Back Where She Belongs - By Dawn Atkins Page 0,106
to Rachel. “I’ll drive her home, if you could give my dad a lift.”
“Certainly,” Tara’s mother said, startled by the idea. She glanced at Sean, who ducked his head. Tara had never seen him so subdued. Before the settlement meeting, she’d gone into his office and apologized for accusing him of putting the faulty device on her father’s car.
He’d lectured her, as she’d expected, about rudeness and temper tantrums, but when he told her that he missed her father like a brother, tears in his eyes, she was moved.
He’d also told her not to judge her mother too harshly. Not unless you walk a mile in her moccasins.
“Okay with you?” Dylan said to Tara, giving her a look that sent electricity pouring through her.
“Sounds great.” She grinned, not caring how goofy she looked.
He grinned back just as goofily.
Before long they were flying down the highway toward home, neither of them saying much. Dylan had a plan, so she would let it unfold. She felt good beside him. She felt safe, she felt content, she felt right. And when she glanced at him and their eyes met, she felt wanted. So wanted it made her breathless.
When he turned off the highway toward the river, she peered at him. “Don’t tell me your plan includes paintball?”
“Not this time, no.” He parked below the caves and they walked up to the ridge. Dylan sat on top of a picnic table near a wall draped in bougainvillea, the blossoms bright magenta. The fall sun warmed her shoulders; the breeze lifted her hair and sent the earthy smell of the river to her nose. “What’s up?” she asked him.
“I have a business proposition for you,” he said, his smile wide, though he was trying to sound serious.
“Business? Really?” She’d assumed they’d be talking about their relationship. She felt a twinge of disappointment, but she knew better than to assume the worst. She would wait and see, trust the man she loved with all her heart.
“Yes. Ryland Engineering will be restructuring soon. The plan is to break off a research and development division my father will run. That’s where his heart is. He’s happiest behind a drafting table. Victor Lansing will take over for me with full authority over manufacturing.”
“Wow. That is big.”
“I’ll serve as an adviser, but intend to focus on my work with Wharton. So, we could use some help with the transition. Are you interested?”
“It’s intriguing,” she said. “I have to admit. I’ll be working at Wharton Electronics for a while, too. I’d have to do some juggling, but...”
“So, you’ll do it? I should warn you I won’t take no for an answer.”
She loved the look on his face, like he wanted her and her alone. She felt the same about him.
“Just to seal the deal,” he continued, “I’d like to take you on a little Chamber of Commerce tour, give you a fresh look at the town.”
“Okay.”
“Here you can see the natural beauty of this area. It’s a bird sanctuary, a protected river region, popular for paintball wars, rock hopping or making love, depending on your mood.”
“And whether you’ve got vinegar chips and German chocolate cake?”
“Exactly.” He explained that he wanted to add new hiking trails, camping spots and guided tours with an ecological bent.
They returned to Dylan’s car, then drove toward town. He described where new business might be located, possible housing developments, an amphitheater for concerts, more shopping and office parks. Along the way, he pointed out places they’d spent time together—the Egyptian theater, Ruby’s, the bowling alley, the park, the high school.
When he reached the intersection where he would turn toward her house, he said, “That’s it then. I could take you home...unless there’s anything else you’d like to see?” He looked at her, eyes twinkling.
“Actually I heard there’s a golden retriever who does tricks. And a computer-guided telescope for stargazing and a kitchen full of gourmet cookware.”
“I know exactly where you mean. There might even be clean sheets on the bed.”
“Sounds perfect,” she said.
He hadn’t said a word, but she knew that Dylan wanted what she wanted—to be together, to make it work. Her whole body was alive to him, and her heart sang. New confidence filled her. This was right.
She wasn’t walking away. She would work at it and so would he.
They drove to Dylan’s place and went inside. “Golden retriever,” Dylan announced. Tara crouched for European greeting.
“The telescope’s out back, so you’ll have to stick around until the stars come out.”