Drowned In His Desire

5

Her soft brown eyes bored into my soul. "I think I already have," she said. "I didn't have a choice about that and you didn't let me down. Yes, Canyon, you've already shown me that I can trust you. Please don't be upset with me."

I took her hands in mine. "How could I be upset with you? You're a mom, looking out for your baby. I understand completely."

She visibly relaxed. "Thank you," she said. "Will you have dinner with us Wednesday evening?"

"Yes, I'd love that, but only if you come to my place," I said. "I'm not going to load you up with work making dinner for me. Let me do that for you."

I paid the check and walked her to her SUV. We hugged and she drove away. She was quite a lady, I thought. That husband of hers must have been nuts. The days flew by and I took Wednesday afternoon off. I had fired up the smoker that morning and we were having ribs, outside on the back deck. I made potato salad and coleslaw and put baked beans in the smoker too. Dara came over about three and we hung out, drinking beer and lounging around in the back yard. I have a nice hammock hung between two trees and we cuddled in there for most of the afternoon. I got up, tended the fire now and again and got more beer, but mostly, we talked.

She was in her final year of undergraduate school. She was majoring in biochemistry and she wanted to do medical research. Medical schools were hard to get in, but she had already been accepted. She told me stories about her and Kara, what she had been like, things they had done together. They were happy stories but I could tell they made her a little sad. She was still grieving. Julia got there about six and she came around and smiled when she saw us snuggled up in the hammock.

"Hey, kids," she called. "Sorry I'm late. I made a pie."

She wasn't late and the pie turned out to be delicious. It was apple, and we ate it with vanilla ice cream. After dinner, we took the truck and drove down to the river. They wanted to go, but I was more than a little apprehensive. I had gone down and rescued the kayaks the first time I came home and they were pulled up on the bank.

I helped them out of the truck and we walked down to the edge of the water with my arms around their shoulders, just squeezing them a little. They both cried some but there wasn't the meltdown I had feared. We talked about the kayaks and Dara didn't want anything to do with them. We talked about that for a while and I think she realized that the accident had nothing to do with the kayaks. I saw something shiny about ten yards out in the stream, caught between two rocks. We walked over to get a better look.

"My rod!" I exclaimed. I had to explain to them what had been going on. It had a bad effect on Dara. She started crying again and talking about how she had made me lose that big fish.

I hugged her tighter and made her look at me. "Dara, I'd throw away every bit of tackle I have and everything in my house for the chance to meet you, much less save your life," I told her. "I'm sorry about the circumstances, but I'll never be sorry I helped you or sorry I met you."

She stared at me for a minute. Her hands reached out and locked behind my head as she pulled me down. The softest, fullest lips I'd ever imagined crushed mine and I could feel the smoke rising off my head. She broke the kiss and molded herself to me, nuzzling her face into my chest. I looked over at Julia and she mouthed "slow" to me. I nodded and just held that tiny little thing in my arms, never wanting to let her go.

I waded out and got the rod and we loaded the kayaks up in the back of my truck. We went back to the house and they left. They both hugged me and Dara gave me another one of those kisses. I promised to bring the kayaks by, and when Dara was getting in her car, I called out for her to wait.

"Would you like to go to a concert with me Saturday?" I asked.

"I'd love to." She smiled up at me.

"Okay, we'll be gone pretty much all day and get back pretty late," I told her.

"Perfect," she said. "What time will you pick me up and what should I wear?"

"I'll pick you up at ten in the morning," I told her. "I'll bring you something to wear. What size are you, if that isn't rude?"

She laughed. "If I was a big gal it would be. I'm a two."

She drove away and I felt lonely for the first time in years. That little girl was getting to places that hadn't been touched in a while.

Friday rolled around, and I took the day off. The EPA was satisfied and I had found a water treatment guy with whom I was very happy. It was time to get rolling on my date. I got the bike out of the garage. The 2002 Harley-Davidson VRSCA hadn't been ridden for a while. Some of the Harley purists hate it because it's water-cooled, but no one ever tried to kick my ass over it. I was in love with it. A dirt dauber had built a nest on one of the pegs and I cleaned it up, put fuel in it and fired it up. It throbbed under me as I pulled on my helmet. It was off to go shopping, now. I knew the perfect place. I have a friend that rides and his wife runs a shop that caters to women riders.

She helped me out. I wanted black or red to set off that beautiful blonde hair and she found me the whole outfit in red. She even had it in a two. "Are you sure, Darlin'?" she asked me. "This is mostly for young girls."

I held up my hand at about five feet and drew an imaginary figure in the air for her. She agreed that was probably what I needed and I bought it. Leather is expensive and I just dreamed about how she was going to look in it when I paid.

I had it wrapped and went to bed early that night. It was a beautiful morning when I got up and I saw the curtain pull back when I pulled up at their house. Dara met me at the door with a hug and I handed her the package. "Is Jules home?" I asked.

"No, she's doing a claim," she said. "There's coffee on. Is this what you want me to wear?"

"It's a fashion show and then a bike ride," I told her.

She giggled and went upstairs to change. She was gone about twenty minutes and when she came back down, I was just stunned. Those red leathers fit her like a glove. She laughed at the look on my face and came to stand in front of me. She turned, giving me the full treatment and she looked spectacular. She was tiny, but shaped like something out of a fantasy artwork.