Giving up, she dragged out a sweatshirt. She yanked in on over the top, her hair going in all directions. She was burning up, but it would do for now.
Rushing out into her living room she waved. “Hey, guys!” Great, now she sounded like she’d been sucking helium. “How was dinner?”
“Fine. Where’s Kate?”
“She’s in your apartment. Rick was helping me hang some pictures and I didn’t want her to get scared. You know, all that drilling.”
Rick’s head whipped around and he coughed into his hand, amusement flashing in his eyes. “Lots of drilling.”
“Oh. I’ll go get her,” River said.
Fortunately she didn’t look like she thought that explanation was stupid, which it was. Rick’s father was a different story.
“Too soon after your divorce, huh?” he said, grinning. He gave her a wink, which looked a lot like Rick. “Sorry we’re home so early. The kid was worried about the dog.”
“It’s fine,” she said, adjusting her sweatshirt. The damn uniform top felt like she was wearing a seaweed wrap. Moist and tight.
“Not really,” Rick said. “But five minutes sooner would have been much worse.”
If she had been wearing a shoe she would have thrown it at him. He was all but admitting they’d had sex. It was probably pretty obvious but he didn’t need to confirm it. But there was no time to chew him out because River came running in with Kate, who was leaping up and down excitedly.
“I’m so glad she’s okay!” River said, sounding like she’d eaten a bowl of sugar for dinner. Or three cans of Mountain Dew. “Bye, Sloane!” She grabbed Rick by the arm. “Come on. I want to show you the new iPhone Dad got me.”
Rick’s smile fell off his face. “You bought her an iPhone? You could have checked with me first, you know. She’s nine and on electronics too much already.”
“She’s my daughter. I don’t need your permission.”
Uh-oh.
Rick said, “We’ll talk about this later,” in a tight voice. Then he turned and said, “Goodnight, Sloane. Talk to you soon.”
“Goodnight,” she said, weakly.
They all disappeared across the hall and she sank down onto her couch, dew on the back of her neck from overheating. That was a lackluster ending to a fantastic night. “Come here, Kate,” she said. “I am so happy to see you and I really need your cuddles now.”
Kate jumped up beside her and nuzzled her head under Sloane’s hand. She called Maribeth. “Thanks for covering for Rick,” she said after their hellos. “What did Tom do?”
“Tom concluded Rick was a Good Samaritan trying to help. He thinks she got out when the lawn maintenance crew showed up to spray.”
“Oh, good. So is he looking for her?” She pulled Kate in closer, like Tom was going to appear out of nowhere and snag her.
“No. He actually said ‘good riddance.’ I wanted to punch him, but restrained myself since you have Kate safe and sound.”
The idea of what might have happened to Kate made her sick. She hadn’t thought Tom capable of such cruelty. If she had followed legal channels and waited for her attorney, what would the outcome have been? “Thanks, Maribeth.”
“Okay, now let’s talk about the hottie. Are you having sex with that man? Because if you are, I am so jealous of you. If you aren’t, why the actual hell not?”
Sloane hesitated. But then she spilled, because she couldn’t tell anyone in Beaver Bend. “Yes, I am, and holy moly, it’s amazing.”
“Well, duh. I mean, his muscles have muscles. Please tell me he’s thrown you against a wall.”
“No. But we had sex on his motorcycle.”
Maribeth whimpered. “Stop. That is just… wow. So are you dating or doing the dirty?”
“Just doing the dirty.” She sighed. “I’ve known him since high school. We kissed in a bathroom at a party once.”
“Sloane, watch yourself. You’re in a vulnerable state right now and the man drove several hours to rescue your dog. Be guarded.”