“Waiting for you.”
“But I didn’t… I’m not usually…” She glared at him. “How did you know?”
“Calculated guess. Besides, I’ve heard you tossing and turning for the past week. I figured sooner or later you’d have to get back into your routine and work off your frustrations.”
“Frustrations?” she said weakly.
He chuckled. “You know about frustration, Annie. It’s what happens when a person tries to deny their feelings, especially their sexual feelings.”
She could feel heat flooding her cheeks. “I am not denying my feelings.”
“Then why can’t you sleep?”
“I… I have a lot on my mind.”
“Me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. Now leave me alone. I’m going running.”
“Warm up first,” he warned.
She had absolutely no intention of doing warm-ups in front of Hank Riley while he ogled her. She took off across the yard, running. Hank trotted after her. She increased her pace. With a barely perceptible output of effort, Hank kept in step.
This was not reducing her stress. This was driving her crazy.
“Hank, why are you doing this?” she asked plaintively.
“Doing what?”
“Pestering me.”
“Is that what I’m doing? I thought I was keeping you company.”
“I don’t want company.”
“You will when your muscles knot up because you didn’t warm up.”
“My muscles will be just fine,” she said. But with a perversity she should have expected, her calf tensed painfully. She winced and tried to run through the pain. It got worse, until she was finally forced to slow down. Naturally Hank was gloating.
“Give me your leg.”
“There is nothing wrong with my leg.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sakes, woman, sit down and let me massage your leg.”
It hurt too badly to refuse. She limped over to a tree stump and sat down. Hank knelt in front of her. But the minute his strong fingers curved around her calf, every other muscle in her body tensed.
“Relax, Annie. This is not a seduction.”
The reassurance was not convincing. It felt like a seduction. Only the setting seemed incongruous. With sure strokes, Hank continued to knead her leg. The muscle finally loosened. The pain eased.
“I’m okay now,” she said shakily.
“As long as I’m down here, there’s something I want to ask you.”
She regarded him warily. “What?”
“Marry me, Annie.”
Every muscle froze again. Hank unconsciously began massaging. “Well?” he said.
Her throat was so dry she couldn’t squeak out a single word. Nervously she licked her lips. “That sounds more like an order than a question,” she evaded.
His lips twitched. “Okay. I’ll try again. Will you marry me?”
“Why?”
His fingers were sliding up and down her leg, creating more of that unbearable tension that curled low in her abdomen. “Because I love you.”
The words hovered between them, the most powerful temptation on the face of the earth, next to the effect of his touch.
“Hank, face it,” she said, trying desperately to cling to rational thought when she was oh-so-tempted to throw herself straight into his arms. “You and I would drive each other crazy inside of a month.”
“Probably less,” he concurred. “That doesn’t mean it’s not worth a try.”
“A try? That’s your idea of marriage?”
“Annie, I am not good with words. You know what I mean. What we have is special. It’s something I never experienced growing up. I never had a father. I had a mother who didn’t know the meaning of love. Now that I finally understand what it is, I don’t want to let it slip away.”
“Hank, you don’t understand anything about love. What you’re feeling is the challenge, the excitement of the chase. Once you’ve conquered all my reservations, once you’ve gotten me in front of a preacher to say all those pretty words about love and honor, it would lose its excitement. You’d be bored.”
“In this household I’d have to be dead to be bored. There hasn’t been a dull moment since the day I moved in.”
He sounded so convincing. The look in his eyes practically scorched her with its intensity. But she knew better. He’d only been there a couple of months. The novelty hadn’t worn off yet. But it would and she would not put them both through the torment of a divorce when that happened.
“No, Hank. And if you bring it up again, I’ll send you packing.”
If he was disappointed, he didn’t show it. He simply held out his hand and helped her to her feet. “Let’s go, Annie.”
She was suddenly feeling oddly let down. Finishing the run would fix that, she told herself briskly, and began jogging.
“Annie?” Hank said beside her. She glanced over at him. “You can’t possibly run fast enough to get away from me.”
There was a deliberate taunt in his voice when he said it, but it was the glint of determination in his eyes that set her blood on fire.
Whispers. Ann had never before noticed so much whispering going on around the house. Usually she felt like wearing earmuffs to shut out the yelling. Now, though, every time she walked into a room she was greeted by sudden silence and guilty looks. They were in cahoots all right, but why? If her birthday hadn’t been months away, she’d have thought they were planning a surprise party.
Whatever was going on, Hank didn’t seem to be in on it. She’d noticed that the kids were being just as secretive around him. It was beginning to get on her nerves, which were already shaky enough thanks to Hank’s lingering looks and deliberately casual touches. She continued to try to avoid him, but that wasn’t working one bit better than solving the mystery of the children’s behavior.
She was sitting with him in the kitchen late one night, unable to think of a thing to say to combat the increasingly tense silence, when she finally said in desperation, “Have you noticed that the kids are being a little weird these days?”
“Weird?” He shook his head. “How?”
“Quiet. Secretive. What do you suppose they’re up to?”
“Maybe they’re planning an overthrow of the household leadership,” he joked.
She scowled impatiently. “Very funny. I’m trying to be serious
