Before she could say anything else, he closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, where he proceeded to kiss her until she was breathless. She felt him harden through his slacks, but it was daytime, and he drew back with obvious reluctance to gaze down at her through heated eyes. “You ready to cry ‘uncle’ yet?”
Her eyes drifted to his mouth, and she sighed. “Just about.”
“You know, don’t you, that I won’t make it easy on you. I’m not going to be satisfied with anything less than stripping you naked in broad daylight.”
“I know.”
“I might even make you walk around outside.”
She regarded him glumly. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“ ’Course I wouldn’t make you do something like that stark naked.”
“You’re all heart.”
“I’d prob’ly let you wear one of those nice pairs of high heels you’ve got.”
“A man in a million.”
He started to kiss her again. Then he was cupping her breasts, and they were both breathing so hard she didn’t ever want to stop. Just that morning she’d told herself she was going to stop playing games with him, and now was the time. With one hand she reached for the hem of her nightshirt.
The telephone rang. She inched her nightshirt higher and continued kissing Cal, but the phone’s persistence ruined the mood.
He groaned. “Why isn’t the answering machine picking up?”
She let go of the nightshirt. “The cleaning women were here yesterday afternoon. They must have turned it off by mistake.”
“I’ll bet it’s Da
d. He was going to call me this morning.” He relinquished her with reluctance, rested his forehead against hers for a few moments, then kissed the tip of her nose.
She couldn’t believe it. She’d finally worked up the nerve to let him see her pudgy body, and the stupid phone had to ring! Giving him his privacy, she headed for her bathroom, where she showered, then dressed. Afterward, she made her way to the kitchen.
Cal was slipping his wallet into the pocket of his khakis. “That was Dad on the phone. He and Mom are meeting for lunch in Asheville today. I hope he can convince her to put an end to this craziness and move back home. I can’t believe she’s being so stubborn.”
“There are two people involved in that marriage.”
“And one of them is bullheaded.”
She’d given up arguing with him about this. He was convinced that his mother was at fault in his parents’ separation because she was the one who’d moved out, and nothing Jane said could persuade him that there might be another side to the story.
“Do you know what Mom told Ethan when he offered her some pastoral counseling? She told him to mind his own business.”
She lifted an eyebrow at him. “Ethan might not be the best person to offer counsel.”
“He’s her pastor!”
She barely resisted rolling her eyes. Instead, she patiently pointed out the obvious. “You and Ethan are both too involved personally to be counseling either one of them.”
“Yeah, I guess.” As he picked up his car keys from the counter, he frowned. “I just don’t understand how something like this could happen.”
She gazed at Cal’s troubled face and found herself wishing Lynn and Jim could settle their differences, not only for themselves but for their sons. Cal and Ethan loved their parents, and this estrangement was painful for them.
Once again she wondered what had happened to Lynn and Jim Bonner. For years they seemed to have managed to live together very well. Why had they separated now?
Jim Bonner strode into the Blue Ridge dining room at the Grove Park Inn, Asheville’s most famous hotel and resort. It had always been one of Lynn’s favorite places, and he’d asked her to meet him here for lunch. Perhaps its pleasant associations would soften his stubborn wife’s heart.
The Grove Park Inn had been constructed at the turn of the century to serve as a luxurious refuge from the summer heat for the nation’s wealthy. Built into the side of Sunset Mountain from rough-hewn granite, the massive structure was either ugly or splendid, depending on your viewpoint.