neck. "Will you, Patch?"
"Will do, Gordon," Sue said, moving toward the door. "Thanks."
Taylor followed Gordon to the door. "Thank you for dinner, Sue. It was delicious."
Sue met her gaze and her smile was sad. "I hope you'll come again sometime, Taylor. It's good to have you home."
Taylor's belly did a number on the salad, and she gave a non-committal nod. "Good-night to you all."
"Good-night, dear," Priscilla said. "Gordon, you take Taylor straight home, and none of that parking you two used to do along the way. She's a doctor now."
Gordon's cheeks blazed as he reached for the doorknob, and Taylor swallowed her grin. She should be embarrassed, but watching him blush freed her to enjoy the moment.
She followed him down the sidewalk and slid into the passenger seat of his Jeep, allowing her fingertip to trail along the seat cover. Memories forced their way out of the mental vault where she'd tried to lock them away. She and Gordon had spent so much time in this old Jeep. Her face warmed as she recalled some of their more intimate moments. Glancing up, she noticed the way the floodlight bathed his silver hair as he walked around the front of the Jeep. A shiver chased itself through her that had nothing to do with air temperature. Gordon was her first love, and–God help her–her only love. What she felt for Jeremy could hardly be called love. Yet.
The wine she'd consumed mingled with desire and warmed her from within. She leaned against the seat with a sigh.
"Comfy?" he asked, sliding in and firing up the engine. It sputtered a few times, then roared to life. " Good car." He patted the steering wheel and Taylor giggled.
"I think your Jeep is developing Alzheimer's."
He revved the engine and glowered at her. "Sometimer's."
She laughed and fastened her seat belt. "Okay, Sometimer's then. It is getting old, huh?"
Gordon sighed and nodded in the semi-darkness. "I'm afraid so. I sure hate to part with her, though."
"Her?"
He looked away and buckled his seat belt, then dropped the Jeep into reverse. "Of course. Ships are always her, aren't they? You don't remember helping me name her?"
"Oh..." Taylor swallowed hard. "Henrietta."
"Right, Henrietta." Silence enveloped them in a cocoon so private, Taylor could hear the thud of her own heart. Riding slowly through the small town in Gordon's Jeep brought a flood of memories to the surface. Exhaustion and wine had lowered her defenses and as they passed Al's Dog-n-Malt, her eyes stung and blurred.
"We sure ate our share of onion rings and french fries there," Gordon said, stopping at the only traffic signal in town.
"It's a miracle our arteries didn't clog before graduation." Taylor smiled to herself and turned her gaze on the dark silhouette of the man beside her. "It was nice to see your mother again. She looks good."
"Mom has the constitution of a twelve-year-old and never lets me forget it." He chuckled, then sighed. "It was hard on her when Dad died, though."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't." He looked right at her in the darkness. "You ran away."
"I–" She bit her lip to silence her retort. It was true, after all. She had run away, but for a very good reason. How dare he blame it all on her? "I think you know why I left, Gordon, so let's stop pretending you don't."
"Do I?" The light turned green and Gordon eased the Jeep into motion. A barricade loomed before them, blocking Digby Boulevard. The street was flooded with water and several uniformed men were working on the problem. "Looks like a broken water main. We'll have to skirt around the edge of town to get to your place."
"Don't change the subject." Taylor folded her
"Will do, Gordon," Sue said, moving toward the door. "Thanks."
Taylor followed Gordon to the door. "Thank you for dinner, Sue. It was delicious."
Sue met her gaze and her smile was sad. "I hope you'll come again sometime, Taylor. It's good to have you home."
Taylor's belly did a number on the salad, and she gave a non-committal nod. "Good-night to you all."
"Good-night, dear," Priscilla said. "Gordon, you take Taylor straight home, and none of that parking you two used to do along the way. She's a doctor now."
Gordon's cheeks blazed as he reached for the doorknob, and Taylor swallowed her grin. She should be embarrassed, but watching him blush freed her to enjoy the moment.
She followed him down the sidewalk and slid into the passenger seat of his Jeep, allowing her fingertip to trail along the seat cover. Memories forced their way out of the mental vault where she'd tried to lock them away. She and Gordon had spent so much time in this old Jeep. Her face warmed as she recalled some of their more intimate moments. Glancing up, she noticed the way the floodlight bathed his silver hair as he walked around the front of the Jeep. A shiver chased itself through her that had nothing to do with air temperature. Gordon was her first love, and–God help her–her only love. What she felt for Jeremy could hardly be called love. Yet.
The wine she'd consumed mingled with desire and warmed her from within. She leaned against the seat with a sigh.
"Comfy?" he asked, sliding in and firing up the engine. It sputtered a few times, then roared to life. " Good car." He patted the steering wheel and Taylor giggled.
"I think your Jeep is developing Alzheimer's."
He revved the engine and glowered at her. "Sometimer's."
She laughed and fastened her seat belt. "Okay, Sometimer's then. It is getting old, huh?"
Gordon sighed and nodded in the semi-darkness. "I'm afraid so. I sure hate to part with her, though."
"Her?"
He looked away and buckled his seat belt, then dropped the Jeep into reverse. "Of course. Ships are always her, aren't they? You don't remember helping me name her?"
"Oh..." Taylor swallowed hard. "Henrietta."
"Right, Henrietta." Silence enveloped them in a cocoon so private, Taylor could hear the thud of her own heart. Riding slowly through the small town in Gordon's Jeep brought a flood of memories to the surface. Exhaustion and wine had lowered her defenses and as they passed Al's Dog-n-Malt, her eyes stung and blurred.
"We sure ate our share of onion rings and french fries there," Gordon said, stopping at the only traffic signal in town.
"It's a miracle our arteries didn't clog before graduation." Taylor smiled to herself and turned her gaze on the dark silhouette of the man beside her. "It was nice to see your mother again. She looks good."
"Mom has the constitution of a twelve-year-old and never lets me forget it." He chuckled, then sighed. "It was hard on her when Dad died, though."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't." He looked right at her in the darkness. "You ran away."
"I–" She bit her lip to silence her retort. It was true, after all. She had run away, but for a very good reason. How dare he blame it all on her? "I think you know why I left, Gordon, so let's stop pretending you don't."
"Do I?" The light turned green and Gordon eased the Jeep into motion. A barricade loomed before them, blocking Digby Boulevard. The street was flooded with water and several uniformed men were working on the problem. "Looks like a broken water main. We'll have to skirt around the edge of town to get to your place."
"Don't change the subject." Taylor folded her
Similar Books
