“Okay. When we boarded the plane, I had a bad feeling.” He swallowed, his throat pale in the moonlight shining through the window. “Instead of bickering with Jack as usual, I stayed quiet. I was feeling pretty low about breaking up with you.”
“So was I,” she couldn’t help adding.
“I did it to keep you safe from him,” he said.
“What?” She raised up on her elbow. “You told me you did it to protect the band members’ livelihoods.”
“That was part of it, but you were the main reason.”
She lowered herself again and rested her palm on his chest, savoring the rise and fall of it and its steady heartbeat.
“Keep going with your story,” she urged. “What made the plane crash?”
“We hit a storm. There must have been a big air disturbance because the pilot completely lost control of the plane. Next thing I knew, we were nosediving toward the treetops.”
Her heart lurched, and she felt the jolt all the way to her fingertips. “My God, Rodney. W-what was your last thought? Do you remember?”
“Yes,” he said, squeezing her fingertips as they lay on his chest. “You.”
A tear leaked out of her eye. If the shoe had been on the other foot, she would have thought of him, too. But tender feelings didn’t create a solid relationship or pay the bills. They were just feelings.
She kissed his hand and turned her back to him. “Let’s get some sleep.”
At least she’d finally gotten the closure she needed. It was time to make a decision about her future, the hardest one she’d ever made in her life.
Chapter Twenty-one
Before the spotlights went up at a white supremacist rally, Jack cleared his throat, but he knew it wouldn’t do much good. His voice had turned into total shit, and he couldn’t fix it. Lately, he’d told the band to play more forcefully. The hard-driving style fit his rough chords better than Rodney’s lyrical ballads.
Some fans even liked the change, especially the hate groups. Some didn’t. Tonight, they played in Savannah, Georgia. Being close to home and their old stomping grounds should give him confidence. It didn’t. The audience seemed to be filled with a thousand clones of his critical father.
You’ll never be any good, he imagined them saying.
Get off that stage, you fake. You’ll never sound as good as your brother.
The lights came up. He ground what was left of his voice into the song. Halfway through, it cracked. He swallowed, ignoring the pain, and went on. Until it cracked again and nothing else came out.
“Boo!” the crowd shouted. “Go home! Rest your voice!”
Those comments he could handle.
“Phony! Breeze is over!”
Now, those sent a trail of cold sweat dripping down his ass crack.
“I’m sorry,” he half-whispered into the microphone. “I have a cold. You’ll get your money back for the show.”
The band played a bit of a finale then began packing up the instruments. He threw a few pieces around to take out his frustrations. What a total waste. Fine. He’d rest his voice and hope to hell it would recover.
* * *
The croak of a great blue heron woke Rodney up at dawn. When he felt a soft, warm body beside him, he hoped he hadn’t given in with Karen. Then he remembered the evening with Dee. She felt so perfect in his arms it nearly stopped his heart.
Her eyes opened, widening to dinner plates. She even gasped. Did he really look that bad in the morning?
“You act like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I thought I had.” Her shoulders deflated with a huge breath. “Oh, Rodney. For a minute, I thought you were still dead.”
He held her closer. “I’m very much alive.”
“You certainly are.” Desire softened her features as she wriggled away from the erection straining his briefs. “What is that?”
“A cypress knee,” he joked.
“All the way in here? And what happened to your jeans, Southern man?”
“I got hot during the night and had to take them off.” Even if they’d been in Alaska, sleeping with her would have still overheated him.
Change your mind. Make love to me.
She lay on her back, staring out at the water. “This must be the most relaxing morning I’ve ever had.”
“Yeah, the swamp kind of sucks you in and doesn’t let go.”
“Waking up with you again…” She rested her hand on his chest again. “It must be a dream.”
“If it is, I’m going to make sure it’s one you never forget.”
“Rodney, we can’t.”
“Don’t think right now, Dee.” He gripped her hand, harder than he intended. “For once, don’t analyze and don’t plan for the future. Just love me.”
Her eyes were hazy with desire and indecision. Without giving her time to think, he tipped her chin up with his finger and kissed her. Deep and thorough, he reclaimed her mouth with his tongue. The picture of her doing the same thing to the slick politician raced through his head, driving him to wipe the other man out of her mind.
She wove her fingers in his hair, sliding her sweet curves on top of him. He held her close while jerking down the elastic waistbands of her shorts and panties with one hand. The scent of her arousal filling the air made him groan.
Mine. If she married somebody else, he would wish he really had died in that plane crash.
He yanked down his own briefs, ripping them in the process. He could hardly afford to ruin what few clothes he had, but all he cared about was getting inside Dee. Then, the world would be right again.
“If you want me to stop, tell me no,” he gritted out.
But please don’t say it. God, baby, please don’t say it. I need you so much.
Dee gasped for breath while Rodney’s erection brushed her thigh.
You have to stop him. You’re in a relationship. Considering a marriage proposal.
Ted’s sad face flashed through her mind, but what she felt for the man with her was a lot stronger than pity. She stroked
