Thanksgiving day in Silver Springs, Idaho, was a full house, though not all the Holbrooks could be there. Some nieces and nephews of Lief’s who were grown, married and living in other states didn’t come, but there was still a full table. These old-fashioned country folks liked to set two tables, one for the grown-ups and one for the children. A major rite of passage was moving from the little people table to the big people table; this year Courtney sat with the adults.

People seemed happy to see her; that was a relief. She saw the lake and there were even some geese on it, a stopover on their way south. Cousin Jim’s farm hadn’t changed but he did have some new animals—a couple of geldings he’d taken off a neighbor’s hands when the neighbor’s farm sold. Not ones she felt ready to ride. Lief went hunting early on Friday morning and again early on Saturday morning, both times with his brothers and brother-in-law. They stayed mostly on the farm—plenty of ponds and lakes nearby. He got himself two ducks, both of which he cleaned and put on ice to take back to Virgin River with him.

She texted Amber all weekend. Sounded like Amber’s holiday was just about the same—older brothers, younger nieces and nephews, lots of people at the farm.

On Sunday they headed home. Gram made them coffee, turkey sandwiches, cookies. They didn’t leave at the crack of dawn, but rather after a good breakfast. And the first couple of hours of the drive was pretty quiet in the car.

“I was real impressed with your behavior, Courtney. Thanks.”

She sighed. “I don’t know why we can’t just live there. It’s not like she’s getting any younger, you know?”

“I know,” he said. “I’m going to have to make it a point to go more often.”

“Why can’t we just live there? Near family?”

“Well, I thought about it, but in the end I decided I didn’t want to get too far out of California, since I still will probably have to go to L.A. now and then. I still have occasional meetings for scripts. I found a house I thought we’d like and just made a decision.”

“There are airports. What if we made a new decision?”

“Moved to Silver Springs?” he asked. “I like where we are. And you’ve gotten along pretty well.”

“Is it about Kelly being there?” she asked.

“I like Kelly, you know that. And to be honest, I didn’t think I’d ever meet a woman I’d like. But also, I don’t know what her future plans are. When she got here, she planned to stay awhile, then find a position in a restaurant. That she didn’t want to live with her sister forever, was practically the first thing she said, so I can’t say I’m staying in Virgin River because of Kelly. Look, I don’t think we should move to Idaho, but I think we should go back to visit more often. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” she said. “Whatever.”

Twelve

Lief had never done so much texting in his life. In his parents’ house with the paper walls and with Kelly’s cell phone reception in Virgin River iffy at best, he didn’t want to talk on the phone, say personal things and be overheard by Courtney. His parents were half deaf, but Courtney had inhuman hearing. So he shot Kelly message after message. Sometimes she shot them right back, sometimes they came a bit later. He felt like a kid, secretly texting during class. At least there was communication, but he wasn’t sure how this younger generation could stand it—it was so unsatisfying.

On Monday morning he made coffee, put the cooler with the ducks in it in the back of the truck while Court was in the shower, ate a bowl of cereal and looked at his watch fifteen or twenty times.

Which didn’t escape Courtney’s notice.

When he dropped her off at school she said, “Bet I know what you’re going to do today.”

He hoped she didn’t see the dark stain on his cheeks. “I’m going to take the ducks to Kelly. Unlike you, she gets very excited about ducks.”

“Eww,” she said. “Gross.”

So, the old Courtney was back. Well, he hadn’t expected charming Courtney to last forever. But that wouldn’t keep him from being grateful she’d obliged him with his mother and from knowing she was capable of being sweet when she wanted to be.

He drove a little fast to the Victorian, didn’t bother with the cooler containing the ducks, but gave two short knocks and opened the back door. Kelly turned from the sink at the sound. The air between them crackled. His heart beat a lot faster, just looking at her, those rose lips, pink cheeks, thick blond hair. “Where is everyone?” he asked.

She smiled. “Denny’s not coming to work today. Jill and Colin went to Redding for art supplies.” She swallowed.

Then she ran into his arms, shoving his jacket off his shoulders. Her lips met his lips, her arms clasped his neck. Her mouth opened under his, tongues tangled, breathing quickened, and he could feel her heart thud in her breast. “God, I missed you,” he said.

“It was the longest holiday weekend I’ve ever spent,” she said.

He lifted her, and her legs went around his waist, his hands holding her up under her butt. He laughed against her opened lips.

“Funny?” she asked.

“I guess we can’t do it on the table,” he said. “Or against the nearest wall.”

“Pretty risky, near those windows, the way folks in this town drop by.”

“Ten years ago I could’ve carried you up three flights, just under the sheer power of wanting you. Now? I’m afraid I’ll fall…”

“And hurt us both?” she asked, kissing his neck, his ear, his cheek.

“And not get laid,” he said with a chuckle.

“How fast can you get upstairs if you put me down?” she asked.

“I have an advantage. My legs are longer.” He put her on her feet. “You better run or I’ll have your clothes in shreds.”

“God,” she said, her feet touching the floor. She put a hand against his cheek. “I think this whole event is going to take under three minutes.”

He looked into her liquid blue eyes, smiled and said, “Go!”

With a shriek she turned and ran for the stairs, Lief right behind her. She was completely out of breath when she got to her bedroom on the third floor and flounced on the bed. Lief slammed the door—better to be safe than stupid when living in a commune—and was right on top of her, his mouth on hers. He rotated his h*ps slightly, pressing into her.

“Hm, ready already?” she asked.

“I’ve been ready all morning.” He lifted her shirt over her head, so happy to find her braless. He pressed her br**sts together and plunged his face into their full softness. Then his hands were on her pants, opening the snap, slipping down the zipper and pulling them down her legs. He knelt on the floor beside the bed to get them all the way off and, being in that position, had a thought. He spread her legs, kissed her inner thighs, separated her farther and put his mouth on her.

“Oh, don’t,” she said.

He lifted his head. “Why? You love this.”

“I can’t last and I want to wait for you!”

He grinned at her, putting a large hand over her breast. “Don’t worry about me, honey.” And back he went, exploring her with his tongue, following his movements with his thumb’s firm pressure. She went off like a rocket, clenching and vibrating as she pushed against him.

He gave her a moment, then slowly rose to look into her eyes. “I love it when you do that for me,” he said. “You are one hot, sexy woman, and I love you.”

“Then take off your clothes!”

Grinning, he unbuttoned the shirt, then the jeans, then kicked off the boots. Then he hovered over her, still smiling. “Tell me what you want, honey.”

“I want you inside.”

He ran a knuckle along her soft ivory cheek. “You realize that once I’m in there, I have maybe ten strokes in me. I’m pretty hot.”

“I think that should be enough,” she said, reaching to put her arms around his neck to hold him close. “For now.”

He plunged his hands into her soft hair, found her mouth with his, entered her in one long, smooth perfect stroke and growled low in his throat. Then he started to move, and she started to move in concert against him, taking him in. She released a little whimper, sucked hard on his lower lip, and it happened again. She froze, clenched, looped a leg over his waist to hold him inside her, and she came in cascading waves. “Mmm,” he said against her mouth. “Mmm, honey. That feels so good.” And he found he couldn’t wait her out. He pumped his h*ps a couple of times and released, his throbbing cl**ax bringing a delicious moan from her.

And then they were still, holding on to each other, recovering.

A minute later he lifted his head, looked into her eyes, and they both started to laugh.

“That was a good two and a half minutes,” she told him.

“I’ll be better next time,” he said. “How far away is Redding?”

“Plenty far,” she said. She ran her fingers through his hair. “I hated being away from you. I understood how important it was, but I missed you so much.” She slapped his muscled backside. “I missed this.”

“It’s always good, but when you can’t wait, it’s better. Fun. How’d I get so lucky to find you?” he asked.

“Makes no sense. I was running away from my life. This shouldn’t have happened. But I’m so glad it did. And thank you for staying in touch through the weekend—I wondered about you every minute.”

“All that damn texting stuff—I can’t live like that. I mean, a message now and then like ‘pick me up’ or ‘new president elected,’ that I can understand. I needed to hold you, to hear your voice.” He kissed her. “To taste you, to feel you under me.”

“This is the best part,” she said, snuggling closer. “When we’re joined like this and talk…”

“Let’s talk about how much I worship this body,” he said, kissing her neck, breast, lips. “What a perfect fit. Can we stay like this until we starve?”

She laughed at him. “Anything that makes you happy.”

His rich brown eyes grew warm, and he brushed her hair back. “It makes me happy when I can make you happy. When I can make you cry out, when you’re so satisfied you can’t sit up.” Then he smiled and moved inside her. He was ready for more. “This time, sweetheart, we’ll go slower. I can’t get enough of you.”

“I don’t expect special treatment,” she whispered.

“Yes, you do.”

“Fine. But only because it’s you and everything you do to me is special.”

It took some willpower to give up the bed after making love for a couple of hours. They showered, dressed and went to the kitchen for lunch. The ducks Lief brought went in the refrigerator while Kelly made them a couple of sandwiches. They filled each other in on the details about their long weekend apart. Kelly had been invited to join Colin and Jill, Colin’s family and the gathering that took place at General Walt Booth’s house. “Very nice extended family,” she said. “Walt is Shelby’s uncle. Walt’s daughter Vanessa is Shelby’s cousin. Muriel was there, of course.”

He told her how delightful Courtney was. “Almost like the old Courtney—sweet-natured and funny. I’m embarrassed that you rarely see that side of her.”

“I’m hoping that changes soon,” she said.

“And I’m hoping you remember how to get to my house.”

“Why is that?”

“Because Spike is coming to live with us this week. I can only leave him for a few hours or less at a time—he’s going to be in training. Or I’m going to be in training—we’ll see which it is.”