She nodded. “I’m spending most of tomorrow with my family, since it’s the last day of my leave. I’ve talked Mom into letting me sit with Meemaw while Mom goes to church and out to lunch with some of her friends from there. I’ll probably stay for dinner, and my brother and sister are going to try to drop by for a while.”
“Nice that you can spend time with them.” He rose as he spoke, tugging at the hem of his shirt but not bothering to refasten the top buttons. He looked quite dashing with his sleeves rolled back and his chest half bared. Meagan was briefly tempted to drag him back down to the couch, but she resisted. She’d had good reason to call a halt, she reminded herself.
She walked him to the door. “So, I’ll see you around?”
He dropped a hand on her shoulder, looking down at her with a quizzical little smile. “You will most definitely see me around. I’ll call you tomorrow evening.”
She nodded. “That would be nice.”
He bent his head to kiss her good night, his lips lingering softly against hers before he moved away. “Good night, Meagan.”
“Good night.”
Closing the door behind him, she rested her cheek against the cool wood for a moment, her knees pleasantly wobbly, her skin deliciously hypersensitive. She suspected she would spend the next few restless hours wondering if she’d been an idiot to send Seth away.
Seth’s house was dark and quiet when he let himself into the kitchen. He frowned as he tossed his keys on the counter, the resulting clatter seeming to echo through the empty rooms. He’d gotten so accustomed to having Alice living with him full time that he hardly knew what to do with himself when he was here alone.
Waldo barked a couple of times on the other side of the kitchen door, probably having heard Seth moving around inside. Though he’d fed the dog and given him fresh water before leaving for the evening, he opened the door to check on him anyway, using his body to block Waldo from dashing in. A brick patio lay off the kitchen and he sat for a few minutes in one of the patio chairs, rubbing the dog’s head and gazing up at the stars. An airplane passed far overhead, lights blinking against the inky sky. In just three short weeks, Alice would be on a plane headed off for a month with her mother.
“We’re both going to miss her then, aren’t we, pal?” he said aloud to the dog, who licked Seth’s fingers and crowded closer.
He supposed he and Jacqui would have to share responsibility for the mutt during that month. He hoped Jacqui had been telling the truth when she said she liked dogs and wouldn’t mind helping with Waldo when Alice was away. He hoped everything Jacqui had said was true, he added with a wry twist to his mouth. He still wondered if he’d let himself be overly influenced by Alice’s wishes when he’d rather impulsively offered Jacqui the job. But he had to admit Jacqui had certainly inspired confidence.
He chuckled quietly when he remembered the way she had made it very clear that there would be no “funny business” between her and an employer. He had assured her gravely that she need have no concerns in that respect. He hadn’t added that while he thought she was attractive, in a gamine sort of way, she wasn’t really his type.
His thoughts drifted across the street, to the woman who was very much his type, apparently, since he could not seem to stop obsessing about her.
What had made her call such an abrupt halt to their kisses this evening? He had no doubt that she’d been enjoying their embraces as much as he was, and she’d certainly been an eager participant. But then he’d sensed a sudden change in her mood. She hadn’t had to say anything, not even to push lightly against him—he’d simply known it was over.
He sighed, both sorry and somewhat relieved the evening had ended when it had. His disappointed body still ached with needs he hadn’t satisfied in quite a while. Yet he reminded himself that he needed to be careful about getting involved in a relationship that could turn out to be a disaster on several levels. He had to think first of Alice.
Had Meagan thought of Alice at just that crucial moment? Or had some other reservation caused her to draw away? Whatever the reason, it probably was best that he’d be spending tonight in his own otherwise empty bed.
Not that he was sleepy yet. Absently tugging at one of Waldo’s droopy ears, he felt the adrenaline still pumping through his veins, though his pulse was gradually returning to normal as he relaxed with the blissful dog. It had been a long time since he’d indulged in a “make-out session” on a couch. And damn, it had been fun. He suspected he’d have to pay for the pleasure with a long, restless night ahead—but all in all, he decided it had been worth the price.
Meagan sat in her mother’s living room, rocking and reading—or trying to read. The house was peaceful. Her grandmother was napping in her bedroom, and her mother hadn’t yet returned home from her outing with her church friends. The book was a goo
d one, with interesting characters and an intriguing mystery but Meagan’s attention kept wandering.
As hard as she tried to think about anything but Seth, she wasn’t having a great deal of success.
Noise from the kitchen made her close the book, thinking her mother was home a little early. She shook her head in exasperation, hoping her mom hadn’t called the outing short because she felt guilty about being away from home for a few hours. Meagan had assured her she would be fine here with Meemaw for several hours, and that her mom should take advantage of the chance to get out. It wasn’t often Meagan was free to donate time during the day, even when her mom would allow her to do so.
Prepared to fuss, she sank bank into the chair when her sister dragged into the room. Madison gave her a little wave of greeting, then walked to the couch and made a production of falling face down upon it.
Meagan chuckled. “Rough day?”
Without lifting her head from an embroidered throw pillow, Madison groaned. “Thirty-hour call. Six admissions. One little jerk medical student with a chip on his shoulder.”
“Been home yet?”
“No. Wanted to see you and Mom.” Madison’s voice was muffled and drowsy. Two minutes later, her even breathing told Meagan her sister was asleep.
“Nice to see you, too,” Meagan murmured, settling back into the rocker with her book.
Twenty minutes later, Meagan’s reading was disturbed again.
“Got your mind on someone…er, something else?”