As it turned out, she was still dressed when he spotted her, but that didn't last for long. They tumbled naked into the soft meadow grass, and as the rain began to fall, their laughter faded.

He drugged himself on her kisses, and as he entered her soft, welcoming body, he glimpsed something that felt almost… holy. But the illusion was too fragile to survive the primitive demand of his body.

The rain drummed on his back. Her strong fingers dug into his shoulders-demanding. The rain… this woman… Her pleasure spiraled beneath him, and he lost himself.

As one day slipped into the next, Molly behaved like a woman possessed. On Wednesday she lifted her skirt for Kevin in the office while the guests gathered for tea. That same night she escaped another of Phoebe's arrangements for a private chat and met him in the woods behind the cottage. The following morning he dragged her into the pantry just as Troy was coming through the kitchen door, then had to cover her mouth because she started making too much noise. Later she hauled him into a deserted cottage, but as he lifted her onto the kitchen table, her muscles finally rebelled from the strain of so many awkward positions, and she winced.

He pressed his forehead to hers and took a shaky breath, struggling for control. "This is nuts. You've had enough."

"Are you kidding? I'm just getting started, but if you can't keep up with me, I understand."

He smiled and kissed her. Oh, she loved those slow kisses. He caressed her breasts and her thighs, trying to take more care, but they were dancing with danger, and she wouldn't let him. Before long she forgot all about her aching muscles.

That evening they sidestepped the Calebows' dinner invitation by announcing that they had to drive into town for supplies, but when they returned to the campground, they discovered their luck had run out. Phoebe and Dan were waiting for them on the steps of the B &B.

Chapter 22

One day this bad guy came to Nightingale Woods. He was realy bad and mean, but he pretended to be Benny's friend. But only Daphne knew he was realy bad. So she told Benny, "Hes not your friend!!!!!" Daphne Meets a Bad Guy by Hannah Marie Calebow

Molly heard Kevin's quiet curse and fixed a smile on her face. "Hey, you guys. Escape the kiddies for a while?"

"They're playing flashlight tag on the Common." As Phoebe came down the steps, she took in Molly's rumpled dress.

Molly needed her wits about her, but the fact that she was still missing her underwear put her at a disadvantage. "I hope Andrew's going to be all right. You know how fast he disappears."

"Andrew's just fine," Dan said. "There's not much trouble he can get into around here."

"You have no idea," Kevin muttered.

Phoebe tilted her head toward the lane that led past the beach. Her oversize Stars sweatshirt and jeans didn't quite hide the power player beneath. "Mrs. Long volunteered to keep an eye on all of them. Let's take a walk."

Molly flexed her shoulders. "I think I'll pass. I've been up since five-thirty, so I'm a little tired." From making love three times today. "Maybe tomorrow."

Dan's voice rang with Southern steel. "It won't take long. And there are a couple of things we want to discuss."

"Your vacation is almost over. Why can't you just relax and enjoy the rest of it?"

"It's a little hard to relax when we're so worried about you," Phoebe replied.

"Well, stop worrying!"

"Calm down, Molly," Kevin said. "If they want to talk, I'm sure we can spare a few minutes."

What a suck-up. Or maybe he'd decided it was time to play a risky new game. She'd known from the beginning that he wasn't sneaking around because he was afraid of Dan and Phoebe. He was doing it because he loved taking chances. "You might have the time, but I don't."

Dan reached out for her arm just as he'd done since she was fifteen, but Kevin shot forward and blocked his way. She didn't know who was the more astonished, herself or Dan. Had Kevin interpreted the gesture as a threat?

Phoebe recognized the signs of antlers clashing, and she moved to her husband's side. The two of them exchanged one of their glances, and then Dan set off toward the lane. "Right now. Let's go."

The moment of reckoning was finally here, and there was no escaping it. Molly could imagine the questions they were going to ask. If only she could figure out how to answer them.

They headed silently past the beach and the last of the cottages, then along the edge of the woods. When they reached the split-rail fence that marked the end of the campground, Dan stopped. Kevin stepped slightly away from Molly and rested his hips against a post.

"You've been here for two weeks," Phoebe said as she let go of Dan's hand.

"Two weeks ago Wednesday," Kevin replied.

"The campground is beautiful. Our kids are having a wonderful time."

"It's nice having them here."

"They still can't believe you bought all those bikes."

"I enjoyed doing it."

Dan lost patience. "Phoebe and I want to know what your intentions are toward Molly."

"Dan!" Molly cried.

"It's all right," Kevin said.

"No it's not!" She glared at her brother-in-law. "And what kind of sexist Southern crap is that anyway? What about my intentions toward him?" She didn't exactly know what those intentions were beyond keeping the real world at bay by staying in Nightingale Woods for as long as she could, but she had to face Dan down.

"You were supposed to be getting an annulment," Phoebe said. "Instead you ran off together."

"We didn't run off," Molly replied.

"What else would you call it? And every time I try to talk to you about it, you dash away." She jammed her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "This is the fire alarm all over again, isn't it, Molly?"

"No!"

"What fire alarm?" Kevin asked.

"Never mind," Molly said hastily.

"No, I want to hear this."

Phoebe betrayed her. "When Molly was sixteen, she pulled the fire alarm at her high school. Unfortunately, she hadn't seen any sign of a fire."

Kevin regarded her curiously. "Did you have a good reason?"

She shook her head, feeling sixteen all over again.

"So why did you do it?"

"I'd rather not go into this now."

He tilted his head toward Dan. "You always talk as if she's perfect."

"She is!" Dan barked.

Molly smiled despite herself, then bit her lip. "It was an aberration. I was an insecure teenager testing Phoebe and Dan to make sure they'd stick by me no matter what I did."

Kevin's eyes took on a speculative gleam. "So did they evacuate the school?"

Molly nodded.

"How many fire trucks?"

"My God…" Phoebe muttered. "It was a serious offense."

"It's a Class Two felony," Molly said glumly, "so it got fairly nasty."

"I'll bet." Kevin turned back to the Calebows. "Fascinating as this is-and I'll admit it's pretty fascinating-I don't think that's what you want to talk about."

"This isn't a big deal!" Molly exclaimed. "Two weeks ago Kevin showed up at my place because I'd missed an appointment with the attorney. I hadn't been feeling well, and he decided some fresh air would do me good, so he brought me up here."

When Phoebe wanted to, she did sarcasm better than anyone. "You couldn't just take her for a walk?"

"Didn't think of it." Unlike Phoebe, Kevin wasn't going to tell Molly's secrets.

But Molly had to be truthful about this part. "I've been seriously depressed, but I didn't want you to know how bad it was. Kevin's a fairly dedicated do-gooder, even though he tries to fight it, and he told me if I didn't go with him, he'd drive me out to your place and dump me on the two of you. I didn't want you to see me like that."

Phoebe looked crestfallen. "We're your family! You shouldn't have felt that way."

"I'd already upset you enough. I'd been trying to pretend I was all right, but I just couldn't do it any longer."

"She wasn't all right," Kevin said. "But she's gotten better since she's been here."

"How long are you planning to stay?" Dan's expression was still suspicious.

"Not much longer," Kevin replied. "Another couple of days."

His words made Molly's chest hurt.

"Do you remember Eddie Dillard?" Kevin went on. "He used to play for the Bears."

"I remember him."

"He wants to buy the place, and he's driving up tomorrow to check it out."

Molly's stomach turned over. "You didn't tell me that!"

"Didn't I? I guess I was preoccupied."

Preoccupied having sex with her. But there'd been plenty of time between their erotic workouts for him to have mentioned this.

"We can leave right after that," he said. "I just talked to my business manager this afternoon, and he finally found someone in Chicago to take over for the rest of the summer, a married couple who've done this before."

He might as well have slapped her. He hadn't even told her he'd asked his business manager to look in Chicago. She felt more betrayed than when Phoebe had mentioned the fire alarm. He knew she'd hate this, so he'd neglected to mention it. There was no real communication between them, no common goal. Everything she didn't want to accept about their relationship was right there in front of her. They might share sex, but that was all.

Phoebe nudged a clump of chicory with her toe. "And then what happens?"

She couldn't stand hearing Kevin say it, so she said it for him. "Nothing happens. We file for a divorce and go our separate ways."

"A divorce?" Dan asked. "Not an annulment?"

"Grounds for an annulment are limited." Molly tried to sound impersonal, as if this had nothing to do with her. "You need to prove misrepresentation or duress. We can't, so we'll have to get a divorce."