The Road To Love: Love by Degree / The Rain Sparrow. Debbie Macomber

      “I wasn’t spying,” he snapped.

      “Charlie and I were in his car. You must’ve been staring out the window to have seen us.”

      He didn’t answer her, but instead hurled another accusation in her direction. “You’re corrupting the boys.”

      “I’m what?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What year do you think this is?” She shook her head, bewildered. “They’re nineteen. Trust me, they’ve kissed girls before.”

      “You can kiss anyone you like. Just don’t do it in front of the boys.”

      From the way this conversation was going, Ellen could see that Reed was in no mood to listen to reason. “I think we should discuss this some other time,” she said quietly.

      “We’ll talk about it right now.”

      Ignoring his domineering tone as much as possible, Ellen forced a smile. “Good night, Reed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

      She was halfway to the stairs when he called her, his voice calm. “Ellen.”

      She turned around, holding herself tense, watching him stride quickly across the short distance that separated them. With his thumb and forefinger, he caught her chin, tilting it slightly so he could study her face. He rubbed his thumb across her lips. “Funny, you don’t look kissed.”

      In one breath he was accusing her of necking and in the next, claiming she was unkissed. Not knowing how to respond, Ellen didn’t. She merely gazed at him, her eyes wide and questioning.

      “If you’re going to engage in that sort of activity, the least you can do—” He paused. With each word his mouth drew closer and closer to hers until his lips hovered over her own and their breath mingled. “The least you can do is look kissed.” His hand located the vein pounding wildly in her throat as his mouth settled over hers.

      Slowly, patiently, his mouth moved over hers with an exquisite tenderness that left her quivering with anticipation and delight. Timidly, her hands crept across his chest to link behind his neck. Again his lips descended on hers, more hungrily now, as he groaned and pulled her even closer.

      Ellen felt her face grow hot as she surrendered to the sensations that stole through her. Yet all the while, her mind was telling her she had no right to feel this contentment, this warmth. Reed belonged to another woman. Not to her...to someone else.

      Color seeped into her face. When she’d understood that he intended to kiss her, her first thought had been to resist. But once she’d felt his mouth on hers, all her resolve had drained away. Embarrassed now, she realized she’d pliantly wrapped her arms around his neck. And worse, she’d responded with enough enthusiasm for him to know exactly what she was feeling.

      He pressed his mouth to her forehead as though he couldn’t bear to release her.

      Ellen struggled to breathe normally. She let her arms slip from his neck to his chest and through the palm of her hand she could feel the rapid beating of his heart. She closed her eyes, knowing that her own pulse was pounding no less wildly.

      She could feel his mouth move against her temple. “I’ve been wanting to do that for days.” The grudging admission came in a voice that was low and taut.

      The words to tell him that she’d wanted it just as much were quickly silenced by the sound of someone walking into the room.

      Guiltily Reed and Ellen jerked apart. Her face turned a deep shade of red as Derek stopped in his tracks, staring at them.

      “Hi.”

      “Hi,” Reed and Ellen said together.

      “Hey, I’m not interrupting anything, am I? If you like, I could turn around and pretend I didn’t see a thing.”

      “Do it,” Reed ordered.

      “No,” Ellen said in the same moment.

      Derek’s eyes sparkled with boyish delight. “You know,” he said, “I had a feeling about the two of you.” While he spoke, he was taking small steps backward until he stood pressed against the polished kitchen door. He gave his brother a thumbs-up as he nudged open the door with one foot and hurriedly backed out of the room.

      “Now look what you’ve done,” Ellen wailed.

      “Me? As I recall you were just as eager for this as I was.”

      “It was a mistake,” she blurted out. A ridiculous, illogical mistake. He’d accused her of being a bad influence on the boys and then proceeded to kiss her senseless.

      “You’re telling me.” A distinct coolness entered his eyes. “It’s probably a good thing I’m leaving.”

      There was no hiding her stricken look. “Again? So soon?”

      “After what’s just happened, I’d say it wasn’t soon enough.”

      “But...where to this time?”

      “Denver. I’ll be back before Thanksgiving.”

      Mentally, Ellen calculated that he’d be away another two weeks.

      When he spoke again, his voice was gentle. “It’s just as well, don’t you think?”

       CHAPTER SIX

      “LOOKS LIKE RAIN.” Pat stood in front of the window above the kitchen sink and frowned at the thick black clouds that darkened the late-afternoon sky. “Why does it have to rain?”

      Ellen glanced up at him. “Are you seeking a scientific response or will a simple ‘I don’t know’ suffice?”

      The kitchen door swung open and Derek sauntered in. “Has anyone seen Reed?”

      Instantly, Ellen’s gaze dropped to her textbook. Reed had returned to Seattle two days earlier and so far, they’d done an admirable job of avoiding each other. Both mornings, he’d left for his office before she was up. Each evening, he’d come home, showered, changed and then gone off again. It didn’t require much detective work to figure out that he was with Danielle. Ellen had attempted—unsuccessfully—not to think of Reed at all. And especially not of him and Danielle together.

      She secretly wished she’d had the nerve to arrange an opportunity to talk to Reed. So much remained unclear in her mind. Reed had kissed her and it had been wonderful, yet that was something neither seemed willing to admit. It was as if they’d tacitly agreed that the kiss had been a terrible mistake and should be forgotten. The problem was, Ellen couldn’t forget it.

      “Reed hasn’t been around the house much,” Pat answered.

      “I know.” Derek sounded slightly disgruntled and cast an accusing look in Ellen’s direction. “It’s almost like he doesn’t live here anymore.”

      “He doesn’t. Not really.” Pat stepped away from the window and gently set his basketball on a chair. “It’s sort of like he’s a guest who stops in now and then.”

      Ellen preferred not to be drawn into this conversation. She hastily closed her book and stood up to leave.

      “Hey, Ellen.” Pat stopped her.

      She sighed and met his questioning gaze with a nervous smile. “Yes?”

      “I’ll be leaving in a few minutes. Have a nice Thanksgiving.”

      Relieved that the subject of Reed had been dropped, she threw him a brilliant smile. “You, too.”

      “Where are you having dinner tomorrow?” Derek asked, as if the thought had unexpectedly occurred to him.

      Her mother was still in Arizona, her sister had gone to visit her in-laws and Bud couldn’t get leave, so Ellen had decided to stay in Seattle. “Here.”

      “In