Single Dads Collection. Lynne Marshall

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      Lucy hadn’t gone to Tammy’s home to check on her, but she did call. Tammy had already heard about Lucy’s accident, so they discussed that instead of the passing of her dog.

      After their call, since Lucy was technically homebound, she opted to bake. She’d wanted to try out a new recipe anyway, so now was the perfect opportunity.

      With the volume cranked up on the oldies she loved to listen to, Lucy tapped her foot as she worked the dough for the cranberry lemon bread. Anything fruity was her go-to. Most women loved chocolate, but Lucy would take a good lemon bar or pineapple upside-down cake over a brownie any day.

      Oh, lemon bars sounded good. They were easy enough, so maybe she’d make those for Monday’s meeting. She already had most of the ingredients out for the lemon cranberry bread anyway.

      Singing along to the tunes, Lucy barely heard her doorbell ring. Kate and Tara had offered to take her anywhere and had even said they’d run over to keep her company, but Lucy had told them she’d be fine and her insurance was already getting her a rental car until she figured out what to do in regards to getting a new one.

      She didn’t dare mention to them about Noah being here earlier. She was still trying to grasp the fact he’d been willing to sleep with her and she’d all but freaked out. What was wrong with her? She hadn’t been this attracted to another man since her husband.

      But she hadn’t been with another man, either.

      After she’d flipped and put a halt to the intimacy, Noah had agreed it was a mistake. But part of her wondered if he wouldn’t have stopped himself. Would he have pushed her away? Would he have let that guilt creep in and put doubts in his mind?

      Lucy couldn’t pinpoint exactly which emotion had caused her to stop. Being kissed by Noah was as glorious as she’d imagined it would be. Her entire body had craved more of his touch. But everything about the experience, as thrilling as it had been, seemed so unfamiliar to her. It had been too long since she’d been touched by a man and she’d been…well, terrified. Not of Noah, but of getting close to another man again.

      Lucy wiped her hands on her yellow-and-white-striped apron and padded barefoot through the house. Well, more like she limped. Her hip was bothering her more than she’d initially thought it would and the swollen, bruised area kept rubbing against her clothes. But she was lucky. In her years as a dispatcher, she’d heard of too many hit-and-runs that had ended in tragedy.

      When Lucy glanced out the front window, she recognized that black truck in her drive. She hadn’t emotionally recovered from when Noah was here early this morning, but she wasn’t going to ignore him. And she couldn’t deny the way her heart kicked up.

      As much as she’d thought she was ready to move on, clearly that had not been the case. Unfortunately, she hadn’t known how she’d react until she’d gotten into the moment. Now she knew and she was mortified.

      Pulling in a deep breath, Lucy flicked the lock and opened the door. Noah held Emma in his arms as he met her gaze.

      “We were hoping you’d be home,” he said, offering a smile. “We thought we’d take you up on your offer and check out your horses.”

      Her horses? He’d popped in with such a simple request as if he hadn’t had his hands all over her only hours ago. As if she hadn’t basically shoved him out the door when her mind had overridden her feelings. He’d brought his daughter here to see the horses. Well, okay then.

      “Sure. Come on in.”

      Lucy stepped back and let them inside. She didn’t know what she expected when she saw him again, but she’d assumed it would be at work where there would be plenty of people to buffer the awkward tension between them.

      As Noah passed by, Lucy inhaled that familiar deep woodsy cologne he always had on. Why did everything about this man appeal to her? Before this morning she’d relished the fact she was feeling so alive and getting to the point where she wanted to open up to those feelings of desire again.

      Of course that plan had backfired because she’d rushed things, and now she probably came across as a total moron. After all, Noah was only here for Emma and the horses. There were several ranches and horse owners in Stonerock, but Noah didn’t know too many people yet. Or perhaps this was his way of clearing the air and getting them back on even footing.

      “Something smells good.”

      Lucy closed the door. “I was just mixing up some bread dough.”

      As she started to pass by, Noah sat Emma down and grabbed Lucy’s arm. “You’re limping.”

      That touch was so simple, yet she knew exactly how potent it was when he wanted it to be. Noah Spencer did things to her, things she hadn’t experienced in years, and things she was still trying to process.

      “Just sore. That’s all.” She wasn’t about to get into all of this again, so she turned her attention to Emma who reached up to hold on to her daddy’s hand. “How about you help me put the bread in the oven and then we can go check on Gunner and Hawkeye. They would love to see you.”

      Lucy headed down the hall to the kitchen and pulled over a chair. СКАЧАТЬ