Page 288 of Under Her Skin
I let out a sigh and wish she was into me the way I’m into her. But she’s hard as a rock. “You will see. And just so you know, I’m doing this as much for myself as anyone else. It’s me who decided to make these changes. With the death of my father, I found something opening inside of me for the first time in a long time. Since my mother died, I’d closed myselfoff.”
“Your mother’s dead too?” she asks and her eyes tilt a bit at the outercorners.
“She died twenty-five years ago, the day my brother was born. It took a lot for the five-year-old I was back then to understand why she never came back home after pops left us with his mother to take our mom to go have the baby. Pops came home alone, with Kent. He told Kate, who was three, and me that the Lord took our momma home with him. It kind of made me hate theguy.”
“Your father?” sheasks.
“No. TheLord.”
Chapter4
DELANEY
I have to turn my head so Blaine doesn’t catch me getting glassy-eyed with what he’s told me. Swallowing back the lump that magically appeared in my throat, I manage to ask, “You don’t hate God now, doyou?”
With a shrug, he says, “I’m not exactly sure how I feel about him. I mean, pops is up there now too. If there really is a heaven. You see, he’s been coming to me in mydreams.”
“God?” I ask as I scoot over a bit. Because if he thinks God is coming to him in his dreams, he may be a little on the psychoticside.
“No, pops,” he says with a light chuckle. “He’s been talking to me and telling me what’s right and what’s wrong. He tried like hell to get me to listen to him when he was alive, but I wouldn’t. Now he has my ear when I’m asleep and he talks and talks and it’s beginning to sinkin.”
“So, you might really be changing,” I say as I look out the window. “But, then again, you might revert right back to who you’ve always been after a year has passed. That’s the typical mourning period after someone close to a person passes away. You might become the money-hungry vulture you’ve always been in a year’stime.”
“Wow, aren’t you a little ray of sunshine!” he says with a sarcastic tone to his deep voice. “Thanks for the show ofsupport.”
“I’m not one of your supporters, so don’t expect any from me.” We pull up to the restaurant and stop at the front door. “I’m sorry if you don’t likeme.”
“I happen to like you a lot. Your forthrightness is refreshing,” he says with asmile.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” The door opens and his driver is holding itopen.
Blaine slides out and reaches back in for my hand. I take it only because the truck is tall and I don’t want to fall when I get out of it. His arm runs around my waist as we walk up the walkway. He looks over his shoulder and says, “I’ll bring you something delicious, Mr. Green, and a sweet teatoo.”
“Oh, thank you, sir!” his driver says, sounding genuinely glad to be getting some lousy take out while we go inside and eat and he has to wait in thecar.
“Invite him in,” Isay.
“Huh?” he asks as hestops.
“You should invite him to join us,” I tell him and find him smiling atme.
“Hey, Mr. Green,” he turns around and calls out. “Park the car, come in, and join us, please. We’ll wait right here foryou.”
“Oh, that’s too much, sir,” the older man argues. “The meal is more thanenough.”
“Insist,” Iwhisper.
“I have to insist, Mr. Green. Please,” hesays.
“All right, sir. I’ll just park, then, and be rightup.”
I let out a sigh and smile. “Now, that’s a nice thing todo.”
“See, you’re good for me, Delaney.” His hand moves up my back. “I need some good influences in my life right now. I’ve had them all along. I just ignored them. I’m not about to ignoreyou.”
I find myself looking into his light-brown eyes and I want to believe him. “I’m more of a show-me kind of person, Blaine. I don’t fall forwords.”
His hand creeps all the way up to rest on my shoulder and he pulls me closer to him as he whispers, “I’d love to show you, Delaney. I’m glad you don’t fall for mere words. You’re the kind of woman a man needs around him on a regular basis to keep him on the straight andnarrow.”
