Wyatt’s kiss was sweet, his lips soft and firm. Her folded jacket kept them from coming together fully, which was just as well because she was tempted to put her arms around him and keep him in this balcony for as long as the movie was playing. But that would defeat the purpose of dating, spending time in public and seeing if they had a future together rather than just a past.
He pulled back. “If you’re going to keep me away from that zipper, we should really go downstairs.”
“You’re right. Enough of the walk down memory lane.”
“I have some very good memories of this place.”
“I have good and bad. I don’t think you ever realized how much I dreaded getting caught doing something we shouldn’t have been doing. That time we were discovered with my blouse unbuttoned was particularly embarrassing.”
“I’m sorry. Most of the time it seemed funny to me.”
“You never got into any trouble.”
“That’s not exactly true, but I didn’t get into trouble like the rest of you.”
“I don’t want to feel that way again, like I’m doing something wrong and everyone will know.”
“And judge you.”
“Well, yes. They’ll have their opinion, and let’s face it. If I get caught undressed in public as an adult, as their mayor, they have a right to be judgmental. And even angry. They put their faith in me and I let them down.”
“Still, you’re not a nun. Or a saint.”
“No, but I’m supposed to be a good example. That means I have to be careful.”
“I’m not going to do anything to compromise your reputation.”
“I want to believe you, Wyatt. Really, I do.”
He sighed. “I know it’s going to take more than words.”
“You’re doing fine.” She felt as if she should cross her fingers or knock on wood. How long could Wyatt remain “good”?
“Sometimes, I wish you weren’t the mayor.”
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she took his hand and led him down the stairs. The movie was starting and this conversation had come to an end.
WYATT HAD HOPED TONI would ask him to come into her house when he took her home. She reminded him that she had an early morning at the job site on Wednesday, so she couldn’t stay up late. Then she’d leaned across the console and kissed him until his toes curled. When she pulled back, she said that he was so tempting that she couldn’t trust herself alone with him, and then she’d smiled sweetly and gotten out of the SUV. He’d scrambled to catch up, walk her to her door and act like a gentleman.
How was a man supposed to react when a woman said he was too tempting? She’d told him that twice now. He wanted to push her door open, pick her up in his arms and carry her into her bedroom, à la Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind.
But Rhett Butler was married to Scarlett O’Hara in that classic movie, plus he was trying to prove something. Wyatt wasn’t married, and he was still having a hard time contemplating taking such a big step. Even with a woman he’d known most of his life and wanted so much he could barely see straight.
He was too wound up to go back to the motel, so he drove out to Dewey’s to have a beer and listen to some bar talk.
Unfortunately, there were only five guys listening to country-western music, watching a Stars game and sipping brews. Three of them were cowboys he didn’t know. One was Bud Hammer, who’d been a grumpy old man years ago, and the last one was Leo Casale.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about chatting with Toni’s brother, but it was too late now. Wyatt knew he’d been spotted.
“Hey, Leo,” he said, taking the bar stool between him and Bud. “What’s up?”
“My cable’s out,” he replied, “so I came here to watch the game.”
“You should sue that cable company,” Bud advised.
Leo shook his head and ignored the older man. “What’s up with you? Didn’t you have a date with my sister tonight?”
“I did, and I got her home nice and early, as requested.”
Leo looked surprised. “Good for you. She’ll like that.”
“It’s the least I could do. She has a lot going on in her life.”
“Woman mayor,” Wyatt heard Bud grumble. “Don’t seem right.” The curmudgeon slapped a few dollars on the bar and walked off.
Leo took a sip of beer, then said, “Yes, she does. The hotel project is a big one. We’ve got our own money and time invested in this one, along with Christie Crawford’s bankroll. Toni’s also been working hard on the Christmas activities and the budget.”
“She said her final city council meeting was last night.”
“It was, but she’ll probably still have more to do. There’s always something going on.” Leo took a drink from his longneck, then glanced at Wyatt. “Are you up for that? The demands of her office? She loves her job as mayor and her career as a renovator, you know.”
Wyatt felt like twisting on his bar stool. Had Leo been reading his mind? “I have to admit, I think Toni works too hard sometimes. I think she should spend more time having fun. But, if being mayor is what makes her happy, then that’s something I can live with.”
“Sounds like you’re planning a long-term relationship.”
“It’s a scary idea for me, but your sister is special.”
“Special enough to marry?”
Wasn’t that the real question? “She’s definitely special enough to marry. Whether I’m the right man for her is another question. And truthfully, I don’t know the answer to that one.”
“Well, that’s honest.” Leo took a sip of beer. “Just don’t mess with her head. She got on with her life after college, but she never really got over you, you know.”
“I guess I knew that on some level, but I hadn’t thought about it much until recently.” Guilt, most likely, had driven the memories away. That, and the fact that Wyatt didn’t spend much time in town and had gone out of his way to avoid Toni, Leo and their parents in the past.
“She doesn’t date. She’s never had a serious boyfriend since you left town. Did you know that?”
“No, I didn’t.” Toni was so beautiful and talented. Any man would be lucky to spend time with her. And she was a young, healthy woman, who obviously enjoyed going out and having fun. Having sex. He shifted uncomfortably on the seat. The idea of Toni with another man was more than upsetting, which was another sign that he was headed toward something more serious than he’d have thought possible just two weeks ago.
“I was barely a teenager when you left her before, so I didn’t understand everything that was going on. But I’m a man now, Wyatt.” Leo sat his empty beer bottle down on the bar with a decided thunk. “Don’t mess with her head again.”
Wyatt filled in the blank. Or else. He believed Leo was serious. Wyatt just needed to figure out how serious he was about a relationship with Toni, because the more time he spent with her and the longer he stayed in Brody’s Crossing, the more he realized it was going to be all or nothing.
TONI AND LEO MET WITH their flooring subcontractor early Wednesday morning. For simple hardwood, tile or laminate floors, she had her own crews do the installation. However, Christie had suggested vintage-style black-and-white marble pattern for the foyer, reclaimed oak planks for the restaurant and bar areas and granite tiles for the restrooms. Toni had initially hesitated about the cost and inconvenience of laying so many different floors, but then she’d begun to appreciate Christie’s vision of the place and she knew they had to go forward.
After the flooring contractor had finished taking measurements and conducting an examination of the subfloor, he left with a promise to send an estimate later in the day. Christie checked on the progress of the wainscoting and drywall, then left for breakfast at the café with an informal group of business owners. They were excited about the opening of the hotel project and wanted to discuss the possibility of renovating the old train station. Toni didn’t think that the train station project was viable at this time, but she would listen to their objectives. Perhaps there was something the city could do, although the money wasn’t in the budget this next year.
Her busy morning left her little time to think about her date. Her very normal, very “nice” date. Wyatt had been a gentleman, with just a brief kiss during their balcony detour. She’d been apprehensive most of the night, afraid that he’d do something wild to live up to his reputation. But he’d behaved himself, just as he’d promised.
At the end of the evening she’d been almost disappointed, which was an odd reaction. She thought she wanted Wyatt to behave himself, but when he did, he didn’t seem quite like himself.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she parked in back of her office. She had some calls to make, and then later Sandy was going to trim her hair at Clarissa’s House of Style. Toni decided she might even splurge on a manicure. Just for herself. Not because she was dating one of the world’s most eligible bachelors.
She would push Wyatt out of her mind until he got in touch with her again. He’d promised to call later. Until then, she was focusing on her business.
“NO, I’LL CALL HER,” WYATT promised his mother. “We’ll see you around six o’clock.”
His mother wanted him to bring Toni to dinner at their house tonight. For what reason, he didn’t have a clue. He probably should have spent another evening with his parents already, but he’d been busy. He’d gone all the way to Dallas for some Christmas shopping, and he’d spent time in front of his laptop on an online conference call regarding the foundation.
Besides, he didn’t see the point of too much parental socializing. They rarely had anything to talk about except the weather, their friends—many of whom he didn’t know or could no longer remember—and upcoming vacations.
Sometimes he wished he had a closer relationship with both his mother and father, but that probably wasn’t going to happen at this late date. They just didn’t have much in common, and he still had a lot of resentment. Plus, his mother harbored her own guilt over her drinking all through his childhood and teenage years. She hadn’t gotten sober until he was in college, and only then because of a medical crisis.
Stop drinking or die, the doctor had told her. She’d stopped. Not because of her family, but for herself.
So if she wanted Toni to come to dinner tonight, there was a selfish reason, Wyatt was sure.
On the other hand, he now had a reason to call Toni that didn’t seem made up. Before his mother’s call, he’d been trying to think of some ordinary reason to see Toni tonight.
He could still think of lots of extraordinary things they could do together. Fly to Europe, watch the sun set in Carmel, see a Broadway play in New York City. He was coming up short on what he could do that was reasonable from Toni’s standpoint, plus fit her schedule. He couldn’t ask her to fly off with him on a whim, when she had civic obligations and a major renovation project going on. The holidays hadn’t meant all that much to him, other than extra parties and reasons to buy expensive gifts. But to Toni and most of the people of Brody’s Crossing, Christmas was about traditions, friendships and good food.
The solution was inside him. He just had to get back to his own roots in this community.
TONI GOT TO THE SALON a few minutes early and found that Jennifer was still sitting in Sandy’s chair, her cell phone pressed to her ear.
“No, no, I understand,” she said to the person on the other end. “Just get better and I’ll call you next time.” She pressed a button, folded up her cell phone and looked so despondent that Toni had to speak.
“Jennifer. Is everything okay?”
Her former best friend looked up with big blue eyes. “Oh, it’s not so bad. Not like Hailey having a problem.” She sniffed a little, then sighed. “It’s just that…she has a program tonight at church. The first one she could participate in since her treatments ended last year. And Tommy Jr. has a terrible sore throat and cough, so we got a babysitter. Now the babysitter is sick, and Tommy and I can’t both go to Hailey’s program because almost everyone else we know is already going or is sitting for someone else.”
“I’m so sorry.” Seeing their daughter back to her old self was such a joy for Jennifer and Tommy, Toni knew. Hailey had finished chemo last year and now she looked the picture of health. “Could I babysit for Tommy Jr.?”
“You?”
“Well, yes. I know I don’t have any children, but I like them and they seem to like me. And I know first aid and I have common sense. Plus, if anything came up, I could call you or my mother for advice.”
“No, it’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that you’re…well, you’re the mayor. And a businesswoman. And you’re dating Wyatt McCall! Why would you want to spend a night babysitting Tommy Jr. when you could be out with him?”
“Oh, please. You were my best friend. I know we’re not as close as we once were—” or as I’d like to be, Toni silently added “—but that doesn’t mean I stopped caring about you and your family.”
“It just never occurred to me that you’d want to do something so…ordinary.”
Toni laughed, since the remark struck her as so silly. “What, you think I have a glamorous life because I have my own business? I tear out things and build things, for heaven’s sake! Usually I have calluses and splinters, plus a few bruises and a scratch or two. And as for the mayor part, well, that’s a working job, too. Most of the time I read reports and sit in meetings. Again, hardly glamorous.”
“I suppose. I just never thought about it like that.”
“Well, now you know,” Toni replied, putting her hand on Jennifer’s arm. “I’d love to spend the evening babysitting Tommy Jr. so you and Tommy can attend Hailey’s program at church.”
Jennifer still looked so much like the best friend Toni had known almost all her life that she reached out and hugged her. “Thank you,” Jennifer said, the words muffled against Toni’s jacket. “I really want to go to the church tonight.”
“I understand. What time do I need to be there?”
“About six-thirty.”
“Okay.”
“Toni?”
“What?”
“If Wyatt comes to see you at my house, no hanky-panky, okay?” Jennifer said this so deadpan that Toni felt floored.
Then her friend smiled and giggled. And they laughed together, hugging, thinking back on all the times they’d snuck their boyfriends in when they were supposed to be alone or babysitting or studying. Tommy and Wyatt, the boys they’d loved.
Tommy, the boy Jennifer had married right out of high school. How their lives had changed.
Toni pulled back, still smiling. “After the holidays, maybe we can get together. I have some things to tell you.”
“Okay. That’s a girl date.” Jennifer hopped down from Sandy’s chair and reached for her coat. “I’ll see you tonight at six-thirty. Do you know which house is ours?”
“Sure, I remember.” She’d been there five years ago for a high-school reunion kickoff party, but she’d felt so out of place. Most of their classmates had families. Lots of photos had been passed around.
Toni didn’t even have a pet she could show off in pictures. How sad was that? She’d devoted all her time to her business, and shortly after the party had decided to run for mayor.
They hugged once more, then Toni removed her jacket and sat in her chair. Sandy moved closer and adjusted the lift.
“That was so sweet. If I’d known she needed a babysitter, I would have volunteered. Hailey was a customer the first week I worked here.”
“They’re a lucky family.” Hailey had survived her medical crisis, and Tommy and Jennifer seemed just as much in love as they had when they were eighteen.
“Yes, they are. Lucky to have a friend like you.”
Toni looked down. Maybe it wasn’t too late to be a best friend again. Maybe she should have tried a little harder before this.
“So, what are we doing today?” Sandy asked, fluffing Toni’s hair.
ON THE WALK BACK TO HER OFFICE, Toni’s cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. Wyatt. Her heart began to race as she walked quickly up Main Street toward her office. She pressed the button to answer the call.
“Hello, Wyatt.”
“You look really good. Is that a new haircut?”
She looked around, almost giving herself whiplash. “Where are you?” She didn’t see the white SUV anywhere.
He stepped out onto the sidewalk from the shadowed overhang of the Burger Barn. “Gotcha.”
“Are you spying on me?” she asked into the phone, even as she looked both ways to cross the street and join him.
“No, I was having a late lunch.” He disconnected the call and slipped his cell phone into his pocket, a grin on his face.
She flipped her own phone closed and put it in her jacket. She couldn’t keep herself from smiling, either, even though she was in the middle of town and probably looked like a lovesick teenager.
Lovesick? No, she was not going to fall for Wyatt again so soon, before she knew what his intentions were. Been there, done that, and it hurt too much.
“Hey, you looked so glad to see me, but now you’re frowning. What’s up?”
She shook off her thoughts. “Nothing. I am glad to see you,” she said, smiling again. “Do you really like my hair?”
“It’s very bouncy,” he said, fingering the ends, which were still long but had a bit more shape than before.
“My hair is always bouncy when Sandy finishes with me. Then when I fix it, it’s mostly flat again. I don’t have her skill.”
“Yeah, but I bet she can’t use a nail gun like you can.”
Toni laughed. “That’s true.”
“Are you going back to your office?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll walk with you. I parked the SUV up there.”
“Did you come there to see me?”
“Yes, but I saw your Out to Lunch sign and decided to treat myself to a burger.”
“The quality of meat has gone up since the new butcher shop opened.”
“And I noticed they have bison burgers on the menu. Interesting.”
“And tasty. They come from the Crawford ranch. The Rocking C.”
“I thought they only raised Herefords.”
“Up until a few years ago. When Cal went to Afghanistan for active military service, Troy came in to run the ranch and found it was in financial trouble. He ended up selling off most of the Herefords, bringing in bison and subleasing the land for organic dairy cows and free-range chickens.”
“Wow. That is a huge transformation.”
“Lots of things have changed around here, Wyatt.”
“Not you. You’re as pretty as ever.”
“And you’re as full of it as ever. I’m fifteen years older and I know it.”
“You’re prettier than ever. And now you’re more accomplished. That’s something no one can say when they’re eighteen.”
“True. I don’t want to go back—I’m just pointing out that we’re all different.”
“Point taken. Now, for today’s burning question. Will you have dinner with me tonight? And before you get excited about going back to Dewey’s or to Graham for Italian or whatever, I have to tell you it’s at my parents’ house.”
“I can’t.”
“I know you’re not a big fan, but—”
“No, I mean I can’t because I’m babysitting. Jennifer and Tommy are attending Hailey’s program at church and I’m watching Tommy Jr. at their house. He’s sick and can’t go.”
“Oh.” Wyatt looked floored.
“I’m sorry. I probably would have come. I suppose, that is, unless your mother wanted to talk me into or out of something, in which case I would have to consider carefully.” She didn’t need political or social pressure from the town’s wealthiest family. Especially now that she and Wyatt were dating. That put a twist on things, at least until she decided if she was running for office again and if she and Wyatt had a future.
Mrs. McCall hadn’t liked her much way back when, but Toni supposed she was now more respectable since she was mayor and a businesswoman. And who knew what Mrs. McCall was thinking? Maybe she’d theorized that if Wyatt was dating someone local, he’d be around a lot more.
“I guess I could see if she wants to reschedule.”
“No, you should go. Spend some time with the folks. It’s the holidays. I’m sure they’d love to see you.”
“I guess,” he said, sounding rather like a ten-year-old who had been forced to do something slightly unpleasant but necessary. “I already told her I’d come and bring you.”
“Well, you should have checked with me first.”
“I know that now. I just wasn’t thinking that you’d have anything tonight.”
“I’m not some supermodel who can fly off on a whim.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“I know, but I get the impression your circle of friends and your prospective dates aren’t so tied down by obligations.”
“Now who’s making assumptions about whom?”
Toni sighed. “You’re right. I make a lot of assumptions about your lifestyle, mostly because I don’t understand it. Having lots of free time to go on adventures and attend big, exciting events is as alien to me as…as babysitting Tommy Jr. must seem to you.”
“I can imagine doing that. Do you want me to come with you?”
“No! You’re having dinner with your parents, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. Well, how about later? I could bring dessert.”
“Oh, no. Jennifer already warned me not to have my boyfriend slip into the house after the munchkin went to sleep.”
“That used to be a lot of fun,” Wyatt said, putting his arm around her waist as she stopped to unlock her door.
“Exactly why Jennifer mentioned it.” Toni smiled as she opened the door and they stepped inside. “She remembers how we both used to let you and Tommy come over when we shouldn’t.”
“Shouldn’t is such a strong word,” he said, pulling her close in the foyer of her office. “Let’s just say that some stuffy old adults didn’t want us to have any fun.”
Before she could reply, he kissed her, pulling her tighter as he slanted his mouth over hers. She immediately responded, her arms around his neck, her fingers in his hair. She went from amused to aroused in two seconds flat. And Wyatt did, too. She felt him hard against her stomach as she wiggled closer. His hand moved lower on her bottom, holding her against him as he moaned.
“Ahem!”
The sound coming from Toni’s office was like a splash of cold water. Oh my God. Someone else had seen them making out like teenagers, probably in the reflection of the mirror.
“Geesh, guys. Can you get a room?” Leo shouted from the depths of the office.
“What…What are you doing here?” Toni asked in response to Leo’s disembodied voice.
“We have a two-o’clock meeting, remember? About the pressed tin ceiling repairs versus new beadboard?”
“Oh. Yes, yes, of course.” Toni pulled away, flushed and unfulfilled. Wyatt appeared just as frustrated.
“Call me later,” she whispered. “After your dinner. The church program shouldn’t run too late.”
He nodded, kissing her quickly before pulling his leather jacket together over the front of his jeans and stepping outside.
The door closed. Toni glanced at the mirror. She looked as if she’d been thoroughly kissed. She wondered if she could attribute her messy hair and bright pink cheeks to her appointment at the salon and the brisk winter breeze.
“Come on in, sis. I promise not to give you a lecture.”
Good. Because she didn’t need one. She’d already decided that she wasn’t going to let herself fall in love with Wyatt again. That didn’t mean she might not fall into bed with him, however.