He returned his attention to the steaks. “Annie May said you’d been talking about returning to teaching.”

“It’s crossed my mind. Not only do I have the training, I miss it.”

“She said something about special-needs kids.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “Is that what you want or is it all you think you’re capable of?”

She couldn’t help laughing. “Gee, Del, I thought I was the one who asked the blunt questions in this relationship.”

“Hey, I learned from a master. So which is it?”

She considered her answer before speaking. “I suppose in my heart I know that I could go back to what I was doing before. There might have to be some physical adjustments, but I would still be a good coach. But the idea of working with kids who have physical limitations is appealing to me. I’ve been through the surgeries, I felt what it’s like to try to walk when every cell of my body is screaming in pain. I’ve lived with the despair and dying hope. While I would love to take a basketball team to the state championship, I think I would do a lot more good helping a child have fun from a wheelchair.”

He put down his tongs, crossed the room and kissed her on the mouth.

“What was that for?” she asked as he returned to the grill.

“No reason.”

Maybe not, but the action had left her all tingly inside. She had to catch her breath before she could speak again. “I’ve spoken to my sister, Katie. She’s the physical therapist.”

“I remember Katie.”

“She said that there are lots of opportunities for what I’m talking about.”

Del felt himself being ripped in two. On the one hand he liked everything Josie was saying. Her words illustrated the changes in her and made him hope that they had a future together. On the other hand he didn’t know if she planned to pursue her new career here or somewhere else. Was she in his house because she wanted to be or because it was convenient? Was their newfound intimacy just a quick trip into the past, or had he managed to touch her heart?

The simplest way to find out would be to ask, but he didn’t want to hear the answer if it was no.

In the past few weeks he’d come full circle with Josie. At first he’d been attracted to a stranger named Rose. Then he’d been furious to find out she was his ex-wife. Now he was discovering new things about her that made him know he’d been crazy to think he would ever forget her or stop loving her. He wanted them to have a second chance, but this time he wanted it to work.

He turned the meat again. He was cooking them on a low flame to make sure they stayed tender. Josie had already prepared baked potatoes which were wrapped in foil and waiting on the table.

“We both made a lot of mistakes when we were married,” he said, not looking at her. “For a long time I thought all the fault was yours, but it wasn’t. I screwed up, too. At least half of the blame is mine.”

“Relationships are about sharing,” she teased.

He glanced at her. Fading sunlight caught her blond hair, bringing out faint traces of gold. Her skin glowed, her smile was tender. Just looking at her made his heart ache.

“You’re tough,” he said. “You’re stubborn. You’re not a quitter. I know I asked this before, but I still want to know why you quit on us.”

The laughter left her eyes and she sighed. “I don’t know, Del. I’ve asked myself that same question. I guess a lot of it is that I liked to be a winner and I could never win with you. All my life my dad had pounded the concept of being right, of winning, into me. Nothing else mattered to him. I didn’t know how to compromise, I didn’t know how to say, “We were both wrong.” Or if I’d said it, I didn’t know how to believe it. I literally had to get hit by a truck before I figured out that winning isn’t everything. That I don’t always have to be right.” Her mouth turned up at the corners. “I know I look really bright but occasionally I’m a slow learner.”

“It took Annie May reading me the riot act to figure out that I hadn’t exactly been the perfect husband. So I guess we’re even.”

She smoothed her skirt over her lap. “I’ve spent the past year figuring out my strengths and weaknesses. I’ve had to learn to depend on people. I couldn’t do it all myself. That’s been a hard and ugly lesson and I still forget it from time to time.” She paused. “I’m sorry I was so immature when we were married. I’m sorry I didn’t know how to talk things out.”

“I’m sorry I was a jerk who expected you to cater to his every whim.”

She chuckled. “I’m many things, but I’m sure not like Catherine. I never will be.”

“I never wanted you to be my mom.” When she raised her eyebrows, he held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, maybe I did want you to take care of me the same way, but I know now that was unrealistic. Besides, you were amazing in very non-maternal ways.”

Her gaze narrowed. “You’re talking about sex, aren’t you?”

“Oh, yeah. You were always hot, Josie. You still are.”

He expected her to laugh, or at least smile, but she didn’t. Sadness darkened her eyes.

“I can’t be like that anymore, Del. That part of my life is over. If you’re waiting for it to reappear, it’s not going to happen.”

He heard the pain in her voice, and it frustrated him. “Dammit, Josie, you’re talking about doing it up against the wall again. Why are you fixated on that?”

“Because it’s lost to me. I’ll never be that woman again.”

“Who says I want her back?”

“You just did when you talked about me being hot. Which doesn’t make any sense because when you thought I was Rose you said our sex life before was lousy.”

He turned off the grill, then walked over to crouch in front of her. Her eyes were huge and her mouth straight. He could see he’d hurt her.

“Chemistry,” he said touching her cheek with his fingers. “We have great chemistry. We’re both spontaneous. It’s about attitude, not location or position. As for what I said when I let my lips flap without my brain engaged, I’m sorry.”

She jerked free of his touch and turned her head away. “Being sorry doesn’t change the truth. I thought I was at least good in bed when we were married, but I w-wasn’t.”

His throat tightened as her voice cracked. Del knew he’d done serious damage and he didn’t know how to fix it. Except with the truth.

“I wanted more, Josie,” he said quietly. “The wild crazy sex was fun, but I needed a connection that was more than physical. I wanted to be able to hold my wife in my arms and stroke her hair. I wanted her to make love with me, then hug me and never let go. I wanted tenderness, not just getting off. I wanted what we have now.”

She turned back to him. Tears filled her eyes. “I didn’t know how to be tender. I didn’t know it was important. No one had ever been that way with me. I thought you would want it fun and different and exciting.”

“That part was really good, but it wasn’t enough.”

A single tear rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away impatiently. “But now when I can give you tender, I can’t give you the other part. I like being in your arms. I like you stroking my hair, and when we hug, I don’t want to let go. But the rest of it is gone forever.” More tears spilled down her cheek. “So you’re destined to be disappointed with me.”

He hadn’t known it was possible to feel this much pain inside and keep on breathing. There weren’t any more words, he realized. He could tell her it didn’t matter but she wouldn’t believe him. So he was going to have to show her it was still possible.

“You’re wrong,” he announced and rose to his feet.

He quickly pulled the salads from the table and pushed the place settings and potatoes to the side. Then he returned to her and picked her up. She shrieked.

“What are you doing?”

“Proving my point. We can talk and talk, but it won’t make any difference. You’ll never believe me. You might have learned tender, but you sure didn’t forget stubborn.”

He set her on the kitchen table. Before she could figure out what he was going to do, he reached under her dress and pulled down her panties. She yelped in protest. He ignored her. Seconds later she was sitting bare butt on the table. He tugged off her panties, then dragged over two chairs. He placed one foot on each chair so she had plenty of support. Only then did he move between her parted thighs.

He was pleased to see that her tears were gone. She looked ready to spit fire.

“Don’t for a moment think you can coerce me into having sex with you now. Let go of me right this instant. You’re nothing but an animal.”

He placed her hands on his shoulders and nestled against her. “Point one,” he said as he brushed his mouth against hers. “You’re determined to believe we can never have wild, spontaneous not-in-bed sex again. This is a demonstration to prove you wrong. Point two, stop protesting. You could have stopped me at any second and you didn’t. If you don’t want to make love right now, simply say so and I’ll stop. Point three-”

She reached around to put her hand on the back of his head and brought him close for her kiss. “Point three,” she said before claiming his mouth with hers, “shut up.”

Del had thought that Josie might resist his graphic proof that they could be as inventive as they’d been before…with a little bit more innovation, but he’d been wrong. She pressed herself against him with an eagerness that had him hard in about thirty seconds. Desire swept him up in a passionate tide from which there was no escape. Apparently Josie was equally affected, for even as her lips clung to his and her tongue invaded his mouth, she reached for the belt of his jeans.

He reached down to help her. They fumbled with the fastenings and freed him. His instinct was to plunge inside of her, but he forced himself to hold back. Instead he reached beneath her dress to test her readiness. After all, just a couple of minutes before she’d been near tears.

He slid his fingers along her thigh and made his way to the center of her being. There he encountered slick, welcoming, damp heat. She moaned when he made contact. As he moved a finger inside of her, he used his thumb to locate her most sensitive spot. He’d barely brushed against her when she shuddered. He felt the rippling response of her release around his finger. The feel was so erotic, he nearly lost it himself right there.

“Del, please,” she moaned against his mouth.

He pulled up her skirt and prepared to thrust inside of her. At the last second he swore and pulled away.

“What?” she called after him as he turned and hurried from the room.

“Protection,” he yelled, heading for the bedroom. Once there, he grabbed one from the open drawer and jogged back to the kitchen.

Josie sat where he’d left her, but there had been a couple of changes. She unbuttoned her dress and shrugged out of it so the fabric pooled at her waist. She’d also taken off her bra. Her breasts were full, her nipples hard. Sexual desire tightened her expression, but there was also a smile tugging at her mouth.

“What’s so funny?” he asked as he ripped open the condom’s packaging.

“Us. We’re in the kitchen, doing it on the table. Neither of us is completely undressed. In fact all you’ve done is unzip your jeans.”

“Yeah, well, we can get fancy next time.” He shoved his jeans down to his thighs and quickly applied the protection. “I thought you liked that we were spontaneous.”

“I do. Very much.”

She started to say something else, but he thrust inside of her, and instead of words, she screamed. He felt her instant release. She clung to him, riding him as he pushed forward, going deeper, making her climax again. Reaching between them, he cupped her breasts and teased her nipples. She whimpered his name. When he looked at her he found her eyes glazed with passion. His tension increased. He flicked his fingers against her nipples, moving faster until she was panting. His own need became overwhelming. He was trying to make it last, but it was a poorly thought-out plan. With Josie he always lost control.

With one last, deep thrust, he filled her and gave way to the sensation of release. His guttural cry joined hers as they clung to each other through the aftermath of paradise.

Later, much later, when they were both dressed and getting ready to sit down to dinner, Josie looked at him.

“Point well taken,” she said with a grin.

“Start with two hours a day,” Dr. Sanders said the following week when Josie saw her for her checkup. “Add about an hour a day, but don’t push it. You’ve recovered very nicely. I don’t want to see you have another setback.”

Josie nodded, feeling both relieved and panicked. She was being cleared to start using her cane again, albeit slowly. But in a matter of a couple of weeks, she would be back on her feet. Then what?