by Unknown
***
“You awake?” I heard a voice in my ear, slowly waking me up.
I moaned, it hurt, and I blinked my eyes a few times to adjust to the light, but realized there wasn’t much in the room.
“Adalyn.”
I turned to the familiar voice. “Hey.”
“You look like shit.”
“Thanks,” I said trying not to laugh.
“You also sound like shit.”
I slowly sat up and was surprised that I felt fine, no dizziness.
“Archer said you were awake for a few minutes about an hour ago.”
“Felt like longer. I need to pee.”
“I’ll help you,” she said standing up and tossing her purse on the bed. “So did he sleep with you last night, because the sheets are messed up on his side of the bed?”
I looked down and noticed I was wearing one on my tank tops with matching light blue shorts.
I gasped. “He changed my clothes, Madi.”
“I see that.”
“He saw me naked,” I whispered because the door was open. I felt my chest. “I don’t have a bra on!” I hissed.
She glanced at my chest. “I see that also.”
I smacked her arm. “Seriously Madi, this is not good. I’m going to pee, and then you’re helping me go home.”
“I guess they know about your contacts.”
“I don’t feel like talking about it right now.”
She wrapped an arm around my waist and faced me towards the bathroom.
“I’m not crippled,” I told her.
“No, you’re not. But, this way if you pass out, I’ll catch you.”
After a successful trip to the bathroom, in which I avoided looking in the mirror, I sat back down on the edge of the bed and took two more pills. I looked around the room and didn’t see my clothes from last night. The hardwood floors were perfectly clean. The black curtains matched his black satin sheets. He had two dressers, one of which had a flat screen TV on it. There were pictures hanging on the wall by the windows, but I couldn’t tell who they were.
Madi was sitting next to me being quiet, staring into space, which was odd.
“Say it,” I told her.
“Huh?”
“Whatever you’re thinking, just say it.”
She scrunched her nose in thought and finally said, “You have to stay here.”
“Not funny.”
“John said so.”
“Really?” I huffed. “When did you talk to him?”
“I didn’t, Archer did.”
“I feel better, I’m going home.”
Madi stood and blocked me. “Why don’t we just see how this goes first?”
“You’re going to make my head worse.”
She gave me her best pouty face and even stuck out her bottom lip.
“I want to go home,” I reminded her, only to have her remind me that we shared the same house. “You already are.”
Bailey’s singsong voice rang throughout the room before we could argue further.
“Did you take your pills?” she asked coming to stand between Madi and I. Her hair was braided in two separate ponytails, and she was wearing a light green dress. I looked at Madi’s dress and noticed hers was almost the same as Bailey’s, just a bit darker. I giggled at the thought of them being twins.
“Yes.”
“Daddy went upstairs to get you some clothes so you don’t have to wear your PJ’s for lunch.”
“Lunch?”
“Yeah, we made spaghetti. Do you like that?”
I looked up at Madi and sighed.
Someone elbowed me in the face and knocked me out. It was going to hurt for at least a few days, if not longer. I had no idea when the swelling would start to go down.
I slept in Rudd’s bed, probably with him, and he saw me naked. He changed my clothes, he touched me, and he took care of me.
They knew about my contacts, and most of all, Rudd thought I was beautiful.
At this moment, I felt defeated and caved. Only for lunch though.
Madi shrugged a shoulder and I looked back at Bailey. “Yes, I like spaghetti.”
She tossed her hands in the air. “I told him, everyone loves spaghetti.”
“Can Madi join us?”
She spun around, and looked up at her. “You want spaghetti?” she asked in a matter-of-fact kind of way, cocking her little eyebrow up and pointing at Madi.
“I’d love some.”
There was movement behind Madi, and I looked up and saw Rudd walk into the room and set the clothes on the bed besides me. “Figured you’d want to be comfortable.”
I saw my white bra, a purple t-shirt that I knew had a picture of a unicorn on it, that Madi insisted I buy from the second hand store, and my black sweat pants. “Thank you,” I said to the clothes, because looking at him was out of the picture. If my face wasn’t so bruised, I’d swear I would be blushing right now. I mean, he did see me naked.
“That was awkward,” Madi said after Bailey followed him out of the room.
“This whole situation is awkward, Madi.”
Chapter 10
It took four days, a lot of ice, and sleep, but the swelling was almost gone. I could wear my contact again, and most importantly, I could leave this damn apartment.
That morning, after I had woke up in Rudd’s bed and ate lunch with him, Bailey, and Madi, I managed to escape the house and hide in my apartment. Later that day, he came up to check on me. It was awkward when he told me he had changed my clothes with care; that he never looked. I wasn’t sure how that was possible, but I believed him. We also discussed the issue with my contact and he said my secret was safe with him; I didn’t even have to ask him. I was forced to trust him, along with Madi, whom hasn’t broken that trust. I also had to trust Bailey, and Rudd assured me that she wasn’t going to say anything.
Sheriff Scott Renrick had called though and wanted me to come in and answer some questions about that night. I told him I couldn’t remember who hit me and because of that, I wouldn’t be pressing any charges. Nevertheless, he insisted, and I wasn’t going to argue with the sheriff. Since I was feeling better than I had in days, I decided to make some cookies and take them with me.
Rudd had only checked on me once yesterday after he got home from work. It was very hard to make eye contact with him since that day in his bed when he told me I was beautiful, and knowing the fact that he changed my clothes. Thankfully, he’d normally leave after I insisted that I was in fact okay and not just saying it so I could have my privacy back. I told him he didn’t have to keep checking on me, but normally he’d bring Bailey along and she always seemed happy to see me.
I let the cookies cool for an hour, piled them into two small containers, and then headed to the station after making sure my contact was safely in my eye.
When I first entered the station, there was an older African-American woman sitting behind a large round curved desk. She was wearing a headset over one ear and filing her nails. Her hair was quite short and curly, and her face was clean of makeup. I knew this was Margie; Bailey told me she stayed the night with her once and that she was funny.
She smiled up at me and tossed her nail file on the desk. “Can I help you?”
I put the containers on the counter and told her I was there to see the sheriff.
“Adalyn! I heard you were stopping by. I’m Margie, I run dispatch,” she stood and shook my hand, “answer calls and shit like that.” She tossed her hand over her shoulder. “And keep these boys in line.”
“Nice to meet you Margie, Bailey says nice things about you.”
“That girl is precious,” she said putting her hand on her heart. “Glad to see your face is healing. I took the call from Rocco that night, sent Archer there to take care of you.” She winked and sat back down. I wasn’t sure what that was all about.
She continued, “So how’s the town treating you otherwise? Anyone gives you problems, you come to me. I’ve been aroun
d long enough. I know everyone, and don’t think cause I’m old I can’t kick some ass. And if I knew who hit you, I’d take a bat to him.”
I laughed. “I’ll remember that. Thank you.”
“Now, give me a cookie.” She put both her hands out. “I heard good things about these cookies. Archer won’t share; he locks them in his desk! Who does that shit?”
Butterflies erupted in my stomach for some reason and I felt pride swell in me like a balloon. I knew he liked them, but he brought them to work also?
I gave her a cookie and watched her take a bite. She closed her eyes and moaned, “Holy shit girl! You make a mean ass cookie.” She shoved the rest in her mouth and grabbed one of the containers. “This could be our little secret,” she said and winked before she tucked the container safely into her middle desk drawer. She glanced at me knowingly. “You let me have this one, no one will ever know.” She then patted the drawer before muttering, “Silly boys never check the second drawer.”
There was around twenty-five cookies in that container; what if I didn’t have enough for everyone one else? Her phone rang, she answered, and I just stood there looking around the station. Behind her were several desks, and only a few men occupied them. They were far enough away that you couldn’t hear them talking. There was what looked like a four-foot wall about ten feet behind Margie that held files and books. The desks were all behind that wall, separating her from them. My eyes continued to roam the room and noticed several offices against the back wall. Three of them had closed doors and one was open. An older man came out of the office that had the open door and headed my way.
I knew right away that he was the sheriff. He had a hard face, but wasn’t mad. At least I didn’t think he was. He looked like he was on a mission.
“I may have told them you brought cookies,” Margie whispered and turned around in her chair. “This should be fun.”
“What should be fun?”
Two more men popped up from their desks and walked briskly towards me, with only one thing in mind, the cookies. I gripped the container and pulled it closer to my belly. Three men were charging at me, and Margie was laughing. She spun back around as they approached the desk.
Sheriff Renrick came right to me and the other two men stayed behind Margie, eyeing my container.
“Adalyn Anderson,” Sheriff Renrick said. “Nice to meet you.”
“The same to you, Sheriff.”
“Call me Scott, these assholes do.”
Everyone laughed but I only offered a tight nervous smile. “You wanted to ask me some questions.”
“Yes,” he told my container, “why don’t we go to my office?”
“That’s not fair,” whined one of the uniformed officers. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes. The officer next to him, who I swear could be his twin said, “There’s enough for the four of us.”
“There is,” I said setting the container down and opening it up. I wasn’t able to hand them out, because three greedy hands attacked the container of cookies. I blinked and the cookies were gone, only a few sparse crumbs lined the bottom of the container. The two officers each had a handful and shoving one in their mouths as they walked away. One of them turned around and thanked me with a mouth full of cookie. That made me smile.
Margie continued to laugh then stopped abruptly and looked over my shoulder. “Hey, Archer.”
“Margie.”
Her phone rang again and I turned around with the empty container, noticing Sheriff Renrick was still eating cookies, watching me.
“Rudd.”
“Adalyn,” he said much deeper than he said Margie’s name and again, I felt it. I do like how he says my name.
He eyed the container and looked at the sheriff. “Shit.”
Rudd took two steps and my breasts brushed up against his chest. I told myself not to look up, but my body didn’t listen. His intense green eyes were staring down at me and I noticed they were actually two different shades of green. Interesting.
Before I knew it, he had taken the container from me and was leading me by the hand past Margie, past the file cabinets, and then into an office on the other side of the building.
“Rudd?” I questioned after he shut the door, locked it, and peaked out of the blinds.
“This isn’t good.”
“What?” I asked coming to stand next to him. I looked out the blinds with him. Not only was Sheriff Renrick and those two men staring at us, but there were also at least six other men out there now. Just staring.
He let the blinds snap shut and moved away.
“That’s the reason I didn’t share mine.”
“Gotcha.”
“They were mine,” he continued. “You made them for me.”
“I did,” I barely said above a whisper and leaned against the edge of his desk. Every officer had the same gray metal desk, only Margie had a different one. Rudd’s desk was very clean and organized, which didn’t surprise me, since his house was the same way. A closed white laptop sat next to another large monitor, and a small, neat stack of papers sat on the left side of his desk. I swung my gaze to him. His jeans were a darker color today, almost black, and his tucked in green t-shirt gave me the best view of his ass. His gun was on one hip, and when he turned around, I saw his badge was hanging around his neck. I definitely missed that.
“They won’t leave you alone after this. Scott lost his wife awhile back, has no one to cook for him. The brothers, Tim and Tom, that managed to get their hands on some, don’t get fresh home-baked cookies. Their wives are lazy and when they do cook, it tastes like shit. I know, I tried it one year at a barbeque. They’re always complaining.” He stayed by the door, arms across his chest and continued, “Those other guys are on the hunt now because I know damn sure Tim and Tom didn’t share any with them. It’s like no one in the town knows how to cook.”
Maybe I should tell him that Margie had a full container in her desk.
“I had to lock myself in my office the day I brought back that chicken.”
“You brought it back here?”
“Worst mistake ever.”
“My mom’s secret recipe,” I rushed out. Then I continued to talk because I was nervous being in this small, locked office with him. “She’s been teaching me how to cook since I could remember. Every day we cooked. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then some kind of dessert. Sometimes we would experiment and try new things, like our own little recipes.” I saw his smile grow larger the more I rambled on, so I stopped.
“My mom taught me a few things, but I don’t bake cookies.”
“You might have to now that you have Bailey.”
He said nothing, but his eyes dropped to my lips and he took a step forward, putting his hands on my waist. His head lowered to mine as he came in to inspect my face. “Looks better.”
“Feels better,” I mumbled. My hands were sweating all over the edge of his desk as I tried my best to hold onto it.
“How much,” he said in deep husky voice, while reaching out and cupping my head with one hand.
“Uh.”
I felt his body inch closer to mine. The two colors of green in his eyes were vibrant as he looked at me with a dark hunger that I could almost feel. It was then I knew that Rudd Archer was going to kiss me. I was breathing heavy, my heart slamming away at my chest. My traitorous lips involuntarily parted, inviting him to kiss me, not that I minded. I wanted him to kiss me. I wasn’t sure when and if I’d ever have this chance again. He lingered so close his breath danced on my lips. It was becoming unbearable so I made the slightest move towards him and he took it. His soft lips brushed against mine before I kissed him back. My hands went to his hips and he pushed himself between my legs to get a better position. I was lost to all reason and sanity as his mouth moved against mine. I melted in his arms and as the kiss deepened, I felt myself slowly fall back. My nipples were hard, I could feel myself growing wet, and the thought of Rudd touching me sent sparks through my body.
“Be
autiful,” he sighed against my lips as he helped me sit back up. He stepped away and while fighting to breathe, I noticed the bulge in his pants. I glanced up at him, his smile large and wide, and I got embarrassed as my surroundings started coming back into focus. I slid off the desk, ran my hands through my hair, trying to find some composure before I walked out.
He stepped back blocking my only exit. “Have dinner with us?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ve hardly seen you this week. I’d like it if you’d join us for dinner.”
“Oh.”
He missed me.
I liked that he missed me.
I liked how he kissed me.
Nevertheless, I wanted to leave, so I said, “Yes.”
It worked, he moved and I slipped out the door. All eyes were on me and I rushed past all the police officers staring at me, winking at me, and some even waved. I was thankful Margie was on the phone as I practically ran out the door. I made a note to call Sheriff Renrick and answer his questions over the phone, I’m sure he’d understand.
***
“I like your other eye better,” Bailey informed me as she sat down across from me at their dining room table. She was a bit sarcastic about it, but she was smiling. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore a plain white t-shirt, which made her look a bit tanner than usual, with black shorts.
Rudd said I could trust them, so I glanced at him for assurance. When he said, “It’s fine,” my gaze briefly fell to his lips before I looked back to Bailey. “Thanks.
“I helped my dad cook.”
“It looks lovely,” I said as I placed a chunk of meatloaf on my plate along with a serving of mashed potatoes and corn.
“Have you ever tried meatloaf before?” she asked examining her fork that held a piece of it.
“Yes.”
She wiggled the fork. “This is my first time.” She popped it in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “Mmm. It’s very yummy.” She shoveled more in her mouth and I decided to try it myself.