Picnic in Someday Valley (Honey Creek #2)(59)

She hesitated, then opened the door wider to let him in. “I really can’t stay but a few minutes. I want to be sitting in the kitchen when she walks in. That way she’ll know I’m there for her.”

He had no idea how to start without frightening her. “Your sister is safe. She ran away this morning. But she’s safe. She’s at my farm right now babysitting a pregnant goat.”

“We’d better sit down.” She sounded more interested than frightened. “Start from the first.”

When her gaze met his, she shrugged. “This isn’t her first teenage escape attempt. If she’s safe, I’ll continue breathing.”

They took a seat in the shadows, where anyone passing by the bakery wouldn’t notice them. Jesse held her hand and slowly told her the whole story, including the bargain he’d made with Star. “That kid loves horses. All animals, I’m guessing. Maybe a few days out there will do her good. It’s got to be better than her being on her own at fifteen.”

Adalee cried when he described how her little sister talked to the horses. Then she smiled when he told her how Star stopped cussing around the animals because he said it upset them. “I don’t know if this will work, but her staying out at the farm has got to be safer for her than walking the streets of New Orleans.”

“She wants to go back there because that was her first home. I was twenty-seven and she was twelve when our folks died. I sold their bakery and moved here, thinking we could start over.”

“I told her you’d let her stay at my place for a few days, but if you don’t want to, I’d understand. I’m not so sure she will.”

“You already have your hands full, Jesse. I can’t ask you to take on more.”

He shook his head. “I think she’ll be more help than work. She even offered to cook supper.” He tightened his grip on her hand. “I wouldn’t be doing it for just Star, I’d be helping you. I’d like that. You mean a great deal to me.” He laced his fingers with hers and smiled. It felt so good just to touch her hand. “You’ve been walking through my dreams since that night you found me in the rain.”

“How can I ever pay you back?” She looked at their hands. She could have pulled away, but she didn’t.

“Free scones for life if it works.” He grinned, realizing she’d already given him a great gift. A chunk of loneliness fell off his heart. They were friends now and maybe someday they’d be lovers.

She smiled. “You’ve got a deal.” In the shadows of the closed bakery, she leaned over and kissed him. One sweet kiss. “Will you keep me up on how she’s doing?”

“I will.” He wanted to kiss her again, but somehow it didn’t seem right. They were in the friends category now.

“Jesse, one more question. How can I mean so much to you? We barely know one another.”

He could feel his face reddening. That hadn’t happened in a long while. All he could think of was to be honest. “Don’t you know you fill my dreams some nights and my daydreams when I’m working? The days are packed with work and parenting and worry, but when I have a free minute, you come to me. I can almost feel you by my side.”

She straightened and stared at him as if trying to see inside him.

“I probably shouldn’t have said that. Forget it. Too much information. Sorry.”

He was rattling now. Time to go.

He stood. He wasn’t a polished lover. Hell, he didn’t even know how to date. Beth had asked him all those years ago. Right now he felt like an awkward teen standing in the corner at a dance, afraid to make the first step.

Before he could dart away, her hand on his chest stopped him. “Wait. I need to say something.”

He closed his eyes, wishing he could close his ears as well. How he felt about her had nothing to do with him wanting to help her sister. Helping Star was simply the right thing to do. Adalee didn’t owe him anything. He had no right to tell her that she was in his dreams. He wasn’t a poet. He was a farmer. She probably thought he was a pervert.

She cleared her throat and said, so low he barely heard her words, “You fill my dreams some nights, too. Every morning when I make scones I think of the way you touched me.”

“I do?” He opened one eye. He’d never filled any woman’s dreams and he’d always figured he was pretty much forgettable.

Adalee moved closer, pushing her full breasts against him. “You’re my kind of man, Jesse. Kind and stable and funny, and my definition of sexy. When you touch me I know you’re seeing me, just as I see you.”

“I am?”

Her big eyes stared at him. “I shouldn’t have said that. Too much information. Sorry. I probably scared you off.”

He moved a strand of her auburn hair that had escaped from her ponytail. “I don’t scare easy, pretty lady. It’s been a long time since I’ve been attracted to a woman. You mind if I kiss you again?”

“No, I don’t mind at all.”

One long kiss, with her moving against him as if they were dancing just like she had in his dreams. Only this was better. This was real. His hand moved down her back, pulling her so close he felt her shiver when he deepened the kiss.

They didn’t have to talk about when or how they’d be alone again. They both knew it would be near impossible. But both held on tightly, as if memorizing the feel of the other. Listening to the other’s heartbeat hammering. Collecting sensations to build a memory on.