Maddie followed her out, surreptitiously wiping her sweaty, palms on her skirt. Claudia motioned her behind the bar. Standing directly across from Claudia, Maddie laid her palms flat on the bar so her trembling hands wouldn’t be so noticeable.
Pointing at the chimney glasses, Claudia said, “Build me a Bloody Mary from scratch. Everything you need should be in the cooler behind you.”
Maddie wiped her palms on her skirt again and took a deep breath. Her hands steadied when she opened the cooler and started gathering the ingredients she needed.
“In my opinion,” Claudia said, watching Maddie confidently adding ingredients, “there are only two kinds of Bloody Marys. Fantastic ones and totally undrinkable ones. If you can build me a fantastic one, you might just have yourself a job.”
Maddie finished the drink with an olive and a stalk of celery. She slid the glass across the bar.
“Cheers.” Claudia tipped the glass gently in salute and took a sip. “Not bad.”
Maddie took a deep breath, letting her tension flow out on the exhale.
“Have you gotten your certification for
Texas
yet?”
“Yes, ma’am.” She’d taken the required online course as soon as she’d gotten settled.
“Good. Then if your reference checks out, you’ve got the job.”
Maddie’s stomach fluttered. Mitch would come through for her. He had to. She only hoped he lied better than she did because Mitch was a retired driller who had never been behind a bar in his life, though he’d spent decades on the drinking side.
Maddie thanked Claudia for her time. It was too soon to feel euphoric, she reminded herself as she waited for the elevator, but she couldn’t help it. Things were starting to fall into place. With an apartment, an identity, and now maybe a job, she could make a new life in
Galveston
.
She tapped lightly on Zach’s door. When he didn’t answer, she used the key card.
Soft light from the crack in the drapes illuminated the room. A small crib—the type most hotels supplied for couples traveling with a small child—stood on the far side of the bed, but Maddie didn’t have to look in it to know Jesse wasn’t there. The child lay, belly to belly, on top of Zach. They were both sound asleep on the bed. One of Zach’s hands cupped Jesse’s well padded bottom; the other cupped his round head. The soft strains of violin on the iPod didn’t disturb the hush of the room.
That was what a father and son should look like, she thought. How could something as basic as sleeping look so much like male bonding?
A deep yearning filled her. She wanted what she saw in front of her. She wanted to feel as safe and protected as Jesse looked. The yearning twisted in her heart, revealing a sharp edge. She’d wanted this with Vince. Her eyes grew moist as she ached for what she would never have. Maddie looked up at the ceiling and blinked back the tears.
When she’d pushed Vince firmly out of her mind, she lay down on the empty strip beside Zach and Jesse. Propping her head on her fist, she seemed to be looking at some sort of time lapse photography. A long time ago, Zach must have looked much as Jesse did and someday, difficult as it was to imagine, Jesse would grow into a man like Zach.
Maddie laid her head down, her crooked arm pillowing her head. The contrast between the obvious strength of Zach’s fingers and the gentle way they cupped Jesse’s head intensified her yearning.
She didn’t intend to sleep, but in only moments, her eyes slowly closed. As she began to sink into slumber, she recognized there was something odd about Zach’s hands, but she was asleep before the deep, instinctual part of her brain could tell her what it was.
Chapter Five
The music had ended when Zach slowly came awake. The room had the muted peace of a church. He was content to just lay there, eyes closed, with Jesse’s warm little body sprawled on top of him. He opened his eyes to look at the clock beside the bed and found Maddie lying beside him.
His first thought was how sweet it was to wake up to find her there. It only took a moment more to imagine how much sweeter it would be to wake her and make love to her, but he didn’t know how much of her willingness the night before had been the alcohol.
Zach eased off the bed, careful not to jar Jesse awake. He laid the boy in the crib, then went to the bathroom to relieve himself.
Maddie hadn’t moved when he got back. Zach lay down on his stomach beside her and studied her face. She was a few years younger than he was, he thought, but there were the beginnings of faint worry lines on her forehead. He wanted to rub them away. Instead he flipped onto his side, scooting in close to her, and softly kissed her forehead. When that didn’t wake her, he kissed the tip of her nose, then her eyelids.
Without warning, she shoved both hands hard against his chest and rolled off the bed.
“Maddie! Maddie, what—?”
She crawled halfway to the door before she stopped.
“Zach?”
“You were expecting someone else?” Zach caught his breath. “You were expecting someone else,” he said in a more sober tone. “Good Lord, Maddie. What did the son of a bitch do to you?”
Maddie slid around until she was sitting on the floor facing him, her legs drawn up protectively in front of her. She shook her head helplessly then dropped her forehead onto her knees.
Zach scrambled off the bed. There on the floor, he wrapped his arms around her and began rocking her gently back and forth.
“Stop it.” Maddie pushed him away. “Don’t. I can’t—” She took several deep breaths. “You’ll undo me.”
“What? You’re afraid to lean on someone? You don’t have to be strong every minute, you know.”
“Yes, I do.”
He could see that nothing he could say would convince her, so he bit his lip to keep from trying.
“I should take Jesse home.”
“He’s still napping. You can wait ’til he wakes up, can’t you?”
She didn’t answer, but she made no move to get off the floor either. Zach stood and offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet when she took it.
Maddie stepped over to the crib. She crossed her forearms across her chest in an X, hooking her fingers on her shoulders, and looked down at Jesse. Zach came up behind her in the narrow space between the bed and the crib. Careful not to let the gesture seem sympathetic, he put his hands on her arms, just below her hands. Looking over her shoulder, he said, “Little kids amaze me the way they sleep. I swear a bomb could go off right next to them and they’d never even notice if they’re tired enough.”
“It’s like his bones turn to Jell-O,” Maddie agreed, her voice soft with love.
Zach dropped his chin onto one of Maddie’s hands and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She tipped her head so their temples touched. They stood like that for a while, just watching Jesse sleep.
Maddie’s hair smelled like pineapple and coconut and some other tropical fruit he couldn’t name. Zach closed his eyes and nuzzled her ear. She leaned her head back against his shoulder, giving him easier access. He turned her face and, as he was kissing the corner of her mouth, she turned in his arms. Their mouths found each other. She seemed to want passionate kisses, but Zach held back, afraid moving too quickly would frighten her, even if it was her idea.
Moving away from her lips, he worked his way back to her ear. When he nipped her lobe, she made a small, breathy noise. Zach couldn’t help chuckling. A shiver ran through her. She moved her hips against his groin, and it was his turn to tremble.
Her hands found their way under his shirt. The heat from her palms as they traveled up his chest made him want to crush her to him.
She didn’t push him hard, but the sudden pressure was enough to unbalance him. Half a step backward and his legs met the bed. He sat down hard. Before he could object, Maddie was straddling him, her knees against his hips, her skirt bunched high, almost to her hips. Her hands framed his face, keeping him from pulling away from her open-mouthed kiss.
Zach’s hand automatically went to her bottom to keep her balanced. His penis throbbed as though realizing that only a thin layer of clothes separated it from nirvana. He sank back on the bed, taking her with him. When this woman decided she wanted something, she didn’t beat around the jungle gym.
Zach slipped his hand between their bodies. Under her skirt, he found the top edge of her panties and slid his hand inside. She melted sideways onto the bed, giving him better access. Instead of giving her what she wanted, Zach brushed her clit. She drew a wobbly breath each time he teased her but didn’t quite enter her.
Good Lord, but she was wet and slippery already.
Zach’s jeans strained to contain him. Maddie stroked him through the denim. Zach froze, one finger on the verge of slipping inside her.
“Dammit, Zach,” Maddie said in a frustrated whisper, “if you’re going to do it,
do it
!”
“Is that your way of saying please?” he whispered back.
“If that’s what you’ve been waiting for, then yes.”
Zach slid his finger inside her. When he was all the way in, he rubbed her clit with the heel of his hand. Maddie’s mouth opened but she seemed to forget to breathe.
Zach could feel the tension building in her, like a soap bubble about to burst. He wished he’d managed to get his clothes off before she’d gotten to this point. He’d love to feel her melt around him, but if he stopped for that, she’d lose her momentum.
From the crib beside the bed, a thin whine pierced the room. An indrawn breath later, the whine became a cry. As the cry rose in volume, Maddie drew a ragged breath. She put her hand on Zach’s to still him, but it took her a few moments to move.
She’d been on the edge; he knew it, but the sound of Jesse crying was too powerful to keep her there for even the ten or fifteen seconds more she’d needed. Zach didn’t think he’d have the strength to pull back from the brink like that; it amazed him that she did.
When Maddie began to push herself up, Zach withdrew his hand. She picked Jesse up from the crib and rocked him back and forth. “I’m sorry. He doesn’t like waking up in strange places.”
“That’s okay. He’s a boy. He’ll get over that as he gets older.”
Maddie gave him a questioning look. “Is that a sexual innuendo?”
“There wasn’t nothing ‘innuendo’ about it, darlin’.”
He thought Maddie was fighting a smile. If she was, it was a battle she lost; he saw that much before she turned away to walk across the floor with Jesse, even though the boy’s cries were already subsiding.
“I suppose you’ll be leaving now.”
“I should get him home.” She ran a finger inside Jesse’s diaper. “But I should change him first. Do you mind—?”
“Not at all.” Zach got the diaper bag while she laid Jesse on the bed. She had the matter-of-fact touch that he’d seen other mothers use on their children.
“Where’s his bonnet?” she asked when she was done.
“You’re not going to put that girlie bonnet back on him, are you?”
“Where’s his bonnet?” Maddie repeated, her tone brooking no argument.
Zach dug it out of the diaper bag.
Bonnet properly in place, Maddie hoisted Jesse to her shoulder. Zach had no choice but to let her walk out the door. Before she could reach for the diaper bag, he picked it up. “I’ll carry this.”
“Are you sure?”
“You’d rather be loaded up like a pack mule?”
Once outside, she led him to an old dove gray Lincoln Continental Mark IV. Zach felt his eyebrows lift. It was a classic in perfect condition. And it was larger than a good many boats.
“This can’t get good gas mileage,” he said, gently running a finger over the Cartier signature on the opera window.
“It’s a pig,” Maddie said as she strapped Jesse into his car seat.
“No, it’s a tank. But it’s a beautiful tank.” He opened the passenger door and swung the diaper bag onto the seat. “What is it? A ’?” Zach asked as he walked around to open the driver’s door for her.
“’.” Maddie slid behind the wheel and looked up at him, one hand on the arm rest ready to pull the door closed. “Uhm—thanks. Thanks for everything. For getting me the interview, for babysitting Jesse, for … everything.”
Zach smiled. ‘Everything’ had come close to being a whole lot more than babysitting. “So when are you going to fix me supper?”
“What?”
“Isn’t that what a woman does to thank a man for … everything?”
He could see the struggle on her face. Part of her wanted to agree, part of her was reluctant. He was afraid the reluctance was going to win.
“Look, Rach makes sure I eat well when I stay here, and I’ll grant you the food’s a sight better than I get out on the rig, but it ain’t home cooking, and I’m craving a home cooked meal. Something simple like meatloaf with potatoes and gravy would have me rolling over like a pup begging to get his belly rubbed. Is that really too much to ask?”
She bit her lip. “I—I think I could manage that.”
Zach would have liked it better if she’d agreed without being guilted into it, but he’d take it.
“Where and when?” he asked.
“Well, if I don’t have to work … tomorrow night?”
“Perfect. About seven?”
Maddie nodded, like a person agreeing to the time of her execution.
“Where do you live?” From his wallet, Zach pulled out the small pen he always carried.
Maddie took a deep breath. That was it, Zach thought. The source of her reluctance. Did she think he couldn’t get it off her job application?
If she put down her real address.
A disturbing thought. He didn’t know where it came from, but somehow it wouldn’t surprise him.
She gave him an address in the heart of what he called student-ville. He wrote it on the edge of a twenty dollar bill, then closed the car door for her.
As she drove away, the license plate caught Zach’s eye. He smiled. Between the number six and the word RIDE was the silhouette of a rodeo bronc rider. If she was a rodeo fan, his family would love her.