Free Human Interaction by Cheyenne Meadows Page B

you know."
    "Alex said you and Ducky took care of the bartender."
    "He did. I got a couple of licks in, but the vamp said something about not liking beet pulp for dinner."
    I shuddered as I recalled what Ducky could do with a bad guy. My mouth dropped open. "You took a huge risk with your life in order to save me?"
    He shrugged as if unconcerned. "Police tracked down accomplices. Shut down the system. For now."
    "Thank you."
    "Do I get a reward for my noble deeds?" His teasing grin returned.
    "Not tonight. Sorry. I have to get home to my kids." I paused. "Maybe later, though."
    His eyes snapped back to my face. "Kids?" He shifted back a bit, head tilting in question.
    Taking a deep breath, I pushed down that belly tingling sensation. "Yeah. I have twin boys. They just turned four." I couldn't help but smile as I thought of them. Full of vim and vigor always.
    Meat's face morphed into something I hadn't seen before in our short acquaintance. His sensual teasing fled like a snowflake in the summer wind. In its place appeared something harder, angrier.
    "So, you send your husband off on business trips to work his ass off while you play around? The kids are just baggage, I take it?" his steely voice accused.
    "What?" I gasped. How did we get from "I wanna do ya" to "you're a tramp" in less than a minute?
    He sneered. "Just like those other women. A man works to keep you in the means you think you deserve, and any chance you get, you go out searching for some stud to fuck."
    My dander shot through the roof. How dare he? "I never cheated on my husband," I spit through clenched teeth.
    He gave a brittle laugh. "You think I'm stupid? That I should be on my knees begging you to take me on as your plaything?"
    Oh, that was it. Grabbing my purse, I lunged to my feet. "I repeat. I never cheated on my husband. Believe what you will, you jackass." Tears burned my eyes. Something inside me cracked open. The place where I held those emotions and memories in check flowed over, like a river cresting its banks after a flooding rain.
    Rushing, I headed to the exit, wiping my eyes, and crunched into a tall, strong body. His hands reached out to grab my arm, steadying me.
    "What the…"
    "I'm sorry. Excuse me." My voice broke as I pulled away and headed frantically for the door.
    The cool night air refreshed me enough to find my car and slide in the driver's seat, but couldn't take the sharp pain away. On the drive home, tears flowed unchecked down my cheeks. Sniffing and wiping them with my shirt sleeve, I kept driving. Questions stormed through my mind. How could I have believed that maybe there might be something with that man? How could I have been so wrong? It had been four long years since I lost Wills. Why did it still hurt so badly?
    Would there ever be someone to love me again?

CHAPTER 8
     
    The chiming of the doorbell caught me mid-stir. Shutting the mixer off, I hurriedly wiped my hands on the kitchen towel and started toward the door, wondering who on earth could be visiting so early. I hadn't ordered anything. Anyone who wanted to visit usually called first. My heart pitter-pattered at the thought of more looming devastating news.
    "Mommy, someone's here!" Sasha's voice rang through the open and airy family room. He kneeled on the couch with his head stuck between the curtains, looking outside. Chance stood beside the couch, watching as I headed toward the door.
    The chimes went off once more. "Hang onto your horses. Jeez," I grumbled as I jogged to the front door. "Who is it?"
    "Don't know, Mommy," Chance answered, his brown eyes focused on the door.
    "Old woman," Sasha replied. Obviously, daycare hasn't discussed tactfulness yet. My more outgoing son beat his brother into this world by four minutes. A fact, he enjoyed tossing out now and again.
    Taking a quick peek out the window, I spotted a delivery van decorated with a large red flower on the side. I unlocked and pulled the front door open.
    An older, gray-headed lady stood on