Free Under A Prairie Moon by Madeline Baker Page A

he said politely, and ambled down the stairs. Kathy watched him slide into the passenger side of the trunk. Lawson had been right. All that work, and Sonny wasn’t even breathing hard.
    “Well, I guess we’d better be going,” John remarked. “We’ve got another delivery to make.” He smiled at her as he handed her his empty glass.
    “Thanks for everything,” Kathy said.
    “Glad to do it.” John descended one step, then turned to face her. “Any chance you’ll be coming into town again soon?”
    “I would imagine. I’ve still got a lot of rooms to furnish.”
    “Any chance you’d go out with me next Saturday night? Say dinner and a movie? I…oh…” His voice trailed off, and Kathy saw him staring at her wedding ring. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were married.”
    “I’m a widow,” Kathy replied, wondering if the words would ever get any easier to say.
    “Oh. I’m sorry. How…I mean, was it sudden?
    “A traffic accident. Almost a year ago.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that. I’m divorced myself. Listen, it’s been awhile since I asked a woman on a date. I don’t know how long, that is…” He cleared his throat. “Maybe it’s too soon, but…” He looked up at her, obviously flustered. “Is it too soon for you to be dating?”
    Kathy hesitated a moment. She hadn’t gone out with anyone since Wayne passed away. It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse, and then she shook her head. Maybe it was time to rejoin the land of the living. “I’d love to go out with you.”
    “What time shall I pick you up?”
    “Why don’t I meet you in town? I’d planned to drive in anyway.”
    Lawson smiled, revealing a dimple in his left cheek. “Great. Why don’t you meet me at the store at six-thirty?”
    “All right.”
    “See you then.” Whistling softly, John descended the stairs. He slid behind the wheel and gave her a wave and a smile, then pulled out of the yard.
    A date. Kathy rested her elbows on the porch rail, her chin cradled in her hands, her toe tapping nervously. She had a date.
    “So that’s John Lawson.”
    He hardly startled her at all this time, she thought. No doubt she was getting used to having him creep up on her. “Yes.”
    “And you’re going out with him.”
    Kathy straightened up, wondering why she felt guilty. “Yes I am.”
    Dalton grunted softly. He didn’t like the idea of her being with another man, but it wasn’t his place to say so.
    “Well,” Kathy said, “I guess I’d better get busy.”
    He followed her into the house, stood in the living room, his shoulder braced against one wall, while she flipped on the radio, then moved into the middle of the room to survey her new furniture, her brow furrowed in thought.
    When she started to push the sofa across the floor, he went to help her.
    “Thanks.” She glanced up, her gaze meeting his. “You don’t have to do this.”
    He shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do.”
    She nodded, acutely aware of the tension that hummed between them. He was the most male male she had ever known. He radiated more raw sexual appeal than any living man she had ever met. There was no denying the attraction she felt for him, or the fact that he stirred feelings within her that she had never thought to feel again. She wiped a hand over her forehead. When he looked at her through those deep black eyes, excitement bubbled up inside her like, making her feel young again, desirable.
    For a moment, time seemed to stand still. On the radio, Johnny Mathis was singing… “Chances are you’ll think that I’m in love with you…”
    As though rooted to the spot, she watched Dalton walk toward her until he was close. Too close.
    She licked lips gone suddenly dry.
    “Dance with me?” he asked, his voice low and husky.
    She blinked up at him, startled. Of all the things he might have said, this was the most unexpected. “What?”
    “Dance with me. I won’t step on your toes, I promise.”
    She was sorely