“I appreciate your taking me to the diner and introducing me around. I needed that.”
“It wasn’t anything special.” As a matter of fact, it had felt too comfortable.
“Maybe not to you. But to me, it was blessedly normal, kind of like…catching snowflakes on your tongue. Magical in its simplicity. Thank you for that gift.”
Then she smiled. Just smiled, but the happiness spread all the way to her eyes.
Her beauty blindsided him like a surprise whiteout.
How could he have ever thought her merely pretty? She radiated something incredible that far surpassed an average word such as “pretty.”
A lock of hair slid free from her scarf and lifted with the circling winds. Drawn to Dee in spite of his better judgment, he shoved away from the truck and stopped in front of her. The wind at his back, he shielded her.
Her fingers fluttered upward and landed lightly on his head, dusting snow away. “You really should remember to wear a hat.”
He smiled down at her. “Sure, Mom.”
Her arm dropped back to her side again. Hurt dimmed her eyes. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He kept forgetting how prickly she could be. He folded the ends of her scarf over each other and resisted the urge to smooth his hands along her shoulders, cup the softness just below her coat. “You need to sleep. You didn’t rest much last night.”
“Neither did you.”
He wouldn’t tonight, either, with her scent still clinging to his sheets. Not that it mattered if he washed them. After a day spent together in the truck cab, his senses were saturated with her fragrance.
Dee traced squiggly patterns in the snow with the toe of her tennis shoe. “I enjoyed meeting your friends today. You must be itching to get back to work.”
Work which would take him away from here—and her.
A wry grin tugged one side of his face. “Yeah, I have to admit, I miss it, the flying and the camaraderie.”
“Even after getting shot?”
“Even then.”
“How did it happen?”
The day spread out through his mind, the surprise of it all coming during a low-key mission. “My C-17 was transporting a political contingent across Europe for goodwill visits to a number of countries over the Christmas holidays. On the last stop in Bavaria, some radical crook with an agenda tried to assassinate the—”>Jacob parked between a pair of slush-caked 4X4s. “Ready to eat?”
“What?” The shadowy vision melted like the ice cream she would never see eaten. Disappointment avalanched over her, nearly smothering her with frustration. Dee reached for her seat belt and jabbed at the button. “Yeah. Sorry. I’m actually hungry.”
Three jabs later, she still couldn’t wrestle the buckle open. Jacob covered her hand with his and released the latch. His hand didn’t move away with the seat belt. “Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing.” Could have been everything. “I’m just tired of how it feels like a memory is right there, but I can’t chase it down.”
Absently he caressed the inside of her wrist with a callused finger. “Maybe while we’re waiting for supper, we could play some word association games, see if we can stir up your past.”
“Good idea.” She wanted to imprison his hand. Better yet, haul him back into the truck, into an embrace, the only place she’d been where the insidious whispers of loneliness had faded.
Instead she allowed herself a selfish moment to rest in the heat of his eyes as they studied her, as they held her in a grip equally as powerful as his arms ever could be. His musky scent permeated the interior of the truck, and she breathed in the reassurance of pure Jacob.
Gently he released her hand. “Let’s get moving.”
So much for making new memories. She would be better served hunting for the old.
Climbing the diner steps, Dee leaned against Jacob’s arm until they reached the double doors. Nerves pattered a jig in her stomach. She assumed she understood the basics of etiquette, but she didn’t want to embarrass Jacob, even unwittingly.
Part of her wanted to hide out in her dark but familiar motel room until she remembered. Another, stronger part of her insisted she step back into the world if she ever hoped to regain her past and find her child. To do that, she needed Jacob’s help. The diner could well provide a wealth of information about him, a man who intrigued her, yet unsettled her. A man she had to trust with everything.