“You want to move out?” He pulled into Traders, the place full enough that they had to park at the far end of the lot. “Hang on until I’m there.”
Dana paused in the middle of opening her door, wondering at the bubbles popping in her gut.
Up until now, it had been a slightly awkward yet normal exchange, but as Mark opened her door and helped her down, these were most definitely date feelings she was experiencing.
Mark held out his elbow, and she wrapped her fingers around his biceps, the position closing the gap between them as he led her across the parking lot. He picked up the conversation again. “So, are you house hunting?”
She shook her head. “I considered building a small place, sort of like Gabe made himself at the start. You can see where they’ve added on to his original cabin. But then I think about it harder, and if anyone should have a new house, it should be Laurel and Rafe.”
“Why not both? You and them?”
Dana laughed. “Because that doesn’t fit the budget.”
He pulled open the pub door. She walked in ahead of him, this side of the pub with multiple tables and seating areas, the pool tables at the back of the room. The volume was a low buzz instead of the high roar found on the dance hall side, so the sudden swell of voices was unexpected.
“Well, damn.” Mark tugged her little closer, helping her catch her balance when she realized the entire middle section of Traders was filled with Colemans.
Dana glanced at him. “I didn’t tell anyone.”
He shook his head. “Not me. Damn Coleman hive mind.”
An instant later, his oldest brother stood in front of them. Mike grinned as he glanced between them. “What can I get you to drink?”
It was not at all what she had expected, but after that initial panic-induced moment when she realized there would be no keeping any secrets from the family, Dana discovered she appreciated the interference.
Mark brought her to the table and sat next to her, the pair side by side as friendly banter swirled around them. Mike and Marion, Randy and Kate. George chatted with Daniel and Beth Coleman from the Six Pack side, while Mike’s twins and their wives circled around the activity. The girls drank pop while Jesse and Joel hovered protectively, hands resting on pregnant bellies every now and then.
It was relaxing, except that every time Mark moved, his thigh nudged against hers and shivers slid up Dana’s spine. That same thrill hadn’t gone away just because she’d gotten older.
And when he leaned close, his whisker-roughened cheek brushing past hers as he whispered, “Would you like to dance?” in her ear, literal goose bumps hit.
Maybe the family thought they’d been interfering, but the short interlude of being absolutely surrounded and supported had been exactly what she needed. The perfect dose of connection to shake away the fear and uncertainty.
She wanted this. So she should take it.
Clearly to his utter shock, Dana caught Mark’s hand then tugged him to his feet before turning to the rest of them. “We’re going dancing. We don’t need chaperones.”
A lot of masculine chuckling followed her comment.
Dana ignored them all, keeping a tight grip on Mark’s hand. He followed her willingly across the room into the opposite side of the pub and onto the dance floor.
That first moment when he twisted her toward him and brought his arms around her—
She could barely breathe. Didn’t really want to. It was like opening a fresh page on a brand-new journal, with so many pristine, blank opportunities going forward. Part of her was afraid of making a mark, of doing something that would mar the experience.
He moved her against his body, swaying in time to the music, and it was so strangely familiar and right that fear slipped away, and happiness warmed her, inside and out. She wasn’t going to worry if she made a few mistakes. Hope had said it—Dana was allowed to want a good, close friend in her life who wasn’t family or someone who had been around forever.
Unfortunately, that also reminded her of the other comment made that day in the quilt shop. The bit about how she was also free to fool around, and more, if she wanted.
Her fingers rested on his firm shoulders, his hand on her waist. It was intimate, and yet when the next song dropped a pace, Mark’s low, rumbling laugh made the tingles strike harder.
He settled her the slightest bit closer, lips brushing her ear. “Relax, darlin’.”
“I thought I was,” she said, happy none of her current lustful thoughts snuck into her voice. “I’m not doing chores.”
He had both hands on her hips, sliding them down slightly until the ends of his long fingers rested against the upper swell of her butt. “Looks as if we need to practice a little more. Mr. Stevens would be very disappointed right now. You’re not applying yourself adequately, Ms. Tetrenko.”
The reminder of their high school gym teacher’s favourite phrase made her laugh. Her maiden name sounded odd after so many years. She chose to push aside both amusement and uneasiness and simply savour the moment. “Quiet. I need to count the beats.”
It was his turn to snicker, because that had been his comment back in the day. The fact that she’d remembered put a smile on her face.
It felt good to be in his arms. Truth be told, it felt better than she wanted it to feel, because for one strange, inexplicable moment, guilt slipped in.
That useless emotion was pushed away rapidly. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. Her husband was dead, and she didn’t need to be faithful to a memory. She was alive and deserved to live.
They were almost all the way home before she realized the whole reason she had given him for the evening out still had not been answered.
They were on the porch steps when she twisted toward him. “You said you would tell me why you’re ranching again when you left Rocky to avoid it.”
“Right.” He adjusted the collar of her coat, smoothing the lapels as he stared at her lips. “I was drawn to you, all those years ago. I didn’t move fast enough, though, so when you and Ben fell in love, I couldn’t say anything. It wasn’t your fault, and it wasn’t your responsibility, but I couldn’t stay and watch you build a life together.”
His words took a moment to sink in. To register. Then the shock of it hit, hard and quick. “You left because of me?”
Strong shoulders lifted in a gentle shrug. “I left because it was the right thing to do, for you and for Ben. It wasn’t the ranching I was running from,” he confessed.
She didn’t know what to say.
They stood, separated by mere inches, staring at each other. It had been a wonderful evening, more wonderful than Dana had hoped. His confession was a piano falling out of the sky and striking the ground with huge impact.
He had hold of one of her hands. “I want to kiss you.”
“Maybe I’m not the type to kiss on the first date.” She tried for lighthearted, but her pulse pounded in her throat.
His lips curled upward as he leaned toward her. “I’ve dreamed about this day for so long, it doesn’t count as a first date anymore.”
And then he was kissing her. Fingers strong under her chin, holding her steady as he brushed his lips over hers once, twice. A soft kiss followed, slowly deepening as his hand slid over her cheek and into her hair, cradling the back of her neck as he pulled their bodies tighter.