Sleepless Nights (The Donovans of the Delta) by Peggy Webb Page A

Years of courage under pressure allowed him to hold his hands steady as he brushed her tumbling hair back from her face. “A simple kiss, no feelings involved.”
    “Absolutely none.”
    How he loved her courage! She was perfectly poised, meeting his gaze with a cool, steady one that belied her high color and kiss-pouted mouth. He wanted to haul her back into his arms and take her so fiercely, so thoroughly, that she would be bound to him forever. He wanted to enslave her with passion so that she would never turn to another man.
    He reached out and cupped her face. “Mandy?”
    He wanted to drown in those beautiful eyes she lifted to him. “What is it, Tanner?”
    Temptation ripped through him, and he almost gave in. But he knew, looking down at her, that he would be the one enslaved. Taking her again wouldn’t be release; it would be bondage.
    He lowered his hands, vowing to himself again that tomorrow would be different. “Time to go home.”
    “Yes. I feel guilty leaving Maxine alone in the shop so long. It is the Christmas season, you know.”
    He took her hand as they walked toward the surrey. “I’ll help out, Amanda—to make up for taking you away from the shop. I’ve never sold antique ladies’ clothing, but I can learn.”
    She laughed. “I can just see you among all those ruffled petticoats and tiny pearl buttons. The ladies would love it, of course, but I’m afraid that with that big athlete’s body you’d be as out of place as a bull in a china shop. No thanks, Tanner.”
    They gathered the quilt and the leftover chocolate bars and headed back into town. Progress in the rusty old surrey was slow, but neither of them minded. There was a pleasant camaraderie between them, a comfortable give-and-take that had nothing to do with the past. The image of Amanda that he’d held for eleven years gradually faded under the reality of the Amanda who sat at his side. She was a stunning, mature, multifaceted woman, a woman who was constantly growing and changing, a woman a man would never tire of. He ached for everything he had missed and was missing.
    When he left her at the shop, he felt as if there were two minutes left in the game and he’d thrown a touchdown pass that had missed its mark.
    “What I need is a hot meal and a restoration of sanity.” Talking to the mule seemed ordinary under the circumstances.
    He loosened the reins and urged old Josephine homeward.
     o0o
    “If you don’t look like the cat that swallowed the canary, I don’t know who does.” Maxine pulled out a chair and motioned to Amanda. “Sit down and tell me every delicious detail.”
    Amanda sat down, pulled off her shoes, and rubbed her feet. “How was business today?”
    “Business! You want to talk business when I’m dying of curiosity?”
    Amanda quickly surveyed the shop. “I see the red velvet and the black satin dresses are gone. Who bought them?”
    “Evelyn Jo bought the red, and a Mrs. David Blasengame from somewhere up north, Milwaukee, or somewhere snowbound and frigid, bought the black. Now quit pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about and tell me why you’re all pink and flushed and gorgeous and looking like you’ve had sex.”
    “Maxine, if you weren’t my dearest and oldest friend, I’d fire you on the spot. Furthermore, I’d be offended.”
    Maxine laughed. “You’re too softhearted to fire me, and you’re too tolerant to be offended. I love you like a sister, and I know that something happened on that picnic today.”
    Amanda felt a rush of affection for her friend. Confiding might help ease the burden. She raked her hand through her hair and glanced toward the door to make sure no customers were coming into the shop. “I’m afraid I’m falling in love with Tanner Donovan all over again.”
    “That’s wonderful.”
    “That’s horrible. We’ve hurt each other before. I don’t want to go through that again.”
    “How do you know it would happen again?”
    “I don’t know.