“You know,” Wyatt said as he shifted position, “my mother thinks you’re doing a great job as mayor.”

  “That’s nice of her to say.” Margaret and Bill McCall had never been wild about Toni when she was dating Wyatt. She hadn’t known why, exactly. Perhaps Mrs. McCall had had bigger plans for her son. The Casales hadn’t been wealthy with land and oil, but they’d always been business owners and had gotten by without experiencing the financial crises common to ranchers. For whatever reason, Toni had always felt a bit of chill from Wyatt’s mother.

  His mother shouldn’t have worried; Wyatt had no intention of taking their relationship anywhere. Unlike some of their classmates who dated through high school, went off to college together or just got married right after graduation, Wyatt couldn’t wait to get out of town and leave his teenage “sweetheart” behind.

  Toni had felt as if their three years together had been wasted, nothing but a lie. She’d felt deceived and hurt, and when she was totally honest with herself she still blamed Wyatt for playing her like a fool.

  She’d gotten over him, though, except when she was angry with him. Which was only when he came back to town, or when someone mentioned him or she saw a photo in a magazine. Not all the time, not anymore.

  “You’re quiet tonight,” Wyatt said as Toni drove northwest out of town toward the ranch. The sun had already set, but some purple-and-orange streaks remained in the dark sky.

  “I’ve got a lot on my mind. The renovations to the old hotel, the parade Saturday afternoon, the upcoming budget meetings and last but not least, your secret project at the community center. Oh, and to top everything off, I have to decide whether I’m running for office again. So, yes, I do have a lot to consider.”

  “Why wouldn’t you run for office again?”

  Of course he picked up on the one thing that she didn’t really want to discuss. “Maybe it’s time to concentrate all my energy on my business.”

  “You’ve been doing both for how long now?”

  “Three years. Four, as of next election.”

  “You’re the youngest mayor in Brody’s Crossing history.”

  “Probably.”

  “Will you have an opponent in the primary or general election?”

  “I don’t know. I could.”

  “I think you should run again.”

  “Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “What are you upset about?”

  “Nothing.” It’s not as if she had anything better to do with her time. Like develop a personal relationship. Get married and have children. How could she do those things while in office? She barely had time for a minimal social life with family, much less try to find a man. Plus, the pool of bachelors in Brody’s Crossing was shrinking fast, thanks to Christie Simmons Crawford, Raven York and Sandy Brody. Not that Toni had ever been interested in Cal, Troy or James.

  “You are, too. I made you upset, and I didn’t mean to. Not this time. So tell me what I said.”

  “We don’t have to discuss this. Let’s just say that maybe I have plans for my life that I can’t pursue if I’m spending a big percentage of my nonprofessional life on city business.”

  “You mean, as in your personal life? Do you have a secret boyfriend?”

  “No!” As if she could keep a relationship a secret.

  “But you’re thinking about it, right? Anyone I know?”

  “No. I am not in a relationship or thinking about having one with anyone in particular.”

  “With the male population in general, then,” he said. “You’re looking, aren’t you? Thinking about looking?”

  “You make it sound so tawdry. No, I am not looking.”

  “Humph,” he said, crossing his legs so that he took up even more room in the cab of her truck.

  “Just don’t start on me tonight, okay? I’m going to be nice to your parents and have dinner, then I’m going home and mark off one more day on my calendar until you’re finished and out of here.”

  “That’s cold, Toni. What have I done…lately, that is, to make you angry?”

  She slowed, pulling into the long drive to his parents’ house, and gave him a look as they rolled to a stop. “Yesterday afternoon,” she said. “My office.”

  “Oh, yeah.” She could see his flashing white teeth even in the dim light of the interior. “Well, no one but Cassie knows.”

  “What matters is that you did it.”

  “Go ahead and say it. It matters that I kissed you.”

  Toni thumped her head against the headrest, again and again. “What did I do to deserve you? Why am I being punished?”

  Wyatt laughed. “If you don’t move this truck, you’re also going to get honked at.”

  Toni turned around and looked at headlights right on her rear bumper. “Great.” She took her foot off the brake and headed toward the house. Hopefully, Wyatt had gotten all his foolishness out during the ride here. If she was lucky, he would leave her alone the rest of the night.

  She was not taking him home. Back to the motel. Let him bum a ride with someone who liked to be around billionaire bad boys.

  UNDER MOST CIRCUMSTANCES, Wyatt found dinner parties boring. Dinner with his parents and their friends had added potential to be a yawner. However, sitting next to Toni, who was obviously still miffed about that kiss in her office, gave the food some serious appeal.

  His mother served a standing rib roast, complete with little white fancy “boots” for the rib bones. The beef was presented with roasted potatoes and some sautéed green beans with almonds. He watched Toni pick at her food, eating more potatoes than meat, and breaking a dinner roll into small pieces. He’d known her long enough to know she was about ready to jump out of her chair and drive off in that big pickup truck of hers.

  Without him, of course.

  “Dinner is delicious, of course,” George Russell, president of the bank, said to Wyatt’s mother. George was a big eater and loved a free meal almost as much as he loved a big depositor in his bank. “You always serve the best, Margaret.”

  Wyatt wanted to roll his eyes at the obvious sucking up. His parents had considered changing banks last year, shifting their business to a new branch in Graham. George Russell was still trying to get them to stay at First National with compliments rather than good service and competitive interest rates.

  To distract himself from his parents’ situation, beneath the level of the tabletop he broke off a bit of his roll and tossed it at Toni. The little piece landed on her folded hands. Her head jerked up, her eyes big and round.

  He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. She frowned and seemed to turn her attention back to the table, but he knew she wasn’t interested in hearing the other guests talk about a fishing trip to Minnesota. He took another piece of roll and tossed it at her arm, bare from just below the elbow down to her plain, sensibly manicured fingernails. The top she wore was a soft, dark blue velvet that draped at her neck and only hinted at what was beneath.

  Wyatt remembered, though, and he wondered how much she’d changed in all these years. Was she still as sensitive?

  The bread missed the mark, falling to the floor. Wyatt took another piece and aimed a bit higher. This time, he managed to land the crouton-size morsel on her chest, where it almost immediately disappeared under the drape of her velvet top.

  She jumped and looked at him. He couldn’t hide a smile at the thought of making that three-point shot into her cleavage.

  “Excuse me, please,” Toni said to his mother and the table in general. When she popped up from her seat, he did the same and pulled the chair back.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered fiercely as she turned her head toward his.

  “Being a gentleman,” he whispered back.

  “By pelting me with bread crumbs?”

  He chuckled. Louder, he asked, “Do you know where the powder room is?”

  “Yes, I believe I can find it. Alone.” Toni hurried off.

  He sat back down and sipped a little more of his wine. Someone had chosen a nice Napa Valley cabernet. Not his parents. They had no interest in wine. The two of them were drinking iced tea tonight.

  Just before he expected Toni’s return, he took his empty glass and excused himself to the kitchen. In the short hallway to the left, he intercepted her as she walked toward the dining room.

  “Are you going to give me a ride home?”

  “No, I hadn’t planned on allowing myself such a pleasure.”

  “Ah, you’re getting sarcastic. That’s so sexy.”

  “No, it’s not. Neither are bread crumbs in my…Never mind.”

  “Sorry about that. I was aiming at your arm.”

  “You shouldn’t be aiming at me at all.”

  “I was bored. I was dreading a slide show of dead fish shots. Or maybe a photo album of the fishing trip, including a recital of all the songs sung on the road.”

  That made Toni smile. Just a little, and he could tell she was trying not to be amused. “I have a busy day tomorrow. I’m going home in a few minutes, and I wouldn’t think of having you cut your visit short.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “I’m sure James and Sandy Brody will give you a ride back to the motel.”

  “They’re driving her new sports car. There’s barely a backseat.”

  “Then the Russells. I know they have a Buick.”

  “Have you seen how thick his glasses are? I’d be scared to death to ride with him.”

  Toni laughed out loud, quickly putting her hand over her mouth. “You, who paraglide off cliffs and mountain bike in the Grand Canyon, would be afraid of a middle-aged banker?”

  “I value my life. Riding in the backseat of the Russells’ Buick is too scary to consider.” He leaned a little closer. “Besides, if you give me a ride home, I promise I’ll give you a preview of the Christmas decorations before we take the fence down for the big reveal.”

  “You will? I mean, you should—I am the mayor, after all.”

  “Of course. I was just kidding about it being a secret from you. I meant it was a secret for the town.”

  “That’s not what you said.”

  “I was joking. How about tomorrow night? We’ll light it up and I’ll show you a special feature you won’t believe.”

  “Tell me, Wyatt.”

  He tilted his head a little and smiled at her. “I think that’s the first time you’ve said my name without cursing me.”

  “I don’t curse you.”

  “Maybe you should.”

  She looked away. “No, I try not to curse anyone.”

  He touched a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her ear. “Even juvenile delinquents who go off and leave you?”

  “That was a long time ago,” she whispered.

  “Sometimes it doesn’t feel like all that long ago. Sometimes, when we’re together, I feel like I’m eighteen again.”

  Toni stepped back, her expression blank. “Well, whenever you feel that way, just head back to California. I’m sure the sensation will go away quickly.”

  Chapter Five

  Toni kept busy all day Friday, continuing with the demolition at the old hotel and working on the city budget during lunch and in the afternoon. She kept her mind occupied to keep from thinking about last night’s dinner party, her bread crumb–throwing companion and their almost-intimate encounter near the kitchen. For just a moment there…But she wasn’t going to think about how he’d whispered and nearly apologized for shaking up her life fifteen years ago.

  Or maybe she’d imagined that he’d seemed sorry for his actions. Whatever his meaning or his feelings, she couldn’t allow herself to be taken in by his charm. And there was no doubt about it—Wyatt McCall was a charmer.

  She’d gotten out of giving him a lift back to the motel by pleading a pressing need to go back to her office in front of the other guests. James and Sandy Brody had given Wyatt a ride, thankfully, cramming him into the tiny backseat of their car. Toni was sure he’d be uncomfortable, but she didn’t feel guilty.

  She knew that she simply couldn’t allow him to ride in her pickup again, especially at night when he was in such a mood, going from childish and irritating to mature and sexy in the blink of an eye.

  Being with Wyatt while they were in high school had been like being on a ride at Six Flags, except that the end was never the same. The drop was different each time, the twists and turns unanticipated, the destination unknown. She’d both loved and dreaded his high-energy passionate nature.

  They might never have survived that much turmoil. She might not have emotionally survived Wyatt’s lifestyle. Sitting next to him at the dinner table, now that they were both adults, was nerve-racking enough to prove that they weren’t meant to be together.

  But tonight…tonight he was going to show her the community center Christmas display. She’d watched the workers unload supplies and enter the closed-off area this morning as she sipped her tea, and then she’d made a point of driving by several times during the day. They kept up a steady pace, despite the small crowd of people who stopped to watch them go in and out of the black vinyl-covered gate carrying huge cardboard boxes and items wrapped in packing material. A few people Toni saw during the day had asked her what Wyatt had planned, and all she could say was that it was a big secret.

  He’d better not mess this up. Not at Christmas.

  She worked until after six o’clock, and just when she thought he’d forgotten his promise, he called.

  “Where are you?”

  “At my office.”

  “Are you going home soon?”

  “Probably. I was waiting to hear from you.”

  “I want you to walk over around ten o’clock, after the community center closes and the neighborhood has rolled up the sidewalks.”

  “That’s kind of late.”

  “I’m not going to be ready until then. The installers are staying until nine, and then I’m going to finish up with a few final details.”

  “I do want and need to see the display, so if ten o’clock is the magical time, then that’s when I’ll be there.”

  “Good.” He paused a moment, and then added in a lower voice, “I’m going to make sure you’re not disappointed, babe.”

  “Don’t call me that.” And don’t make any sexual innuendos, either.

  “I keep forgetting that, don’t I?” She heard the smile in his voice as he said goodbye and ended the call.

  Toni looked at her watch. Nearly six-thirty. Time for a nice, quiet dinner followed by several hours of anticipation before she got to see what Wyatt was up to now.

  THE WORKERS LEFT AROUND nine o’clock, and Wyatt hurried to put the finishing touches on his part of the display. He gathered up the empty bags and adjusted the last ornament just before Toni was due.

  With the tall black fence surrounding everything, it was difficult to see what the whole display would look like tomorrow at the unveiling. The design coordinator had assured him that with just a slight adjustment to fit certain elements into the existing trees and the contours of the community center yard, the effect would be “stunning.” That wasn’t a word Wyatt commonly used. He’d be happy if the citizens of Brody’s Crossing would utter some oohs and ahhs when the lights came on.

  He was hoping for the same from Toni tonight.

  “Wyatt?”

  He strode quickly to the gate and peeled back the black plastic barrier that covered a mesh fence. “What’s the password?”

  She looked confused for a moment, then answered, “Knight Rider rules.”

  Wyatt laughed and unlatched the gate. The reference to his favorite TV show had been the secret phrase of admittance into their childhood clubhouse, which was really a modified wooden fort atop his swing set. He’d convinced his father to have the roof raised a little higher and the walls reinforced so he could play in it as he grew older. There had been a lot of scheming done in that old fort, which had been torn down years ago. He wondered if his father—or his father’s workers, more likely—had ever found the hidden stash of Playboy magazines and potty humor books he and his friends had hidden there.

  He’d kept the forbidden items under wraps on those rare occasions when Toni and her best friend, Jennifer, had visited.

  “Close your eyes,” he said.

  “No. Why?”

  “Because it’s a surprise. You can’t just walk into a surprise. You always have to close your eyes.”

  “I didn’t realize you had so many rules in your life,” she said, frowning at him. “Just let me see the darn thing!”

  “Nope. Close your eyes or you can’t come in.”

  “I gave you the secret password,” she complained. However, she did close her eyes.

  He took her hand and led her through the gate, then walked around behind her and closed the latch. No sense inviting random strangers in. He didn’t let her turn toward the display until he’d put his hands over her eyes, which pressed him up against her back. Nice. They were both a little taller, a little more filled out than during their high-school years. Toni wore some kind of athletic suit made of thick fabric, so he couldn’t sense as many of her curves as he’d like. Still, she felt darn good in his arms.

  “Are we going to get on with this or stand here all night?”

  “Oh, we can get on with it whenever you want,” he said close to her ear.

  “Stop that or I’m opening my eyes and looking around on my terms, and then I’m leaving and reporting back to the city council.”

  “Were you always this bossy?”

  “Yes. You were just bossier.”

  “Is that even a word? I wasn’t bossy.”

  “Oh, please. You were a born leader and you know it. People followed you right off the cliff.”

  “Not literally,” he defended.

  “Yes, they did. Remember that paraglider you bought?”

  “Oh, well, that was just…No one broke anything.”

  “Only because you were as lucky as you were foolish.”

  “Stop with the compliments or I’ll get a big head.”