“Yes,” Charlene added, “they left fast after that.”
“Does Dwayne know?”
Marla shook her head. “No. I was afraid of what he might do.” The thought of those two people ever having access to Amber was too terrible to imagine. What must Dwayne be going through?
“Lordy, sis, he might find out. Isn’t it better if you tell him? You can’t keep something like this to yourself.”
“I know. I’ll tell him. I will, but I don’t want him to go after them. What good would that do him or Amber? I’ll tell him. I promise.”
Rosie patted her arm. “I’m sure you’ll know when the timing is right.”
“First I need to talk to him about going to the ranch. I saw hurt in his eyes when I hesitated. It’s…he surprised me when he asked. Instead of saying I had to think about it and make a plan, I said I couldn’t possibly be gone that long.”
Charlene shook her head. “Just call him. Men aren’t like us. They get over things faster. He probably shrugged it off.”
“I would like to go. I just wasn’t prepared to answer when he sprang it on me.”
“She’s right,” Rosie said, nodding in Charlene’s direction. “Tell him you’re looking forward to going, and then mention the incident with Francine and her husband like it was no big deal. If he thinks they scared you, he’ll have blood in his eyes.”
About eleven that night, Marla picked up the phone and called Dwayne.
He answered on the second ring. “Hey, Danaher.”
“Hey, Dempsey.” When she didn’t answer him immediately, he said, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, except my willpower failed. That’s why I called.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad you did. My willpower lasted about three minutes longer than yours, honey.”
How she loved the sound of his voice. “Heck. You mean if I’d lasted another three minutes I could have saved my dignity?”
“That’s about the size of it. But I won’t hold it against you or take advantage. I promise.”
“Since my dignity’s already shot…do you want to come over?”
“I’m on my way.” The line went dead.
When he got to her place, she stood on the porch waiting for him. His woman. The swelling sensation in his chest gave him a sense of lightness.
Marla met him halfway down the walk. They stopped a few feet apart and stared at each other for a split second. She opened her arms and sighed deeply. “Hello, my love.”
Body and mind on fire, he gathered her in his arms. “Hello, my love.”
She tilted her head for his kiss. He was eager for her to feel all the emotion he experienced every time their lips met. The kiss consumed them. He crushed her against him then eased up, afraid he might hurt her. “I want you every minute of every day.”
“That’s good.” She stepped back. “Can we take a walk?”
“Something on your mind?”
“Always, but it’s such a balmy evening, and the only sound is the whippoorwill across the road, I thought we could enjoy it a while before we go inside.”
His arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist, they strolled down the quiet street. Having her beside him filled him with a quiet comfort he hadn’t known was missing. He made a small, involuntary sound.
“Is your leg hurting?” She stopped and studied his face in the moonlight.
“Yeah, it’s been giving me fits all day.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” She tugged his hand. “Let’s go back.” When he resisted, she smiled. “Come on, big guy. Don’t be a hero on my account.”
Grinning, he pulled her into his arms. “I want to be your hero.”
“You are.”
Back inside the house, she led him to the bedroom. “Sit on the bed. I’ll help you undress. It’s my current favorite thing.”
“Happy to oblige.” He groaned with relief from the pressure of the prosthesis. “I gotta get this damn thing adjusted. It’s been bothering me lately.”
Marla knelt and removed his shoe. He lifted his leg clear of his jeans. Grinning, she pulled off his sock and bit his big toe. He yanked back. “Hey, that’s my good one.”
She stood and pulled his T-shirt over his head. “Get that contraption off and I’ll find something to rub on it. I’m not your regular nurse, but I can improvise.”
“Plain old Vaseline will do the trick when all else fails.”
He removed the equipment and reclined against the pillows. “Got any Tylenol or Advil, honey?”
“Coming right up.” She returned to the bed with a glass of water and two green capsules. “Hope this helps.”
“If you took off your clothes it’d be a great distraction.” He winked and swallowed the pills then set the empty glass on the nightstand. She lowered the zipper on her only item of clothing, a long robe. He’d never get enough of the sight of her standing before him without a stitch.
He nodded at his growing tumescence. “See, it’s working already.” He crooked his finger. “Come here.”
She held up the tube of petroleum jelly. “Let me take care of your owie first. You’ll be more useful to me if you’re not thinking about it.”
He reached for the tube. “I’ll do it.”
Pulling it out of his reach, she shook her head and said, “I want to.” She sat on the side of the bed and lifted his blown-up leg to her lap and gently massaged his inflamed stump.
Dwayne sighed and lay back. “That feels good, honey.”
“Let me know when you’ve had enough. I just got an idea of another place where I might apply this stuff to make you feel even better.”
He sat up and dragged her across his body. “I’ve had enough.” For a woman who’d apparently come late to the game, she made up for lost time, surprising and thrilling him with the depths of her abandonment. “How’d I get so lucky, Danaher?”
She rolled over in his arms and pushed herself to a sitting position, straddling him. “Funny, Dempsey, I was just wondering the same thing.” She picked up the tube and put a devilish twist on her lips.
At the
