He nodded as if he understood. Yet guilt, embarrassment, fear and other emotions she hadn’t yet pegged all tumbled around in her throat, threatening to cut off her air supply.
She put her thumb to her ear and her pinkie to her lips, giving him the universal sign for telephone. Then she mouthed, “I’ll call you.”
Again, he nodded.
Then she climbed into her car before she could debate whether she really had any business calling Toby at all.
* * *
Ten minutes after Angie drove away, the cordless phone on the counter rang and Kylie answered it before Toby could make a grab for it. Was Angie calling him already? He could understand her wanting to get the heck out of Dodge this morning. He’d been tempted to jump in her car and go with her just to escape the curious eyes pelting him with unspoken questions.
What had he been thinking, spending the entire night with Angie like that? Better yet, what had he been thinking setting those damn sprinklers on a timer to go off at six in the morning? If they hadn’t blasted them with water, Toby knew exactly what he would have done to Angie’s sweet, warm and tempting body this morning. He wouldn’t have stopped with a hand on her lush breast—that was for sure. Instead, they’d gotten sprayed with water like a couple of dogs someone had to turn the hose on to keep from going at it on the front lawn.
“Yeah, Aunt Stacey,” Kylie said. “He’s right here, fixing pancakes for us and Angie.”
Obviously, Kylie still hadn’t realized that Angie had left. Or that Toby was still staring out the kitchen window after her like a sad, abandoned puppy.
He tried to reach for the telephone before Kylie could tell his sister anything else, but his hands were full of slimy eggshells, which he’d have to rinse off first.
“Uh-huh,” Kylie continued. “Angie and Toby had a sleepover last night. And Toby got my pillow all wet, but that’s okay because he said I get to invite my class over for a slumber party.”
With his hands clean, but still wet, Toby took the phone from Kylie. “Hey, Stace. What’s up?”
“Why did Kylie put you on the phone?” Stacey asked. “I wanted to talk to Angie.”
“She’s not here,” Toby said, a bit more defensively than he’d intended.
“She left already?” Justin asked. “Aw, man. I wanted to ask her to help me build a spaceship out of LEGO.”
“We’ll see her later,” Toby told the disappointed boy.
But the truth was, he didn’t know when they’d see Angie again. Or if Angie would even want to see him after the way he’d been pawing at her this morning.
“Later, huh?” Stacey asked. “I heard the two of you have been spending a lot of time together lately, but I had no idea you guys were at the sleepover stage.”
Toby covered the mouthpiece. “Brian, stir the pancake mix. I’m going to talk to my sister for a sec. But don’t use the stove until I get back.”
After giving all the kids an assignment, Toby walked into the living room so they wouldn’t hear his line of defense.
Not that he’d done anything wrong. Had he? Maybe if he just explained what had happened...
Hey, wait. He didn’t owe anyone an explanation.
When he reached the living room, he asked, “So how’s Piper?”
Everyone knew Stacey adored her nine-month-old daughter, so he figured he’d change the subject to one of toothless grins and sleepless nights.
“She’s fine,” Stacey said. “Growing cuter and smarter every day.”
“And how about Colton?” he asked, hoping he could get her talking about her new fiancé, one of the neighboring ranchers. “Have you guys set a date yet?”
“Colton is doing great, but don’t try those distraction tactics on me. I’m one step ahead of you, big brother. You are not getting out of this one. What’s going on with you and Angie Edwards?”
His sisters, Stacey and Delaney, were protective over all their brothers, but particularly Toby since his family always accused him of being a softy—and a sucker for a sob story. Not that Angie was a sob story.
“Nothing’s going on,” he said. “Angie’s been helping me out with the kids. That’s all.”
“Are you paying her for babysitting services? Because I heard Angie’s always looking for a new job. She never seems to stick with one very long.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I’m not paying her. She’s doing it to be nice and because she likes the kids. And for your information, Angie is a very hard worker. Just because she hasn’t found a career she likes doesn’t mean she isn’t a good person.”
“I never said she wasn’t, Toby. I was just telling you what I’ve been hearing around town. I went to high school with Angie, remember? She used to date a lot back then.”
Toby felt a jostle of jealousy stir up again in his veins.
“What do you mean she used to date a lot? Like she was...” Toby didn’t want to say anything that would be demeaning to Angie, but he didn’t know how else to ask.
“Well, she didn’t have a reputation for being fast or anything like that, but she was known as the Queen of the First Date.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means she would go out with a guy if he asked her, but usually, they never made it to a second date. I don’t know if it was fear of commitment or what, but she never went steady with anyone or took any of the guys seriously. She for sure never had sleepovers with anyone before. Or at least none that I heard about.”
The envy died down a little bit inside him. At least he couldn’t fault Angie for being choosy.
“Listen, last night wasn’t a sleepover. It was just an accident. Nothing, uh, really happened.”
He hoped his sister hadn’t caught the hesitation in his voice.
“Aha!” she said. “Define ‘nothing.’ And ‘really.’”
“I’m not defining anything.” Toby looked back to the kitchen to make sure none of the little ears had made their way within hearing distance.
Stacey clicked her tongue. “You wouldn’t be getting so defensive if your relationship was strictly platonic. So how far have you guys gone?”
Toby couldn’t believe Stacey had just asked him that. “This isn’t high school, Stace. We’re not playing truth or dare. I’m not talking about my sex life with my little sister.”
“So you’re saying there is a sex life to talk about,” she said, a spark of excitement lighting her voice as if she’d tricked a leprechaun into revealing the location of his pot of gold.
Embarrassment was an understatement. Toby remembered holding the wet pillow up to cover his arousal this morning when the kids came into the kitchen. He wished he had something to hide behind now.
He wasn’t going to admit to anything. He’d said too much as it was and figured silence was his only option.
“So,” Stacey said, apparently changing tactics, “the reason I called was to tell you that Mom and Dad are having a family dinner at their house tonight. And we’d like you to bring Angie.”
“Why, so you guys can check her out and pump her for information? No way.”
“Mom told me and Delaney you’d say that when we came up with the idea.”
Great. His family was already plotting and scheming.
“That’s