Echo Falls, Texas Boxed Set

by Patti Ann Colt

  With exaggerated care, Chad set his fork on the edge of his plate. If he kept it in his hand, it would end up sticking out of the wall and ruining his grandmother’s wallpaper. “You’re not going to leave it alone are you?”

  “No. We love you too much.” Placing her hands gently in her lap, his grandmother matched Chad stare for stare and waited him out.

  His father looked at Olivia’s expression and turned to Chad. “You aren’t going to win this round, Son.”

  His mother nodded, giving him an expectant look.

  “Might as well get it over with.” Rick’s gripped his arm, offering commiseration. His brother had endured much the same thing when he’d met Tara.

  Taking a deep breath, Chad gave a cliff notes version of the events. “She hit a dog on the highway out by my place. The dog was pregnant. We took her to the farm. Robin and the twins stayed because they wanted to see the dog deliver. Then one of the girls broke an antique clock. Robin insisted on paying for it, but she hasn’t found a job yet. Then her car wouldn’t start. I called Grandma to fix it. To clear her debt, she’s going to itemize all that junk that came with the house and help me get rid of it. I’d prefer she didn’t pay me at all, but she insists.”

  Chad leaned back in his chair and glanced around the room.

  Silence.

  “That’s all there is.” He looked at his grandmother.

  Her eyebrows rose, hoping for more. She wasn’t going to get it.

  “Sounds reasonable.” Tom rose to take his plate to the kitchen. Rick did, too.

  Bless his brothers for having his back.

  Chad rose and followed them to the kitchen, essentially breaking up the dinner. Chad spent a few dutiful minutes on the porch chatting and then bid everyone goodnight. His mother stopped him on the driveway as he was leaving and gave Chad ‘the stare’.

  “Okay. So, I like her.” He admitted, hoping to stall the cross-examination. “She’s very pretty.

  Stubborn as hell. Wary. Broke. Are you happy now?” Chad rubbed his hands over his face

  “Who is she? Where does she come from? Is she divorced? Where is the girls’ father?” His mother fired questions at him like she was in a courtroom.

  “Geez, Mom. I don’t have a life history. I just met her, helped her out. What was I supposed to do? Leave her and that dog stranded in the rain? Make her spend money she didn’t have to pay for the clock and get her car fixed?”

  “No, you did exactly right.” His mother’s arms slipped around his waist. “Just be careful. After Gwynne…”

  “She’s not Gwynne, Mom. She’s just going to clean out the house. And maybe cook some. And that’s all.”

  “Mm. Hmm. Bring her and the girls to dinner next week. I think we’d all like to meet them.”

  “No. Our family will scare the hell out of Robin.” He wasn’t quite sure how he knew that, but the little voice in the back of his head agreed. Chad yanked his keys from the pocket, kissed his mother’s cheek and walked to his truck.

  Tom stood by his vehicle ready to leave. He beat Chad in height by two inches and took after their grandfather with his dark hair and blue eyes. His handsome looks attracted women like magnets on a refrigerator, more a source of frustration for him than elation.

  “Still need me to help at the farm on Saturday? I’m off.”

  “Yeah.” The shift in topic eased the tension in his shoulders.

  “I might know someone who would be interested in a puppy.”

  “Spread the word. According to Robin, they can be weaned at around eight weeks.” Chad settled his cap on his head.

  “I’ll give out your number.” Tom got into his car, backed out and left.

  Meg leaned on the fender of his truck looking contrite. She took after their mother, a Meg Ryan look-a-like with a perky attitude and a dogged streak.

  “I’m sorry.” Meg shrugged. “I didn’t mean to sabotage you. But you like her.”

  Chad looked up at the heavens, stifling a sigh.

  “Is this conversation going somewhere?”

  “I’m glad. It’s so nice to see you finally finding someone.”

  “I only met her yesterday.” Putting both hands on Meg’s shoulders, he removed her from the fender. “We are not having this discussion. You are going home. So am I.”

  He got in and slammed the truck door, gunned the engine and backed out of the driveway. Meg waved goodbye, a definite we’ll-talk-later intention in the finger movement. With a frustrated growl, he pitched his baseball cap on the floor of his truck.

  God help him. His family was dangerous when in matchmaking mode.

  ~~CHAPTER FIVE~~

  “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Watch me through the long, dark night. Wake me with the morning light. God Bless Mommy. God Bless Mr. Chad. God Bless Mr. Chad’s Grandma. Amen.”

  Robin watched as both girls kept their eyes closed a moment longer and mouthed something along the lines of “daddy”. She rolled her eyes, but kept silent.

  “Into bed, both of you.” Giving each girl a hug, she tucked the sheet and light blanket around the two. The twinkle in their blue eyes was identical.

  “Mommy, are we really going to be visiting Mr. Chad’s house every day?” Lindy licked her lips.

  “For a little while.” Robin fussed with the covers, worry about her arrangement with Chad surfacing for the umpteenth time tonight. “And you have to be especially careful to not break anything else. Okay?”

  Lindy nodded solemnly. Boo did, too.

  Robin kissed them goodnight and turned off the lights. “Sweet dreams, girls.”

  She walked into the tiny bathroom, straightened their bath towels and rinsed the tub.

  The girls whispered to each other for a minute then all was quiet. Sighing in relief, she walked to the kitchen and continued with the dishes. After scrubbing the last of the macaroni and cheese out of the pan, she set it on the rack to dry with the rest of the dishes. She shoved her hair back with a wet hand and pondered what she’d gotten herself into.

  Chad’s job offer and attractive salary dangled like a golden charm in front of her. Yes, she would be giving some of it back to him to clear the debt for the clock and her car. But it would also provide income until she could find something else in Echo Falls. She’d hoped to get hired by the local veterinarian, but he’d been fully staffed. She was also qualified to be a restaurant cook, to house clean and to cashier. There were no openings any of the places she’d applied. Something else would turn up. God help Chad Applegate if he wasn’t on the up and up about the salary and the job details.

  A solid ball of nausea settled in her stomach. The downside to this whole arrangement was the attraction to Chad. Remembering their almost kiss, Robin’s hand shook. Nice men didn’t appear in her life offering solid jobs and good salaries. They didn’t like her girls and feed them Peanut Butter Captain Crunch for breakfast.

  Robin wiped down the kitchen table. Unbidden, an image of Chad’s spotless kitchen came to mind. Their small one bedroom rental house with its used furniture didn’t hold a candle to Chad’s house and all its acres. In fact, Robin had never actually been in a house like his before. Her background led her more to the cracked linoleum, the watermarked ceiling and the sagging wallpaper of this place.

  The similarities this house had to the rundown trailer she’d lived in with her parents made a chill run across her skin. She had distinct memories of the smells and sounds from that trailer even though she’d only been five or six. The screaming arguments her parents had and the stink of her mother’s perfume in the bathroom were as vivid as if they’d just happened. The thoughts of the day she’d come home from school excited about reading her first book and no one had been home, her mother’s drawers empty, still scraped a raw sore. Even though she scrubbed and scrubbed this place, sometimes the smell here flashed her back to that realizing moment. It left her aching and determined never to do that to her girls—not to this day understanding how the woman
could have left her child like that.

  An image of Chad’s wheat-colored hair, warm blue eyes and lean, muscular body made a hot ball of need settle in her lower abdomen. Robin’s mind skittered for just one moment remembering the feel of his hard length against her when she woke this morning. His mouth was a firm, sensual shape. Shaking off the image with disgust, Robin doubled checked the lock on the back door, propping a chair under the knob for good measure, then shifted the remaining chairs at the table.

  She switched off the kitchen light and straightened up the living room. The children’s books they’d gotten from the library were spread across the floor, so she stacked them on the small lamp table. In front of the television, a pile of coloring books were scattered with the crayon bucket tipped over. She bent over and picked them up, pushing the pile against the wall with the girls’ Barbie doll basket. After testing the front door to be sure it was locked, Robin put on the chain and adjusted the fan so it would blow her direction. She spread her blankets out on the sofa, then rubbed her back, massaging the tightness there. She quickly checked on the girls and found them fast asleep. In the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and washed her face, rubbing on some inexpensive face cream.

  The night had quieted and the usual run of noisy cars, engine backfires and shouting wasn’t present in the surrounding area. A quick twist of the lamp knob threw the room into darkness. Robin lay on her side on the lumpy couch. She thought about Chad Applegate and lectured herself on how to act the next morning—professional, competent, aloof. She drifted off before the lecture strengthened her resolve. Instead, the remembered warmth of his body lulled her to sleep.

  The next morning, Robin parked her car next to Chad’s truck and took a deep breath. After a restless night spent debating the wisdom of honoring her word, she was worn and worried. There was danger here, danger in letting down her defenses and losing control, danger in tempting betrayal again. She considered not showing, but she’d promised and her conscience beat down her fear. Licking her lips, she turned to her girls and pointed a strict finger. “What are the rules for today?”

  “Ask before we do anything. Don’t touch stuff that doesn’t belong to us. And always let Mommy know where we are.”

  Boo and Lindy’s recitation made her smile. Both girls wore denim shorts, but Boo’s shirt was yellow, her hair in a ponytail. Lindy’s shirt was green and she’d wanted her hair in a clip, not a matching pony, insisting that they were dressing to help Mr. Chad tell them apart. Stifling a small, defeated laugh, she suppressed the uneasiness in the depth of her stomach at their growing attachment. She turned off the engine.

  Boo bounced on the seat. “Mommy, can we go see Bessie and the puppies?”

  “Yeah, Mommy, can we?” Lindy bounced too.

  The car rocked on its suspension.

  Robin looked across the lawn to the house. Chad stepped out on the back porch. The light morning breeze blew the hair across his forehead. Worn jeans hugged lean, long legs. A white T-shirt molded to the muscles in his torso. He gripped a coffee cup with long fingers, lips puckering slightly as he sipped the contents. The girls’ question faded somewhere between hearing and thought.

  “There’s Mr. Chad. Let’s go ask him.” The girls’ loud squeals and door slams brought Robin back to reality. What was she doing? Lloyd had stunned her at first glance, too. But he’d been like everyone else. He hadn’t stayed.

  Closing her eyes, she gripped her hands in her lap and sat for a moment longer, trying to control the nervous edge to her mood. The girls raced past the car to the shed. Irritation replaced nerves. It seemed Chad had granted permission to visit the puppies without asking her.

  “Good morning. Are you going to sit there all morning?”

  Robin looked through her open car window into the blue heaven of Chad’s eyes. All the outgoing air jammed in the back of her throat.

  “Getting out?” Chad opened her door in invitation.

  Robin snatched her keys from the ignition, slowly forcing herself to breath. Purse in hand, she stepped out of the car on wobbly knees. Robin noted the twinkle in his eyes and gritted her teeth. It didn’t matter that he smelled sinfully of Old Spice or that the warmth radiating from his skin made her remember how delicious he’d felt against her.

  “Good morning.” Robin spoiled her cool, professional tone by catching her purse on the door handle and dumping its contents onto the driveway. Keys, wallet, change, tampons, Pokemon cards, lipsticks—her stuff flew across the pavement.

  Chad stooped at the same moment she did and swept the scattering objects back her way. As she tucked wallet and keys into the sagging purse, he scooped a handful of coins mixed with Barbie shoes and handed them to her. He reached for more of her random belongings, but hesitated over a tampon. Robin flushed, grabbed it and shoved it into her purse. He gave her a cocky grin, then reached for the girls’ Pokemon cards. Finally finished, she rose to her feet.

  Chad stood, still grinning. “Not having a good morning, huh? Would a cup of coffee help?”

  He turned the handle of his cup her direction.

  Robin froze, a hot blush sweeping her from head to toe. Her lower abdomen clenched with hot, edgy need. Emphatically shaking her head, she took a deep shuddering breath. She would not put her lips where his had been. “I had two cups at home. I think I’d rather get to work while the girls are occupied.”

  “Suit yourself. I’ll be down by the market if you need me. If the girls stay on the lawn around the house, they should be safe enough.”

  Robin looked at the acres of green lawn surrounding Chad’s house and couldn’t help but compare it to the brown weedy patch in her rented front yard.

  “They’ll be fine. Did you have breakfast or do you need me to make something?”

  Chad shook his head. “Captain Crunch is my breakfast of choice.”

  Robin grimaced, but couldn’t help smiling at the boyish enthusiasm on his face. She zipped her purse, trapping the wayward contents.

  “Lunch would be good though,” he added. “Make me a list if you think I need some more groceries and I’ll get them.” Chad put two fingers to his cap.

  “I’ll have lunch ready around eleven thirty.” Robin watched him walk away. He really had a nice butt. She forced her eyes another direction and bit her lip until it hurt.

  After a check on the girls and a reminder about the rules, Robin made her way to the house.

  Inside and alone, she walked from the kitchen to the family room to the four bedrooms, fingering many precious items, lost in a memory.

  When she’d been about Boo and Lindy’s age, before her mother had abandoned her, they had often visited Mrs. Ike, a Japanese lady who did her mother’s hair. Her little shop had been full of knickknacks just like this house. Robin loved to make a circuit of the room and look at each delicate antique teacup, vase, or figurine.

  Her favorite had been a ladylike delicate teapot of cream porcelain with lush green shamrocks. She had just wanted to touch it—to feel it in her hands to see if it was real. She’d picked it up, the glass cool against her skin. Her mother had shrieked and Robin had dropped it, shattering the tiny pot on the linoleum floor.

  Her mother had never let her forget how much the thing had cost and how hard she’d had to work to pay Mrs. Ike back for the piece. Worse, Robin was never allowed to go to there again. A few years ago, she’d surfed the Internet and found the teapot from her memory—a Belleek Shamrock Teapot valued at over two hundred dollars. The realization that maybe her mother had been justified still didn’t take away the sting.

  The instant she had heard the clock break on Chad’s floor, the same sick feeling had washed over her. Now, she’d be responsible for touching all of this. She wasn’t a little girl anymore, but she could certainly understand what had motivated Lindy’s need to touch the pretty object. Like mother, like daughter. Her eyes swept the room again. The morning light flashed off the gold-rimmed cups, the crystal figurines, winking at her—enticing once again as if she wer
e still that small child.

  Robin shook her head, locking the memories in her dead dreams file. “These pretty knickknacks aren’t mine and they never will be.”

  She left the room and closed the bedroom door firmly behind her. She was an employee, tasked with taking someone else’s heartfelt possessions and getting rid of them. Her heart would break a little, but she hadn’t gotten where she was today by not facing up to her responsibilities.

  Back in the kitchen, she glanced through the window. Her daughters ran through the yard, playing some game known only to them. Robin filled the sink with soapy water and washed Chad’s breakfast dishes. She took stock of Chad’s food supplies and started a grocery list, frequently checking on the girls.

  A house surrounded by a white picket fence, full of precious memories and love, was not in her future. That included this house. There was no use pretending, no use hoping. Some things just weren’t meant to be.

  Two weeks later, Chad walked behind the pumpkin storage shed and lifted a crate of miniature pumpkins to carry to the front of the market. Halloween was a month away and the market was as busy as ever. He should be focused on work, but his mind was on Robin. Fourteen days of her presence was making him needy and irritable. Irritable because she avoided him whenever possible and needy because of the nightly dreams. Last night’s dream came back to mind and he consoled himself with the memory while he muscled the crate to the front of the market.

  In his dream, Robin’s breath had softly fanned his face, her brown eyes molten, her skin hot against his. Her mouth pressed into his in sweet persuasion. Shivers of delight ran from his body to hers as they wrapped themselves closer together and the weight of her generous breasts settled against his chest. Her mouth became more greedy and demanding, her tongue sweeping its way through his mouth.

  Lost in a haze, a fiery ache spread through him. Again.

  “You can take a break if you want to.”