He smiled and entwined his fingers with hers. "Why don't we all go out for ice cream? Maybe that'll cool things off."
Sharon agreed, but personally thought it would take more than ice cream to slow her racing pulse.
She'd denied her feelings for Joe for so long that they seemed to be crying out for release. She didn't know how much longer she could remain patient and respectable, and remembered all that Joe had endured for her.
David and Luke liked Joe's idea of going out. David tried to join into the conversation more, and Sharon gave him a look of gratitude.
A thought occurred to her. Maybe David thought Joe would try to push her sons out of her life. She'd find a way to reassure him. Her glance shifted to Joe, and his gaze caught hers and held it.
As she licked her cone, the expression on Joe's face made her eyes widen. "You really are wicked, looking at me like that."
She spoke softly, for his ears alone, while the kids were talking with friends. Joe winked and Sharon felt herself blush.
Celia Moran came into the ice cream parlor, with her frail husband in tow. She left Harry to come over to their table.
"What's this all about?" she demanded without a greeting.
Joe started to speak, but Sharon touched his arm. "First of all, Celia, it's none of your business, and second, get used to seeing us together."
The other woman spun on her heels and pushed through the front door, leaving her befuddled husband to follow after her.
Joe winked at Sharon and grinned broadly. "Ouch. Remind me to stay on your
good
side."
She smiled back. "I doubt that you'll find that too difficult to manage."
Her boys shrugged their shoulders and rolled their eyes at each other as if the older generation were too hard to understand.
When they went home, Luke practically dragged David into the house. Sharon watched them go, then turned to Joe, thrilled with a sense of the forbidden.
"I wish we didn't have to say goodnight," Joe said in his deep voice as he gazed at her.
"So do I," Sharon said, her hand on his knee, rubbing back and forth.
"You shouldn't do that," he said, as if in pain.
"Do what?" she asked innocently.
With a groan, Joe reached out and pulled her into his arms. This time, his kiss was more than Sharon had ever imagined a kiss could be. He was driving her crazy, and she hoped he felt the same.
Oh Joe, love me, she thought. Forgive me for hurting you.
It was obvious he felt something for her, and Sharon was going to take every advantage. She ran her hand up his chest and Joe shivered, then stopped her.
He exhaled as he leaned back against the door. "Woman, you've got me bewitched."
"Do I, Joe?"
He smiled, but didn't answer, as if he'd already revealed too much. He glanced toward the house.
"Thank you for tonight. I'd better not sit out here necking with their mother if I want the boys on my side."
Sharon knew he was right, but didn't want him to go. She'd wanted to see him lose control and to test the extent of her power over him. But this wasn't the time or the place.
As she said goodnight and went into the house, Sharon felt so alive she was giddy, but tried to temper her emotions in front of the kids.
Both teenagers stared at her when she came in, and she wondered if her hair was mussed or her lipstick smeared. If she and Joe were going to date, she'd have to carry her comb and makeup with her.
Sharon wanted her parents to meet Joe as soon as possible. The school year was drawing to a close, and she didn't know what would happen then. She hadn't asked if he was still going to California. How would that affect their relationship?
At Sharon's suggestion, the four of them drove to Haden Lake the following Saturday. All she'd told her folks was that she was bringing a "friend." From the curious tone of her mother's voice, Sharon figured Bea had already guessed it was a man.
Bea and Harry greeted Joe as naturally as if they'd always known him. Later, when Bea got Sharon alone, she said, "Hubba, hubba, where did you find him?"
Sharon laughed at her mother's choice of words. "He's Luke's Math teacher and coach. It's been wonderful the way he's helped out since...since Tom's death." It was hard to say her husband's name, especially now that she was in love with someone else.
Bea patted her arm. "He seems like a good man, Sharon. Don't be afraid of your feelings for him."
Sharon hesitated, wondering how much she should confide. "I'm not afraid anymore, Mom, but I was horrified for awhile that I could care for anyone but Tom. I really hurt Joe."
"What do the boys think?"
She glanced out the window where Joe was throwing a football to Luke. "Luke's crazy about him, but David's a little more reserved. He's trying, though. I know it's hardest on him. So much was unresolved between him and his father."
Bea squeezed her shoulder. "When David realizes you have a right to be happy, he'll come around. Just don't rush things."
Sharon went out onto the porch, thinking about what her mother had said. Was she rushing things? Pushing them both into a commitment too soon? Joe lifted his hand and waved, and Sharon returned the gesture, smiling at him.
The rest of the visit was pure family time, including a game of badminton, then croquet. Joe fit in perfectly. Even David loosened up and seemed to be having a good time.
Joe asked Harry about fishing and that was all that was needed to win her father over completely. Poor Tom had hated fishing, but had endured it once a year to please his father-in-law. Joe was enthused about everything, as if every experience were brand new.
When Sharon noticed Joe and her father talking seriously under the big leafy oak tree, she wondered what they were saying.
"Look at those two," she said to her mother, "they're cooking up something."
"They sure hit it off, didn't they?"
"I hope so," Sharon said.
Bea looked at her with a sharp eye. "I think there's more to this than you're telling me."
Sharon pulled her legs up onto the swing and wrapped her arms around them. Her relationship with Joe was too fragile to talk about and analyze. She protected it with her silence.
"You'll be the first to know," she said to her mother with a secretive smile.
On the way back to Hollow Bend, David and Luke chattered in the back seat while Sharon was content to hold Joe's hand as his thumb made sensuous circles on her palm. It had been a full day, and she didn't need to talk to feel comfortable with him.
One more week of school, then what? Would the boys want to be uprooted and go to California if Joe asked her? Did she want to move? As strong as the bond between her and Joe was becoming, Sharon was still far from certain of the outcome.
That night, David asked if she'd go to Senior Sunrise with him. Sharon was surprised, knowing what an honor it was to be invited when most of the teenagers wouldn't dream of having their parents anywhere near the traditional campout.
"Why, I'd love to, David, if you really want me."
The junior class would camp along the Kootenai River the night of the seniors' graduation, then with the dawn, they would become the new seniors.
They began making plans and deciding what to take. Sharon found two sleeping bags in the attic that were still in fairly good condition. She was also excited because she knew Joe would be there as a faculty chaperon.
Sharon went in search of him after school on Monday, curious as to why he hadn't phoned the day before. When she found him, she stopped abruptly, wishing she could fade into the shadows, unnoticed.
Joe and Susan were standing close together in the hall, deep in conversation. Sharon's heart felt as if it had been trampled as she watched, unable to move.
Finally, she forced her legs into action, but not before Joe had seen her. As she turned her back on him, he lifted his hand to detain her.
"Sharon, wait," he called, but she walked faster, then practically ran to her car. Joe, however, was quicker. She'd already opened the door, but he slammed it shut. "What the hell's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. Get out of my way." Sharon realized she'd completely lost her cool, but she couldn't help it. She was nearly choking with jealousy and didn't know how to explain that to Joe. Besides, she was beginning to have more doubts.
Was he merely toying with her to pay her back for all the times she'd put up a wall between them?
"You're coming with me," Joe said, not waiting for her consent. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along to his car, then held the door open as they stared at one another in a defiant standoff.
Don't be stupid, she told herself. Don't throw everything away now. She got into the car.
Joe didn't say a word during the drive to his apartment. Sharon stole a glance at his profile every few seconds, but had no idea what he was thinking.
When he'd parked, he turned to her and said, "Come on up; we need to talk."
She followed him up the stairs, feeling miserable. Sharon couldn't believe how it had rocked her, seeing him with Susan. Didn't she trust him after all? If not, how would she convince him to trust her?
Sharon preceded Joe into the apartment and stood waiting. He stopped in front of her and asked, "Why did you run away from me?"
She raised her hand in a helpless gesture, realizing it would be impossible to explain, and too humiliating, but she tried. "I don't know what happened to me, but when I saw you with Susan..."
"If you'd waited, I would have told you what we were talking about."
Her need to know overcame her pride. "What
were
you talking about?" she asked in a small voice.
"You."
"Me?"
Joe nodded, then ran his fingers through his hair. "She wanted to know why I hadn't spent any time with her lately."
Sharon swallowed. "What did you tell her?"
His dark eyes seem to see all the way to her soul. "I said I couldn't, because she isn't you."
Sharon ran into his arms, pressing her cheek against his chest. "I'm sorry, Joe, for acting the way I did. Is she in love with you?"
He didn't say anything for a moment as Sharon held her breath. "I don't think so." He kissed the tip of her nose. "That has nothing to do with us. I won't play games with you, Sharon. We've already been through too much. That's the only way it will work between us."
At that moment, Sharon knew there was nothing she'd ever wanted more than for this relationship to work. She lifted her face to his and his mouth claimed hers.
The passion escalated between them as if it had been held dormant for too long. Through the haze of her desire, Sharon realized there was something he had to know.
When he lifted his head, she said, "You were never a substitute, Joe."
He froze as if she'd struck an open wound. From the anguish in his eyes, Sharon knew he was remembering that night and the following morning, when she'd asked him to leave.
"I mean it, Joe. When we made love, I thought of no one but you."
Joe blinked as his eyes grew moist, and Sharon regretted every time she'd failed to ease his hurt. She wouldn't fail him now. Reaching out, she took his hand and lead him into the bedroom.
Standing on her toes, Sharon kissed his jaw, then the corner of his mouth, as Joe watched with hooded eyes that were dark with desire. She raised her hands to his hair and caressed the coarse strands.
Still, Joe didn't move.
Slowly, Sharon began to undo his buttons, one by one. By the time she'd reached the third one, he lost control.
He pulled her tightly against him as he kissed her hair, then every part of her face. "You know what you do to me, don't you?"