Mad Dog sauntered into the warm, cozy kitchen. He stood in the doorway, hat tilted back on his head to reveal a smiling, suntanned face. His threadbare black shirt drooped on his broad shoulders, the open collar exposing a gaping slash of dark chest. Old, faded blue jeans hugged his long legs.
"Well, well," he said with a deepening smile. "Who we got here, Mariah?"
Jake lurched to his feet so fast, the chair skidded out behind him and crashed to the floor. Heat crawled up his neck and fanned across his cheeks. He yanked his fingers apart and forced his hands to his sides.
Mad Dog swept the hat from his head and tossed it on the Peerless creamery. It landed with a muffled thwack. Running a hand through his shoulder-length, sun-streaked hair, he strolled toward the table.
Each thud-thud-thud of bootheels on the planked floor seemed thunderously loud.
Jake flinched at every step.
Mad Dog held out his hand in greeting. "Hiya, kid. Im Mad Dog. "
Jakes throat went bone-dry. He stared at the hand extended toward him and thought of his own sweaty palms. He cleared his throat and tried unobtrusively to wipe his hand on his pant leg, then reached out.
Mad Dogs long, strong fingers curled around Jakes and squeezed hard. "You got a name, kid?"
Jakes chin snapped up. He looked into Mad Dogs gray eyes and felt a surge of emotion so strong it was almost overwhelming. Hed never been this close to his father. It was a moment hed dreamed of all his life, but never actually believed would happen. Longing spilled through him in a sickening wave.
"Im Jake," he said quietly, afraid his voice would crack if he tried more.
Mad Dog started to extract his hand, but Jake couldnt let go. He clung to his fathers hand for a heartbeat too long, desperate to maintain the connection hed waited all his life to find.
Mad Dog frowned, pulled a little harder.
Jake forced his fingers open and withdrew his hand.
"So. " Mad Dog turned to Mariah. Looping his thumbs inside the waistband of his frayed jeans, he turned his back on Jake and headed for the range. "Whats for supper tonight?"
Jake stared at the mans broad-shouldered back and felt a rush of anger. Hed been dismissed, forgotten.
One thing you gotta remember about your daddy, Jake. Mad Dog forgets things easy. Its just the way he is.
His mothers words came back to Jake, calmed him. He let out his breath softly, and felt the anger dissolve. It wouldnt be easy getting Mad Dogs attention, and even harder to keep it. Hed known that all along. His mother had told him so. Mad Dog was a loner who never stayed in one place too long and never cared about anyone but himself.
Jake tried to ignore the pinch of pain in his chest at the thought. Hed known about Mad Dog. Always.
Mama had told him long ago that his father was incapable of making a commitment.
But love, she told him. Thats not the same thing. Your father knows how to love—in his own easygoing way. He just doesn t know how to stay. . . .
Jake swallowed hard. Thats all he wanted, all he needed. It was so simple, it sounded stupid, but he couldnt force the need away. It had lodged in his heart the first time he heard about his daddy, and through all the years since, it had held fast.
And since Mamas death, it had grown stronger. All he wanted now was a little bit of love.
That couldnt be asking too much.
Mad Dog sat at the table, his legs stretched out in front of him, his ankles crossed.
The boy, Jake, sat across from him, still sitting as stiff as a knife, and Rass was sprawled in his chair, half-asleep. Mariah was at the sink, washing dishes.
He couldnt take his eyes off her. There was a new softness about her, a lessening of the rigid propriety. He was mesmerized.
She turned away from the sink, suddenly, her damp hands twisted in the wrinkled linen of her apron. Across the room, their gazes met.
Her eyes widened. He waited for her to turn away, but she didnt. Slowly she eased her hands from the apron and let them fall to her sides.
She looked incredibly beautiful right now, and somehow vulnerable. A dangerous, potent yearning swelled in his groin at the sight of her. All of a sudden he wanted to kiss her. Needed to kiss her. Jesus . . .