Sleepless Nights (The Donovans of the Delta) (21 page)

“I try.”

He gave her such a sizzling look, she was sure the water around her heated up fifteen degrees. Her tongue flicked out over her lips.

“You’re losing your pole,” she said.

“Indeed?”

When he lifted his eyebrows, Hallie noticed that even his eyes were golden, a curious amber that reflected the sunset.

“Your
fishing
pole. If you intend to catch any fish, you’d better hang on to it, or it’ll drift off with the current.”

He quickly scooped up the pole, cursing himself for being so mesmerized by a woman—a dangerous woman at that.

“It’s not likely I’ll catch anything else today. You’ve scared off every fish for miles around. That
was
you having a wild party around the bend?”

“Yes. And I’m liable to have another.” Hallie took swift inventory of the camp set up on the shore. “You might as well pack up and go somewhere else.”

“No. I never leave unfinished business.”

“Unfinished business?”

“Fishing. Raymond, back at the convenience store, told me this spot has the biggest fish in the lake.”

Looking at her bra, still dangling from his hand, Hallie felt the laughter bubble up inside her. What was it about the man that instinctively made her feel cheerful, she wondered. “Some big fish.”

Josh grinned. “I must be using the wrong kind of bait.”

“If it’s bass you’re after, try a spinner plug.”

“If it’s bass I’m after, perhaps I will.”

“Now, would you mind tossing your catch back into the water. I’m planning to wear it tomorrow.”

“Since it’s my only catch of the day, I was planning on deep-frying it and having it for supper.”

“I don’t think lace and latex are in the basic four food groups.”

“A pity. I was going to invite you to join me, considering you’ve provided the meal.”

“It seems all I’ve provided is entertainment. Now, will you send my bra back, please?”

“Certainly, I’ll send it back.” As he looked down at the black lace garment, all sorts of visions filled his mind. His hands were unsteady as he pulled weeds off her bra and tossed it into the water.

The splash created eddies that swirled around Hallie. Josh drew in a sharp breath at the sight.

The sight of his hands on her lingerie had done things to Hallie—wild, crazy things. Her breathing became short and her heartbeat unsteady. She felt a chill, and it wasn’t entirely from the water.

They waited, watching each other as the bra slowly floated toward Hallie. They were so still, so attuned to the moment, that even the silence seemed loud.

A fish breached the water, its tail slapping the surface with a magnified boom. Caught in the eddy, the bra floated back toward the bank and snagged on a dead branch sticking out of the water.

Hallie came free of the spell she’d been under and started toward the bra. She’d gone only two steps when she realized she was heading into shallow water.

She backed into deeper water and shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe you can turn your back. Not that I’m a prude or anything, but . . .”

“. . . not that I’m a voyeur.” Josh quickly peeled off his shoes and stepped into the water. “Allow me.”

“You’ll get your clothes wet.”

“I already have. I’ve been wanting to wade all afternoon. It takes me back to my childhood.”

He untangled Hallie’s bra from the limb and waded out to her. Although only her shoulders were above water, the rest of her was faintly visible. As hard as he tried not to notice, he couldn’t help but see. He quickly lifted his gaze, hoping to find something less disturbing to look at, but Hallie Donovan, wet and naked, was pure dynamite. There wasn’t an inch of her that didn’t disturb him.

“Here’s your runaway garment.” He’d meant to hand the bra to her and quickly turn away, but it wasn’t to be. He held onto her hand, gazing down into her eyes. “It seems a pity not to get better acquainted,” he said softly.

She wet her lips with her tongue. “Maybe some women would fall for that line. I won’t.”

“I was talking about your name. You never told me who you are,” he said, hiding the fact that he’d known her at first sight.

She thought his smile was positively wicked. “You never asked.”

His gaze played over her face, her slender throat, her wet shoulders. “I suppose I had other things on my mind.”

She felt goose bumps rise on her skin. She spoke quickly, before he had her completely spellbound. “Hallie Donovan. Not that it’s necessary for you to know. We won’t be seeing each other again. I’m a loner.”

“So am I.”

“That’s good. I’ll stay on my side of the cove, and you can stay on yours.”

Her husky voice did strange things to him. “Agreed,” he finally said, then stood in the water and watched as she disappeared around the bend.

 o0o

Josh changed into dry clothes and tried his luck with the fishing pole again. After an hour he gave up and resigned himself to doing without catfish for supper. In the distance he heard dogs barking and a woman laughing. Hallie’s laughter. The sound brought a smile to his face.

He remembered the first time he’d seen her, her head flung back, laughing, her red dress billowing around her incredible legs. Five years ago. She’d been in Alabama posing for an ad for Silken Moments, his company. His ad man, Herb Williams, had brought her in, put her in a red dress, and photographed her in a pose similar to the famous one of Marilyn Monroe. The magazine layouts, combined with the life-size poster, had sold more Silken Moments pantyhose than any campaign they’d ever done.

They’d never been introduced, but he kept her poster in his office—not for sentimental reasons, but as a reminder that cardboard women were safer than the real thing.

Gathering his fishing gear, he went back to his campsite. He stowed the gear and opened his ice chest. Fortunately, he’d made alternate plans for supper. He took out a rib-eye steak, placed it on a platter on top of his ice chest, then set about starting a fire in his hibachi.

If he hadn’t been whistling, he probably would have heard the dog. As it was, he was blissfully ignorant of Ludwig stealing his steak. The gleeful thief took the tasty morsel in his big jaws and pranced around the bend to place the offering at the feet of his mistress.

“Ludwig! Where’d you get that?” As if she couldn’t guess, she thought as she took her catfish out of the hot oil. “What am I going to do with you two? You’re always into mischief.” Her unrepentant pet gave her arm a thorough bath with his big, wet tongue, then pranced off to join Wolfgang for a swim in the lake.

Hallie stored her supper safely inside her tent and picked up the steak. Even if there had been a way to get the dog’s germs off the piece of meat, it had been abused beyond redemption by Ludwig’s strong jaws and teeth. She sat back on her heels and pondered what to do. The decent thing, of course, would be to face Josh and confess the crime—a prospect she didn’t relish.

Since her divorce, she’d taken care to avoid men of charm and wit and power. There was no doubt about it: Josh Butler was charming and witty. And there was something powerful about him, too. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she instinctively knew it was there.

Heaving a resigned sigh, she dumped the ruined steak into a paper bag and started around the bend. She found Josh standing over his grill, tending his coals and whistling.

“Good evening.”

“Well, hello there. Up to mischief again, Hallie?”

“You’re the one who keeps causing the mischief.”

“Came around the bend for a little neighborly argument, did you?” he asked with a smile.

She wished he wouldn’t smile. Texas wasn’t big enough for both of them when he smiled. “Actually, I’m doing a good deed.”

Josh threw back his head and roared with laughter.

“You’re a dangerous woman, Hallie. That poor recipient is in a hell of a lot of trouble. Who is he, by the way? Anyone I know?”

“Unfortunately.” Behind her back, she shifted the paper bag from one hand to the other. “Preparing your evening meal, I suppose?”

“Yes. Since I didn’t have much luck at the lake, I’m having steak.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“You have something against steak?”

“No. Steak is lovely—unless it’s been chewed by a dog.” She held out the paper bag. “My dog, I’m sorry.”

She watched the puzzlement on his face change to laughter as he peered inside the sack. “Hallie Donovan, that’s twice you’ve deprived me of my supper.”

“I’m going to pay you for the steak. It’s the least I can do.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I insist.” She glanced toward his rig parked beside his camp. “Unless, of course, you’re an independently wealthy trucker. You are a trucker, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Just ended a long haul to Dallas.” Josh felt like a heel. He hated not being able to tell Hallie the whole truth. Nobility almost won out over common sense, but before he turned the moment into a confessional, he made himself think of his dad and his brother, one sad and bitter, the other a broken alcoholic. And both of them victims of women.

“Forget the money,” he said. “It’s not important.”

“The least I can do is offer you a meal. The catfish I caught this afternoon is more than big enough for two. It’s already cooked and waiting. Why don’t you join me?”

Gazing down at her, he found it hard to believe that someone as spontaneous and animated as Hallie could be capable of inflicting pain. It was a pity the fairer sex didn’t live up to their packaging.

Hallie took his hesitation for reluctance. Once she set out to do a good deed, she’d be darned if she’d let anything stop her. “All strictly business, of course. There’s no crime in two vagabonds sharing an evening meal. Especially since one is the cause of the other being without.”

“How can I resist such an invitation? Thank you, Hallie. I’d love to eat with you. Shall we take this back to your hungry dog?” He indicated the sack in his hand.

“We can take it, but I doubt that either of my pets will eat it. They’re so well fed, they wobble when they walk. I believe Ludwig stole your dinner just to prove what a great hunter he is.”

Together they walked back to Hallie’s campsite. It was a short walk, around the bend and through a thick grove of trees, easily within hearing distance of his camp but hidden from his view.

The spring night had grown chilly. Hallie had a pleasant fire going, and they settled down beside it to eat their catfish. Josh found that small talk was easy with her.

“This is delicious, Hallie. You caught and cleaned this fish yourself?”

“Yes. That’s something I learned from my brothers. Back home, if you caught a fish, you cleaned it.

“Where is back home?”

“Greenville, Mississippi.”

“You’re a woman of many talents. What do you do—besides catch fish, cook them to perfection, and go skinny-dipping?”

“Skinny-dipping is my main occupation, but the pay isn’t very good.”

He chuckled. “I deserved that. You can’t blame a man for not being able to get the skinny-dipping off his mind. It was memorable, to say the least.”

“So was the sight of you holding that catch. Pity it couldn’t have been bigger—size 36D. Then you would really have had a fish story to talk about.”

“I like a woman with a sense of humor, Hallie.” He raked his eyes over her before continuing. “You never answered my question.”

“I used to model some, back when I was still in school, before I married Robert Gilbert.”

“And after?”

She didn’t discuss her marriage often, even with her family, but she found it hard to evade Josh. He had a way of making even the simplest statements sound like commands. At the same time, he evoked feelings of trust in her. He reminded her of her brothers. She found herself wanting to confide in him.

“I was young and in love. At first I wanted to spend all my time with Robert. I gave up modeling."

She stopped. She’d given up a lot of things—her school, her friends, eventually her freedom—and not because she’d wanted to. One by one Robert had cut those things out of her life, substituting the best clothes, the best clubs, the best house, the best car—everything that money could buy. And she’d been too young and naive to stop him. She was older now, wiser, and no man would ever take her freedom away again.

She watched Josh pick up a stick and add it to the fire. When he settled back down, he was sitting so close to Hallie, their legs touched. He seemed so nonchalant, so innocent, that she was sure the move wasn’t deliberate. The thought didn’t make her a darned bit more comfortable, however. Josh was every inch a man. Just a casual brushing of his leg against hers felt intimate. It probably didn’t mean a thing to him, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She eased away from the contact, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

He did. One eyebrow quirked upward. “Do I bother you?”

“Absolutely not. I thought I’d add another stick to the fire.”

“By all means.”

She swept her hand over the ground, but there was not even a twig nearby. To save face she got up, found a small branch, and added it to the fire. Then, just so Josh Butler would be absolutely positive that Hallie Donovan wasn’t at all bothered by his charms, she sat down so close to him that one more inch would have put her directly in his lap. She felt the heat of him all the way from her hip to her ankle. She suddenly realized her ploy might backfire, but it was too late now.

She heard his soft chuckle. “I find these camping trips to be pleasant outings. Very relaxing. Don’t you, Hallie?”

“Certainly.”

“Then why is your hand balled into a fist?” He reached for her hand and gently pried her fingers apart.

“I like to keep in practice . . . just in case I have to use it.”

He laughed. “I can assure you my intentions are strictly honorable.”

She wasn’t used to being embarrassed around man. To cover her confusion, she dropped her gaze. Then she wished she hadn’t. If his jeans hugged his hips any tighter, he’d have to register his body as a lethal weapon. Quickly she looked up again. She could have died on the spot. He was watching her, and from the smile on his face, she knew that he’d seen exactly where she’d been looking.