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With a great deal of effort, she kept her voice light and fun-filled. “I’m going to have to protest if you insist on kissing me like that, Mr. Nelson. We’ll never keep things on the nice friendly basis we’ve agreed to.”

She kicked off the ground and swung through the air waiting for his answer, praying he followed her lead. Cursing him for giving her that single taste of could have been.

One, two, three.

Just when she decided she’d have to jump down and force him to talk, he finally spoke. “Sorry. God, I’m sorry, Kacie Jo.”

Great. An apology. She’d touched heaven, and he wanted to apologize. She jumped off the swing and faced him, ready to give him what for and then some. But when she saw him standing there looking for all the world like one of her students when they realized they’d gone too far, she couldn’t do it.

“Don’t be ridiculous. What’s a kiss between friends? Besides, you knew I was dying to know what it would be like.”

“And?”

She was surprised he asked the question. One word or an entire sentence, the result was the same. He wanted to know what she thought. “Forget it. You want to fish for compliments, you go kiss some other girl.”

He laughed and she grabbed his hand and tugged him across the park to the grassy hill he’d wanted to sit on earlier. “Tell me about working there, in the middle of wars.”

Kacie Jo listened as Donovan talked about his job in generic terms. Words like deadlines, social media revolution and payoffs all running together to paint a picture of the work he did.

He obviously loved his job, and she knew first hand he was good. Everyone talked about Tex Nelson. Shoot, Wal-Mart carried posters of him. But the man sitting here talking was terribly unhappy. Grady was right. Donovan was barely hanging on.

As she watched him talk, Kacie Jo knew she’d do everything in her power to keep him from falling into the abyss.

“So when are you going back?” She asked the question as they sat in relative silence, the only sounds those of crickets and frogs and leaves blowing in the slight wind.

“Never.”

His answer surprised her. “But you love it.”

He nodded, staring off in the distance, remembering something or someone he wanted to forget. “I did.”

She took his hand in hers and tried to lighten his sudden heavy mood. “Hey, I’m sure you’ll be good as new after a vacation."

A pained grimace crossed his face at her words. But then he shrugged and stood, pulling her up as he did. “Sunrise.”

She recognized his attempt to change the subject for what it was, but when she looked off to the east, sure enough, the sky was painted with the reds, pinks and oranges she often woke early to see. She let him have his way with the conversation. “So it is. You know what that means.”

He kept looking toward the sunrise. “Hmmm?”

What memory had such a great hold on him? She didn’t want to ask and have him run away or worse, kiss her again. “Breakfast. Come on. I’ll take you to my house and make you the best coffee this side of the Mississippi, and then we’ll make omelets and call Grady and tell him what all he’s missing.”

“Your brother’s going to kill me.”

The way he said the words sent a shiver down Kacie Jo’s spine. “Don’t be crazy, Donovan. We spent all night at the park
talking
. It was fun. I’m not a kid anymore.”

Donovan didn’t look all that reassured. “He’s not a fool.”

Okay, enough was enough. “Look, I don’t care what Grady is or isn’t. If it’ll make you feel better we can call him up, invite him over for coffee and eggs. He’ll be up soon anyway.”

Finally, Donovan looked at her. And even though his thoughts still seemed far away, his smile was real enough. “I think I can handle breakfast with you without losing control.”

If anyone was worried about control, it was her. Under no circumstances would she ruin this night by letting her feelings run away with her.

“Then breakfast it is. You haven’t tasted anything until you’ve tasted my omelets.”

He laughed as he trailed behind her. “I seem to remember you saying something like that before.”

She remembered the day he was talking about. He and Grady had dug into her cookies and spit them out almost immediately.

It wasn’t her fault they’d left her behind instead of taking her on the fishing trip. And it wasn’t her fault they dug into the cookies like starving refugees.

Okay, so it was her fault she’d used a cup of cayenne pepper, but to her twelve-year-old mind, they’d deserved it.

“After today, you’ll never think of my cooking the same again.”

With those words, she grabbed Donovan’s hand and pulled him along behind her. She might not be able to make him forget all of his problems, but she could at least give him a couple more hours of simple friendship.

And maybe he’d find the solace he so desperately needed.

As he watched Kacie Jo whip eggs and cream in a glass bowl Donovan couldn’t remember a more relaxing time. He tried to pay attention to the cheese he was grating, but she kept singing some silly song about American girls as she danced around her little kitchen. Somehow, in the last few hours, Kacie Jo Jenkins had become absolutely irresistible.

He focused on the cheddar and told himself to get over it. The last thing in the world she needed was a guilt trip brought on by him.

But he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She really was pretty. Not gorgeous or perfect or glamorous or exotic. Simply pretty in a girl next door, real sort of way.
 

He’d love to see how the photographers would capture her. He could see her laughing on a swing or picking flowers out of the garden or carrying a plate of cookies. Or standing beside a bed taking off one piece of clothing after another until….

Dammit! He had to get a grip. He should’ve never kissed her, never touched her lips with his. Now that impression was seared on his memory for eternity. Well, that was good because that one kiss would have to last a lifetime.

She poured the egg into a waiting butter-filled skillet and faced him with a cross of perturbation and pretend disappointment.

“Geez, Donovan, you’d think I’d asked you to make the cheese from scratch.” She held out her hand, and he was struck by how shapely her fingers were, by how the red nail polish seemed at odds with the girl standing there.

“Hel-lo.” She interrupted his thoughts with a laugh. “I think I better take over or we’ll have burned eggs.”

She scooted him over with a bump of her hip and took the cheese from him. For some reason he was truly at a loss. He’d cooked over campfires all over the world, but here he couldn’t even concentrate on simple tasks. Lack of sleep didn’t begin to explain it. He’d gone far longer without sleep. And Kacie Jo didn’t seem a bit fazed by a sleepless night.

In fact, she looked pretty damn terrific. She looked like a freaking housewife, and he didn’t belong in her perfect country blue kitchen any more than he belonged in Caldale.

Again, he knew what he
should
do. As she sprinkled cheese and bacon over the eggs, he should hit the door running and never look back, but he couldn’t ruin her mood. Couldn’t bring himself to just leave even though he was a coward for staying.

She laughed at the disgruntled look on his face, misunderstanding. “Hey, no frowning allowed. Just wait until you taste it.”

She held the egg out to him as she said the words and he instinctively closed his mouth over the food. He swallowed the bite, salt and cream and light egg bursting across his taste buds.

Focus on the food.
“You were right. It’s great.”

She tossed him an I-told-you-so smile and shuffled the second omelet onto a plate and then had him sit while she got their coffee.

Donovan didn’t trust himself to watch her anymore. He was an idiot, a fool. And he needed to get out of there. Instead, he sat eating breakfast like he had every right in the world to be there with her.

God, he was well and truly a complete and total ass.

Kacie Jo sashayed over to the table and Donovan considered asking her to please go change into something less revealing. Something like a full-length coat, gloves, a fur hat and scarf would do nicely.

Instead she sat across from him all pretty as you please.

“So, where next?”

Donovan almost spit out his coffee at her question. “What?”

She put her fork down. “You know. Where next? Since you’re not going back to the Middle East, where will you go?”

Oh, what a question. Donovan’d been wondering himself. “I’ve had a few offers.”

She took another bite of omelet, and he was amazed. She wasn’t feeling anything, not a damn thing, but hunger—for
food
. How was it possible? He could practically feel the air spark to life around them.

“But?”

He set his fork on the side of his plate and shrugged. “But I don’t need to decide just now.”

She moved the food around on her plate. How in the hell had eggs become so damn sexy?

“Not hungry?” Kacie Jo pointed to his half eaten omelet.

Oh honey, if you only knew
. Donovan just shook his head. “I’m not much on breakfast.”

She shrugged again and Donovan noticed the way her shoulders were slightly rounded, the way her neck was gently lined with small veins, the way she still had that tiny beauty mark under her right eye.

Finally, he could take no more. Pushing away from the table, he almost jumped out of his chair. “I’d better get going.”

Kacie Jo seemed about to protest but then reconsidered. “I hate to see you leave. Especially not knowing where you’re going.”

If he’d had any idea Kacie Jo would affect him like this, he would’ve burned those letters.

“As soon as I know where I’m going, I’ll get in touch.” He spoke the words knowing they were a lie.

She stood across the white ceramic tiled floor, she crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes searching his for truth, refusing to demand it.
 

“So….” She stopped and waited for him the same way he’d been waiting for the last few minutes. But they weren’t waiting for the same thing, and that was why he was leaving.

“Yeah, well, so, I guess I’ll…”

His words were interrupted by the shrill sound of her house phone, and he was surprised at the relief he felt. Now, he could simply leave, no goodbyes, no crazy impulsive decision by him that would be bad for both of them.

With a wave and his signature devil-may-care smile, Donovan opened the door and headed to God only knew where.

Kacie Jo grabbed the phone on the third ring. Shoot! Here she was missing her chance for a proper goodbye from the man of her dreams. She should’ve just let the machine get it.

“Hello.” She practically growled the word.

“Kacie Jo, put Donovan on the line now.”

Great. The last thing she needed or wanted was to listen to Grady, but at least his call served one purpose. She told her brother to hold on and ran to her door.

“Donovan, wait. Grady’s on the phone.”

Even though he was facing away, she could bet he was every bit as unhappy as she was with the unwanted call. Okay. Different reason, but still not a bit happy.

As he walked back toward her, she stared in wonder. Even after spending all night with him talking, he still had the power to leave her breathless.

She handed the receiver over and worried over the Mickey Mouse phone. Would it just reinforce the idea that she was a kid? She should've gotten rid of the house phone months ago.

It didn’t matter. He could think whatever he wanted. Maybe it was better if he did think of her as a kid. She wasn’t going to give into temptation. No matter how much she wanted to.

A frown furrowed his brow, and he said no and then no again, and then when it looked like he was about to hand her the phone, his shoulders tensed, and his hand clenched on the receiver.

She didn’t need to hear his response to know what Grady had said. Still, hearing it left her more than a little thrilled.

He didn’t even pause just jumped right in. “Listen here, Grady. I know this stems from worry over your baby sister, but we better get something straight right now. Kacie Jo is fully capable of making her own decisions. She’s not some kid who can’t keep her head screwed on straight. She’s a mature woman, not in the running for Valedictorian. And I know exactly who I am and what I’m doing.”

With those words, he pushed the phone back into her hands and headed for the door.

Oh no he didn’t! Kacie Jo couldn’t let him leave. Not like this. Not upset and looking crazy.

She grabbed Donovan’s arm and hoped he’d wait.

“Thanks so much, Grady," she practically growled into the phone. "You’re a great friend all right. I swear you’re an idiot sometimes!”

She didn’t wait for an answer, just slammed down the phone and turned to Donovan. “Don’t go.”

She’d meant the words to come out normal, as if she’d asked him if he needed more coffee or a glass of water. But they didn’t. They were a plea.

She held her breath as she waited for his answer, and when he just stood there half way out her door, she couldn’t wait another second.