"Maybe I won't stay here," she said. "But wherever I go, I'll be waiting for you."
He froze as if he couldn't believe what she'd just said. Then a tormented expression crossed his face, and she could've sworn she saw tears glistening in his eyes.
He snapped off the light before she could really tell. "I want more than that for you," he whispered hoarsely, but she had the impression that, for himself, he craved exactly what she'd promised him. And that was enough to give her hope.
"You're not the only one who has a choice," she said quietly.
It was Molly who answered the door when Allie arrived at the farm. Allie felt a little silly standing on the doorstep at nearly one-thirty in the morning, but Clay's youngest sister didn't seem to think anything of it.
"Hi," she said. "Come on in. Clay's in the kitchen whipping up some eggs and grits and bacon."
Allie nodded. The scent of bacon seemed to pervade the whole house. "Smells great."
Molly gave her an exaggerated grimace. "Yeah, well, we'll see how it turns out."
Faced with Allie's questioning look, Molly quickly explained. " I was going to make it, but he took the spatula away from me. You know how he is--large and in charge!"
She'd raised her voice on the last sentence so Clay would be sure to hear her. "How many eggs did you expect me to let you ruin?" he asked from the kitchen.
"So I burned a few," she said with a shrug. "I live in New York. I eat out. But I would've gotten the hang of it eventually."
"I'm hungry," he grumbled. "I didn't want to wait all night."
Allie chuckled at their banter as she followed Clay's sister into the kitchen. Then Clay turned toward her, wearing the comfortable-looking, well-worn jeans he'd had on at Good Times and a simple white T-shirt, and her heart leaped into her throat. Everything about him appealed to her--his rugged face, his muscular body, his fierce independence, his stubborn pride, his determination to take on the whole world if necessary...and the way he made love. Especially the way he made love. He knew how to be just the right amount of gentle and just the right amount of rough.
She felt warm thinking about what had occurred in the toolshed earlier. No wonder Beth Ann was having such a difficult time getting over him.
"What?" Clay said, watching her closely.
"I was thinking about the night Beth Ann was here and called the police on you," she lied.
One eyebrow slid up in a sardonic expression. "You were smiling."
"It was the first time I'd ever had a half-naked woman come charging at me from the shadows. And the glower on your face when you answered the door--"
"What I remember is that you made me strip for you," Clay interrupted pointedly. "And the fact that you were taking an awful lot of pictures. You wanted to see my chest. You wanted to see my back. I'm surprised you didn't have me flex for you."
Allie could tell Clay thought he'd bested her, that she'd back off because of Molly. But she wasn't quite finished yet. "It was worth it," she said wistfully. "I still have one of those pictures tucked between my mattresses."
"You're kidding," he said.
She gave him a teasing grin. "Maybe, maybe not."
"I'm going to check," he promised.
Molly glanced from Allie to Clay, then frowned at the food Clay was neglecting. "Wait a second. Am I going to have to finish breakfast?"
Clay turned back to his work. "Hell, no. Then we'll never get fed."
"I don't think it's food you want right now," Molly grumbled.
Clay threw Allie a guilty look but finished the eggs and bacon.
"How long are you staying?" Allie asked Clay's sister as Clay handed them each a plate.
"I fly back on Sunday."
"What do you think of the new baby?"
"She's beautiful. I just wish..."
"What?" Allie coaxed.
"That Clay and Grace didn't have to worry about the trial. That I didn't have to worry about it, either."
Mention of the future put an immediate damper on everyone's mood. "It'll be all right,"
Allie insisted.
Molly ate the last of her food and went to rinse her plate at the sink. "I think it's great, you know. The way you're sticking by him."
If only she could find something that would save him. "Thanks."
When they were finished eating, Clay stacked their plates on the counter, then took her hand. "I'm getting tired. Let's go up to bed while I still have some energy."
Allie resisted his attempt to pull her toward the stairs. She couldn't imagine marching up to his bedroom and making love with him while his sister was in the house and knew exactly what they were doing. "Actually, I should get home."
He scowled. "Really?"
"Really. But I...was hoping we could talk for a few minutes before I go."
"We could talk upstairs in my bed," he said hopefully.
She laughed. "I was thinking of here or in the living room."
"I'll let you two be alone," Molly said. "I'm beat."
"Good night," Allie said.
Molly waved as she headed up the stairs. "'Night."
Clay took the chair next to Allie, stretched out his long legs and locked his hands behind his head. The definition in his arms and chest made Allie's mouth go dry. Had she been crazy to turn down a trip to his bedroom? Probably. But Molly was so close....
"What is it?" he asked.
Besides the fact that she wanted to undress him right here in the kitchen? "You know the last gas station before you leave the highway to go to the cabin?"
The expression in Clay's eyes changed, intensified. "Of course. I stopped there. That's where I bought the condoms we used."
Allie was glad Molly had left. "It is?"
"Yeah."
"Did you see anyone you recognized?"
Clay's forehead furrowed. "No. I've gone over every second of that night. All I remember about the place is that the attendant was muttering about some guy getting blood on the floor. But whoever it was had already pulled out when I arrived."
"You didn't see him?"
"We might've passed. I wasn't really paying attention. I was too busy arguing with myself."
"About what?"
"I knew I didn't have any business planning to sleep with you," he said with a grin. "But I also didn't want to show up unprepared in case the temptation proved too great."
She laughed. "It's a good thing you came prepared."