She greeted him with a smile and quickly took her usual seat, which was thankfully across the table from him. Her mom had already set out the food, and she dished some up and ate without really seeing anything going on around her. Vaguely, she heard her dad ask Jared all the usual questions about his family, his parents, how work was going, his new John Deere, the remodeling he was doing to his house…etcetera, etcetera. She couldn’t be bothered listening to the answers.
Her cell phone buzzed in her jeans pocket. Hiding her movements under the table lest her mom throw out her phone because she was fanatical about table manners—Lord, imagine Seth getting his hand up her skirt here—she fished it out and sneaked a glance.
Seth was usually a sparse texter, but he must want his message to get across loud and clear tonight. Call me when you go to bed. Need to listen to you moan my name again.
Heat crept up her face; she could practically feel herself turning red. It was as if he’d just said those words in her ear. Squirming in her chair against the ache building in her sex, she quickly lifted her gaze and focused on her still-full plate.
Jared was watching her. She felt the weight of it without looking, and when she dared a glance upward, her suspicions were confirmed. There was something vaguely hungry about the way he looked at her, and she wondered if the man across from her was anything like the boy she’d pushed away years ago.
But even that predatory look would never, not in a million years, incite such a riot of passion in her. Not like those words on her phone’s display, which seemed to be burning a hole in her jeans right now.
“What’s wrong with you?” her dad said. She heard it, processed it, but for a moment, didn’t even consider that he was talking to her. “Hey! Daughter of mine.”
She started in her chair. A quick glance around showed not only Jared’s, but all eyes were on her. “What?”
“You’re off in outer space.”
“Just tired, Daddy.”
He scoffed. “Aw, poor thing.”
“Don’t give me a hard time,” she said, grinning and picking up her fork mostly for show.
Her mother frowned at her, not fooled for a second. “You have seemed preoccupied the past couple weeks. I noticed even when I talked to you Friday, you barely heard a word I said.”
She’d talked to her mom Friday? “I don’t know why. Everything’s fine.”
“Are things at the store okay? Everyone behaving?”
“Yeah, it’s good.”
“How are Candace and Samantha?”
“Everyone is great, Mom. Nothing is wrong.”
“I talked to Candace’s mother today. She said her and that Ross boy are still going strong. She never has much to say other than that, though.”
That Ross boy. Poor Brian. It was like he didn’t even have a first name. “Yep. Strong.”
“I just hope she doesn’t get pregnant,” Macy’s mom fretted.
Seriously? “Mother.”
“Well! It would kill Sylvia, you know it would.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine. They’re adults, you know.”
“Is he going to marry her? Has she said anything?”
So Jennifer Rodgers could run to her BFF Sylvia Andrews and report back about the goings-on in Brian and Candace’s life? “I don’t know. She hasn’t even graduated yet. Give them time before you start planning bridal and baby showers.”
“I don’t think Sylvia’s too excited about planning anything where they’re concerned.”
Except maybe how to get Brian out of her daughter’s life without looking too guilty. “Well, she needs to get over it, and maybe you could try explaining that to her.”
“She’s doing much better about it now than she was when it first blew up. That much I can say.”
“Blew up” was an understatement. It had been ugly. Candace’s brother James had tried to destroy Brian and everything he’d worked for. Macy hated to think about it. She’d had to come forward with information that could’ve taken James down in return—and probably would’ve brought shame on the entire Andrews family. It had taken everything she had in her to do it.
But Brian hadn’t been angry at her for her indecision about confessing what she knew. And it had all worked out in a truce, albeit a very tense one.
“This is all very interesting,” Macy’s dad said, “but what’s this about you wanting to race again?” She didn’t think she’d seen him grin that big since before she’d gotten hurt.
Jared had been cutting his steak. His hands froze. The hopefulness that bloomed on his face as he slowly raised his eyes to hers broke her heart. “Really?” he asked.
“I’m not so against the idea anymore.”
“That’s awesome. You should come out for the roping next weekend. I’ll set up the barrels for you; you can make a few runs. Get some practice in. I know everyone would love to see you.”
All her old friends? Half of them would probably throw rocks at her. And at Jared’s house? No, thanks. “Oh no, that’s… I’m not ready for all that yet.”
“I’m inclined to not take no for an answer.” Ugh, and there was the smile that had charmed her right out of her virginity at an age that would probably make her parents reassess their feelings and throw him out of the house if they knew.
“Well, you might just have to,” she fired back, sounding more flirtatious than she’d intended. It was a little too much…Jared staring at her across the table like he wanted to eat her alive, and Seth texting her under the table about her moaning in his ear. And she still didn’t think she’d come down from Friday night. She’d be riding that high for a long time yet.
Jared put a hand thoughtfully to his chin. “What kind of blackmail can I resort to? Your parents are sitting right here. Hmm…”
Yeah, you just go there, buddy. My dad has guns. Lots and lots of guns.
Her parents laughed at that, and he joined in, giving Macy a wink.
“Seriously, though. Saturday around noon. Come on out.”
“You really should go,” her mom said. “It would be good for you to get out.”
“I do get out.”
“Yes, but…” She trailed off, and Macy raised her eyebrows, her mind supplying the end to that thought. …it would be good for you to get out with different people.
Oh no. They weren’t about to start that up, were they? She wondered just how much Jared had told them. Her parents had always been accepting people, but if Jared had made it sound like she was hanging out with a thug, that would change. She was her own person; she did what she wanted to do. But she was close with them, and their approval was important to her. It always had been, and for most of her life, it had always been fairly easy for her to attain.
Jared had better not tarnish their image of Seth before they even got a chance to meet him. Who was she kidding, though? He’d probably be fairly adept at tarnishing it all on his own once they did.
While she stewed over it, the others took a trip down memory lane over dessert, and before long her mother was pulling out old photos of her and Jared and their friends, and all that crap.
She smiled and chatted and reminisced with them, but underneath it all, she only wanted to bolt from the table. Why did she ever have to open her big, fat mouth?