Page 6 of Sexual Healing

“How would you like to go for a swim in the lake after work?” Reese asked Leah as they locked up the café.

She looked up at him. “What about dinner?”

He grinned. “I’ve got that covered. I’ll throw a couple of steaks on the grill.”

She nodded. “And I can make a salad.”

“Sounds good.” They had reached her car. “Drive carefully and I’ll see you at our place in an hour.” Although she was still living in her parents’ home, whenever he mentioned his house, he referred to it as theirs. To him, itwastheirs.

“I will.”

“And bring your bathing suit,” he said.

“Alright.”

He stood there and watched her drive away. It was only then that he went over to his truck, pausing before opening the door when his cell phone rang. From the ringtone, he knew it was his mother. “Yes, Ma?”

“I want to invite you to dinner. Danny, Rita, and Lil Danny are here, and I thought it would be nice if the five of us enjoyed a meal together.”

From the way she’d placed emphasis on the wordfive, he knew that Leah was not invited. He tried not to let it bother him. Deep down, his mother was a good person–loving and kind-hearted. She was also fiercely loyal and protective of her sons.

“Thanks for the invite, Mom, but I’ve made other plans.”

He had a feeling she wasn’t happy with his response because she knew his “other plans” included Leah. Then she said, “I’d like to see you, Reese.”

“Okay. I can drop by now.”

“No, tomorrow evening will be fine. I love you.”

“And I love you, too, Ma.”

•••

As Reese watched Leah dive into the lake, he knew he only had himself to blame for asking her to bring her bathing suit. He hadn’t forgotten how gorgeous she looked in one; he just hadn’t expected seeing her in it would rev up his testosterone to such a degree.

After making a pit stop at the grocery store to grab a sack of potatoes and a few ears of corn, he headed home. By the time Leah had arrived with the salad, he had the meat, potatoes and corn on the grill. While waiting for the food to cook, they sat in lawn chairs by the lake, sipping their beer.

She told him that Jocelyn had gotten adjusted to the fast pace of Charlotte and was pondering over an offer Cameron Cody had made to her. A friend of the Steeles, the man was a self-made millionaire who had a knack for investing in profitable ventures. His latest was construction, which was the reason he’d been able to make Jocelyn such a good offer for their father’s construction company.

According to Leah, Cody wanted to start a new construction company in Charlotte and had offered Jocelyn the position of general manager. Presently, Jocelyn was teaching at the local college, but wasn’t loving it. Cameron’s job offer seemed to have come at the perfect time for Jocelyn.

He couldn’t help but agree with her. Jocelyn loved construction work and would be good at any position. She knew it all.

Deciding to dive in the lake with her, he pulled his t-shirt over his head and removed his shorts. So, she wouldn’t be surprised, he called out, “Ready or not, here I come,” as he raced toward the lake.

•••

Leah wished things could be different as she watched Reese dive into the lake. He’d done so with such agility and graceful ease, and he had a body any woman would drool over. Even with all her inhibitions regarding intimacy, she could feel her mouth watering. Deciding to take her mind off how great Reese looked in his swim trunks, she gazed out at the lake. It was so huge that it flowed through all four thousand acres of Singleton land. It was a shame Jamison and Bertha Singleton never had children. This would have been a wonderful place to grow up. But Jamison had died two years before Bertha, and the older woman had passed away a few years after Leah’s mother.

She thought back to the time when a developer had come to town, trying to force the Singletons to sell their property so that a huge resort could be built on the land. The older couple had refused. The townspeople had admired them for not giving in to corporate greed and the millions they’d been offered.

Her heart kicked up a notch when Reese began swimming toward her. He stopped right in front of her and held out his hand. “Let’s swim a few laps together.”

They did, and she really enjoyed it. She enjoyed being with him. She always had, and she knew she always would. A part of her didn’t want to allow the unknown about their future dampen their relationship and wanted to believe, like he did, that everything would work out.

•••

The following evening, Reese knew something was wrong the minute he walked into his mother’s home to find his brother Daniel there. This was his bowling night. There was barely a year difference in their ages and he and his younger brother had always been close. As far as he was concerned, they still were. They never saw eye-to-eye on everything but were always able to find a middle ground when they didn’t. However, what was straining their relationship now, namely Leah, wasn’t anything Reese could or would compromise about.

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