My Way Back to You. Pamela Hearon

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СКАЧАТЬ for years,” she admitted. It was the first open reference either of them had made to their divorce, and her heart squeezed in response. “And only a couple of guys before I met...Zeke.” Grrr! How many times was he going to come into the conversation? “What’s with all the dating talk this morning?” The question flashed in her brain, but she didn’t mean to verbalize it. Still, there it was. And there was the university, as well. She moved into the left-hand turn lane and miraculously caught the green turn signal.

      “I never questioned Russ too much about you...or your personal life. Didn’t want him to think I was prying.”

      Maggie nodded as she pulled into the parking lot and headed for a spot.

      “But, now we’re together,” Jeff continued, “I realize how much I don’t know about your life, so I’m trying to catch up on those lost years. I figured the best place to start was the beginning.”

       The beginning.

      Dread dropped into her stomach.

      “Those first few years after we split up may have been a beginning for you.” She cut the engine as her fingers found the door handle. “To me, they felt more like the end.”

      * * *

      THE WEIGHT OF Maggie’s last words stayed with Jeff all day. And while he tried to imagine that weight being carried on his shoulders, it sure as hell felt more like it was hanging somewhere inside his chest.

      Years, she’d said. Not weeks or months. It was as if that one word had been engraved on a stone tablet and hung on an iron stake driven into his heart.

      As soon as she’d uttered her comment, she’d leaped from the car and joined the other parents arriving for the tour. She’d also volunteered to join a different tour group than the one he was in—on purpose, he suspected. It was as if she didn’t want to be anywhere in his vicinity. And it wasn’t lost on him that Spike Grainger volunteered for the same group Mags had, taking up the last spot.

      Everyone came back together for lunch, and Matt and Spike joined them at their table. As Jeff predicted, Spike grabbed the chair next to Mags. All through lunch, he laughed too loud and too long at her jokes, flirted outrageously and made a complete ass of himself.

      Mags was friendly with the big brute, but she didn’t return his flirtation. In fact, Jeff thought he could almost read a hint of sympathy in her manner, but he wasn’t sure.

      Time was when he would’ve been sure. He’d been intimately familiar with her every mood and every nuance of every mood. If she bit her bottom lip while they were making love, she wanted to play, but if she chewed her bottom lip while they were making love, she wanted him to take the lead and explore. And explore he always did.

      The memory brought on an erection that came and went throughout the afternoon, springing to life at Maggie’s throaty laugh, lessening when he-man and his son came to help after getting Matt “all moved in in no time flat.”

      They’d finally left two minutes ago, and their leaving had brought relative quiet to the room—although the hallway was still crawling with boisterous teenage boys.

      Thank God he’s gone. Jeff tightened the last nut on the bunk/futon combo unit Russ and his roommate Blake had decided on. The kid from Des Moines seemed nice enough, but Russ’s loud-mouth ways would likely take some getting used to for the quiet kid. Of course, that went both ways. His son, an only child his entire life, would have to get used to sharing a room with someone. Jeff smiled at the thought.

      “You look happy we’re almost done.” Mags shot him a grin as she unrolled a circular rug in the center of the room.

      “I am that,” Jeff agreed. “I was also thinking about the learning curve our son will have to go through beginning tonight.”

      “Yeah.” Her chuckle had a wicked edge that brought him to life again despite his fatigue. “He thinks it’s going to be like summer camp. He doesn’t realize how hard it can be to live with someone day in, day out...” She glanced away as her voice trailed off. “The room looks good, though.” She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as she made a slow, tight circle, inspecting the afternoon’s progress. “Never thought we could make it look like this considering how it was when we started.”

      Her tired eyes met his, and for a moment he thought she was going to say something else, but her gaze darted to the top bunk. “But that ghastly sleeping bag is a travesty when there were all those cute sheet sets to choose from.”

      “This is easy to make up. No fuss. And just as easy to wash.” Jeff captured her gaze again and returned her tired smile. “And he couldn’t care less if his bedding is cute.”

      Just then, Russ bounded into the room. “Look what I just scored out of the garbage!” He held up a leg lamp of The Christmas Story variety, except in miniature, tabletop size. “Gort says it works and everything.”

      “Ick.” Maggie’s mouth creased sharply downward.

      “Ah, c’mon, Mom.” Russ rubbed his hand delicately down the leg. “It’s a conversation piece.”

      “Like conversation is something you need more of?”

      “She has a point.” Jeff eyed the strange object that had his son captivated. “If it works, why would he throw it away?”

      Russ shrugged. “Girlfriend gave it to him. Then she broke up with him yesterday, so he says he doesn’t want the reminder.” He set it on the desk and plugged it in. A flip of the switch and the fishnet-covered leg glowed dimly. “Fra-gee-lee! That is rich!” A couple of posters he hadn’t decided on yet lay rolled up on the desk. He grabbed them and tossed them onto the top shelf of the closet. “Oh, yeah. Hey, Matt was down at the garbage, too, so I asked if he and Spike would like to have pizza with us tonight. Hope that’s okay. I figured we owed them for all their help. They’re meeting us at the hotel.”

      Jeff grimaced, but neither Maggie nor Russ noticed his displeasure. They both seemed fine with the idea of more time with Thor and Company.

      “Besides, Mom.” Russ swung around and caught Maggie playfully around the neck—standing a full head taller than she—and gave her a soft nuggie. “Matt says his dad thinks you’re hot.”

      “Damn it.” Jeff swore under his breath.

      “I am hot...and sweaty.” Maggie’s swift poke at the ticklish spot in Russ’s ribs efficiently broke his hold. She stepped away and wrinkled her nose. “He’s pretty basic.”

      Jeff wasn’t sure what that meant, but it didn’t sound like a compliment so it gave him a reason to chuckle.

      “Go easy on him, Mom.” A movement in the hallway caught Russ’s attention. “Hey, Steeger,” he yelled, and bolted that direction.

      Mags watched him and then turned to Jeff, eyes wide with wonder. “I’ve never seen him so hyper. It’s like he’s five again.”

      “Basic?” he asked.

      “Tries too hard...easy to see through.”

      “Ah.” Jeff tossed his wrench back into the tool bag Spike had provided. “So you prefer the guy who plays it cool.”

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