And when finally he rolled on a condom and pushed deep inside her, her joy was so complete she thought she might levitate. She came again—
again
—and he followed quickly afterward with a hoarse cry of ecstasy. He deserved that ecstasy, she thought as she held him tight. He also deserved a woman who wouldn’t bolt once the weekend was over. Too bad that wasn’t her.
Chapter 11
Dorcas and Ambrose finished up a late lunch at the Hob Knob and stepped out into the sunshine.
Ambrose put on his leather motorcycle jacket but left it unzipped. ‘‘I might have to invest in denim for the summer.’’
‘‘How about investing in a real motorcycle for the summer?’’ Dorcas had given this some thought and had decided she would be fine on the back of a Harley. It was tootling around on the back of a red scooter with a top speed of forty-five that set her teeth on edge, especially when Ambrose insisted on dressing like a big bad biker dude.
‘‘I like the scooter,’’ Ambrose said. ‘‘It’s all we need for getting around Big Knob. A motorcycle would be overkill.’’
Dorcas rolled her eyes. She’d always assumed that every man secretly lusted after a Harley. She, however, had to marry the one guy in America who thought scooters were perfectly adequate. It was so terribly European of him. In Europe his scooter might have been cool, but in the great U.S. of A., it was not. Riding on the back of it, Dorcas felt like a dweeb.
She’d continue her campaign for a Harley and hope Ambrose would finally give in. If not, she might have to figure out a spell that would make the scooter look like a Harley. It would still only go forty-five miles an hour, but at least it would look stylin’ on the streets of Big Knob.
‘‘As long as we’re in town,’’ Ambrose said, ‘‘I’d like to check for messages on MySpace. It’s so nice out, let’s leave the scooter where it is and walk over.’’
‘‘We can do that.’’ Dorcas didn’t even bother putting on her jacket, deciding to carry it over her arm instead. She fell into step beside Ambrose. ‘‘Maybe we can get an update on how Jeremy and Annie are getting along.’’
‘‘Whatever you do, don’t let on that you heard them last night.’’
‘‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’’ But if Annie happened to be around, Dorcas wasn’t above dropping a couple of comments about seeing something unusual in the lake. Good sex might make Annie happy, but it wouldn’t guarantee that she’d stick around in the same way a good scoop might.
‘‘I also think we need to invite Isadora to dinner,’’ Ambrose said.
‘‘Isabel,’’ Dorcas said in a low voice. ‘‘You can never tell who might be listening.’’
‘‘Isabel, then. But we need to talk to her and find out if she’s thought of a solution to the Dee-Dee problem. I wonder if Isador—uh, I mean,
Isabel
has any pull with the Wizard Council.’’
‘‘I wouldn’t count on it,’’ Dorcas said. ‘‘I think she’s a renegade.’’
Ambrose glanced over at the bronze statue on the square. ‘‘She doesn’t look like it in that pose.’’
‘‘I keep telling you, she doesn’t look anything like that statue, except for her face. She’s also a lot taller than that. Think Nicole Kidman with very short hair.’’
‘‘That’s why I want to have her over, so I can evaluate whether she’s going to be a help or a hindrance,’’ Ambrose said. ‘‘Did you mention anything about George?’’
‘‘His name came up, if that’s what you mean.’’
‘‘Did you ask her not to go out there?’’
Dorcas had a moment of uneasiness. ‘‘No.’’ And now she wished she had. A party girl like Isadora and a screwup like George would be a bad combination. Dorcas could easily see Isadora wanting to sit in on the poker games with the raccoons.
‘‘If you invite her to dinner tonight, we can outline our program with George and ask her not to interfere. ’’
‘‘I can’t invite her over tonight,’’ Dorcas said. ‘‘There’s Melody’s bachelorette party. I didn’t think they’d want me to come because we’re so new in town, but they do and I said I would.’’
‘‘I completely forgot about that. I’m supposed to drop in at Bruce’s bachelor party, too. They’ve reserved the Big Knobian for it.’’
‘‘You mean it’ll be closed to everyone else?’’
Ambrose nodded. ‘‘It’s just for one night, though.’’
‘‘Yes, but that leaves Isabel with nowhere to go tonight. I can’t picture her staying home watching TV with Abe, and she just arrived, so she wouldn’t be invited to the bachelorette party.’’ The more Dorcas thought about that, the more she worried. ‘‘No telling what she could get into while everyone else is busy with the two parties.’’
‘‘You mean she might decide to pay George a visit.’’
‘‘Right. If I thought she’d spend the night talking to Dee-Dee, I wouldn’t be concerned. But I can’t see Dee-Dee holding her interest that long.’’
‘‘George would,’’ Ambrose said.
‘‘Oh, yeah.’’
‘‘I think you’d better find out if you can bring a guest to the bachelorette party.’’
Dorcas nodded. ‘‘I think so, too, although that does put her geographically closer to George. I’ll just have to keep an eye on her.’’ As they reached the intersection of Fifth and Second, she glanced across the street to the building that housed Click-or-Treat and saw a woman out front. She wore a spring suit of pale green and her gray hair was cut in a simple bob.
Dorcas looked over at Ambrose. ‘‘Isn’t that Lucy Dunstan, Jeremy’s mom, standing outside the café?’’
‘‘I think so. I don’t know her all that well.’’
Dorcas automatically checked for traffic before crossing the street. It was a habit from when they’d lived in Sedona and there actually
was
traffic. As she and Ambrose drew closer, she could tell that the person with her hands cupped around her face as she peered into the café was Lucy.
Lucy was only about five-two, but she had the commanding presence of someone much taller. Physically Jeremy had taken after his father, principal of Big Knob’s K-12 school. At six-three, Franklin P. Dunstan towered over his wife, but Dorcas had never doubted that Lucy held her own in that relationship.
Dorcas wasn’t surprised to see Lucy at Click-or-Treat. She was president of the Big Knob Historical Society, which had recently bought the house next to the café and planned to use it as a museum. According to town legend, the house was built on the same site as the homestead owned by Isadora and Ebenezer. Isadora had, of course, burned the original house to the ground, although no one except Dorcas and now Ambrose knew that.
Having the historical society headquartered in that historical location obviously thrilled Lucy. Then there was the added benefit of being close to her son’s apartment and place of business. She could pop over and see him whenever she wanted to. Except this afternoon, judging from the way she was banging on the door and peering inside, the program didn’t seem to be working for her.
‘‘Hi, Lucy,’’ Dorcas called out. ‘‘Anything wrong?’’
‘‘I hope not.’’ Lucy rattled the door a few times. ‘‘Jeremy never closes the café this time of day. His Suzuki’s parked around back, so he hasn’t gone far.’’
‘‘Maybe he’s on some kind of errand for the wedding. ’’ Dorcas had a hunch something more intimate was going on, especially after glancing up to the second floor and noticing the blinds down, but she wasn’t going to suggest that to Lucy.
‘‘That’s just it,’’ Lucy said. ‘‘Bruce called me because he was trying to reach Jeremy—something about the bachelor party tonight. He’s not at the Big Knobian, and Sean has no idea where he might be, either. I’ve tried a few other places, but I can’t find him.’’
Dorcas’s theory gained momentum. If Jeremy was upstairs with Annie, then the last thing he needed was his mother interrupting. ‘‘Did you try his cell?’’
‘‘Yes, and he’s turned it off. That is so not like him.’’ Lucy faced them, her forehead creased with worry. ‘‘I just need to know he’s okay. I realize he’s young and healthy, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have fallen on the stairs and knocked himself out. I can’t be sure, but I think I heard someone groaning.’’
Dorcas bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. The groaning clinched it. Jeremy and Annie were upstairs having an afternoon delight. His mother, who couldn’t imagine her son involved in such a thing, thought he might be dying.
Glancing at her husband, Dorcas could tell that he’d come to the same conclusion about the encounter going on upstairs. But of course they’d be able to figure it out. They had prior knowledge of the relationship developing between Jeremy and Annie. Apparently the gossip hadn’t reached Lucy yet.
Time to remedy that. Dorcas turned to Ambrose. ‘‘Will you excuse us a minute? We have some girl talk to take care of.’’
‘‘Sure thing.’’ Ambrose wandered down the street and stood in front of the old clapboard house that now belonged to the historical society. He pretended great interest in the plaque next to the front door.
Dorcas gazed at Lucy. ‘‘I’m sure your son’s fine,’’ she said. Then she proceeded to give Lucy a G-rated version of Jeremy’s recent activities.
Jeremy had vaguely heard someone banging on the door downstairs, but a guy in the middle of a much-needed climax could be forgiven for ignoring it. Bracing himself above Annie, he gazed into her flushed face and felt a rush of gratitude. There was another emotion coming in the wake of that gratitude, but he wasn’t ready to acknowledge it yet. He might never acknowledge it, because once he did, his life would never be the same.
Annie’s chest heaved as she struggled for breath. He was gasping, too, but so happy. So very, very happy. This woman made him feel like a stud, and he would always cherish that.
She sighed, and it was a wonderful sound. ‘‘That was fantastic. I can’t even tell you how fantastic.’’
‘‘I’m glad.’’ He could look at her forever. ‘‘It was great for me, too.’’
‘‘I could tell.’’ She smiled. ‘‘You groaned really loud.’’ She reached up and brushed the hair back from his forehead. ‘‘Someone’s banging on the door downstairs.’’
‘‘I know. I’m trying to ignore it.’’
She started to laugh, which gave him all sorts of interesting sensations where he was still buried deep within her. He leaned down and nuzzled her ear, nipping at the lobe and the pearl earring decorating it. ‘‘What’s so funny?’’
‘‘You’ve lived in this town all your life, and you think you can ignore someone pounding at the door of your business. Even I, who have been away for several years, know you can’t do that. Is your truck parked in back?’’
‘‘Yes.’’ He hadn’t thought about his truck. Then again, he hadn’t thought about much of anything except shutting down the café and getting Annie upstairs and out of her clothes.
‘‘You’d better check and see who’s trying to get in.’’ She wiggled against him and kneaded his butt.
‘‘I like it right here.’’
‘‘I understand that, but you have responsibilities to your customers.’’ She pinched him gently. ‘‘I don’t want to be responsible for you going belly-up.’’
‘‘If I do, can we try it with you on top?’’
She was still laughing, but she gave him a harder pinch. ‘‘Go. Find out who wants you. Besides me.’’
He loved hearing her talk like that. She might be stroking his ego. She would probably still leave on Sunday. But for now, at this very minute, she wanted him. That was something.
Reluctantly he eased off the bed, detoured to the bathroom to take care of the condom, and walked back to the window. By lifting one of the wooden slats, he could see down to the street below. There stood his mother. Even worse, she was talking to Dorcas Lowell. He didn’t have to think very hard to know what they were discussing.
Just then his mother glanced up at the window and waved. He allowed himself one pithy swear word and let go of the slat.
‘‘Must not be good news,’’ Annie said. ‘‘Who’s out there?’’
‘‘My worst nightmare.’’
‘‘What do you mean?’’
Jeremy searched for the clothes he’d tossed on the floor with such joyful abandon not long ago. ‘‘The person who was banging on the door is my mother.’’
‘‘Oh.’’ Annie swung her feet over the edge of the bed. ‘‘Then maybe I’d better stay up here until she leaves. You could make up some story about needing to take a nap, or—’’
‘‘Not gonna fly. Dorcas Lowell is down there, too, and they’re having a cozy conversation.’’
‘‘So what?’’
Jeremy pulled his shirt over his head and tucked it into his jeans. ‘‘The thing I didn’t tell you about Dorcas and Ambrose is that they run a sort of matchmaking business in town.’’
‘‘Matchmaking? That sounds so old-fashioned.’’
‘‘I know it’s weird, and there aren’t that many matches to make in a place this size, so they do marriage counseling, too.’’
‘‘Have they actually made any matches here?’’
‘‘Just one that I know of. Sean and Maggie.’’ He glanced at her and his heart nearly stopped at how beautiful she looked sitting there naked on his bed. But she wasn’t smiling.
‘‘I’m beginning to put this together. They give you wine and teach you magic, both of which have a positive effect on me. Are they trying to match us up?’’
‘‘No!’’ At least Jeremy didn’t think so. He wasn’t positive that they weren’t working some undercover operation even though he’d told them he didn’t want their services. After all, he had taken the wine and a little advice.
‘‘Are you sure?’’
Jeremy sighed. This could become such a disaster. ‘‘They know I’m interested in you, but I told them I didn’t want any matchmaking.’’
‘‘Just some magic and a bottle of wine.’’
He didn’t like the wary look in her eyes, and didn’t think he deserved it, either. ‘‘Look, I told you straight out I wanted you. I was willing to take any help I could get along those lines. But that’s not the same as matchmaking. Matchmaking is where you try to get two people to the altar, and that’s not my goal.’’