Page 36 of Blame It On Midnight

She had no words inside her, but nodded and hoped he couldn’t hear how hard her heart was working, banging against her ribcage like a hammer.

“I have a daughter, and she means the world to me. I put her first in everything. But her mother and I are having some issues, and it could get ugly. I think that timing-wise, this, us, isn’t good. It’s probably the worst time for me to be with someone.” His eyes never wavered. “But this thing we feel is different, and I want to see where it goes even though it might get messy with all the other stuff in my life.”

“Okay,” she said softly. “I’m in.”

Benton leaned down and kissed her. It was soft and sweet and the barest of touches, yet she felt it down to her toes.

“You’re working tonight?”

She nodded.

“Get some shut-eye and I’ll call you tomorrow. There’s a church picnic in town, Saturday. I’m taking Nora. Maybe you’d like to join us.”

Again, she nodded but said nothing because all the words inside her had disappeared.

He grabbed his T-shirt, pulled it on, and with one last look her way, left.

Collins waited until she was sure he’d cleared the stairs, then turned over and screamed into the pillow. She kicked her feet, wiggled her body, and eventually turned onto her side and snuggled back under the covers. She grabbed the pillow and closed her eyes, then fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Chapter Twelve

Dallas was waiting for him.

Benton quietly let himself out of the house and jogged over to his buddy’s truck. He hopped inside, and the two men headed for the Triple B. Dallas didn’t say a word, which Benton expected. The man wasn’t one for idle chat or gossip. He was pretty sure the guy was curious about the details after picking up his pal from an overnight stay with a woman he barely knew, but he wouldn’t push. Which was a good thing because Benton didn’t feel like talking yet.

With the radio on low, he finally relaxed and stared out the window as the first rays of sunlight lit up the horizon. It would be a hot one today. He could hook up the sprinkler and let Nora run through it. Or maybe take her out to the fishing hole. Pack a lunch and let her bring the bunny along. Then he remembered that his sister wasn’t bringing Nora back until the evening. Probably for the best, he thought, considering he was dog-ass tired.

He sank back into the seat and closed his eyes. He hadn’t slept a wink. Hard to, considering he was belly up to the sweetest butt he’d ever seen, while trying to maintain some kind of composure. He’d listened to her breathing, felt the rise and fall of her body, and tried to keep his shit together when she burrowed deeper into him. He’d been like a soldier, standing at the ready the entire time he was in her bed. He hadn’t been that worked up over a situation since he’d been a sixteen-year-old boy and taken one of the Mason girls up to the Founder’s Cabin. They’d gotten naked as soon as they’d gone inside, but she got cold feet, and he wasn’t pushing it. He’d been raised right. They spent the night together, huddled under the covers in an old, moth eaten bed, and it had damn near killed him.

Whatever happened to Katie Mason?

Benton was half asleep when Dallas pulled up to his place. By now, dawn had broken wide open, and the shadows were mostly gone. He unbuckled his seatbelt and glanced at his friend.

“Thanks for the lift.”

Dallas turned to him, mouth curved into a half smile. “So you two…”

“Nope.”

Dallas couldn’t hide his surprise. “Huh.”

“I invited her to the church picnic on Saturday.”

Dallas’ eyes widened. He opened his mouth. Then shut it. Then frowned and shook his head. “You spend the night with her. But you don’t sleep with her.”

“Right.”

“Then you invite her to a church picnic.”

“Glad to see you’re following along.”

“Which means you’ll be introducing her to your daughter.”

“Let’s not make too much out of it. She’s just a friend. No big deal.”

“If you don’t think that’s a big deal, you’re living on another planet.” Dallas narrowed his eyes. “She’s the kind of friend the rest of Big Bend and Daisy Mae will notice.”

This was starting to sound like a bad idea.

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