fork down after eating before she grabbed him by the hand, dragged him from the picnic table, and headed for the dance floor. He looked back at Shannon apologetically, but she just smiled. For the next forty-five minutes, he danced with several women whose men refused to, all the while wishing he was dancing with Shannon instead.
When the band took a break, he walked back to their table to rest for a moment and finish off his beer. He leaned in and spoke softly. “Sure you don’t mind me dancing with other women?”
“You might be dancing with them now,” she said, “but you’re coming home with me.”
Beneath the picnic table, Luke edged his hand over, eased up the hem of her skirt, and placed it on her thigh, rubbing it gently. When her eyes fell closed and her chest rose and fell with a breath of pure pleasure, he knew she was thinking of what it was going to be like tonight when she was naked and his hands were on more than just her thigh.
Across the dance floor, Luke saw Russell sitting with Shannon’s mother and father, and he wondered what was going on there. Every once in a while, one of them would look their way and frown.
“When’s the last time you talked to your mother?” he asked Shannon.
“It’s been a while.”
He nodded toward the table where they sat. “If looks could kill…”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”
She nodded, but he could tell she felt bad about it, anyway. “Looks as if your knee is all healed.”
“Yeah. It feels good.”
“You’re getting plenty of exercise tonight.”
“I don’t know what it is with some of these guys. If they’d learn how to dance, their women would be eternally grateful.”
“Apparently they don’t know the advantages of having their women’s eternal gratitude.”
“Hey, Luke!” Tasha called out from the other end of the table, a big, loopy grin on her face. “How about another dance? I love to dance!”
That was weird for Tasha, who never showed any assertiveness around men. Then Shannon saw the beer in her hand and understood her sudden overconfidence.
“Go dance,” Shannon said. “I like watching you.”
“It’s more fun if you’re dancing yourself. Sure you don’t want to?”
“Nah. I’m pretending I’m watching Dancing with the Stars. Hey—when you win the bull riding championship, maybe you can be on the show. You could wear some of those sparkly gold pants you love so much.”
“Chaps,” he said over his shoulder as Tasha dragged him to the dance floor. “Chaps.”
Shannon put her chin in her hand and watched Luke spin Tasha around the dance floor, the music thumping pleasantly through her body. After a while, she checked her watch and realized it was getting late. She decided to grab a few desserts for her and Luke before they called it a night.
She rose and wove through the crowd, moving to the end of the dessert line. A moment later, somebody came to stand behind her, and when she turned around and saw who it was, a familiar feeling of defensiveness overcame her.
“Mom,” she said offhandedly, looking back at the desserts. “Missed you during the festival.”
Loucinda examined the virtues of brownies over apple pie. “Yes. Well, I stayed very busy in the Preservation Society booth.”
“I thought you would at least drop by. What stopped you?”
Loucinda reached for the apple pie and moved down the line to pay for it. “You know what stopped me, dear.”
Her mother’s tone of disapproval fell on Shannon like a cold rain, and as always, her heart automatically beat faster.
“No, Mom. I’m afraid I don’t.”
Loucinda’s mouth settled into a grim line of disapproval. She leaned in and spoke quietly. “With that Dawson boy at your booth, do you really have to wonder?”
“You need to stop calling him that.”
“You were with him all over the festival grounds. Do you have any idea what people were saying?”
“Depends on what people you’re talking about. My friends weren’t saying anything.”
“I don’t know where I went wrong with you and your sister. You just don’t seem to understand what’s proper and what isn’t.”
“Just for the record, I don’t care about propriety. I do, however, care about Luke.”
“Shannon!” Loucinda hissed, looking left and right. “Will you keep your voice down?”
“I’ll talk as loud as I want to.”
Loucinda gave her an angry look, put the pie back, and walked away. But this time, instead of the apprehension Shannon usually felt when she crossed her mother, all she felt was a cool self-assurance she should