Chapter Two #3
And then Annette announced flatly, “Miles. This conversation never happened. And we will never speak of it again.” Her heels clicking hard on the basement floor, she marched toward the open door beyond which Riley was lurking.
Riley ducked out of sight as Annette fled the bar and ran up the stairs to the lobby floor. Not wanting Miles to know she’d witnessed her mother-in-law’s cringe-worthy dismissal of him, Riley whirled on her heel and darted back into her office before the poor man could emerge from the bar.
As the day wore on, Riley kept thinking about sweet Miles and how he deserved a nice date with Annette.
Riley loved her mother-in-law. She understood that Annette was a one-man woman.
Like Riley, Annette had found her one great love and lost him.
Neither Riley nor her mother-in-law ever planned to marry again.
But a woman ought to be able to enjoy a nice evening with a good guy now and then. A little romance was a wonderful thing, and Annette shouldn’t let this chance pass her by.
Riley headed up the stairs where she found Annette in her office off the lobby busily tapping away at her desktop computer. She was frowning at the screen.
“Hey.” Riley stepped into the comfortable, well-appointed room, shut the door silently and leaned back against it.
Annette glanced up from her hunt-and-peck typing. She was still frowning, but when she met Riley’s eyes, her expression softened, and she smiled. “Hey, you. What do you need?”
Riley stared at her business partner and thought how much she loved her. The two of them were a team, not only when it came to running their hotel but as a family, too.
And they’d both suffered terrible losses.
Annette had lost her husband and then her only son.
Riley’s parents had both died before she was twenty-one, her mom of heart failure when Riley was just ten and her dad in a landslide a decade ago now.
As for TJ, he’d crashed his ATV and suffered a fatal head injury on a romantic camping getaway, just him and Riley—and no service on her cell to call for help.
“What is it, sweetie?” Annette looked worried now.
Riley blinked away a tear. “Just feeling a little bit sentimental.”
Annette got up and came to her. She took Riley gently by the shoulders. “About?”
Riley stared up at her, thinking that Annette was an imposing woman. Almost six feet tall, she wore her streaky blond hair cut in a feathered style with sideswept bangs. She always looked great, completely pulled together. “Annette, you are the best, and you deserve the best. I hope you know that.”
“Back at you,” Annette replied. “Double.” Now they were grinning at each other. “Come here.” Annette took her hand and led her to the two chairs bracketing a small table in the corner of the room. They sat down. “Okay. Whatever it is, talk.”
Where to start? “I saw you and Miles going into the bar downstairs earlier…”
Annette sat very still. Her green eyes sharpened. “Yes, well… Miles is going to add that extra shelving we talked about to the backbar.”
“Great. He is so talented—dependable, too. I like him a lot, you know. There’s something solid and trustworthy about Miles.”
Annette sat back in her chair. She asked dryly, “Have you been eavesdropping in the basement, Riley Jane?”
Busted. “Well, not on purpose…” She saw from the expression on the older woman’s face that Annette wasn’t buying her lie. “Okay, fine. I heard you talking. I heard him ask you out.”
“And you heard me turn him down, didn’t you?”
“I did, yes. And, well… Why, Annette? He’s a great guy. We all like and respect him. What’s not to like about Miles Crowne? That’s all I’m asking.”
“Of course I like Miles. He is a fine man. Where did you get the idea that I don’t like Miles?”
“It was when you turned him down. You were…curt. You said that you would never again speak of his asking you out.”
Annette’s frown was back. “Well, I wanted to make myself crystal clear. Because I’m not going out with him, so there is no need for him ever to bring it up again.”
“But… Well, why not give him a chance? That’s all I’m asking. I mean, it’s only dinner. If you don’t have a good time, that’s when you decide you’re not doing that again.”
“So your question is why didn’t I give him a chance?”
“Yes. That. Exactly.”
“Well, I will tell you why, then. Because there are rules.” Annette smiled serenely.
Riley gulped. “What rules are those?”
Annette looked away. “I’m not going out with him. That’s all anyone needs to know on the subject. Now, please, can we leave it at that?”
Riley longed to keep after her, to beg her to get past the crap in her head and give Miles a chance. But Annette clearly didn’t want to hear it.
With a slow nod, Riley gave in. “Yes, of course. We’ll leave it at that.”
“Excellent.” Rising, Anette held out her arms. Riley went into them, and they shared a quick hug. “Anything else?” Annette asked as they both stepped back.
“Nope. I think I’ll see how things are going at the front desk, then head out for a quick lunch.”
“Enjoy,” said Annette.
Twenty minutes later, as Riley strolled down the street to get a Cobb salad at Henry’s Diner, she couldn’t help but stew a little over Annette’s remark about “rules.” It was no secret that her mother-in-law was conservative.
But really, what exactly did Annette mean when she said, Because there are rules?
Did Annette actually believe that a widow should be celibate for the rest of her life? If she did, how would she react when she learned that her widowed daughter-in-law was pregnant by her dear friend and secret lover, Josh?
Riley’s stomach went queasy at the thought—or was that from the baby?
No. Probably not the baby. She’d had very little morning sickness when she was pregnant with Dillon. This time around, she’d ended up hugging the toilet twice but only between her sixth and ninth weeks. No queasiness at all since then.
It did bother her to think that Annette might disapprove of her love affair with Josh—and be upset that Riley was pregnant without a ring on her finger.
Shaking her head, she tried to put any worries about the possibility of conflict between her and her mother-in-law from her mind.
At Henry’s, she skipped the Cobb salad and ordered ginger ale and chicken noodle soup instead. The light meal was soothing to her suddenly iffy stomach, and all of it stayed down.
Sadie Bravo, who owned the diner with her parents and was married to Josh’s older brother, Ty, came by Riley’s small table to say hi.
As they chatted about the weather and local goings-on, Riley kept thinking of Annette.
And of Josh. She thought about how the people who mattered in her life needed to know that she was having a baby.
She really would have to start telling people.
Soon. Very soon…
* * *
The next morning, Dillon knocked on her bedroom door at five thirty. “Mom! We have to get going! Shane says we have to be there when the fish are biting.” The door opened a crack. “Mom, can I come in?”
She sat up and turned on the lamp. “Come on.”
He came running, scaling the bed and jumping on her. She wrapped him up in a hug, one that he allowed for maybe ten seconds before he started in again about how they had to hurry and get on the way.
“We’re fine,” she reassured him. “Josh said to be there by seven. That’s an hour and a half from now. Plenty of time.”
Dillon wasn’t buying. He narrowed his eyes at her, as though trying to see through her to the truth she was hiding. “You sure, Mom?”
“Absolutely, positively.”
He considered her reply and then shrugged. “Okay, then. But I am so hungry right now.”
“Well, then we will just have to find something to tide you over.”
She climbed out of bed and got the coffee going while her son devoured a banana and laid waste to a single-serving strawberry yogurt.
Together, they packed for the sleepover—well, Riley packed.
Dillon helped by tossing in toys at random including his Optimus Prime Transformer and the slime-green kids’ camera he loved so much.
Riley debated how much food to bring. Josh had insisted that he would take care of the meals.
So she settled on fresh fruit, a bunch of different snacks and some juice boxes.
She’d planned to bring a present for the birthday boy today, but Josh had insisted she should save the gifts for the party next Saturday at Lenore’s.
At six thirty, she and Dillon climbed into her Chevy Tahoe and headed out of town. Twenty minutes later, they rolled onto Josh’s woodsy plot of land with its gorgeous pond and the pretty little creek that flowed through it.
As she pulled to a stop in front of the two-story log house, Shane burst out the front door and raced down the steps to greet them. Josh ambled along in the birthday boy’s wake as Shane shouted, “Come on, Dillon! Bring your stuff in so we can go fishing!”
“Okay!” Dillon shouted. Then, at the same volume, he announced, “Mom, I’m getting out!”
“I’m right here,” Riley replied from three feet away behind the wheel. “Inside voice, please.”
“Sorry…”
At least he’d asked first before unhooking his seat belt. “Okay, then,” she said as she pushed open her door. “Get your things and take them upstairs with you…”
“Yes!” He was out of the car and shoving the door shut in two seconds flat.
She met him at the hatch in the back and handed him his pack. By then, Shane was right there at his side.
“Hi, Riley!” he said with a giant smile.
“Good morning.” She passed him the six-pack of juice boxes. “Would you carry this in for me?”
“Yes, I will!” Shane replied, his big smile getting bigger. She handed it over, and the boys took off at a sprint.
“Slow down, you two,” Josh advised as they flew by him on the way to the front door.
“We’ll be careful,” Dillon promised, following Shane across the front deck.
Josh descended the steps and joined her at the open hatch.
“Riley Jane, you look especially fine in waders and rubber boots.” He tugged on the bill of her hat as he gave her a slow once-over, those hazel eyes of his warm and approving.
“There’s something about a hot redhead in a dad hat.
All of a sudden, I can’t wait for bedtime. ”
“Keep your mind on the fishing,” she advised as she pulled her duffel bag from the car. “Bedtime’s a long way away—and didn’t we already discuss the sleeping arrangements for this weekend?”
“Yeah, but a man can dream…” Deftly, he edged around her and took both her duffel and the bag of snacks. “Follow me.”
“I can carry that stuff.”
“No way. I’m on it.”
Inside, as she did every time she visited him, she admired the open living area with its big stone fireplace, cathedral ceiling and beautiful hardwood floors. At the far end of the expansive room, the kitchen had warm granite counters and lustrous maple cabinets.
Josh dropped the snacks on the counter and led her up the wide staircase to the bedroom directly across the hallway from his. “Make yourself comfortable.” He pushed the door shut and set her duffel on the bed. “I’m right across the hall if you need anything.”
As if she didn’t know. She’d slept in this room three times in the past—once before she and Josh had started their secret fling. That time, she’d had the floors refinished at her house, and he’d offered her a place to stay while the work was completed.
The other two times were more recent. Each of those times, she’d waited to be sure the kids were asleep before tiptoeing across the hall and tapping on Josh’s bedroom door.
Now she leaned back against the door. They grinned at each other.
“Fishing,” she said firmly as he left the bed and came toward her.
“Fishing,” he repeated, getting right up close and personal. He touched the bill of her hat. When she made no objection, he lifted it from her head and tossed over his shoulder.
“Hey. Don’t mess with my hat.” She tried to sound offended, but she wasn’t. She was too busy admiring the flecks of gold in his eyes, memorizing the full, tempting shape of his mouth.
He bent close. She reached up and laid the tips of her fingers along his warm cheek. His mouth met hers, and she sighed in the most perfect combination of contentment and desire.
His tongue teased at the seam where her lips met. She didn’t even pretend to resist. No way. He was altogether too good at kissing. What else could she do but let him inside?
So strange. All those years they were just friends. And now…this. She didn’t want it to end. But of course it would. It was bound to. That’s why they called it a fling.
He breathed her name against her parted lips.
She returned the favor. “Josh…”
And right then, a small fist knocked on the door. “Mom! You in there?”
With a crooked smile, Josh stepped back as someone knocked again, and Shane called, “Dad! Come on, we’re ready…”
“We’ll be right out,” Josh promised, holding her gaze, making her think of the nights she’d spent in his arms—the nights that would end as soon as she told him.
Which I will do, she vowed for the umpteenth time. Just not this weekend.
“Meet you guys downstairs!” she called. “Three minutes, max.”
“’Kay!” replied Dillon.
Two sets of small feet retreated. She heard Dillon’s laugh as the boys headed down the stairs. Josh turned away then, grabbed her hat from the foot of the bed and returned it to her.
“Tonight,” he said.
She put on the hat and knew that there was no way she would pass up another sweet, sexy night with him. Still, she teased, “I’ll think about it.”
“So will I.” His voice was rough, just a hungry scrape of sound. “You can count on that.” Easing around her, he pulled open the door and gestured her out ahead of him.