Forgiving Patience (7 page)

“Why, look at that. I lost my darn
chance. It looks like the guitar player is making a move on Ms. Kelly,” Tex
said, not looking too upset. The guy would have another woman to dance with in
a matter of seconds. Poor woman.

Jake snapped his head over to stare
at the man standing by the table where Anna and Jesse were seated. He was
bending down, brushing back some strands of hair that had fallen into her face,
and whispering something into her ear. Whatever the man said made Anna blush
and glance toward her new friend. Stupid Jesse—of course she would be the one
to sway her toward a man who was twice Anna’s age. He had to be almost fifty.
How dare that old man prey on a pretty woman he didn’t stand a chance
with—besides this one dance.

The geezer took Anna by the hand and
led her to the dance floor. Jake could tell by her stiff posture she was a tad
uncomfortable, but probably because she was nervous. Then a smile broke out on
her face, followed by loud, carrying laughter. She looked happy with the guitar
geezer.

Well, this is just damn perfect.

Jake set his beer bottle on an empty
nearby table, fearful he might break it with only his grip, and clenched his
fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white. He knew what anger felt like.
It was a feeling that could carry a man away and swallow him up. Jake didn’t
like the emotion, but he couldn’t exactly wish it away. If he could, he
wouldn’t have spent years of his life swallowed up.

What to do now? Only thing to do was
wait and see how far this dance lasted.
The guy has to
go back and play with his
bandmates
sometime.
He knew the party wouldn’t end for
another several hours. Good plan—just wait.

What’s
wrong with me?
I
should care less who Anna decides to dance with.
Right now he just had to be content with watching
her. If he were honest, he would have to admit he’d watched her most of the
night. In the beginning she looked almost scared at being around all the people
she hadn’t seen or probably talked to in over a decade.

Her entire face lit up at the sight
of her—well, technically—
his
elderly neighbor. Jake knew Anna had an unspoken bond
with Edna, which was hard to form. He had tried visiting the grouchy woman, but
all she’d had to say was “Lawrence,” which amused him and forced him to reply,
“Edna.” When she didn’t say anything further, he gave her a friendly wave and
headed back across the field. The woman actually scared him a little.

Anna looked more relaxed after
sitting with Jesse. Probably because of the glasses of wine Jesse kept handing
over to her. Anna didn’t look like a woman who drank much or who could hold
much alcohol. Jesse should’ve known Anna wasn’t like her. Jesse was one of the
guys—sort of—though she didn’t look like one of the guys. She was tall, slim,
could drink any guy under the table, and beat ‘em at a game of pool at the same
time.

“You’re still staring at her, I see.”

“What?” Jake had forgotten Tex was
still around. Damn.

“Anna. You’re still watching her. If
you want it that bad, why don’t you go over and interrupt the dance?” Tex gave
him a wink and small push. “If you don’t, I just might.”

Yeah—that wasn’t happening, but while
Jake would love to walk over there and send the geezer back to the stage to do
what he was hired for, he wasn’t sure how Anna would take it. She wouldn’t want
to cause a scene at Em and Tommy’s party.
Maybe
that gave him an advantage. She knew
all eyes would be on them—the two high school lovers dancing. She wouldn’t want
to embarrass herself, or Em.

Maybe Tex’s idea wasn’t so bad. “You
know, Tex, that might be the best thing to come out of your mouth tonight.”
Jake picked up his beer up from the table next to him and took a long gulp
before sitting it back down again.

He left Tex, his beer, and the wall
he had propped himself up on for the night, behind. He walked around a couple
of older folks slow dancing before he crept up on Anna and her dance partner.

“Can I cut in?” He didn’t give Anna
much of a choice because he put one arm around her back and his other one cut
in between the couple, letting them know he was indeed interrupting their
dance.

“What are you doing, Jake?” Anna
asked from the corner of her mouth, giving him a pointed stare.

“We’ve got some unfinished business
to talk about. I’m sure gee—I mean the guitar player wouldn’t mind cutting the
dance a little short.”

“I mind, so move your arm,” she
protested through gritted teeth.

“Sorry, but I can’t do that.”
Ignoring the guitar player, Jake narrowed his gaze on Anna. “We need to talk.
Now.”

Geezer interjected, “I’ve got to get
back to work anyway. Ms. Kelly, it was nice to meet you.” He leaned across
Jake’s arm and was barely able to lay a kiss on Anna’s cheek.

Jake tensed at the kiss, but he was
satisfied to be sending the guy packing. What a wimp. He would never let some
guy cut in while he was dancing with a woman—a hot woman, at that. The guy
didn’t deserve to be dancing with Anna if he couldn’t even defend his right to
be with her.

“
Uughhh
…”
Anna stomped one of her crimson heels. “What is your deal, Jake?”

“Did you really just stomp your foot
at me?”

Chapter Four

Anna couldn’t believe what Jake had
just done. She was having a perfectly normal time with Kevin Costner—normal
being the key word. He was very sweet and interesting. It had been a long time
since she’d enjoyed another man’s company and didn’t mind sharing a dance or
two with him. And good grief, he looked just like the man she watched in the
movies. She wondered if he knew of his strong resemblance to Kevin Costner. He
had to. No man could go through life and not know he strongly looked like the
man who played in
Bull Durham
and her personal favorite,
For
the Love of the Game.
Which brought her full circle to the man now standing in front of her.

“Yes, I just stomped my foot at you.
Why did you run
Kev
—I mean Cam off like that?”

“Cam? You’re already on a short name
basis?” he asked. “You never gave me any nickname.”

“His name is Cameron, and we were
talking about his music, at least we were until you rudely interrupted. And I
have plenty of names for you, but for the sake of Em and Jill, I will refrain
from using them.”

A smile split his face. She couldn’t
stop her heart from skipping a beat or two. Her stomach fluttered, and she
hoped he couldn’t see her uneasiness with him. After all, she was furious with
him for so many things. He was constantly making her life difficult. Between
him just being him, the whole house situation, and him invading her privacy
just now—she had no reason to find him sinfully sexy. Cam was uncomplicated.
Jake was difficult, cocky, reckless, and unnaturally good-looking.

Add all that up, and you got a very
complicated, sexy-as-hell man. Not what she needed.

Between the dim lighting and absence
of a ball cap shielding his eyes this time, she had full access to his
devastating stare. She could feel the intensity clear to the juncture of her
thighs. He cleaned up damned good. Instead of the stained and sweat-drenched
jeans and T-shirt he’d had on earlier—he now sported a black dress shirt, with
the sleeves rolled halfway up his arm, topped with a black tie tucked behind a
gray-and-black vest. A narrow black belt circled his trim hips, anchoring his
tailored black pants—which fit him just as well as the grimy work pants he’d
worn earlier. Did he always have to look so good? What would it feel like to
run her fingers through his sun-streaked hair curving just under his shirt
collar?

Don’t
you dare move those fingers. Control yourself!
She needed to get it together. Jake was off limits in
so many ways. Better yet, she was off limits to him. What purpose did he have
for running Cam off? Did he actually enjoy throwing her for a loop? What a
jerk.

“I have to say you look stunning
tonight, Ms. Kelly. He ran his gaze up and down her body, stopping at her eyes,
as if to say
I don’t apologize for pushing my way into
your dance.

“Quit trying to change the subject.”

“Which subject might that be, Ms.
Kelly?”

She stared at him, momentarily
speechless. But he actually looked like he expected an answer. Finally she
said, “That you just invaded my privacy again.”

The band started a new song with the
addition of Cam rejoining them. She knew it was a song she should have
recognized, but her mind was too busy rummaging through other things—especially
the man running his hands up and down the snug fabric on her back.

At least she felt somewhat attractive
in her simple black dress and favorite red heels. While the dress was snug
because of some extra pounds she’d gained, she had to admit it made her feel
sexy. She wished she would’ve had more time to reapply her makeup and do
something with her hair, but the dress and heels made up for what she was
lacking in the hair department. She might have had to wear a high neckline, but
instead of overbearing amounts of cleavage, she showed off curvy hips—something
Jake had complimented her on while he had her backside pressed up hard against
him, having her fight through the humidity for air.

Jake pulled her close, while she kept
her hands on his shoulders, trying to lessen the closeness, if that was even
possible. She fit snugly against his hard thighs. Her face heated at the memory
of the encounter from earlier. In one day, he had already pulled her up against
him twice—forward and backward. Having to look at his suntanned face while
being grasped tightly in his hold was a little too much. All the blood was
rushing to her head. She gripped his shoulders a little tighter by squeezing
his vest between her fingers, fearful of making a complete fool of herself and
passing out in the middle of the dance floor because of some old high school
crush. He must have taken the touch as meaning she wanted to get closer,
because his hands left her back as he took both of her arms and wrapped them
around his neck.

Trying to squirm away from him did
not work.

“You better just dance, Ms. Kelly.
The whole room is watching,” he whispered near her ear.

Anna averted her gaze to the room of
watchers with a sick feeling in her stomach and then gave her dance partner a
look of disgust. He had her, and they both knew it. He knew she wouldn’t cause
a scene in front of everyone. So now it made sense. He was definitely trying to
irritate her and knew she would play along because she didn’t want the
embarrassment. Well, he was wrong. She was not going to enjoy the dance.

“You can stop calling me Ms. Kelly
now.”

Cocking his head to the side, he
said, “Why, you don’t like it?”

“No.”

“You liked it when Cam said it.”

She couldn’t stop her cheeks from
turning rosy red again, more at annoyance than embarrassment. “Well, maybe you
should have taken the hint and asked some other defenseless woman to dance.”

“I wanted you,” he stated simply.

Anna sucked in a breath and let it
out slowly. How could this man make you want to kill him in his sleep one
minute, and the next cause her heart to become a puddle at his feet?

Something told her her dance partner
was watching her every move a little too closely, and she tried checking her
emotions.

“I’m furious with you at the moment.”

“What for, Ms. K…sweetness?” he
choked out.

“Don’t act dumb with me. You know
damn well why I’m mad at you. How could you take my house from me?” She hadn’t
meant to sound so desperate, but the throbbing in her throat leaked out before
she could swallow it.

“I didn’t take your house. I’m
renting it from you. There’s a big difference.”

“You purposely hid that you are
renting it from me. You could’ve told me earlier.”

He shifted her in his arms until she
rested perfectly at his midsection. He bent down low and spoke low and thick in
her ear, “Since you brought it up—I have to say I’m truly, truly sorry for…well,
you know.”

No, she didn’t know. What was he
sorry for? Was it because he ran her off the road, because he took her house
without her signing off on it, or because he had her wanting to have sex right
on the front lawn? Or was he sorry for all those years ago when he crushed her
heart?

“I’m just saying, you could’ve told
me I wouldn’t be staying at my house while I am back in town,” she said
frostily.

“If I said that, it would be a lie.
You are more than welcome to stay at the house.”

“What?”

“You can stay at the house if you
want. There are two bedrooms and a lumpy couch. You’re welcome to any of the
three.”

“Okay, I’ll have to say that’s a no.
I will just stay at Garrett’s until I get you out of my place.