She turned on the radio for the forty-minute drive back to Cobblersville, and as she neared the school she decided to drop off her purchases now instead of bringing them in on Monday. The construction area parking lot was closer to the back door than going all the way to the front, so Erin turned in and stopped short as her headlights illuminated the dirt-stained truck that Digger Clayton drove.

  Her heart began a thud that could rival an African tom-tom. He was here. Finding her coordination, she pulled into a space and got out of the van. She stood in the darkness, hearing only the ticking of the cooling engine. She scanned the ground, squinting into the darkness, trying to see him. She saw nothing, heard nothing.

  Suddenly she thought of the huge hole they had made. Could he have fallen into it and be unconscious? Gillian’s detailing of the emergency room cases flashed through Erin’s mind.

  “Digger,” she called. Her voice sounded small in the vastness of the night. She moved away from the van, then remembered the flashlight. She grabbed it from the brace inside the door where it was always kept and switched it on, testing it for battery power.

  Then she started walking. She’d changed shoes after school today as she always did. She found that working all day in one pair of shoes could cause her hip to hurt. Different shoes used different muscles in her legs and gave her greater strength. Consequently she was now wearing sandals with a small heel that sank into the soft earth.

  She went on, calling Digger’s name and shining the light over the area. She hadn’t been around this side of the building. It wasn’t close to the play area, and she couldn’t see it from the street. She shone the light into the hole and could see water at the bottom. She wondered how much foundation they had to dig before they began to build walls. Were walls next? She’d asked Digger to talk to her classes, but he hadn’t committed. She’d like to know some of the answers herself.

  When she took her next step, Erin’s foot sank into mud. She cried out involuntarily as she lost her balance. She finally righted herself and pulled her foot out. Her shoe was ruined. If it hadn’t been for the strap around her ankle the mud would have eaten it completely.

  She pushed it back on and continued, mud squishing uncomfortably through her toes. Where was he? she wondered. Why didn’t he answer her? Again the thought of an accident flashed through her mind, and she kept going, seeking, expecting to find him face-down in that enormous hole.

  “What are you doing here?”

  The voice was angry. It came out of nowhere. Erin recoiled and stepped back, unconsciously retreating from the danger. Behind her was nothing, only the open pit that could swallow her up. She grasped for something to hold onto. She knew there was nothing. Her hand closed over air. But Digger was faster than that.

  Hard hands grabbed her torso, wrapped around her and pulled her back to safety. She was against him, breathing hard, her heart hammering in her breast. Her arms went around his neck and she hugged him, glad to be safe, glad he was there to prevent her fall.

  She hung there in his arms for several moments, until she was sure she could stand, could push away from him, until she realized she didn’t want to move. She raised her head and Digger looked down at her. There was a tenderness about him that quickly turned hard.

  “You could have broken your neck,” he ground out. “You’ve already had one accident. Do you want to do it again?”

  Erin was stunned, not by his words, but by the way he pulled her into his arms and held her against him. She felt his breathing and could hear the rapid beating of his heart. She’d scared him. His arms caressed her close to him. She could smell the dust on his clothes and feel the trembling of his arms.

  “Erin, you’re driving me crazy,” he said and pulled her closer. She heard the groan in his throat and in the next moment his mouth was on hers, devouring her. The kiss was raw, sexual, backed with desperation and need. Her arms wound around him. She forgot they were standing in mud, forgot the school, her reason for being here. All she could think of was Digger, being in his arms, with his mouth on hers.

  His tongue tangled with hers as every part of his body aligned with the complementary parts of her own. He held her close, his hands running the length of her and returning as his mouth changed positions, drinking her in. Digger was taking his fill and she was giving, pouring out to him in the only way she knew how. She could feel the changes in him.

  His hands found the hem of her short blouse and went under it. Rough skin raked over her smooth back. Sensation rioted through her, and she arched against him. His hands were like fire, hot and burning, searing her flesh and turning her into a mass of emotion, as pure as unharnessed energy. What was this magic? she tried to wonder, but she could think of nothing. Reason left her with the movements of his hands and his mouth. She gave up thought, gave up everything and let herself be carried away by tidal waves of delight that transported her to some paradise she had never before seen.

  Erin didn’t remember Digger breaking the kiss. She was too far gone. She clung to him as if her life depended on keeping contact with his body. Her breath was ragged, hard and audible. She heard it before she realized his mouth was no longer on hers, that the sensation of another world, a private world, their own world was gone. She returned to reality, to the mud, to the school and to herself, a woman with a crippled body.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Digger whispered. His voice was gravelly. She shivered, feeling it touch someplace inside her, someplace that resonated a single note, like the plucking of a bowstring in her heart.

  She limped next to him as they headed for the parking lot.

  “Your leg?” he asked.

  “It’s my shoes.”

  He looked at her feet. They were muddy. With each step the earth sucked her feet toward its center. She had to force each step.

  “They’re ruined,” he said.

  Erin looked at him. “I know.” She wasn’t talking about her shoes. She knew her life had altered. With a single kiss. Just as suddenly as her accident. Only she had recovered from the accident. She wasn’t sure whether she could ever recover from Digger.

  “Sit here,” he told her when they reached the edge of the lot. He brushed off the step of his pick-up and Erin perched on it. He moved in the darkness with ease, going to the hose that lay nearby and turning on the water. Erin realized he must have come here often or he wouldn’t be so comfortable with the surroundings. Had he come at night? Had he been avoiding her? Was that what he meant when he said she was driving him crazy?

  He came back and lifted one of her feet. He sprayed the water over the mud on her feet and shoes. It ran across the pavement and onto his work boots. He took no notice. The water was cold, but against her heated skin it felt exquisite. He removed her shoes and washed her feet. Erin bit her lip to keep from crying out. No one had ever touched her feet in such a sensuous manner. It might be unintentional, but his touch was far from impersonal. It was having an effect on her.

  It ended all too soon. He walked away, taking the hose with him and turning off the water. When he returned he grabbed a towel from the case in his truck and dried her feet.

  She laughed.

  “Ticklish?” he asked.

  She nodded. He continued his ministrations and then ran a quick stroke over the pad of her foot. She jumped, laughing.

  “No one’s ever washed my feet before.”

  Digger looked at her in the half-light. “You’ve had a lot of pain in your life, haven’t you?” he asked seriously.

  “No more so than anyone else,” she answered.

  He knew that wasn’t the truth. At least not the whole truth. When he’d first seen her he thought she’d seen only the good side of life, home, a loving family, sisters who loved her and triumphed in her accomplishments. But on closer inspection, he could see the creases that life invariably etched into everyone. Erin Taylor had etchings just as he did.

  “I wouldn’t put those back on.”

  She glanced at her shoes. “I have another pair in the van.” She started to get up, but he stopped her.

  “I’ll get them.”

  “They’re behind the driver’s seat.”

  He found them and came back. “There were four pairs. Will these do?” he asked.

  Erin took them and put them on.

  “Are they for your hip?” he asked.

  She nodded, knowing he referred to the other shoes in the van behind her seat. People usually asked if she was a shoe freak. Digger was more perceptive than most.

  “The other night you didn’t want to tell me what happened to your leg. What about now?”

  Erin took a breath and stood up. She rarely told anyone the details. Gillian knew, but the staff at the school and most of her other friends rarely saw her limp. Some of them didn’t even know she’d ever had an accident.

  “I was seventeen,” she began. “Close to graduation and looking forward to college. It would be the first time I was on my own. I was going to a big city and couldn’t wait for the experience to begin.”

  Erin walked, feeling the need to move. Digger fell into step with her. He took her hand and Erin felt reassured. She garnered strength from the small act of touching. “It was Senior Day, the senior trip. Do you remember your Senior Day?”

  Digger nodded. “We went to an amusement park.”

  Erin swallowed. “We did, too. It was there that the accident happened.” She stopped, taking a long breath. She hadn’t relived the details in a long time, and she was surprised how vivid and real they appeared in her mind. It had been bright, sunny and not too warm. Perfect weather for a day outdoors, and unusual for April in Texas. They’d separated into small groups with specific times and places to check in with their chaperons, but for the most part they were on their own.

  Erin was with Percy Sandford, Elaine Quinlan and Mackenzie Patterson. Percy and Elaine had dated no one else since the first day of high school. Erin had dated several guys over the course of the four years. Percy and Elaine dragged Erin along with them when she wasn’t seeing anyone. On Senior Day she and Mac were a couple. The two had started dating a few weeks before Senior Day.

  “We’d spent most of the day riding, eating and enjoying our freedom. Then we decided to ride the roller coaster. The line was always long, and we’d waited all day. This one had three drops and a loop. The cars got stuck at the top of the third drop. We were on top of the hill for thirty minutes while the maintenance guys tried to find out what was wrong.”

  She looked at Digger. He still held her hand. Erin realized they’d been walking in circles around the parking lot. She was standing near his truck again and didn’t remember getting there.

  “You would have thought there would be panic that high up, a full carload of riders sitting on top of the park. There were a few people crying, a few silently praying, hoping we’d get down soon.” Erin could see the entire scene clearly in her mind. “Someone made a decision to get us out of the cars and down to the ground.”

  “How?” Digger asked. She knew he hadn’t intended to interrupt her. He’d patiently circled the lot while she talked. “Short of climbing up and escorting you down one by one.”

  “They brought in the fire department, but the park had been expanded and the hook and ladder truck couldn’t get close enough to extend the basket high enough to reach us. They decided to climb up, as you said.” Erin took another breath. She tried to distance herself from the story, let it be reported and not lived. “There were three men on the scaffolding when something came loose. We heard a huge noise and the cars bounced. The guys made hooting noises, proving they weren’t afraid. The girls screamed. It felt like seconds later when the whole section came apart and we fell.”

  “Oh my God.” Digger spoke lowly. He comforted her, pulled her into his arms and hugged her close.

  “I was pinned under the metal skeleton for five hours. I woke up in the hospital. My parents were there. My hip had been crushed and the doctors said I would walk with a limp for the rest of my life.” She skipped the pain and the necessary hysterectomy, unsure she could relate it impartially. “It took several operations to put me back together again and many months of therapy to teach me to walk, but I beat the odds. If I don’t overdo it no one knows it ever happened.”

  Digger pulled her closer to him. His hand caressed her back and slipped upward into her hair. Someone always knows, he told himself. She would never forget the experience. It would linger in her mind forever. He thought of the crane he’d tried to control and how nothing he did kept it from toppling over.

  “No one was killed,” Erin continued. He’d felt her swallow and knew she took a moment to distance herself from the memory. “The kids with me had broken bones. There was one minor head injury. I was the only one in critical condition. I worked for hours to gain strength in my legs and walk without the limp. I can do almost anything anyone else can do.”

  She felt the need to explain that she was normal. The only way she lacked normalcy was in being able to bear children. Most of her friends had already married and started families. She had never done so.

  Now with Digger’s arms around her and the tantalizing smell of him clouding her memory, she found it hard to remember her vow was to stay away from men.

  Chapter Seven

  Digger wished they had someplace to sit down. The cab of his truck was too small and her van was filled from top to bottom with boxes. He was holding her, but she was supporting him. Her story brought back Josh’s accident. The huge metal monster crashing down and stealing the boy’s life and future.

  Digger couldn’t let her go yet. He threaded his fingers in her hair, feeling the smoothness of it, allowing it to cascade over his rough hands.

  He could only imagine the pain she had been in. Five hours pinned under a mass of metal. He was amazed she’d lived through it. The weight of the metal beams and internal injuries should have killed her. She was lucky she could walk at all.

  He could feel her breathing hard against him. Her story had been told with little emotion. Yet it was powerful for him in the wake of what he knew. He didn’t like the idea of her lying helpless under so much metal or that she’d spent months in therapy trying to walk again. Even the daily effort of forcing herself not to limp took something out of him. He wanted to help her, do for her, carry whatever he could to make her burden lighter.

  She was driving him crazy and there seemed to be little he could do about it.

  He went on holding her until he was sure they were both back to normal. Her smell invaded his nostrils and he wanted to caress instead of comfort. He had to let her go. He could hardly keep holding her without wanting more. And soon he would take it.

  He pushed her back to keep from acting on his thoughts. “Those boxes in your van, are they for the school?”

  She nodded.

  “I’ll carry them in.”

  He started for the van, and she went with him. When she reached for the first box, his hand caught her arm.

  “I’ll do it.”

  Erin snatched her arm away. “Don’t treat me as if I’m broken. I’m not.”

  Digger took her arms and smoothed his hands down them until he was holding her hands. “I don’t think you’re broken,” he told her. He knew what she meant and knew, from her tone of voice that she’d been treated that way in the past. Erin had built up a defense by not telling the tale. Digger was glad she’d included him in the people who knew about her past.

  “My mother taught me to be a gentleman. I was going to carry it because it looks heavy.”

  She looked at the ground. “I’m sorry. I thought chivalry was dead.”

  “Not in our family.”

  Digger lifted the heavy box while Erin carried the smaller packages. “There aren’t more bookcases in here, are there?” he asked when they were inside and Erin told him in which room to store them.

  “They’re chairs. We needed some replacements.”

  He recognized the store name on the box. It was in Austin. “Do you want me to open them?”

  “The teachers will do that. The kids love playing in the boxes.”

  A strange silence grew between them.

  “About—”

  “About—”

  They both spoke at the same time. Digger wondered if they were going to say the same thing.

  “You go first,” he offered.

  “About the other night,” Erin said. “At my house. I wanted to thank you for massaging my leg and carrying me to bed. I apologize for falling asleep.”

  “Apology accepted. It had been a long day and you said you were tired. I barged in without an invitation.”

  “Very unchivalrous of you.” She smiled. “But you redeemed yourself by carrying me to bed.”

  Digger knew he hadn’t. Chivalry wasn’t on his mind when he took her to her bedroom. He’d wanted to climb into bed with her and make love the entire night. He’d wanted to rake his hands through her luxurious hair and ravish her like some knight returning from war and finding his love waiting for him. Then he’d come to his senses.

  “We’d better get out of here,” he said, determined not to act on those thoughts.

  Erin turned out the lights as they made their way back to the entrance. Digger walked her to the van and opened the door. Erin stepped up to climb inside, but he stopped her. She looked back. In the open doorway of the van they were very close. “You told me about a part of your life. Why don’t I tell you part of mine over dinner on Sunday?”

  He could almost drown in the smile that reached her eyes. “I’d like that,” she said.

  He bent and kissed her lightly on the lips. Neither moved back as the kiss ended. When he spoke he could feel his own breath bounce off her mouth. “Dinner’s at three. I’ll pick you up at two.”

  She nodded. “What shall I wear?”

  “Nothing,” he whispered as his mind pulled up images of her naked. For a long moment they stared at each other. Digger didn’t know who moved first. He wanted her in his arms, and she wanted to be there. Her arms wrapped around him at the same moment his took her. His mouth melded with hers, tasting her, kissing her as if he was a man famished.