Redwood Bend (Virgin River #18)(40)

“After a quick something else…”

“I’m all sweaty…”

He got an evil grin on his face. His eyes were glowing. “I know.”

“Are you ninety-nine-percent testosterone?”

“I want you. I’ve been fighting it all day. That tool belt…”

“Want to sing a round of ‘YMCA’?” she asked with amusement and a lift of her eyebrow.

He approached her looking lethal, grabbing her around the waist. “Sadly, the tool belt will have to go…”

“What if Conner comes early…”

“Won’t he be surprised,” Dylan said, undoing the tool belt. “You and me. Now.”

She sighed and took him by the hand. “Come on, Dylan. You know, I think I give in to you way too much.”

“If you’re suffering, I’ll back off,” he said, but he said it with his usual naughty smile.

“You take very good care of me,” she said. “But I’m not sure how you survive in Montana if you don’t get involved with the local talent. For someone so determined to never marry, I’ve never met a man who needs a good wife more than you.”

Katie’s words really hit home with him. Not so much because she was right, which he realized she was, but because he’d never been in a relationship like this. Thirty-five years old and she was his first steady girl since high school. Never mind all his determination to remain single and childless, he’d never met a woman who was so hard to leave. A woman whose special scent and the perfume of her hair and skin made him love drunk. Her body beneath his hands put a fire in him; her voice lulled him and brought him ease. Her laugh lifted his spirits and her self-confidence somehow made him more sure of himself.

Katie might be the one woman in the universe he wanted to touch, to caress and possess, but she was hardly the first person to make this observation about him—that he needed a good, one-man woman in his life. Lang and Adele had made similar comments, though not based on any knowledge of his sexual needs, needs he’d never before been so aware of. Satisfaction usually set him free; sex with Katie only left him wanting more.

Adele had witnessed, while Dylan was growing up, how much he had longed for a safe and nurturing family unit and would often remind him, “Remember that TV family is make-believe, Dylan. Don’t depend on it for love.” And his best friend would see him around his own family, around Sue Ann and all the kids, and often remark that Dylan had himself all wrong—he was probably the most marriageable man around. “It’s obvious you take to it,” Lang often said. “You’re calmer hanging out around all these little hoodlums than I am.”

It was true. The one thing he had long been avoiding was a connection like the one he had with Katie. He feared it more than anything else. He wasn’t sure where she found her strength, but he wasn’t made of the same stuff. Having her and losing her, by any means—death, divorce, even malignant discord, it would kill him.

The boys were wild about their play set. Dylan and Katie sat on the porch and watched them risk life and limb testing the limits of the jungle gym. Katie interjected commands like, “Not upside down, please,” “That’s too high!” and “Don’t do that!”

And once Dylan said, “Andy! It’s Mitch’s turn!”

And they all stopped dead still and stared at him.

“What?” he asked.

“You can tell them apart,” Katie said softly.

Could he? Well, maybe he did that once. It must have been subconscious. It was definitely spontaneous.

“Well, I’ve been around a while now.”

“A little over a month,” she said, smiling at him. “But you’re leaving in a couple of days, right?”

He turned to look at her. “Have I stayed too long?” he asked her. “So long that when I leave now, because I will have to go, will it hurt you so much that you hate me?”

She looked at him, patiently shaking her head. “Dylan, did I say or do anything that made you think I was involved with you against my will?”

“Of course you didn’t…”

“I’m not offended that you have so little faith in me. You haven’t known me long enough to judge that fairly. But sometimes it hurts me how little faith you have in yourself.” She gave his cheek a stroke. “Do what you have to do. You’ve had so many successes in your life, stop being so afraid of failure. You’re not going to fail.”

Those eyes of hers put him in a trance. He could drown in those eyes. He found himself leaning toward her and she turned in her chair to lean into him. And their lips met. He threaded his hand around her neck, his fingers stretching into her hair and he moved over her mouth with longing.

And there was a shriek and a shout from the yard, breaking them apart. “Ew, Mom, gross,” Andy cried. And Mitch pulled Andy to him and made wild smacking noises. They hugged like little bears and fell to the ground, rolling around in the dirt as they made kissing noises and laughed themselves stupid.

“Silly asses,” Dylan muttered to Katie’s laughter.

Almost daily, Dylan rode to the top of that hill where his view was sensational and his iPhone reception was excellent. It was a Thursday afternoon; he’d spent some time with Katie in the morning and now was attending to his business. His first call was always to Childress Aviation. And the news was not getting any better.