Her arms finally wrapped around him. That was what he was hoping for. Then her lips opened a little bit. She took a small, experimental taste and then with a sigh, he felt her sink into his kiss. He concentrated on just that, making it a wonderful kiss for as long as he could. She was molded to him and it felt just right. When he thought he’d given her a minute of brain-numbing kissing, he slowly pulled his lips away. But he didn’t let go.
Her eyes were closed now, that’s for sure. Her head tilted back, her chin lifted slightly and she let out her breath. Without opening her eyes she said, “Meh. It wasn’t that great.”
“It was fantastic and you know it,” he said. Then he nibbled at her bottom lip a little bit. “If it wasn’t perfect, I’m willing to keep trying.”
“Okay,” she said in a breath, leaning toward him.
Cal was happy to comply, especially if it helped her mood, as it was definitely helping his. It wasn’t typical of him to do much thinking while he was kissing or making love, but in this case he did a little of that. He was reminding himself that this was perfectly normal. Reasonable. He’d been around the crossing for weeks now. He’d gotten a little attached to it. He liked helping with the store, liked the locals who stopped by, the lake was lovely. Then Sully and Maggie came home and the place took on a new dimension. He was busy and starting to feel needed. He’d always liked feeling useful. The surrounding towns were friendly and quirky, there was no more beautiful landscape in the country, and Cal had seen a lot of the country.
And then there was Maggie. Yes, he had gotten to know quite a few doctors but he’d never kissed one before. Never one in khaki shorts and lace-up hiking boots.
He gently pulled away from her lips. “Am I getting any better?” he asked.
“Pretty average, so far,” she said.
“Let’s rest a minute, then I’ll go at it again. Let’s have something to drink. I have some brandy in my camper.”
“Brandy?” she said. “Bllkk. That’s for eggnog.”
“We can break into the store,” he suggested.
She patted her pocket to feel for a key and smiled. “Let’s.”
He wouldn’t let her get too far away from him. He put his arm around her waist and strolled with her from her back porch to the store’s back porch. She unlocked the back door. “Don’t turn on any lights or people will see and come wanting something.”
“Where’s Sully?”
“He’s on his way to bed. He just doesn’t have that much stamina. Truth is, he wasn’t up past nine very often when he was a hundred percent because he gets up so early. Don’t trip over anything,” she said as they entered the store. The only light was from the front porch. They didn’t mind if people gathered there and used the tables after the store was closed but it being a cold early April night in the mountains, folks preferred their campfires and the porch was empty.
She got behind the bar and he sat on a stool in front. “What’s your pleasure?”
“Chivas. Neat.”
She tipped the bottle over two glasses and put it on the bar.
“Now, come around here,” he said. “I don’t want that bar between us. I want us together. Here.”
There was no argument from her. She sat on a bar stool, facing him. She was ready to be kissed some more. He pulled her knees inside his spread legs, bringing her a little closer.
“Has Sully ever talked to you about your mother? About when they separated and divorced?”
“Some. We don’t dwell on that too much. It was a hard time all around. Why?”
“He mentioned one or two things. It’s come to my attention the last few years, sometimes men don’t say things they should to the people that matter to them. In trying to be strong and protective, they neglect to mention important things to the people they love. He said you were by far the luckiest thing he’s ever done with his life.”
She smiled. “I guess I knew he felt that way, but he never said it. I didn’t see my dad for about five years and I was hateful during that time. Once we were seeing each other again I constantly asked him why he let that happen. Why didn’t he fight? He just said he thought of himself as a lousy father, that I’d be better off with Walter.”
“Did he ever mention war issues, like maybe some PTSD?”
“Huh?”
“He said Vietnam had him pretty messed up. Of course you knew he went to Vietnam, right?”
She nodded and sipped her drink. “I didn’t know there were any issues. Why do you think he told you these things?”
“It seemed spontaneous. It was as if you were on his mind, having just had your little reunion with... What’s the boyfriend’s name?”
“Ex. It’s Andrew.”
“I think that’s why he talked about some personal things. He also said your mother is a pain in the ass.”