Page 28 of Infatuation

“Maybe, but I think you might have a little trouble with my little girl, yes?”

Again his face flushed, and dammit, she laughed. It hit him then that this was the most he had spoken in weeks. Shannon and her mother were so much alike. They always drew him out of himself, got him to participate.

“I still can’t believe you make this homemade, Mrs. Dupree,” Deke said.

“I told you to call me Anna Louise, Deke. No one in the Dupree house stands on formality.”

He smiled at her, and Mal made a sound of disgust. “It’s bad enough dealing with Shannon and Kade, but do y’all have to flirt with my mother?”

“A beautiful woman like your mother should expect it,” Deke said, earning him a knock to the back of the head from Mal.

“Now, you two boys go out and do something. I want to talk to Kade.”

Shit.He knew that this was coming, but he hadn’t been ready for it. The others agreed mainly because no one, not even Sam Dupree, said no to Anna Louise in her own house.

“Now, you going to tell me why you look like this?”

She waved her hand at him.

“Bad assignment?”

She tsked. “More than that, I am sure. You brought some ghosts back with you.”

He nodded, knowing there would be no denying to Anna Louise. She wouldn’t allow for it.

“I’ll not ask you what is bothering you. Not yet. You tell that girl of mine when you’re ready.”

“How does everyone know about that?”

She rolled her eyes. “What am I, stupid? Seriously, Francis, you follow her around like a puppy dog when you visit. Her brother and his friend are here at my house to stay, but not you. I know my girl has sex.”

He cleared his throat. "I really don’t want to talk about it.”

She made a disgusted sound that he had heard a time or two from Mal. "Oh, the poor little SEAL is afraid of his lover’s mother.” She shook her head. "Don’t you talk sex with your mother?”

“Good God, no.” He couldn’t keep the horror out of his voice.

“Hmm, well, that might be your problem. Either way, know I do not judge. Just be careful, that’s all I ask.”

He looked into the eyes so similar to Shannon’s and nodded. "I will do my best, Anna Louise.”

She smiled then and patted his hand. "I promised that boy of mine some cornbread and fried catfish. I need help in the kitchen. You up to the challenge?”

Another thing his parents didn’t know about him. He loved to cook. It had come about mainly because his parents would forget to cook. So Kade had taken over. With Anna Louise, though, he had learned so much, and she loved having him in the kitchen.

He nodded. "I’d love to.”

Shannon looked over the schedule for the next two weeks and sighed. She only had three more days, and the guys had to go back to Virginia. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with the feelings that brought about, but in the last three days since Kade had returned to her bed, she had been unable to ignore them. She hadn’t pushed him, hadn’t tried to. It overwhelmed her a bit too much, but it was growing every day. She wanted to ask what he wanted from her other than sex.

She didn’t, though. She knew that at the moment, he was doing better, but asking questions like that would be too much. Whatever happened on the mission had really hurt him. She had to give him time to heal, then they could deal with what was going on between them. The nightmares were bad, she knew without being told. And seriously, there was another reason she hadn’t pushed him.

She was being a coward.

She could wrap it up in the package of giving him time or the idea that they were living in the moment, but it wasn’t that. She didn’t push because she didn’t want to lose him.

And that was pitiful.

“You going to take the night off again?” Simon asked. She heard the disapproval in his voice.

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