He supposed this was how it was with her and ignoring it would be best. After all, hadn’t he already had this discussion with himself? He liked women with knockout figures and here was one. That would be hard to keep up unless you lifted apple crates all day or ate grass.
He saw his grandmother’s frown of consternation. “We’re going out for dinner tomorrow night,” he said.
“Oh, splendid,” Maxie said. “You’ll have a wonderful time. Where are you going?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll be sure to let you know. You can join us if you like.”
She patted him on the cheek and smiled into his warm eyes. “Thank you, Tom. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
It came as no surprise that Darla had a special little pack—leather—for her movies, her DVDs. She was kneeling in front of the TV and player. It wasn’t a fancy new TV, but it was high definition—Tom bought it for his grandmother several years ago.
“I brought Love Actually, my favorite movie of all time, and some really special ones—The Proposal, which I love, and some others…”
Maxie whispered, “The Yankees are playing tonight.”
“You pick the movie,” Tom said. Then he stifled his yawn. “Let’s watch your favorite.”
Fortunately, Maxie didn’t kick him. Instead, she got herself a book in progress, took her favorite chair before anyone else did and made herself comfortable.
Tom reclined on the sofa and Darla reclined on Tom. She was lounging between his legs, her back against his chest. They were positioned slightly behind Maxie’s range of vision unless she turned sharply to take in the scene. It was quite decent—he couldn’t even steal a kiss. She was much more casual this weekend, although it took an equal number of suitcases to be thus. And while Tom had never given a rip about the cost of things like women’s jeans, he was curious. They looked damn good on her. On her feet were suede Uggs… He knew because she had told him. And she wore a fantastic, soft, loose-knit sweater he could see through. Under it was some kind of flesh-colored tank, no bra, breasts high and tight. He knew this because he was trained by the Marines in reconnaissance—there was no bra in place. He wished he could slip a hand under that sweater and figure out those breasts. She said she was twenty-nine and they were as perfect as an eighteen-year-old’s… .
Maxie cleared her throat and coughed; he jerked to attention as if she’d spoken aloud.
“Oh, this part always makes me cry!” Darla exclaimed.
He looked up; he had no idea what this movie was about. He slipped his arms around her waist and held her while she sniffed. And then damned if he didn’t start to nod off. He came right awake again, thank goodness, because Darla turned her head and looked over her shoulder and up at him. “Tom,” she whispered. “I think your grandmother is snoring!”
He almost said, “Are you sure it wasn’t me?” but he caught himself. Instead he said, “Shhhh.”
Every once in a while Tom stole a look at Maxie. She held her book in her lap and her head tilted down, her glasses on her nose, as though she might be reading. She didn’t even bob. Every so often she’d emit a soft little snore. He had never envied a person more—he’d love to catch a little nap, or at least check the score of the baseball game. But he didn’t dare.
The movie ended, Darla heaved a heavy, satisfied sigh and Maxie stretched. She closed her book, removed her glasses and while the credits were running she said, “Lovely, Darla. I’m all in. I think I’ll just go ahead and head for bed.” She stood up and smiled at them, so cozy on the couch. “Why don’t you two enjoy another movie?”
The traitor, Tom thought. She was going to pay for that.
Darla just smiled, which was lucky for her. Tom was annoyed enough by the movie selection that if Darla had said something cheeky like You slept through the whole thing, Tom was never going to see her again. He could be perturbed with Maxie, but everyone else better mind their manners.
Then came Saturday. As Tom had explained, he had to work. He had his part-time crew in, working overtime, at least until early afternoon. He drove the tractor or truck or forklift by the barn and house several