Dusk was settling around the motel when Wil walked her to the lobby door and waited while she fished her key chain from her purse.
“Tomorrow night?” he asked.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and rolled up on her toes for a kiss. “No,” she said just before their lips met.
When he broke the kiss, he asked, “Why?”
“You said it, Wil. We really do have to slow things down. You aren’t going to back out on going with me on Sunday, are you?”
Lucy yelled from the other end of the motel. “I saw you comin’ home. I’d run up to my room to get a bite of supper while there was a quiet minute but I kept an eye on the place in case someone needed to check in.”
“Hi, Lucy,” Wil said and then whispered to Pearl, “I won’t back out.”
Pearl nodded, but she wasn’t convinced. His mama didn’t like red hair. In a week’s time that could change the whole course of the universe.
Lucy unlocked the door.
Wil dropped a quick kiss on Pearl’s forehead and whistled all the way back to the car.
“We had a slow evening but…” Lucy clamped a hand over her mouth. “You went to bed with Wil. I can see it in your eyes. How did you manage to do that at his mama’s house?”
“We took a drive and there’s a cabin.”
“What’re you goin’ to do now?”
“We’re going to dinner at my folks’ next Sunday, if he doesn’t find some excuse not to go.”
“But that’s a whole week,” Lucy said. “When me and Cleet were first in love we couldn’t hardly go a whole day without seein’ each other.”
Pearl had told Wil that she loved him but she wasn’t ready to admit it to anyone else. “You don’t have to be in love to have sex.”
“I agree.” Lucy nodded. “After I found out what kind of man Cleet was, I had lots of sex with him, but I dang sure wasn’t in love no more. Didn’t his mama know when you got back to the house? Lord, it’s written all over your face.”
“We didn’t go back. Wil called and said that I had to get back to work and, Lucy, she don’t like red hair so she’s not going to like me.”
“Bullshit! She can get over that part, and if she can’t then that’s her tough luck. You are a wonderful person and don’t you forget it. You hungry?”
“Starvin’,” Pearl said.
“Why don’t you run up to the Sonic and get yourself a hamburger and let me take care of things here? It’ll do you good to ride a spell. It did me. Don’t bring your supper home. Sit up there and watch the people. Turn on the radio and listen to some good old country music and you’ll get out of them blues.”
Pearl stood up and picked up her purse from the counter where she’d dropped it. “You’re right, and thanks, Lucy. How many guests we got tonight?”
“Three so far. Get on out of here and go get a burger or one of those steak sandwiches. After what you been doin’ you got to be hungry,” Lucy said.
“Thanks. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Pearl said.
“Hey, take your time,” Lucy yelled as Pearl crossed the lobby.
Blake Shelton’s voice singing “The Baby” came through the speakers of the old work truck when she fired up the engine. Evidently Lucy liked the country music channels too. She remembered Wil’s sisters saying the song had been written about him. As the song played, she agreed that it fit him perfectly. He might not have been all those things that Blake mentioned, but there was no doubt he’d always be his mama’s baby.
Just like you, her conscience yelled.
“Yes, I am, but I’m not spoiled as bad as he is.”
She drove west into town and pulled into a spot at the Sonic. She rolled down the window and pushed the button, ordered a steak sandwich, large fries, and a chocolate malt. A tinny voice came through the speakers telling her the amount she owed. She dug around in her purse and brought out two five-dollar bills.
The wind had picked up and swept across her face. She quickly rolled the window up and looked around just in time to see Wil crawling into the passenger’s seat. Her eyebrows shot up.
“What are you doin’ here?”
He leaned across the seat and kissed her. “I was hungry. Should’ve asked you if you wanted something before I left you. Sorry about that.”
If only he could hug her tightly and never let her go, but there was something that scared the holy hell out of him. He’d found his soul mate, but what if she hadn’t? What if in a year or two or three, or after a child or four or five, she missed her old party life?
She wanted to undo his shirt, run her fingers over that broad chest, and dig her nails into his back, to nibble on his lip and watch his eyes go soft and dreamy when he looked at her. It felt right. Matter of fact, it felt damn good. But what if it really was a flash in the pan and when the heat died out she was left with nothing but a heart full of ashes?
“There’s my order. See you on Sunday. All right if I call you during this wake?” she said.
“What wake?” he asked hoarsely.
“The death-of-an-attraction wake.”
“Yes, you can call.” He smiled and brushed a soft kiss across her lips. “Good night again, Red.”
“Good night, Wil. You really aren’t just putting the brakes on so you don’t have to go to my folks’ place, are you?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t do that to you, Red,” he said.
He paid for his order and drove away, leaving her sitting there, the only car in the entire parking lot. It was a very lonely place to be, especially when her heart wanted to follow him out to the ranch.