chin.
“Well, whatever it was, it was magic, and you are one fine magician.”
Duke grinned. “Well, hocus pocus and abracadabra. I think we need to see if we can do that again.”
Cathy sighed with sudden longing. “Lord, I hope so,” she said.
And so they did.
Duke stayed longer than he’d meant to, but then leaving wasn’t as easy as it had been before.
“I don’t want to leave, but I need to get back.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heartbeat. She didn’t want him to go, either.
“I know. Jack is going to wring both our necks if I keep you here any longer.”
Duke buried his face in the thick tumble of red curls beneath his chin and sighed.
“I love you to distraction, but you already know that,” he said.
Cathy’s pulse kicked, and then she leaned back in his arms.
“I love you, Duke Talbot…and in a way I didn’t know existed, and I’ll see you again day after tomorrow.”
“I’ll come get you,” Duke said.
“No. I’ll drive myself up and back. There will be a lot going on, and they’ll likely need your help.”
“We’ll talk about this again,” he said, then cupped her face and kissed her one last time. “Love you. Be safe. Call me anytime.”
And then he was gone.
Cathy stood in the doorway waving as he drove away, then backed up and closed the door. It was still raining, and she felt a chill to the house now that he was gone. She turned up the thermostat, then looked at the little house that had welcomed her to Blessings and thought about the big house they were going to redo together.
She had never been so certain about a man in her life as she was about Duke Talbot. Whatever the connection they had between them, it was magic, and she didn’t intend to lose it by worrying about propriety. They weren’t even a month into knowing each other. They’d just made love for the first time, and she knew in her heart it was meant to be. If the speed of this didn’t bother Duke, she sure wasn’t going to let it bother her. It wasn’t as if they were kids who hadn’t lived enough of life to make a sensible decision. It was more of a feeling that the lives they’d led before they met had been lived for other people and never for themselves.
This was the urgency within them.
Never to waste another day apart.
* * *
It was still raining when Gage Brewer arrived in Blessings. He found the bed-and-breakfast using the GPS on his phone, and parked. The huge porch spanning the length of the front was welcome shelter from the rain as he ran up the steps, then stopped to shake the water from his jacket before going inside.
The welcome warmth and the aroma of baking sweets enveloped him as he approached the man at the front desk.
“Hi, I’m Gage Brewer. I have a reservation.”
“Yes, Mr. Brewer… Welcome to Blessings. I’m Bud Goodhope, the proprietor. We have your room all ready for you. Will you be staying with us long?”
“I’ll be here until my business is finished,” Gage said. “Hopefully it won’t take long. A day or two at best.”
Bud nodded. “Breakfast is served from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. every morning, and there are several different places here in town to get your other meals. Granny’s Country Kitchen comes highly recommended by all of us, but there’s also Broyles Dairy Freeze and a good barbecue place as well.”
“Good to know,” Gage said. “It’s almost 7:00 p.m. How late does that Granny’s place stay open?”
“Until 10:00 p.m. every night. Same goes for the other two places as well. There’s not a lot of night life here, but if anyone gets an itch for that, Savannah is just an hour’s drive away. Now…if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your room.”
“Do you lock up the front door at a certain time each night?” Gage asked.
“Midnight, unless we’re expecting a late arrival,” Bud said.
Gage picked up his bag and followed Bud up the stairs, then down the hall to his room.
Bud led the way inside and then began pointing out the amenities.
“As you can see, there’s a Keurig and K-cups in different flavors, as well as some of my wife Rachel’s homemade goodies. She is a phenomenal cook.”
“Everything looks very inviting,” Gage said. “I’m sure I’ll be comfortable here. I’ve been traveling all day, so I