by Lexie Davis
Riley smiled at him. “Your fiancée you mean?”
“We’re not getting married.”
Riley leaned on the counter, watching him. “Yeah, but you’re acting like you want to.”
“I’ve got a girlfriend. She’s a really great girl that is being sucked into the nonsense this town is famous for. And Aubree is playing along!”
Riley laughed. “Did you expect any less? Was it the wedding dress or the cake?”
“Cake.”
“Yeah, there’s no combatting that. The girl loves sweets.”
Parker shook his head. He knew she did. He stared out the front window trying to get his emotions in check. He had a reservation to a fancy restaurant he really couldn’t afford. He had a girlfriend that probably wasn’t his girlfriend anymore. And he had a pain in his side that made him wish he’d never come back to Prospect.
“She doesn’t normally rattle you this bad,” Riley observed. “You sure there isn’t something else going on?”
“She keeps touching me. It gives the wrong impression. When I told her that, she decided to kiss me.”
Riley arched her eyebrows and Parker shook his head. He was sure that bit of gossip would make its way through the grapevine before too long. Any chance he may have had with Sophie was gone.
“I think that kiss did a little more that annoy you. I think you liked it.”
“I didn’t like it.”
“No? You keep licking your lips.”
He glanced over at Riley, who looked like the cat that ate the canary. “I have a girlfriend that is not Aubree Manning.”
Riley laughed. “And yet Sophie doesn’t ruffle your feathers quite like the one you’ve been obsessing over for the last thirty minutes.”
Parker didn’t like the idea she presented. The idea of taking Aubree to dinner rolled around in his head to the point he gained a headache from it. It appealed to him even more to rent a hotel room for the night and reacquaint with her. He rubbed his eyes.
“If I have to arrest her to keep her out of my hair I will.”
“False imprisonment is not going to look good on you.”
“She’s ruining my life.”
“Maybe your life needs to be ruined.”
Parker whipped his head around and met Riley’s gaze. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that things happen for a reason.” Riley shuffled some folders together. “You two were in love as kids. Why would it be any different now?”
“I’m not in love with her. I can barely stand to be in the same room with her.”
“You keep telling yourself that.” Riley grabbed a few files and carried them to the filing cabinet.
He watched as Aubree came out of the bakery, laughing with the old bats. Her blonde hair was pulled back and she looked happy. He didn’t know what it was about her that had him debating whether or not he should ask her to dinner. Or maybe he should just go by himself to clear his head.
She glanced over at the sheriff’s office and stared right at him. He couldn’t stop the desire he had to kiss her again, to pull her close and get lost in her. He swallowed hard, keeping his attention on her. She raised her hand slightly, waving at him from across the road.
The doorbells jangled as someone entered and Parker pulled away from the window just in time to have Sophie wrap her arms around him. Surprise flickered through him as he awkwardly hugged her back.
“I’ll go with you tonight.” Sophie smiled at him as she rose up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I was being stupid before. Of course there isn’t anything going on between you and your ex. She’s only been in town one day, and this is a very small town. You’re going to run into each other eventually.”
He took a deep breath. “Yeah.”
He glanced back at the window and saw Aubree standing there. There was nothing going on between them yet he had an ache in his chest he couldn’t explain. He turned back to Sophie and saw how bright her eyes got when she smiled at him. He leaned down to kiss her lips.
“I’ll pick you up at four.”
“I’ll be ready.”
He watched Sophie leave, wondering why her kiss didn’t affect him nearly as much as the little kiss Aubree gave him.
“You’re making a mistake,” Riley commented as she searched through the files in the cabinet. “Sophie is a good girl, but she’s not what you want.”
“Butt out, Riley.”
“Okay. Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He moved away from the window and locked himself in his office. He needed to think less about women in his life and more about his job. That was the only way for him to keep his sanity.
Chapter Five
Aubree went to Parker’s house after dinner knowing he’d taken Sophie on a fancy date for the evening. She’d spent the entire day with the gossips planning a wedding that wasn’t going to happen and needed some down time away from everyone and everything that annoyed her about Prospect.
The porch still needed to be sanded and she’d brought her daddy’s sander with her to occupy her time. With at least an hour or two of daylight left, she could get some work done. She plugged the power tool in and went to work on the banister.
Ever since he came to the bakery that afternoon, Aubree entertained the idea of what it would have been like if they really were planning their wedding. Would he want the chocolate chip cake she favored or would he want something different? Her mind roamed to the woman she saw at the sheriff’s office. Ms. Malloy told her that Sophie was a sweet girl and she’d been gunning for a proposal for well over a year from Parker. Maybe that was what the fancy dinner was about. Maybe Parker intended to propose to the woman tonight.
The thought more than agitated her and she didn’t know why. She should be happy he’d found someone to love. The girl looked smitten, so she clearly loved him back. Aubree stopped the sander and rubbed the sweat from her forehead. She’d done more than half the porch in a short amount of time without even realizing it.
Taking a break, she sat down and twisted the cap of her water bottle. She gulped the fresh, cool liquid before replacing the cap and setting it aside. The thought of Parker marrying someone else got to her. She didn’t know what she wanted, but she knew it wasn’t that. Blowing out a breath, she stared at the couples walking down the street. Some waved at her when they passed and she waved back. There was something infectious about the small town that made her think of things she hadn’t in over ten years. In Dallas, it never even crossed her mind to marry a guy she dated. Stepping back into Prospect, she felt like she’d stepped into a time warp. How did she go from being a successful, career focused woman to wanting marriage and babies with her high school flame?
She grabbed the sander and went back to work on the porch. Getting her frustrations out helped. There was nothing like hard work to remind her of how stupid she was being for pining over Parker. She may not like the scenario, but she could live with it. It was stupid to provoke the old bats into going cake testing. She’d even told them what kinds of flowers she wanted and the colors. Her mother seemed so happy and she knew it was all a lie.
“What are you doing?”
She stopped, startled by Parker’s large body behind her. “I needed to work out some frustrations.” She pulled her mask down and pushed her protective glasses higher on her nose with the back of her hand. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to dinner in Tyler?”
“I don’t want to talk about that.” His jaw ticked. “Not with you.”
“Oh.” She set the sander down. After grabbing her phone from her back pocket, she glanced at the time. He’d barely spent any time away from Prospect, so she doubted he had a good time with his girlfriend.
He shook his head. “I can’t afford that place anyway.”
She set her phone aside and stared at him. “What’s wrong?”
He didn’t say anything as he searched for his house key. Aubree waited, watching as he unlocked the door and wen
t inside. A few minutes later, he came out shirtless with a bottle of whiskey in his hand.
“That bad, huh?”
He tipped the bottle back, taking a swig, before finally meeting her eyes. “You’re a bad penny.”
She snorted. “Don’t blame me. I didn’t have anything to do with your date.”
He drank another swig of whiskey. “Maybe not, but you’re making my life hell right now.”
“I’ve done nothing to you.” She shoved her phone in her pocket. “I offered to talk to her. That’s the opposite of making your life hell.”
He gave her a sour look. “What’s in it for you?”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah right.” He stood and came toward her. “You deliberately went to the bakery to eat the fucking cake with those crazy old ladies even though you knew there was nothing between us.”
Aubree rolled her eyes. “Do you want chocolate chip instead of cookies-n-cream mousse?”
He crowded her, stepping into her space. “Sophie is pissed off about tonight.”
“Why? Because you can’t afford a fancy dinner?” Aubree glanced down at his bare, muscular chest. “Most girls would have said that even though Pierre’s restaurant was great, they would have been perfectly fine eating takeout on the couch while watching Netflix.”
“Yeah?” He took another drink of the liquor. “Let me guess … you’re like most girls.”
“No. I would have gone to the restaurant.” She licked her lips, staring at his. “And I would have had the lobster.”
He narrowed his gaze at her. “You are nothing but trouble.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
He set his whiskey aside. “No, but we’re going to.”
Aubree braced herself for his kiss. Instead, he stood close to her, staring into her eyes. The whiskey on his breath fanned her lips, and her stomach filled with butterflies in anticipation. Maybe she should reach for the bottle of liquid courage before they got to that point.
Then he moved away, taking his bottle with him. “What’s got you pissed off?”
You. She rolled her eyes and moved away from the banister. “I’m not pissed off.”
“Yeah, right.” He rubbed his hand along the paint-free wood of the banister. “With the way you were moving that thing, it’s a wonder there’s any wood left to paint.”
Aubree grabbed the file sander and sat beside him to sand the rods. “This place.”
“It’s got its charm.” He sat next to her and they worked quietly on the porch for a little while. “You really know the owner of that place?”
“He’s a client of mine.” She glanced over at him. “Why?”
“No reason.” He rubbed the sandpaper along the posts. “Do you eat at places like that all the time?”
“Not all the time.” She dusted her hands off. “I like take out just like any other girl.”
He swallowed hard, keeping his attention on the banister. “I guess you’re doing pretty well for yourself, huh?”
“I work hard.” She rubbed the file back and forth. “It pays off.”
He set the sandpaper down. “It’s getting dark. You should probably go.”
“I’m not afraid of the dark.”
He turned toward her. “Why are you here?”
She huffed a breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead. “If I tell you, then I have to kill you.”
He shook his head. “Fine.”
She set the file aside. “Why didn’t Sophie come back to your place with you? You could have continued your date inside. Eaten take out. Rolled around in the sheets until morning.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Oh, please. I know you. You’ve been dating for a year or so according to Ms. Malloy. You can’t tell me you don’t entertain her at night. I’m not an idiot.”
“I don’t.”
She tilted her head to the side. “You’re serious? You haven’t had sex with her?”
He glanced over at her. “Why is that any of your business?”
“It’s not. You just look like you were really hoping for some action and she cut your balls off.” Aubree smiled at him. “Surely it wasn’t that bad between you two.”
Parker rubbed a hand over his face. “Sophie wants marriage. Babies.”
“Ah, and you don’t.”
“No.” He folded his arms and propped them on his knees. “We started off strong, but it’s dwindled. She hasn’t stayed over with me, and I don’t stay the night with her.”
“Why?” Aubree moved so she sat next to him on the porch step. “You used to like cuddling.”
He didn’t laugh like she’d hoped. She smoothed her hand along his back. He was tense. Her father said that war had changed him, and she wondered if that was part of his problem. Parker glanced over at her, his blue-gray eyes glossy. He wasn’t crying, but she could see the pain there. Instead of saying anything, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.
“You’re really bad at killing rumors.”
Aubree smiled. “If you think I care about what people have to say about me, then you don’t know me very well.”
He lifted his head and Aubree propped her chin on his arm. “Don’t make me regret saying this, but I’m glad you’re back.”
She laughed. “Oh, Parker. I’m not going to let you forget it.”
“Go home.” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her up from the stairs. “You’re nothing but a thorn in my ass.”
She moved down the stairs and turned to face him so they were eye to eye. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
She cupped his scruffy cheek and smiled at him. “You know where I’m at if you need me. Actually, let me give you my cell.”
Before he could protest, she grabbed the pen from her hair and scribbled her number on his exposed forearm. She watched as he took it in before looking back at her.
“Behave yourself, Sheriff.”
“Yeah. You too.”
Aubree left his house and started her walk home. The moon hung low in the black sky with a faint dusting of stars glittering about. Several of the street lights helped her see her way back to the ranch, but the darkness really hindered her ability to decipher threats from non-threats. The worst thing she could think of was walking up on a coyote. Or maybe a snake. Really, any animal she couldn’t see very well. She glanced back at Parker’s house and saw that his porch light had been turned off. It seemed really stupid to walk home alone after dark.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out. She didn’t know the number but answered it anyway.
“Hello?”
“You scared yet?”
She frowned. “I’m not scared.”
“I saw you look back. You’re thinking about snakes aren’t you?”
“Coyotes.”
“They’re more likely.” He opened his front door and stepped out on the porch. “You want a ride?”
She watched as he stood there, shirtless on his porch. The light from his living room glowed behind him and the darkness of night surrounded them both. She thought about the way he’d looked at her earlier with those gorgeous blue-gray eyes that made her pulse skip a beat. He brought out many feelings she wasn’t prepared for, and she could only reason that the more time she spent with him, the more her feelings for him would surface.
“I’m not scared of the dark, Sheriff.”
“Sure you’re not. Maybe I just don’t want you to get eaten by a coyote. It’d be difficult to explain to your daddy.”
She gulped. There it was. That feeling low in her stomach. It slithered through her subtly, but she felt it. Knew it was there. Very few people looked out for her. It was mostly her own fault as she never got close enough to anyone for them to care enough to look out for her. She got branded as a tough chick that could take care of herself from an early age, yet it didn’t matter what the circumstances were, Parker always had her back. It was something she admired the most about him. He knew sh
e could take care of herself, but he still looked out for her. He still watched over her and cared for her unlike any other person she knew.
“You going to answer me or not? Watching you stand in the middle of the road all night while mosquitos are biting me is not my idea of a good time.”
“Yes. I want a ride.”
“Okay then. Wait there.”
He hung up and she stood on the edge of the road, watching him disappear into his house to collect his keys and wallet. He climbed in his truck and turned around so he could pull up beside her. Then, to her surprise, he leaned across the console and opened the door for her.
She wanted to kiss him. The urge hit her at an overwhelming rate as she climbed in the truck. His scent wafted through the air until she was surrounded by it. He drove the short distance to her parent’s ranch and pulled down the narrow one lane drive.
“So are you and Sophie over?”
He pulled in the circle drive in front of the house and parked. “Yeah. We’re over.”
She nodded. “Then I can go wedding dress shopping with the girls?”
He turned toward her in the small cab of his truck. “Are you serious?”
She blew out a breath. “There is a really pretty dress in Marjorie’s shop, and I wanted to try it on. There is no harm in trying clothes on. I’m not buying anything.”
He shook his head. “I don’t even know what to say.”
She grinned and opened the truck door. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I may be by early to work on your porch. My thing at Marjorie’s is at eight. I don’t have anything else to do for the day. Dad’s going out of town with Tom so…”
“I’m glad my porch keeps you busy.”
She laughed. “Just think about all the trouble I’d get into without it. You’re really doing me a favor.”
“I’m sure.”
She closed the door and blew him a kiss. Like the gentleman he was, he waited for her to go inside before pulling away. She opened the door, smiling to herself before she met her father in the foyer.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“I was helping Parker with his porch.”
“With my tools?”
She forgot to pick them up before she left. “Yeah.”