Page 30 of Christmas at Black Cherry Retreat
‘Am I suggesting you marry the woman tomorrow?’Mikey jibed. ‘Have you ever heard of dating and getting to know someone? It’s what normal people do. Try it and see what happens.’
Tom took a large bite of toast. After eighteen years alone he wasn’t sure he had the guts to put himself out there again. He’d never done casual where women were concerned and was pretty sure he couldn’t start now. He respected Fee too much and knew enoughof her past to be aware it wouldn’t take much to hurt her.
‘Next time I’m gonna let Mom do her own screw turning,’ Mikey announced with the faintest hint of a smile. ‘You do what you want.’ He pushed his dirty plate away and stood up. ‘I gotta head out of here. I’m working this afternoon and Janet’s got more things on her honey-do list than I’ll get around to in a million years.’
‘I’ll clear up,’ Tom said. ‘Tell your sweet wife thanks from me.’ He stumbled over how to express his gratitude.
‘Shut it. That’s enough soppy crap. Just get your act together. Bring your little woman over to Mama’s on Sunday if you think she won’t be scared off by the gang.’
Little woman?Fee would tear Mikey limb from limb if he dared call her that to her face. Tom wasn’tsure throwing her in the deep end with his noisy family was a good idea, although she’d had no problem with a modified version of them in the cafe the other day.
‘Maybe. I’ll let you know.’
‘Fine. I’m off.’ Mikey walked back out to the other room and grabbed his overnight bag off the sofa. ‘I won’t be blabbing to Mom either. You can tell her what you want.’
‘Thanks.’
‘Hey, we’ve got to stick together. The Three Amigos, right?’ Mikey chuckled, reviving their old childhood nickname. It’d always been the three boys against the two girls who’d tagged themselves the Deadly Duo.
‘Yeah, always.’ Tom forced out a smile.
They made their way outside and the crisp morning air helped to clear his head. Tom changed the subject back to sports, theirusual favourite topic. After a few minutes discussing how the UT football team might fare against the much-hated Alabama side on Saturday his brother left.
Tom didn’t rush to go inside until Mikey was out of sight and by the time he finished washing all the breakfast dishes by hand he’d talked himself in and out of asking Fee on a date at least a hundred times. Using the dishwasher wouldn’thave had the same effect. The best he could come up with was to stop by her cabin, gauge her mood and go from there. Not exactly MrDecisive but it’d have to do.
Fee snapped out of her meditative pose as the alarm clock buzzed. The idea was to gradually come back to full awareness but she didn’t have the patience. This morning she’d cooked herself a healthy egg-white omelette for breakfastfollowed by a leisurely bath and her yoga practice. Unfortunately her emotions were still as jangled as they’d been when Tom left last night.
This was ridiculous. She’d change clothes and take her camera out somewhere away from Tom Chambers. Fee began to roll up her mat but a sudden series of loud knocks made her drop it back down on the floor. ‘Who is it?’
‘Tom. Are you decent?’
Fee suppressed a laugh and hurried to open the door. The sight of Tom, his gleaming auburn hair still damp, clutching at his black cowboy hat and shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other endeared her to him all over again.
‘Come on in. I won’t eat you,’ she said with what she hoped was an encouraging smile. He sidled in past her and stood by the table, not quite meeting hergaze.
‘I wondered if you’d care to go out tomorrow and see some of the fall colours? The Cumberland Gap area is about an hour drive from here and real pretty right now.’ The words tumbled out. ‘There’s an old settlement on top of Brush Mountain that was home to the Hensley family back in the first half of the twentieth century. It fell into ruins but it’s been renovated as a living historymuseum. There’s one tour a day going from the visitor centre in a minibus and it lasts about four hours. I could call and see if there’s room if you’re interested?’ He raced on before she could reply. ‘It only runs for another week or so before they close for the winter. We could get a bite of lunch somewhere nearby when we’re done.’ Finally he stopped and gazed hopefully at her.
‘Areyou asking me on a date, MrChambers?’
Tom’s skin became red above his shirt collar. He straightened to his full height and fixed her with his deep, chocolate-brown eyes. ‘Yep, I do believe I am. How about it?’
Fee had thought her days of being shy around men were long behind her but she felt sixteen again. ‘Yes, please.’ The feathered smile lines around his eyes deepened and shereached out and took hold of his hands. Neither of them said a word as she ran her fingers over the marks of his outdoor life; the calluses and multitude of tiny scars hinting at his story. Fee lifted her gaze to meet his gleaming eyes and softly pressed her lips against his, aware of the faint scent of bacon and coffee overlaid by a layer of mint toothpaste.
‘Honey, I won’t get out thedoor if you keep doin’ that.’ His raspy voice sent a shiver of desire trickling down her spine.
‘Of course you will although maybe not quite as soon as you intended.’ Fee murmured, unable to resist wrapping her arms around his neck. ‘You wouldn’t deny a lady a kiss to greet the day would you?’
Tom sighed. ‘Not sure I can deny you anything and believe me I’ve tried.’
‘Metoo. It works both ways.’
‘Good.’ He circled her slim waist with his broad hands and pressed her against him. Fee loved the fact there was nothing weak and insubstantial about this man. Tom lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her with no hint of the diffidence he’d shown a few minutes earlier. ‘You’re this way all over aren’t you? Sweet and so soft,’ he murmured. He stopped kissing herand frowned. ‘Does it frighten you too?’
Tom’s honesty rendered her speechless. ‘Yes,’ she whispered and a relieved smile crept over his rugged face.
‘Good. Do you want to take a chance on gettin’ frightened together?’ Tom asked.
Fee kept her reply to a simple nod. Sometimes less was more.
