He extended his hand. She stared, her brow puckered like Magda's when she tried to decide between a healthy cheese stick and a gooey chocolate cookie. Lori's face smoothed, and she rested her soft hand in his.
It felt almost as good as sex.
Okay, not quite that awesome. But damned good. Even a small measure of Lori's trust was a powerful commodity.
She linked her fingers with his, and they walked across the parking lot toward a patch of woods away from the water. "You have a wonderful family."
"Thanks." Not perfect by a long shot, but who was he to throw stones? Bottom line, he loved them.
"What made your parents decide to settle here?"
"It's Mom's hometown. Retiring here was Dad's pay-back for all those years of moving around." Their arms swung between them as they left the parking lot to stroll along a narrowing sandy path. "We lived nearby anytime Dad went overseas so Mom would have family to help out."
"Family's important."
Sliding into silence, they walked and Gray wondered what the hell he would say to her when they stopped. Parking lot lights faded, the night darkening to warm shadows cast by stars and a harvest moon. He tugged his hand free and palmed her back as they trekked over a hill, past a battle ground marker.
Almost there.
Sprawling pines blocked the condos from view, closing them off from the world. "This is it."
She dusted her toe through dried pine needles while he whipped out the blanket, fluttering it to the ground. He waited for her to sit. Lori studied the blanket as if its quilted pattern held secrets to the universe.
"Lori? Problem?"
She shook her head. "No. I was just thinking about something your mother said."
Did he even want to know? Cheez Whiz might be a safer option.
Or maybe not.
In days past, they would have found better uses for Cheez Whiz than wasting it on a cracker. He dropped the sack. "What words of wisdom does Mom have for us today?"
Lori shrugged. "How about we call a truce for tonight? No talk about matchmaking or goodbyes. Just you and me. One last evening together."
He lifted a lock of her hair and rubbed its silky length between two fingers before releasing it into a gliding rest against her breast.
Not a bad place to be. "Sounds good to me."
Lori sank to the blanket, kicked her sandals free and drew her knees up. Her silky dress pooled around her. Gray hunkered down onto the blanket beside her, wincing as last twinges of the bends creaked through him. Pine needles cushioned the ground beneath the blanket. His back propped against a weather-worn oak, he stretched his legs in front of him, his feet only an inch away from her hip.
Wind lifted Lori's hair. "Did you bring me out here to see your etchings, flyboy?"
Gray snorted on a laugh. "If I had, you'd already be on your back."
"Or you would be on yours."
"Now there's a thought." He grasped her bare foot, his thumb rubbing the arch. When she didn't pull away, he draped his other wrist over his bent knee and pointed. "That star right there. Betelgeuse. It was the first one my dad taught me. Even before 'Nam, Dad had a low tolerance for noise. When family gatherings got to be too much for him, he would bring me out here with him. He taught me about celestial navigation."
"What a beautiful memory." Her chin fell to rest on her knees.
A year ago she would have leaned back in his arms.
"We didn't have a lot of money, but he spent time with us." Gray targeted another star with his finger and continued squeezing her foot gently. The heat and softness of her surged up his arm. "That one there. Polaris. You could follow it straight over the North Pole and down to Vietnam."
"And you went there in your mind." She stared up at the star, her voice as sure as if she'd watched him sit in his special spot all those lonely nights as a kid.
"At least a thousand times." His head tipped back against the rough bark. The stars shimmered and blurred. "God, Lori, he was a mess when he got home. What they did to my dad…"