Redwood Bend

of Virgin River women who were in love with you when they were twelve is pretty limited. You probably don’t have to worry.”
He smiled at her. “You? Were you in love with me?”
“Oh, God, wildly. Madly. I sincerely believed we would meet somehow and you would marry me. But you went away and I threw you over for Jason Priestley. Later I threw him over for the Backstreet Boys. Then I got interested in boys my own age who were real. I had to finally accept the fact that Jason Priestley would never take me to the prom.”
“The Backstreet Boys,” he muttered. “Priestley—I can live with that. But the Backstreet Boys? Jesus, Katie.”
“It was a rough time…”
“So now will you tell everyone you can think of that you had sex with Dylan Childress? The ex-star?”
“Is that what you’re used to?” she asked, knowing the answer.
“It’s happened. That’s why there haven’t been that many…”
“Like who?” she asked. “Who does a guy like you hook up with?”
He gave a little shrug. “Women who didn’t want a boyfriend. Never local girls—they want to get married. Almost strangers, but not total strangers. Sometimes I’d meet someone when we flew charters—there was an expiration date on those relationships. I was kind of hit and run…involved with people I probably wouldn’t see again…”
“How original, for a playboy,” she said. “Well, this may come as a shock, but I haven’t ever let myself get involved with someone like you before, someone who absolutely swears he can’t be committed. In fact, I don’t think I can build much self-esteem by bragging that I nailed an actor—especially one who promises to ditch me as quickly as possible. That really undermines my self-image, which I’d rather bolster.” She thought for a second. “I might get some interesting press out of the fact that I threw up in your plane… I think, since I’m awake, I’ll have a quick shower. That way if you’re still here when I’m done, I’ll be all fresh and sweet and you can resume counting.” She lifted an eyebrow and slid away from him, stalking across the bedroom stark naked. Head held high.
Damn, he thought. Look at her. She gave her long hair a toss and gathered it on top of her head before entering the bathroom. And he was hard again. She was way under his skin.
He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Well, there was an upside, he thought. Now that it was all out in the open, she would understand where he was coming from, why he was a bad relationship risk and was doing her a favor by not getting involved with her or her kids. She would know all the names in his familial periphery—all those Hollywood losers who couldn’t stay out of trouble or make a normal family life work. And obviously she’d heard all the rumors about how much trouble he’d been in, how unreliable he was....
If you’re still here when I’m done…
He could spend a little time with her, as long as it didn’t get too serious. As long as he explained, with consideration for her feelings, why he’d have to move on. And she’d be fine with that because she was no longer a twelve-year-old fan girl.
And he leaped out of bed and went to the bathroom. The shower was running and he stepped inside. “You’re not going to get away with this,” he said.
“What?”
“Showering alone while I’m still counting.” And he took her lips just as he took the soap out of her hands.
Katie was making coffee in the kitchen when the door to the cabin opened and the boys came in. “Shh,” she said. “Be very quiet. You can go to your bedroom and change clothes for summer program if you’re very quiet.”
Right behind them, Conner stepped into the cabin.
“Well, you’re not Leslie, now are you?”
“There’s a motorcycle outside your cabin.”
“Yes, Conner, I know this,” she whispered. “Please don’t wake him.”
“Why? Did he have a rough night?”
“Don’t go there unless you really want to know, because if it will back you off just to give you the grim details, I’ll do it,” she said.
“Don’t,” he said, closing his eyes. “I don’t want my ears bleeding… Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?”
Unlikely, she thought. But she said, “I’m a grown-up.”
In the bedroom, Dylan felt the sunlight on the back of his lids and thought, whoa, that last session they’d had had really knocked him out. God, she was going to kill him, she was that good. He slept like the dead. And