Page 74 of Spilling the Tea

“I’m doing fine, dear. What about you?”

“I’m doing alright.” She was tempted to tell her about the phone call she’d gotten from Sharon Newberry but decided she would wait to do so when she saw Ms. Felicia Laverne again. To tell anyone else about it today would be too draining.

“I got some good news for you.”

Zoey pulled up in bed. “What is it?”

“That cabin I told you about. The owner permitted you to stay there over the summer.”

She smiled. “That’s great.”

“And he’s not charging you anything to do so. He and his family are going away for the summer and appreciate the cabin being occupied.”

“That’s very generous of him. It’s a nice cabin. I had dinner with Chance, and afterward, we went riding and he took me there. He got the owner’s permission to look inside.”

“How did it go? Did being there spark any of your memory?”

“Not inside the cabin, but when I first saw the lake, I got a quick memory flash of my parents and me having a picnic by the lake. Just like in one of my dreams, so you were correct. That was the lake.”

“Glad to hear it. I’m leaving tomorrow to return home to Whispering Pines. Will you join me for lunch on Thursday?”

“I’d love to. How soon can I move into the cabin?” Zoey asked.

“As soon as you’d like. The security code is 5109. Let me know if you need help moving from the hotel, and I’ll get one of my great-grandsons to help.”

“I don’t need any help, and I appreciate everything you’ve done,” she said, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.

“You don’t have to thank me, and I look forward to seeing you Thursday. I will text you the address. Whispering Pines is like a fortress, so I’ll let my son Jake know I’m expecting you.”

She took a deep breath after she and Ms. Felicia Laverne said their goodbyes. Her day might not have started well, but it definitely was ending better.

***

Before popping open the can of beer, Chance leaned against the refrigerator. Zoey’s scent was still there; he figured it would be for a while. Moving over to the table, he sat down in the chair. Instead of taking a sip, he took a huge gulp. He needed it.

He neededher.

That kiss should not have happened. But it had, and the memory would live amid his brain cells for a while. He took another gulp of beer, putting that theory to work when he thought of how she’d tasted. Sensuously delicious. He could have stood there and sucked on her tongue until the cows came home. The more he would have done so, the more he would have craved her, hungered for and desired her.

A heated rush of need was pushing through all parts of him in a way that even this cold beer couldn’t abate. He wondered how the rest of her would taste if her mouth tasted that good. He would love to find out.

Taking another gulp, he thought about their conversation about the kiss. Their logic. Their decision for it not to happen again. He shook his head, thinking,good luck with that one. He was convinced it would happen again. It had taken all the self-control he possessed not to kiss her good night when he had walked her to her hotel room.

He then remembered his conversation with his great-­grandmother that morning. She had made it clear she didn’t think that he, nor any other single Madaris, not to mention those Bannister brothers were who Zoey needed. At the time,he agreed with Mama Laverne’s way of thinking. But that was before he kissed Zoey. Tasted her.

Before she’d wet his shirt with her tears.

He finished off the last of his beer and checked his watch. Starting tomorrow, he and his men would move the herd to a pasture on Whispering Pines; a process that usually took three to four days to complete. That meant he needed to go to bed earlier than usual. He stood and, after disposing of his beer can, moved toward the stairs, thinking there was a good chance Zoey Pritchard would find her way into his dreams that night.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Thanks for inviting me to lunch, Ms. Felicia Laverne.”

“I’m glad you came, Zoey.”

“Jake and Diamond are a striking couple, and their kids, Granite and Amethyst, are so nice. It was kind of Diamond to invite me to stay for dinner.”

“I’m glad you accepted her invitation. Have you gotten settled in the cabin?”

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