Big Girls Don’t Cry (Dundee, Idaho #6)(56)
Author: Brenda Novak

“You can go now,” she said.

“I think Keith’s following us,” he responded as he finally made the turn.

Keith knew Reenie wouldn’t be happy to hear this news, but he was slightly relieved. He sensed that, tonight, Reenie’s defenses weren’t what they usually were. Maybe she’d had a little too much to drink. He wasn’t sure, but with Keith around, Isaac wouldn’t be tempted to take advantage of her in any way.

She grimaced. “You’re kidding.”

“No.”

“Of course you’re not kidding,” she muttered to herself, and turned in her seat to see for herself.

“Am I right?” Isaac asked.

“’Fraid so.”

“Is Jon with him?”

“No, he’s alone. He must’ve left Jon at The Honky Tonk.”

Isaac didn’t need to keep checking his mirrors. Keith wasn’t making his presence too much of a secret. At times he was nearly riding Isaac’s bumper.

When Isaac finally swung into Reenie’s driveway, Keith parked on the road.

Reenie didn’t get out.

“What do you think?” Isaac asked her. “You want me to tell him to leave?”

She stared at her house, which sat dark and empty, then twisted to see her ex-husband again. Keith hadn’t turned off his engine. He sat there, letting it idle while he glowered at them.

“No, I want you to come in,” she said.

Isaac blinked in surprise. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why not? You gave my kid a sucker. You want to be my friend, don’t you?” She tempted him with a smile.

Her friend? That was like saying the Big Bad Wolf wanted to jump rope with Little Red Riding Hood. Right now, Isaac’s feelings ran much hotter. He wanted to take her to bed. But that was more information than she needed.

Besides, if she wasn’t experiencing the same attraction, he was probably okay.

“I’ll give you a glass of wine, and you can tell me all about Africa,” she said.

He imagined the quiet, empty house. “I don’t think so, Reenie. Not with Liz and everything that’s gone before.” And the fact that you appeal to me more than any woman I’ve met in a long time.

Her smile turned challenging. “I thought we were each pretending to be someone else tonight.”

That approach had wound up being a little too effective, especially on the dance floor. But Isaac hated to leave Reenie to the mercy of Keith, who had no right to be bothering her, anyway. With the girls gone, there wasn’t anything to keep him in check.

“Okay,” he said, “for a few minutes,” and gave Keith a quick glance as he followed her to the door.

KEITH SAT OUTSIDE in the Jeep long enough for Isaac to build a fire and for Reenie to get them each a glass of wine. But a couple of quick checks at the window told her he’d turned off the engine. She suspected he wasn’t planning on going anywhere until Isaac left. She knew that was the case when she heard a loud knock at the door and saw her ex-husband through the peephole.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled the door open and stood in the opening.

Her ex tried to see over her head. He was looking for Isaac, of course, but she held the door close to her body so that, at most, he could make out the glow of the fire coming from the living room. “What do you want, Keith?” she asked.

“I want to know how long he’s going to stay here alone with you.”

Bailey managed to join her at the door, but she gently moved him aside with one foot. “As long we’re enjoying ourselves,” she replied.

Keith’s expression darkened. “What kind of game are you playing with me, Reenie?”

“No games,” she said. “I have a friend over, that’s all.”

“Isaac’s your friend now, is he? What about Liz? She your friend, too?”

Reenie gritted her teeth. “I’m beginning to believe she’d be a truer friend to me than you’ve been,” she said. “Anyway, you’re the reason they came to town.”

His mouth dropped open. “That’s not fair! I asked them to go back to L.A. I knew you didn’t want them here. I begged Liz. She wouldn’t go because of the kids.”

Closing her eyes, Reenie shook her head. “So she’s more concerned about Mica and Christopher’s welfare than you are. Somehow that doesn’t make me admire you any more.”

“But I knew you’d never come back to me if…How was I supposed to know…to expect…I mean, I love all my kids, but—”

“Not as much as you love yourself, right?”

He looked so stricken when she said that, Reenie wished she’d bitten her tongue. Maybe it was the truth, but she wasn’t out to hurt anyone. Keith had done enough to himself. She only wanted him to leave her alone so she could get on with her life.

“Not as much as I love you,” he whispered.

“You’ll get over me,” she said.

“I don’t want to get over you.”

Reenie heard Isaac’s footsteps, then felt his reassuring presence as he came up behind her. “Go home, Keith,” he said.

Keith’s eyes darted between them. “How dare you think you can interfere. This is none of your business. You have no right to—”

“What?” Isaac challenged.

“Don’t touch her,” he said. “Don’t you dare touch her!”

“We’re adults, Keith. We’ll make love until dawn if we want to,” Reenie said, and shut the door. She could feel Isaac’s eyes on her, but she didn’t try to read his expression. Instead, she patted Bailey, then parted the drapes to see what Keith would do next.

Her ex-husband paced across the front lawn for a few minutes. Finally, after shouting a curse at them and giving a finger to the house, he got into his Jeep and tore off.

“I bet he’ll be back later,” Isaac said, still standing behind her.

Reenie straightened and turned. “I know.”

“He doesn’t have a key to the house, does he?”

“No.”

“Good.”

She offered Isaac a feeble smile. “He makes it pretty hard to pretend I’m someone else, huh?”

“That’s a good thing,” he replied. “Because your eyes make it too damn easy.”

Reenie’s heart began to pound against her chest as her gaze locked with his, and she realized that some of the anger she’d felt toward Isaac in the past stemmed from the fact that she found him far too attractive. No woman felt good about desiring her enemy.