He smiled, quite easily that time. It was funny how, when she was around, his problems seemed less pressing, the smiles came far more readily. “So, I’m a distraction, then.”
“Maybe,” she said, then smiled. “But a really good one.”
“Well, then, you might as well take full advantage.”
And there was that bloom of pink again. It made him wonder just where her mind had gone and how he could get it to go there more often. “Ask questions, satisfy your curiosity,” he clarified. The color deepened.
“Oh.”
His smile spread to a grin. “Oh, indeed.”
“I really should be going.”
He shifted a step closer and tightened his grip on the handlebar, keeping the bike steady. “Should you, really?”
His body reacted further to the way her pupils expanded under his steady regard. He was dying to glance down, see how else his close proximity might be affecting her, but then she might glance down, too…and notice the same about him.
“I should. But only because I have to. And…thank you.”
“For?” he asked, almost afraid to hear what it was she thought she should be thanking him for. “I already told you not to worry about pulling me away—”
“Not that, though I’m still grateful. I enjoyed the company on the ride in and…I’m glad I didn’t make that trip alone.”
He continued his steady regard of her face, her eyes, her mouth…and realized he felt very much the same. “I enjoy being in your company, too, Miss Matthews.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but apparently was the victim of a suddenly dry throat.
He had to fight the urge to grin. But he was pleased to know he wasn’t the only one feeling the effects. “So, is that what you wanted to thank me for? My brilliant conversational abilities?”
She did smile then. “You may not say much, but when you do, it matters.”
He hadn’t expected that, and now it was he who didn’t have a ready response.
She filled the sudden silence. “I wanted to thank you for being discreet, about my whereabouts.”
He frowned, too caught up in her eyes to comprehend what she was talking about.
“Arlen’s—the mayor’s—secretary came to see me. I was surprised to find her at my door, and she explained that she’d spoken with you—” She lifted a hand to stall his reply. “And that you needed a bit of coaxing to reveal any information regarding me. That was nice of you.”
“Don’t believe your day-to-day motions won’t be discussed and talked about, but you’d mentioned there being a stressful situation with your mother and so I didn’t so much mind if she had to work harder to track you down. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep your whereabouts completely out of the loop, but I’m afraid that’s an impossibility here in Mayberry.”
She laughed at that. “Well, I appreciate the thought and that you were trying to be sensitive to my situation.”
Now it was his turn to laugh. “Trust me, I never involve myself in other peoples’ ‘situations’ so you can take it as a compliment, if you wish. But I’m also warning you that I’m no good at it, so don’t go planning to hide behind me. This town, and everyone in it, is transparent to some degree. There is no place to hide.”
“Good to know. And don’t worry. I’m not much of a hider.”
He smiled, liking her more by the second. Wishing he didn’t, as it was going to complicate things, but he was afraid it was too late for that. “We still on for Sunday?”
“I hope so. I’ll know better after this evening. I’ll let you know tomorrow, if that’s okay. Can I call you here?”
You can call me anywhere, anytime
. “Sure. I’ll be here. You might not be high maintenance, but Miss
Betty Sue
over there is very demanding. I’m beginning to think she’d never let me out of her sight if she had her way.”
“Betty Sue?”
He nodded toward the Mustang.
“Oh,” she said, looking immeasurably more excited now. “Is that what we’re going to fly in?”
He laughed. “No, she’s not in service at the moment. I’m getting her ready for the race next month.”
“Right. That—she’s—the Mustang.” Her gaze stayed on the plane. “She’s really something. I had no idea. World War Two you said.”
“Yes,” he said, feeling a ridiculous sense of pride, which was silly considering she had no real idea what she was looking at. But he didn’t mind that she liked what she saw. Or that, when she turned her gaze back to his, the look in her eyes didn’t change. “I can bore you with about a million details covering her entire life history whenever you have a few years. But, in deference to keeping you interested in me for more than five minutes, I’ll spare you.”
“Actually, I’d like to know more. You said you didn’t fly in the exhibitions like your grandfather did. Does someone else fly her then? Or is she only flown for the race? She’s really pretty stunning to look at. Hard to believe she was used as a fighter.”
“No one has flown her since my grandfather did, except me—” He broke off, then shook his head. “—and he would shoot me if I scared off a beautiful woman talking about the only other woman in my life.”
She laughed. “No need for the false flattery. Once a man has seen you with raccoon eyes, she’s never going to believe any compliments—”
“You should. You have beautiful eyes.”
She clearly wasn’t buying. “I wear serious looking glasses, and—”
“And I can see right through them.” He was beginning to see through a lot of things, in fact. He was beginning to wonder just how “sleekly pulled back, every hair in place and freckle covered” she’d be if left to her own desires. His smile grew when he realized he’d made her stutter to a stop. “Although if it makes me sound more sincere, I’ll add that while I find the frames kind of sexy, in a ‘I want to slide them off’ kind of way, I do prefer the eyes behind them, without all the black streaks.”
She both laughed and swallowed, hard, if the way her throat worked was any indication. And the tension between them both ebbed—of the awkward variety—and flowed…of the more intimate kind.
“I really would like to hear more,” she said finally. “About the plane, I mean.”
“Trust me, I’m doing you the favor. You really don’t want to get me started.”
He realized he was grinning. And she was smiling back. And suddenly he was thinking maybe he owed his baby sister a big fat thank-you. Although only under penalty of death would he actually admit that.
“It seems a shame that no one else flies her. I mean, all that work, she should get a chance to strut her stuff more often.”
Jake started to reply, then stopped. He hadn’t really ever thought about it like that. He’d always just been happy to keep her flight-worthy and race-worthy. “Possibly. I’ll just be happy if I can get her ready by race week.” And for that, he needed Roger to commit, once and for all, and do it soon. And…he really didn’t want to think about it, not at the moment, anyway. For the first time in a very long time, he had other things on his mind…far more pleasurable things, as it turned out.
“So, about the inquisition tonight,” he said, changing the subject. “I take it you’re meeting with your mother and the mayor later?” He lifted a hand. “Not my business, I know, so don’t feel you have to—”
“No, no, it’s okay.” She cocked her head a little then, and a different look came into those eyes he was growing so quickly fond of looking into. Too quickly, most likely. But he didn’t look away.
“You know, it’s funny,” she said, “and I don’t know why, but—don’t let this make you run screaming, okay?”
He frowned at that, confused. “Okay.”
“Maybe, subconsciously, I came out here because I thought you—” She stopped, shook her head, laughed. “It sounds even more ridiculous when I put it into words. So, ignore that. Yes, I am meeting them tonight, and no, I’m not looking forward to it. It’s a long story that might rival your ability to talk about
Betty Sue
, only for completely opposite reasons, so I’ll spare you the gory details.”
“I won’t pry. But I’m sorry things aren’t smooth.”
“I appreciate that. I also appreciate you telling me that my mother was looking forward to my arrival. It was…good to know. I guess I owed you more thank-yous than I realized.”
“For?”
“That, and not telling Melissa every last thing about me when she called you. For keeping my job status a secret.”
“How do you know I—”
“You haven’t said anything, have you?” she countered, seeming pretty sure of him.
He shook his head. “Nobody’s business but yours.”
“So…thank you. It’s been a difficult enough thing, coming out here, needing to set things right with my mother. We’ve always been really close, but her quickie wedding—” She stopped and held up her hand. “Sorry. I’m very sure you don’t want to hear about any of that and I don’t want to put you any further in the middle of anything.”
“What makes you think you have?”
“You belong here, you know these people, live with them, work with them. I don’t want you in any position to be defending me or choosing sides, if, God forbid, it comes to that.”
“What makes you think I’d have to do anything like that?”
“Let’s just say that my arrival hasn’t exactly been under the radar. I had no idea my presence here was going to be such a…a…”
“Newsworthy event?”
“Might be an overstatement, but that’s what Melissa made it sound like. And Debbie at the motel. Even the bike rental guy knew who I was before I filled out the rental form.”
“And your being that visible casts the family reunion in an even more stressful light, I take it.”
“Exactly. Sorry.”
“For?”
“Dumping.”
“You’re not dumping.”
“I could. You make it…you’re easy to talk to.”
“Thank you. Trust me, it’s not a trait generally associated with me. Except by my baby sister, but she believes it’s the God given right of being family, and I try not to argue. It just prolongs the torture.”
Lauren laughed. “You’re trying to sound like the much put upon older brother, but I find that hard to believe. I’m sure she feels very lucky to have you on her side.”
“There are as many days when she’s pressed just to admit we’re related, so it all evens out.”
“If you say so.”
“I’m just being honest. Always am. Sometimes to a fault.” He grinned. “Okay, most of the time.”
“Well, it’s been appreciated by me. Maybe it won’t sound so crazy now, but I think that’s why I came out here.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s what I started to say earlier, but I didn’t know how to phrase it without sounding over the top. I just…it’s been a little overwhelming, not to mention disconcerting, being here, having people know who I am but not know me personally. And the only person who does know me is the one I am here to sort things out with. I have a lot to deal with, to think about, not only with my family situation, but with my job, with…a lot of things.” She looked at him directly now. “And, with my seeing them again being imminent, I guess I rode out here kind of on instinct.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“Maybe I’m sounding crazy after all, but I think I needed to sort of touch base with the one person I knew here who would just say what he thinks, and not what he thinks I want to hear.” She smiled, but her eyes were still a little troubled.
It bothered him that he was troubled by her being troubled. She was right in what she’d assumed about him, but that didn’t mean he wanted to get in the middle of anything. She’d said herself she didn’t want him there, either. So…what was she saying now?
“Don’t worry, okay? I’m only saying it’s nice to know you can count on at least one person to speak plainly.”
“Given the world you just left, I can imagine that’s a commodity in short supply.”
“Very true.” They held each other’s gaze for a longer moment, then she finally broke the hold first and slipped her helmet back on, made a show of buckling the strap. “Well, I’m past the risk of overstaying my welcome, so thanks for letting me bend your ear.”
“It was just a little tug.” Jake couldn’t help but think that if Ruby Jean were a fly on the wall in that moment, she’d own him for the rest of her natural life. The bigger kicker was, for all his concern about being, well, concerned, he actually didn’t mind so much that she’d sought him out. Or that he’d helped her cope in some way.
She smiled. “I’ll get out of your way now.”
He let go of the bike, surprised at how reluctant he was to do so. For a few minutes, he’d gotten to step outside of the frustration that had shadowed most of his waking hours of late. He told himself that’s all it was. Problem was, he was having a hard time believing it. “See you Sunday.” He had no time to spend showing someone the sights. After succumbing to Ruby Jean’s tearful plea, he had already figured out how to narrow the time down to the barest minimum and still fulfill his promise. Now…now he was mentally scrambling, trying to figure out how to juggle his time and his obligations so he could spend more time with her.
“I’ll let you know tomorrow, for sure. What time, Sunday?”
Anytime. All the time
. “We can figure that out when you call. Or, if you need to work off some steam, feel free to pedal on back out here. The exertion does wonders for pent-up frustration.”
“Sounds like you have some personal experience with that.”
He’d been thinking of a different type of exertion, due to an entirely different kind of frustration, but she didn’t have to know that. “A little.”
She adjusted her helmet strap and balanced her weight as she got ready to mount the bike. The vision she made, all pink-power girl, made him smile as she backed the bike up until she could turn it around, aiming toward the open end of the hangar. His thoughts drifted, quite naturally, he thought, to other things he’d like to see her mount. The rear view, in particular, was extremely…inspiring.
“Well, we’ll talk again, one way or the other.”
He tugged the rag from the pocket of his jeans and wiped his hands, then shoved them both in his pockets when she glanced back at him, hoping she wasn’t noticing just how much he’d been noticing her. Plus, with his hands in his pockets, he couldn’t do something remarkably stupid. Like reach for her. He did something like that now, and he’d either be really sorry he’d pushed it…or she’d be really late for dinner. Neither possibility was a good outcome. So he kept his hands hidden…and other things hopefully camouflaged. “Sounds like a plan.”