Page 58 of Trophy
“That’s because no one else has really thought about what I might actually want and need before.”
There must have been something in her voice she hadn’t intended because Rob made a throaty sound and pulled her into a kiss, right there in front of her house, while she was standing in her pajamas.
She responded to the kiss, wondering vaguely if there had ever been such a sweet, sexy guy in the history of the world.
Finally she remembered where they were and pulled away.
Rob’s eyes were still very warm and tender as he stroked her face one last time before he dropped her hands. “We could do the mulch today, but I know you have that lunch with your friend and I need to go see my folks this morning. My dad needs some help on one of his outbuildings.”
“Tomorrow is perfect for doing the beds. Thank you so much. It’s the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten.”
He cleared his throat again before he asked slowly, “Since it’s your birthday, how would you feel about me taking you out to dinner tonight?”
She turned to look at him. They hadn’t done anything public this week except go to the movie, where no one in town had seenthem, although he hadn’t done as well about hiding his feelings for her in Dora’s at breakfast as he had before. She suspected that the whole town knew they were together by now.
Going public didn’t feel as scary now as it had before. She wanted to spend the evening of her birthday with him. “That would be nice. No need to do anything special, though.”
His expression relaxed slightly, and she realized he hadn’t known whether she would agree or not. “Great. I’ll figure something out.” He glanced at his watch. “I better unload this mulch now, so I can get up to my folks’ early.”
“Let me run and put something better on, and I’ll help.”
Rob was in a very good mood when he got to his parents’ old farmhouse in the valley between two mountains.
He’d thought it would be smart not to get Allison anything too romantic for her birthday, but he hadn’t expected her to be so sincerely delighted with the mulch. She really seemed to care about him and want to be around him. She’d agreed to go out to dinner with him tonight, on what she’d have to consider a date. Pretty soon he might even be able to let down his guard and be a little less careful around her. He wouldn’t have to constantly worry about blowing it and getting dumped. He wouldn’t have to worry about being humiliated and powerless again. That would be very nice.
All in all, he was feeling pretty good as he walked into his parents’ house and found them canning green beans.
Or, rather, his mother was canning, and his father was sitting at the kitchen table supervising.
“Thank heavens,” his mother said when she saw him come in. “Please take him out of here and give him some work to do.”
“I’m helping!” his father said, munching on one of the beans as if it were a candy stick.
Rob couldn’t help but laugh.
His mom gave him a quick, close look. “You’re in a very good mood today.”
He had no idea how she could tell so quickly. “It’s a beautiful day.” He went over to clap his dad on the shoulder. “We might as well get busy, before it gets too hot.”
His father grumbled a bit as he got up—entirely for show—and then they went to work on a wall that was starting to collapse in on itself. Rob liked to work with his hands, and he liked to help out his parents, and his dad was good company—not chatting endlessly but often coming out with surprisingly funny comments.
The time passed quickly, and Rob was surprised when his mother came out and told them it was time for lunch. They went inside and washed up while she put down meatloaf, beans, and baby potatoes on the table.
“You shouldn’t do so much just for lunch,” Rob told her, although he wasn’t about to complain, since he loved his mom’s cooking.
“You make the effort to drive all the way up here just to visit and help out, so the least I can do is make a good lunch. Goodness knows what you would have if left to your own devices.”
Over lunch they talked about the farm and about Rob’s business and about what the weather was likely to be for all of next week. He was leaning back after he’d finished, feeling full and satisfied and wondering when Allison would be back from having lunch with her friend in Charlotte, when his mother said out of the blue, “Now tell us how things are going with that lovely sweetheart of yours.”
Rob jerked and froze for a minute with his water glass halfway to his mouth. He hadn’t told them a word about Allison. Not a word. When he finally put the glass down, he muttered, “Wow, news travels fast.”
His mother reached over to pat his hand. “Of course it does, but it’s not like it needed to. Your dad and I knew you had eyes for her at that cookout. We were just waiting to hear you finally made your move.”
Rob leaned back, torn between affection and embarrassment. He wasn’t in the habit of discussing his love life with his folks. In fact, they’d never really asked about it before. He’d known they hadn’t liked either Marie or Dee before he’d married them, but they hadn’t said anything except to ask a few sharp questions.
Of course, if he’d followed up on their obvious disapproval and listened to them, he would have been saved himself some brutal mistakes. But he’d ignored all the signs and gone into the relationships, simply because they felt easy.
“I’m starting to see Allison,” he said at last, since his parents were obviously waiting for a response. “That’s all it is right now.”
