Wolf Tracks - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,9

him over.

“That’s okay,” she assured him. “I just wanted to warn you that they might ask, but if you choose not to answer, they’ll respect that. We all know what it’s like to have a secret that needs keeping.”

“Well, all right, then. We’d be pleased to accept your offer of hospitality,” Martin replied formally. “We’ll just follow you, once we’re back on the road, okay?”

Helen grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”

Martin shook hands with Jim in farewell. Lisa and Melissa gave Jim hugs, and then they headed for their vehicle to get everybody settled before they got back on the road. That left Helen with Jim for one final, all-too-short moment.

“I’m glad they’re going with you,” he said. “That was nice of you to invite them. That couple has been through the ringer looking for their little girl. I suspect you’re right about their cupboards being bare.”

“My family will take good care of them,” she promised. She had to say something before they parted, but there was no time. “Will I ever see you again?” she wondered aloud.

Jim paused, his stunning blue-green eyes catching her gaze as warmth sparked between them. “I hope so, though I’m not sure if it would be wise.” He stepped closer to her and took her hand in his. “You’re an intriguing woman, Helen.” His voice dropped low, and she felt it in her bones as he moved even closer, his head lowering toward hers.

She saw his kiss coming a mile away, but she didn’t want to stop him. No way, no how. Helen had been wanting to discover what Jim’s kiss felt like since soon after meeting him.

He moved closer still, and she finally found out. His kiss felt divine. It tasted sublime. And it made her feel finer than she ever had before.

Her head was still spinning a moment later when he lifted his lips from hers. She met his gaze once more, and she thought she saw a glimmer of regret in his eyes. Helen was feeling a boatload of regret, herself. Not for the kiss, but for the fact that he was leaving, and despite what he’d said, she might very well never see him, ever again.

“Be well, Helen,” he said, his tone intimate.

“Stay safe, Jim. And, when this is all over, call me sometime. Okay?” Her heart rose in hope, but his noncommittal answer didn’t give her much to build on. He stepped away and headed for his pickup.

Devastated by the kiss and the sheer drop off the cliff when he failed to agree to call her when things were calmer, she went to her car. She had to get a grip. She would be seeing her family shortly, and it would never do to let them think that her emotions had been so churned up by a man she’d only just met. If they even suspected, she’d never hear the end of it, and she could do very well without the teasing that would follow from her siblings, or the concerned looks from her parents.

Sliding behind the wheel, she started her car and looked over, just one last time at Jim. He was already in his truck, with the engine purring. He was looking her way, too. Was it her imagination, or did he have a wistful look in his eye?

She raised her hand to wave, but Martin had already pulled out and honked once—in farewell, she supposed, to Jim. Jim looked away, sticking his hand out his window to wave at Martin, Lisa and Melissa. Helen realized she was supposed to go in front of the family’s car, so the time for dawdling was over. She put her car in reverse and backed out of the parking space.

She pulled in front of the family’s much larger vehicle, and her view of Jim was eclipsed. Shaking her head at what might have been, she drove out of the parking lot and headed for the highway they’d left earlier. They would continue on their northeastward trek while Jim headed for another highway ramp a few miles away, which would take him away from her…possibly forever.

A couple of hours later, the sun had disappeared below the horizon, but there was still enough light to see the farm fields as Helen turned into her family’s driveway. Down the long gravel road, she drove with the Ebersole family following behind, past tall corn and waving wheat then, finally, to the fifty-tree orchard that was closer to the house.

The yard was lit up, awaiting her