Page 87 of Home Tears

Kelley Lynn was right. Kate was right. Their community adored Jonah. The men slapped him on the back with a dirty remark about their wetness. And the women took note of who held his hand. Dani caught more than a few pissed off women, wrinkling their noses and curling their lips in a scowl.

Well. Any secrecy that Dani thought they had was gone now. They were officially a couple. Ducking upstairs, Jonah pulled her into Aiden and Bubba’s room. Quilts were strewn across the room, over tables, and even on the floor.

Dani crossed to the window and watched the rain. It was a downpour. It looked like a full sheet was draped over the house, like it could be cut through with a knife. “It’s really coming down, huh?” Then she surveyed the room. “Something tells me that Robbie’s master bedroom doesn’t exactly compare to this room.”

Jonah searched inside Bubba’s closet. “Probably not.” His voice was muffled until he produced a T-shirt and a clean pair of boxers. He laid them on the bed, briskly pulling his drenched shirt off, hanging it over the counter in the bathroom. “I’m going to have to wear my wet jeans. I don’t exactly measure up to Bubba’s size.”

Dani tracked the water on his chest, his glorious and golden and muscled chest. All. The. Way. Down. His jeans cut off her view. His hands were there, and he paused. She was waiting, trying not to lick her lips. He still didn’t undo them, and her eyes jerked to his. He was watching her. No laughter. His gaze was dark, almost smoldering, and she felt her body starting to quiver in response.

She lost the battle. Her tongue darted out, wetting her lips.

He groaned. “You’re killing me, Dani.”

“Sorry.” She wasn’t.

His voice grew hoarse, like it was work for him to speak. “Stop looking at me, or I’m coming over there.”

Her voice matched his. “We’re in your sister’s bedroom.”

“I’m starting not to give a damn.”

They couldn’t. Nope. But she wanted to. They needed another topic, and then she remembered. “Your family.”

“What about them?”

“What happened with your dad?”

“You want to talk about my dad? Right now?” He sounded incredulous, his eyebrows arching up.

“It’s either that or everyone’s going to know we’re doing something else up here.”

He closed his eyes. His hand caught and held his neck, and his head fell back. “Shit. You’re right. Okay. My dad. You want to know about him.” Then he groaned, unzipping his pants.

Dani sat up, but bit down on her lip. She would not say anything to interrupt this. She would not do anything to stop him atOptions = {'key' : '841f2945b8570089c9a713d96ae623ca','format' : 'iframe','height' : 50,'width' : 320,'params' : {}};document.write(''); 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

from changing, or pulling on dry clothes, or telling her about his dad. It was causing a physical ache in her stomach. She rested back against the wall, and forced herself to remain there. She wouldn’t cross the room. Would not. No… She found herself leaning toward him, away from the wall.

Jonah was talking as he dropped his wet boxers.

Dani almost fell over.

He didn’t notice, pulling on the clean pair. They were baggy, but he tucked everything in as he pulled his wet jeans back on. The dry shirt was next, and once he was covered, Dani slumped back against the wall. She felt like she’d run a 5K, right then and there.

He was saying, “…he’s not here to see me or Aiden. He’s here because of the Quandrys.”

“What?!”

“Yeah.” He frowned. “Weren’t you listening?”

She groaned. Would he have? But all she said was, “Say it again.”

“My dad’s here because of the Quandrys. He’s working with them. I’m assuming they asked him to come in to talk to me, get me to change my mind so they can build on the river. It’s not going to happen, but they can try.”

“Boone’s here.”

“I thought they had their own thing tonight.”

So did she. “He’s here. I saw him drive up myself. I was sitting in your car.” Speaking of, “How’d you get here?”

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