Wyoming True - Diana Palmer Page 0,40
“It’s a little unnerving,” she said finally. “Bailey made some pretty bad threats.” She looked up. “He doesn’t really threaten. He does what he says he will.” She shivered a little, remembering some of them.
Jake winced, but he didn’t let her see. “You’ve been through a lot.”
“Oh, yes, but everybody has problems,” she replied and smiled. “Mine are no worse than someone else’s. You just put one foot in front of the other and keep going.”
“Sound advice.”
They finished the oysters and had a second cup of coffee with a delicate little torte that was one of the specialties of the house.
“What is this?” she exclaimed when she’d taken a bite of it. “My goodness, it’s awesome!”
“Almond torte,” he chuckled. “It’s good, isn’t it? Mack makes these himself, too. He has a cook, but the man spends a lot of time twiddling his thumbs. Mack loves his kitchen.”
“You know him,” she guessed.
He nodded. His face hardened. “He was overseas with me, when we went into Iraq the second time.”
She grimaced, because that hard face was briefly vulnerable. “I’m so sorry.”
His eyes lifted to hers and he scowled. “About what?”
“Bad memories,” she said quietly. “They show.” Before he could pull up an angry retort, she added, “I have them, too.”
Which curtailed the hot words on the tip of his tongue. He drew in a breath and laughed. “You have a knack for disarming me.”
“I’ve been through the wars, too, even though I’ve never been in combat. It...hardens you,” she said after a minute.
He could have retorted that it had only made her more vulnerable. She saw deep inside him. He wasn’t sure he liked it. Most of his dates, with the exception of Mina, had been shallow women, with eyes for diamonds and high living. None of them had Ida’s ability to feel the emotions of people around her. It was a true gift. He wondered if she even realized it.
* * *
AFTER LUNCH IDA expected him to head for the airport. Instead, he caught her hand in his and walked her out to the beach behind the strip mall.
The feel of his big hand holding hers made her feel awkward just at first, but it was warm and strong, and after a minute, she relaxed.
He felt that, smiling inwardly.
“I love the ocean,” she said softly. “I collect beaches.” She laughed. “My favorite was in Morocco. I spent a couple of weeks in Tangier. There were camels dancing in and out of the surf,” she recalled with soft eyes.
“I’ve been to Tangier,” he replied. “Fascinating city. Did you see the church that the Berbers gave to the Christians?”
She laughed. “Yes. It was a surprise.” She sighed. “But what I loved most about the city, even more than the bazaar and the wonderful food, was the call to prayer broadcast over the loudspeakers. I don’t know why, exactly. It was beautiful.”
The hand holding hers was suddenly stiff. She recalled that he’d fought overseas, probably fought some of the people who would have loved those calls to prayer. She stopped suddenly and looked up at him. “I’m sorry.”
His eyes were like steel plates, but he wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were on the ocean, and he didn’t speak.
She never touched men voluntarily. Not since Bailey. But she moved, hesitantly, closer to Jake and slid her arms around him, laying her cheek against the soft chambray of his shirt. She held him, just held him. After a minute she felt something like a shudder go through his powerful body, and his arms closed around her a little roughly.
She didn’t mind. He was familiar to her, in a way that she didn’t understand. She closed her eyes and drew in a long breath.
He stood holding her, letting her hold him, while the anguish of memory slowly faded. His hand smoothed up and down her spine.
“You can’t live in the past,” she said after a minute. “No matter how painful it is, you have to keep moving forward.”
“You stole that line from Meet the Robertsons,” he chided at her temple, because she only came up to his chin.
She laughed unexpectedly. “Don’t tell me you watch cartoon movies!”
He smiled. “One of my vice presidents had a little boy, about seven at the time. It was his favorite movie. I’d go to his home for supper occasionally, and the whole family gathered around to watch the movie with him.” His hand stilled. “He was the sweetest kid.” He broke off.
She drew back and looked up at him. “What