“Nice to meet you. I’m Dustin Murray, and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. Would you like to come in and stay?” He stepped back and opened the door wide. She followed him into the house.
“Seriously, one of my stories is already released. Sort of by mistake. That’s the problem I had to deal with yesterday. I’m more than certain Fran will have some sort of meltdown about it when she finds out. But I don’t care. She can either like it or lump it, and I’m going to set her straight as soon as I see her. She has her life and I have mine.”
At that moment, finally, she owned herself and wanted to share the feeling with him.
“How long have you known that you weren’t going back to Seattle to stay?”
“I’ve been unhappy for a while. Before coming home, I started sending out feelers for other jobs, other positions, and I thought about making the leap to writing fiction full time, but nothing was solid until a couple of moments ago. It was as if this missing connection was restored. All the pieces just seemed to come together.”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t overjoyed that you were coming back. I want us to be together.”
“There’s no reason to keep running. Everything I want is right here.” She kept her eyes level with his. She inhaled. In the midst of a storm, she wanted to find her footing, needed to start fresh. She took a step closer.
Jasper began to bark.
“I think we’ve got company.” He pushed back the curtains peering outside. The rain had lessened into a drizzle. He faced her, his lips pressed into a thin line. “Your sister just arrived.”
A cold, clammy feeling swept over her and settled in the pit of her stomach. “I’d better go.”
“Hey, not so fast.” He closed the gap between their bodies and his mouth slammed down onto her lips. His hands held her by the shoulders and pulled her against him. She twisted his shirt into knots inside her hands. She gave into him and pushed aside all thoughts except his tongue in her mouth. He ended their kiss with a bear hug.
“Mmm.” Her voice was a whisper. “Wish we could bottle that for emergencies.”
“Do you want me walk you back home?” His look of concern made her think.
She chewed the inside of her cheek. “No, I’d better meet Fran alone. I don’t know what her mood might be considering…”
He gently held her apart. “I’m right here if you need a shoulder or a sounding board. And I’m not opposed to kidnapping you if I think you need a break.” He lifted her into a fireman’s carry to prove his point.
She laughed, the blood rushing to her head, and pounded his exceptionally hard rear end.
He set her down. She placed a wet, sloppy kiss on his lips and then opened the door. She longed to tell him what she felt, but the words remained locked away.
“I’ll call you later.” She walked through the door. Dustin went out with her. From his porch they could see a large white SUV parked in the driveway of her home. She inhaled a shaky breath and waved goodbye from the path.
She didn’t know if it was leaving him or facing Fran that made her tremble. Opening the gate between the houses, she heard her sister’s voice growing louder with each step she took toward her front door. She held her umbrella up and the porch came into view. Her sister sat on a rocking chair, her face pinched and flushed as she held gazed at her cell phone.
Her sister’s eyebrows shot up. “Where the hell have you been? I’m wet and tired.”
“What are you doing sitting on the porch?”
“Excuse me. You left the door locked.”
“I did? Sorry.” She scrambled up the steps. She didn’t remember locking the door. “It’s not locked; it just gets stuck. You have to jiggle the handle. See?”
Her sister rolled her eyes. “It wouldn’t open. I wished you’d been here to welcome me. Is that too much to ask?” Fran stormed past her into the house.
Claire followed her into the living room and was about to set the limits right then and there, except Fran started to dab at her eyes. “I need a tissue.”
She went to Fran and hugged her. This time Claire didn’t hold back her own sorrow. Both of them held each other and cried for a long time.
Chapter Twelve
“How long are you staying?” Claire was carrying in the fourth piece of Fran’s luggage.
“Did you get the travel bag? I think it was in the back seat. I’ve got to check my messages.” Fran rubbed her forehead.
For a second Claire thought she was going to start to cry again. Then Fran pulled a cell phone from her pocket as if dismissing her. Claire’s eyes stung and she turned away. She didn’t have the energy to start a conversation that was bound to push both of them. This wasn’t the right time to set her sister straight. After Fran had time to change and rest, perhaps after dinner they could have a heart-to-heart.