way worse. Hit me like a ton of bricks. The tickle turned into razor blades, my head is clogged and pounding, I have a cough, my body aches. I think I have a fever."

"Oh, Dane, lie down on the sofa. Take your shoes off. I'll make you a strong broth, some green tea, dose you up with an anti--"

"I need to go home, honey," he said. "I need my bed and I don't want to give it to you. It could be the flu."

"I'll take my chances, Dane. I have a strong constitution--I never get sick. Let me do something to make you feel better."

"You better knock on wood. This could be that ugly virus going around. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Oh, Dane, I really needed to--" To what? Talk more about her crush on Clay? The crush Dane kept telling her to make a move on? Oh, he must be so sick of her by now.

"We'll do something later this week or next weekend. Ugh. I gotta go to bed...."

"I'm so sorry, Dane," she said.

He nodded, blew her a kiss and left her little house, the screen door shutting behind him as she stood at the open interior door.

"Crap," she said aloud, watching him go.

She'd dressed up for her evening with Dane; she wore a cinnamon-colored silk blouse, beige dress pants, gold belt, low heels...but the evening was off. She went to her bedroom to change. She tossed her clothes in the chair that sat in the corner and found herself some comfy yoga togs.

Back in the living room, she sat on the floor to pick through her CDs. The early fall weather was so beautiful; she enjoyed an early evening breeze coming in the screen door. She put on some music, cranked it up real loud, and went to the kitchen to forage for food. She pulled out some vegetables and cheese; she'd make herself a big, fluffy salad and a whole wheat macaroni and cheese dish topped with a little tomato puree and black olives. She had the water for the noodles on the fire, some of the veggies sliced and was starting to feel like herself again when suddenly the volume of the music went down.

She whirled around. There, in her very small living room, stood Clay. He put up his hands and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. You obviously couldn't hear me knock or ring the bell. If the door had been closed, I wouldn't have walked in, but it was only the screen door, unlocked."