An hour later she was pushing a pizza in the oven when Yancey walked in. He looked tall and lean in a dark suit. She raised her eyebrows.
"Wow, don't you look nice."
"Thanks, now why don't you get dressed and we'll go out to dinner and a movie or something."
She stared up at him. "I just put a pizza in the oven.
"Mom and Tammy will be thankful. I've already discussed my plans with Mom, and she's going to watch Tammy. We both agree that you need to get out of this place for a while."
She gave him what she hoped was a stern look. He might as well learn that he wasn't going to dominate her. "Your plans? What about my plans? What about what I want?"
He looked startled for a second, and then his eyes flashed, the brows furrowing into one. "Oh, for . . .. Do you want to go or not?"
He hadn't even considered that she might not want to go. Actually, the idea was appealing - in spite of his clumsy invitation. At least he was getting out of the house. That seemed to be something new. Besides, his volatile nature was as interesting as his spontaneous moods. To a girl who enjoyed surprises, he was a gold mine. So what difference did it make who came up with the idea as long as it was a good one?
"Never look a gift horse in the mouth," she quipped with a shrug. Tossing the hot pan holder on the counter, she untied the apron. As she brushed by him on her way to her room to dress, she asked over her shoulder. "What's on?"
"Who cares?"
She stopped and turned to face him. What kind of an evening did he have planned? He was picking up the paper and lowering his frame into a chair when he noticed she had stopped. He grinned as he realized her interpretation of his answer.
"I only meant it would be good to get out of the house, no matter what we went to see."
She shrugged and went to her room. Why the sudden desire to get out of the house? Up until now he had given her the impression he was a complete hermit. Other than his solitary rides on Diablo, and his ventures into the woods, she only knew of one time when he had left the place, and that was when he took her home - and he wasn't too happy about that. He said he had talked to his mother. Had they decided they didn't want her bored and inquisitive?