Midnight Kiss (5 page)

Mesmerized by a streak of dirt across her cheek, he absently asked, “Halloween party?”

Autumn hid her smile. “Fifty-two residents, ghosts, and a certain doctor who wants to make sure we all behave ourselves.”

Thane felt a flush sweep up his neck as he hastily started to rake another pile of leaves. What in the hell had happened to his brains? They seemed to have turned to mush at the sight of her luscious lips and the sweet curve of her cheek. “Let’s take care of these leaves before it gets dark, and then we can discuss the Halloween party.”

Autumn was bewildered by Thane’s sudden change of mood. It was just like the night on the porch. One minute he was sweet and tender and the next he put more distance between them than if he were a strict Quaker.

She was bending to scoop up the pile Thane had raked when a gust of wind whipped through the yard. At the same moment, Thane and Autumn dove for the full basket before it was blown empty. They collided.

Thane felt the wind knocked out of him as Autumn’s shoulder crashed into his diaphragm. The basket was forgotten as he landed flat on his back.

Autumn quickly forgot the pain shooting from her shoulder and stared down at Thane in horror. “Oh, Lord, I’m sorry.” She bent over him. “Are you all right?”

Thane kept his eyes closed as he gulped in much-needed air. What was she wearing, concrete shoulder pads? He knew she had to be in good physical condition from police work, but he hadn’t expected such power. Their collision had only thrown her off balance for a moment while he’d ended up kissing the dirt.

“Thane, answer me!” She leaned in closer as his eyelids fluttered and a low groan rumbled in his chest. Concerned, she started to kneel down and reached out to feel his forehead.

He snuck a peak at her under his lashes, and in a flash his hand snaked out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her as he rolled away.

Crisp, dry leaves cushioned her fall. Her laughter filled the air as she turned onto her back, flinging an armload of leaves at Thane. “That was a rotten thing to do.”

His face looming above hers, and he smiled in triumph as he brushed off his sweater. “Yes, it was, but you deserved it.” His fingers were gentle as they swept back a mass of curls from her face and tenderly wiped the dirt off her cheek.

Autumn felt his warmth against her cold cheeks. “Here I had you pegged for a gentleman.”

“Ah, but I am a gentleman.” His gray eyes darkened with desire as he gazed hungrily at her lips. “If I weren’t such a gentleman, I’d be kissing you right now.”

Autumn’s lips parted with a sigh.
Finally!
“Thane, don’t be a gentleman.”

He picked a leaf from her hair. Was there a goddess of fall? Why hadn’t he paid more attention in school when mythology was covered? Autumn looked like a goddess wearing a halo of golden leaves. Her hair shone with a fiery brilliance in the late afternoon sunlight. Eyes the color of spring grass turned a deeper green as he slowly ran his thumb over her lower lip. He had never kissed a goddess before. Hell, he hadn’t even known goddesses existed. His head lowered to taste a forbidden treasure from Mount Olympus.

Autumn felt the warmth of his tentative kiss and melted inside. Her arms rose and encircled his neck, pulling him closer. When he didn’t deepen the kiss, she boldly ran her tongue over his lower lip.

Thane felt the electrifying heat of her playful move clear down to his toes. Desire swelled, and need throbbed. He lost the control he had been hanging on to by sheer willpower. He plunged his tongue past her moist lips and stormed the gates of heaven.

The sound of her moan brought him back to his senses. He broke the kiss immediately and hungrily gazed at her moist, pink mouth. What was he doing? He should definitely not be kissing Autumn. She was the granddaughter of one of his patients and a royal thorn in his side. The woman had single-handedly been sabotaging the home’s chances to be number one. Any idiot would know not to mix business with pleasure.

He ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, that shouldn’t have happened.”

Dazed, Autumn looked around and wondered why she’d invited his kiss. She slowly sat up and busied herself by brushing the leaves from her sweater. With her eyes lowered, she said, “Don’t apologize. I asked for it.”

Thane tried to read her expression. He couldn’t. He watched in silence as she got to her feet, and then slowly joined her. He got the impression he had hurt her with his apology. What was he supposed to do now, apologize for apologizing? If the jury was still deliberating on whether he was an idiot or not, another apology would surely sway the doubtful.

Autumn gave the scattered leaves a vicious swipe with the rake. The flush of humiliation sweeping up her face clashed with her tangled red hair. She couldn’t believe she actually asked for and enjoyed the kiss. Doc Clayborne was the last man in the Milky Way who should attract her. The man was a bona fide hero. His kisses were probably tinted red, white, and blue, while a yellow streak ran down her back. To add insult to injury, he had the audacity to apologize.

Keeping a safe distance from Autumn and the swinging rake, he picked up the full basket of leaves. “Where do you want me to dump these?”

Over your head would be nice
, she thought, but she answered, “Behind the house is a compost.”

Thane bit the inside of his cheek. He had read her expression and knew exactly what she wanted to say. He couldn’t blame her either. His behavior could be classified as borderline schizophrenic. For six months they had circled each other like wary dogs, two days before they had struck a bargain, and now he couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything but the delicious sweetness of her mouth. As he walked around to the back of the house, he wondered if he had been spending too much of his time with work. Maybe he should take more interest in pursuing a social life.

Autumn turned off the kitchen faucet and reached for a towel. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner? It’s the least I can do for all your help.” Seeing his hesitation, she added, “We could discuss the Halloween party.”

Thane lifted the lid off the pot simmering on the stove and sniffed. The delightful aroma he’d smelled when he’d first walked into her kitchen was too tempting. “Homemade vegetable soup?”

“And grilled cheese sandwiches. Sorry I don’t have anything fancier, but I wasn’t expecting company.”

He glanced around the small, neat kitchen and came to the same conclusion he had about the living room. Autumn had not changed a thing since Paddy was placed in Maple Leaf. Quilted lemon-yellow vinyl covers protected the toaster and mixer, and a faded plastic flower arrangement decorated the small chrome-and-formica dining table. Norman Rockwell could have used the room as scenery for one of his paintings. Autumn looked about at home in it as Margaret Mead would have In Times Square. “Are you sure you have enough?”

“Positive.”

“I wouldn’t be keeping you from anything?”

She reached for a loaf of bread. “Old Jack and I have an appointment with a butcher knife, but you’re invited to witness the carving.”

Thane caught only one important word. “Who’s Jack?”

Autumn tilted her head to the right as she pulled a frying pan out from a cabinet. “Jack’s the big boy sitting on the counter.” She placed the pan on the stove and gave Jack a friendly pat. “Thane, meet Mr. Jack-O-Lantern.”

“A pumpkin?”

“He’s a pumpkin now, but after I slice him up with a butcher knife, he’ll become a jack-o-lantern.”

Thane shuddered. To a surgeon
slice
and
butcher knife
should never be used in the same sentence. The hair on his forearm rose as he was reminded of how he wasn’t a surgeon any longer. His hand was healed, though it would never be capable of performing an operation again, but he should be able to do an impressive job on Old Jack. “Could I help?”

Autumn looked up from the cheese she was unwrapping. “With the pumpkin or dinner?”

“Both.”

“Sure,” she said. “You can start by setting the table.”

Thane followed her directions, and within five minutes they were sitting down to enjoy their meal. Autumn watched as he tasted his first spoonful of soup. He met her curious glance and smiled. “Delicious.” He dipped his spoon again into the chunky broth. Amused, he said, “I see you like carrots.”

Autumn looked at his spoon and chuckled. It was full of orange chunks. Thane had unknowingly found one of her life’s little pleasures— carrots. She loved them. Whether cooked or raw, grated, peeled, chopped, diced, or sliced, she couldn’t get enough of them. She dipped them in dip, baked them in cakes, and munched them by the bunch. The soup was technically vegetable soup, but it was three-quarters carrots and only one-quarter assorted vegetables. “When my brothers call me carrot top, they’re not just referring to my hair.”

Thane laughed. “I never heard of anyone being addicted to carrots before.”

“I’m not addicted to them. I can stop eating them anytime I choose.” She raised her spoon and quickly put it into her mouth before he could notice the four chunks of carrots and one lone pea resting on it. At the sound of his deep laugh she knew she hadn’t succeeded. “I’ll have you know I have twenty-twenty vision.”

She was adorable when riled. “So do I, but I don’t have long ears or a nose that twitches.”

Her hand flew to her ears. “My ears aren’t long and my nose certainly does not twitch.”

Thane leaned over the table and gently tapped the end of her cute nose with a finger. “You’re right, it doesn’t twitch. But it does this” —he crinkled his nose— “when you’re mad.”

Autumn was stunned. Straightlaced, never a party animal, stick-in-the-mud Doc Clayborne was teasing her. More staggering was the fact that she was lapping it up like a kitten discovering a saucer of cream. Had she been misjudging him for the past six months? A gentle smile touched her lips. “Ah, shut up and eat your soup before it gets cold.”

The first bowl took the edge off his hunger, and he was leisurely enjoying his second when he quietly said, “Can I ask you a professional question?

“Sure.”

His eyes were serious and his voice held compassion. “You do realize that Paddy won’t ever be strong enough to come back here to live?”

Sadness still lingered in her heart, but she had accepted the truth months ago. Her grandfather would have to live his remaining years with constant medical supervision. “I know.”

“You head knows, but does your heart?”

Autumn studied his somber expression. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

“It’s the house. It doesn’t fit you.”

She glanced around the room. “What’s wrong with it?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. It just isn’t you. I don’t see
you
in any of the rooms.”

Understanding dawned. “You think I’m preserving the house so that when Paddy comes home, it would be the same.”

“It’s a reasonable assumption.”

“You must know the saying about what happens when you assume.”

“So why haven’t you changed anything?”

Autumn stood up and started to clear the table. “I’ve only been here six months.” She turned on the water and filled the sink. “All my energy has been directed toward the shop.”

Thane stared at her back and frowned. What she was saying might be the truth, but it wasn’t the whole truth. “Are you going to continue running It’?”

“Of course,” she answered. “I like to eat.”

“Aren’t you interested in finding another position in law enforcement?”

Autumn forced a laugh and scrubbed the top of the stove with a dish rag. “Lord, no.”

Thane carried over his empty glass. “Why not?”

“I look terrible in blue.” She grabbed yesterday’s newspapers from the counter and thrust them into his hands. “Spread this over the table so that we can slice into Jack.”

He hesitated, unsure if he should allow the change of subject. Autumn had a habit of switching topics when they started to hit too close to home. He glanced from her to Old Jack. Hell, he had no right to push her. If she wanted to talk, he’d be there to listen. “Is Old Jack going to be a happy pumpkin or a scary one?” he asked, walking to the table.

Relieved that he had decided not to probe: she joined him, a butcher knife in her hand. “We’ll see.”

She was pleasantly surprised by the little-boy smile that lit up his face when she cut and pulled the top off the pumpkin. He took off his sweater, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and dug right in. Someone might have thought diamonds grew from the seeds the way he reached inside.

“Yuk, this is sick!” Thane exclaimed as he pulled out a handful of slimy innards. “How did I get stuck with this part?”

Autumn suppressed a giggle. “You volunteered for it.” She looked down at the half-dozen pumpkin faces she had just finished sketching on a piece of paper. “Which one do you like best?”

Thane wiped his sticky hands on a towel and studied the drawings. After several moments he pointed to one. “I like this mouth” --he moved his finger to another-- “and these eyes.”

“Which nose, the triangle or the half circle?”

“The triangle.” He proudly showed her the empty pumpkin. “All the seeds and guts are out.”

“Good job.” She handed him a tablespoon. “Now you have to scrape the sides and bottom to remove the stringy junk and dig a hole for the candle to sit in.”

Autumn did a composite sketch of their pumpkin while Thane finished the interior work. Within minutes a faint outline had been transformed to the best side of the pumpkin and Thane was skillfully turning a pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern.

A comfortable feeling surrounded them as they worked side-by-side. Thane glanced up and caught Autumn studying Old Jack’s grin. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just can’t figure out how you got the teeth so perfect.”

A flush of pride darkened his cheeks. “Beginner’s luck, I guess.” He felt himself falling further under her warm spell. Her laughter brightened the world, her heart still held a child’s curiosity and a woman’s desire, and her kisses were like potato chips-- you couldn’t stop with just one. He started to carve the pumpkin’s nose. “What kind of activities did you have planned for the Halloween party?”