“Is that so?”
“Yes, ma’am. I might not always be a gentleman, but I don’t take advantage of drunk women. Ever. Although, several times, you did extend an invitation.”
Inside, she winced. Oh, dear God. Had she really done that? If only the floor would open so she could sink through it. She closed her eyes. “I did not.”
“Would I lie? You did.”
She opened her eyes to see him looking at her across his shoulder, his brow arched.
“And where did you sleep?” she asked.
“Beside you. I’ve only got one bed. And my couch is way too short. I didn’t see any point in sacrificing a night’s sleep. You were passed out. You never knew I was there.”
This situation kept getting worse. She had to escape. She had eaten only half the food on her plate, but she rose on shaky knees. “I have to go.”
He closed the newspaper, folded it and dropped in on the table. “Did you want to say ’bye to Buster? I mean, that’s why you came out here, right?”
“Where is he?”
“In the backyard.”
“I’ll stop by and see him on my way out.” She looked around and spotted her purse in the living room on a glass-topped coffee table that looked to be made of a well-used wagon wheel. Last night, she hadn’t noticed it. She walked over, picked up the purse and hung it on her shoulder, then started for the back door. He followed her.
She stopped, turned around and looked up at him. “I feel like hell and I know I look like it, too. Why don’t you look as bad as I do?”
“I dunno. Probably because I stopped after three glasses.”
She gave him a squint-eyed glare. “And you let me drink too much?”
He planted his fists on his hips. “What, you think I forced you to drink a bottle and a half of wine? I tried to tell you we didn’t need to open that second bottle, but you insisted. I think you said something like, ‘I bought it, I brought it and I’m gonna to drink it.’” His brow arched, he stepped back and pointed his finger at her. “Another thing I don’t do is argue with drunk women.”
A picture of herself turning up a wine bottle came to her. Dear God. Drinking straight from the bottle. Will I ever live this down?
Her jaw clenched, her mouth pursed. Without a word, she opened the door and walked out onto the porch.
He followed. “Sandi, stop.”
She stopped, turned and looked up into his sky blue eyes and a serious expression on his ruggedly handsome face. “I’m yanking your chain. Seriously, you were so uptight. It seemed like you needed to let your hair down a little. I tried to be a friend and listen. Your virtue or your safety weren’t at risk.”
She hesitated a few seconds. His eyes were beautiful. And he had thick lashes, like a girl’s. Be a friend and listen? Oh, dear God. What secrets had she told him? “I was not uptight.”
“You were uptight.”
“You tried to listen? What did I say?”
He tilted his head and looked at her from beneath his brow.
“Okay. Don’t tell me then.”
She gave him her back and scanned her surroundings. The day was cloudy and dreary, but still too bright. She dug her sunglasses out of her purse and shoved them on. “Is it going to rain?”
She hoped so. Maybe she would drown. Or at the very least, maybe it would wash away this humiliation.
“Better than a fifty-fifty chance,” he said. “We need it. We had a dry summer.”
“Where’s Waffle?”
He led her to the fenced backyard where Waffle and Randy were play-wrestling. When Waffle saw her, he bounded to the fence. She opened the gate and stepped inside, sank to her knees. He put his front paws on her shoulders and gave her slobbery kisses. “Oh, Waffle, I miss you so much. I wish I could take you home with me.” She couldn’t hold back the tears that sneaked into her eyes. The sweet dog whined and let her hug him. She had read somewhere that dogs didn’t really like to be hugged, but Waffle had always been a hugger.
She soon gave up and started for her car, now sniffling. Nick followed her to her car door and opened it for her. Before she could slide in, he said, “I know you’re not feeling great right now and maybe this isn’t a good time to ask, but next weekend, I wonder if you’d do me a favor.”
“What?”
“I was hoping you might go with me down to Salt Lick. I want to apologize to your aunt and her partner. That might go a little smoother if you’re with me. If you’d go with me, I’d drive up here and pick you up.”
“Aren’t you going to be at work at the Flying C?”
“I’m going back down there later today.”
“It’s sixty-five miles from here. You’re going to drive up here from Salt Lick just to pick me up, then turn around and drive back down there, then turn around again and bring me back here? That’s two hundred miles of driving. That makes no sense.”
He shrugged. “I don’t care if it doesn’t make sense. It’s important to me. I don’t want those two women thinking I’m an asshole.”
She shook her head. Pain darted between her temples. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes for a few seconds.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked, his voice soft and filled with concern.
She drew a deep breath. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Look, I’ll let you know. My day off is usually Thursday. If I decide to do it, I’ll drive down there and meet you.”
She pulled on her door, but he held it and didn’t let her close it. “Sandi. I don’t want you
