by Lexie Davis
“I don’t want you to leave. I just don’t have anything here for you.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve eaten TV dinners before. But if I sweet talk Ms. Malloy, I bet she’ll let me have some of that delicious chicken salad she made.”
“You seem to sweet talk your way into getting anything you want.”
She smiled. “It’s a gift.”
She went across the street to the little old lady’s house and rang the doorbell. Ms. Malloy answered with a knowing smile on her face. “Come on in. I made chicken tacos with rice and cheesy beans.”
Aubree followed the little old woman inside her house. Much like Parker’s house, Ms. Malloy’s was small. She had a splash of color throughout the rooms to liven it up. She also had plenty of furniture that made the smaller space feel even more cluttered. Her yellow kitchen was open and inviting. Aubree watched as the older woman went to her cabinets and started pulling dishes out. “Ms. Malloy, how did you know?”
“Honey, you’ve been smitten with him since you got back and everyone in town knows the Sheriff only stocks TV dinners in his fridge.” She pressed the top to the container. “He needs a good woman to fix him dinner every night. One that will take care of him like a woman takes care of a man.”
Aubree felt her cheeks heat and decided to busy herself with helping the woman out. “I’m just helping him with his porch.”
“Yeah. He needs someone like you in his life. He hasn’t been the same since he came back from war. He’s more reserved.” She dished out some of the beans into a bowl. “I heard him crying one night. He stepped out onto his porch and broke down. I imagined he wanted his space so I didn’t go over to him, but I’ve kept my eyes on him ever since.”
Her words tugged at Aubree’s heartstrings. She stood there while the little old lady piled her arms full of food for them. She even gave her a plastic pitcher of sweet tea.
“Go have fun.” She walked with her to the door. “I can take the night off since I know you’ll be with him.”
“Thank you, Ms. Malloy.” She smiled at the lady. “I appreciate it.”
She carried the armful of dishes across the street and Parker greeted her at the door. “What on earth?”
“She made us dinner.” Aubree carried the dishes to the coffee table since Parker didn’t have a dining table. “Let me get cleaned up and we can eat.”
Aubree passed by him, noting he’d changed into an Army t-shirt and loose olive green basketball shorts. She washed her hands in the kitchen sink and dried them with a paper towel. She still had particles of wood and paint covering her from the sanding, but she couldn’t do anything about that without taking a shower.
“Sit down and relax a little.” Aubree grabbed some plates, albeit paper plates and plastic flatware, before returning to the living area. She dished out some food for him then handed it to him.
“You’re serving me now?”
She licked the cheesy beans from her finger. “I can afford to be nice for one night.”
He chuckled. “So tomorrow night I serve myself?”
“No.” She shook her head as she settled on the couch next to him. “Tomorrow you get to go grocery shopping so you can cook on your new appliances. And then you can serve me.”
“Ah. There’s the catch.”
She bit into the chicken taco. “I’m just throwing it out there, but would you be willing to come to Dallas sometime? You know, after I go back home?”
He set his plate aside and stood. “To see you?”
“Well, yeah. I’m not inviting you to Dallas to see the sights.”
He came back with two blue Solo cups. He poured the sweet tea for them and handed her one. “I don’t know. Maybe. If I can get away from work.”
She ate a few bites of her food without saying anything. Parker didn’t seem too enthused with going to Dallas. His demeanor didn’t scream excitement. Aubree drank from her glass and turned slightly toward him.
“For what it’s worth I like your house.” Aubree scooped some of the rice onto her fork. “Your bathroom is small though. How do your knees not touch the wall when you sit on the toilet?”
“They do.”
She smiled, chewing the bite of food. “I also like the no clutter policy you’ve got going on. If you can see the floor of my room, you’d be doing well.”
He smiled. “The army does wonders for that kind of problem.”
“I guess so.” She set her plate aside and lifted her drink to her lips. “I also have too many clothes I’m too lazy to wash.”
“That can be a problem.” He ate the last of his taco and tossed his plate on top of hers.
Aubree watched as he reached for his drink and gulped the last of it down. “You look tired.”
“I am.”
“Why don’t you go to bed?”
“I have company that won’t leave.” He grinned and she felt it all the way to her toes. “I’m okay with it though. You’re like a bad penny, but you’re a good bad penny.”
“Thanks, I think.”
He laughed. “Is your mother still mad at you?”
“I went home to get a hammer and she was avoiding me.” She rolled her eyes. “Daddy said that she’d cool down in a few days. I just have to let her ride it out.”
He nodded. “She really wanted you to get married?”
“The whole town did.”
He rubbed his eyes. “Well, I guess everything is planned for when the real event happens. That’s good, right?”
“Pending it happens soon.” She kicked off her shoes and pulled her legs up to her chest. “That cookies-n-cream cake was so good. I swear if I had that for my wedding, I wouldn’t be able to fit inside the dress. I’d have to get two sizes too big when I ordered it.” She sighed. “Which reminds me that I need to go for a run.”
“Is that the one you shoved in my mouth?”
“Yes. It’s good, right?” He nodded. “I need to have it on regular order. Maybe once a week. You can’t get fat that quick can you?”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re not fat.”
“Says you.” She dropped her legs down and sat up. “I have rolls you don’t see because you don’t see me naked. Ugly cellulite dimples in my thighs and butt too. It’s there.”
He snorted. “Yeah. Okay.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“Not even a little bit.” He stared at her, obviously taking in what she had said. “You’re chunkier than high school, but you’re nowhere near fat.”
“I looked like a boy in high school.” She shook her head. “A flat-chested, gangly boy.”
“You’re not flat chested now.”
“No.” She laughed. “My boobs were late bloomers. It’s kind of like my body was suddenly determined, ‘awe, we can store fat up here too’. I went from barely an A to a C overnight. And it was without implants. These are real.”
Parker listened to her babble and Aubree knew somewhere in her mind she needed to shut up. Diarrhea of the mouth was not a good condition to have. She stopped, swallowing hard. Her stomach flittered at the thought of her poor seduction skills, not that that was what she was doing. She couldn’t seduce a man if she tried. Clearly.
“I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” She cringed. “Stuff just pops into my head and it spews out my mouth.”
“You think I don’t know that?” He reached for her leg and rubbed the scar on her thigh. “I spent five minutes with you telling me a gory and highly detailed event of blood spewing out this cut on your leg in ER.” He leaned, almost lying in her lap as he brushed his finger along the top of her foot. “Broken bone poking out the skin. You did that four wheeling. Cried on me, yet you said that it was the coolest thing you’d ever seen. I helped you around while on crutches for a couple of months.”
He glanced up at her. His hot breath fanned against her chest he was so close. Her nipples beaded into stiff points beneath the cups of her bra. “I also got to hear the dirty details of what it’s like to
be on your period and have a sneezing attack. And your opinion about nudist colonies having the kind of nude people you don’t want to see naked. You rarely give your opinion without details.”
Aubree pursed her lips. “So I guess the boob growth thing was mild?”
He laughed and sat up. She lifted her glass and drank. The room had grown too hot and she needed to cool herself down.
“Well, I should probably go.” Aubree stood and grabbed the trash she’d collected. “You need some sleep and I need to go home. I haven’t been there all day and my father is probably going to give me a dirty look when I step in the door.”
“Why?”
She carried her trash to the kitchen. “I took his tools without asking. Men are so weird about tools. You’d think I kidnapped his child and offered to sacrifice it to some unknown deity of a bloodthirsty cult. Anyway, we’re done sanding so we can just paint tomorrow. Maybe he has some old clothes I can wear. I don’t think I brought anything I want to get paint on.”
“I have old clothes.” Parker stood. “You don’t have to steal any more from Jim.”
She smiled. “Your keys are on the kitchen counter. Put the food away. You can have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her.
She hesitated. He hadn’t moved away from the door. His eyes were dark and unreadable. Still holding the doorknob, he looked relaxed and at ease. He waited for her to say something, but words didn’t seem to come to her. She wanted to run her fingers through his thick hair. To lean in and press her lips to his and taste all she’d longed for. Her stomach twisted in knots the longer she stood there. She wanted to soothe him, to hold him and love him like she used to. It’d been so intense when they were younger. Their problems were nothing compared to their adult lives, but they leaned on each other. They depended on each other to make it through. Most days she missed that about him. She was fiercely independent, but with Parker, she knew he’d be there for her when she needed him.
She wanted to do that for him now.
“You want something?” Parker asked, his voice lower, rough as sandpaper.
She scraped her lower lip with her teeth. “Yeah, but you’re not going to like it.”
“What?”
She took a step forward and reached up to cup his cheek. Her lips parted and she kissed him, sliding her tongue along the seam of his mouth. Letting go of the doorknob, he kissed her back. Her fingers slid through his hair as he pulled her closer. There was nothing more irresistible than a man that kissed with passion, and Parker kissed her with passion.
It seemed to go on and on until they were both breathless. She pulled back from him and stared into his smoky eyes. His hands rested at the small of her back, and she had to remind herself to let him go at some point.
He tilted his head to the side. “Why wouldn’t I like that?”
“Because I have to go home.”
He cupped the back of her head and leaned forward to kiss her. “Afraid of real pregnancy rumors?”
“You know it.” She smoothed her hands along his back. “Behave yourself. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He gave her a lopsided grin that threatened to melt her into a puddle of goo. Aubree pulled away from him. She collected her father’s tools and carried them to her car.
“What time will you be here tomorrow?” Parker asked, calling out to her.
She opened her car door. “Probably early if Daddy doesn’t have me working on the ranch.”
“You want breakfast?”
“You cooking?”
“No, but I can walk down the street to the bakery.”
“That’ll work too.”
“Call me when you leave and I’ll go get donuts.”
“I will.” She smiled at him. “Goodnight, Parker.”
He waved at her, leaning on the banister. She hated that he acted almost as if he didn’t want her to leave. She didn’t want to go. Backing out of his drive, she pulled out into the street and went toward the ranch. She left in a few days to go back to Dallas and the more time she spent in Prospect, the more she missed the silly little town.
Especially it’s Sheriff.
Chapter Seven
Aubree arrived early the next morning while Parker was at the bakery getting donuts. She walked up the porch steps and let herself in. Her friend had agreed to bring the appliances around noon, so she thought she’d paint after that. The heat of the day was horrible, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. They were in Texas after all.
“I didn’t think I was ever going to get out of that place.”
Aubree turned to see Parker with a dozen donuts and two coffees. She reached for the coffees before he spilled them and set them on the coffee table.
“Ms. Malloy was up early this morning. She met me at the bakery and asked how our date was last night.” He set the donuts on the table.
“What did you say?” Aubree asked as she opened the box.
“Great, but it wasn’t a date.”
“Like that matters to them.” She selected a chocolate glazed donut and bit into it. He disappeared into the kitchen and came back with paper towels, handing her one. “Thanks.”
“I thanked her for the food and she beamed with pride. I don’t think they’ve given up on the wedding just yet.” He sat on the sofa next to her close enough to brush his arm against hers.
She smiled and lifted her coffee to her lips. “You remembered the way I take coffee?”
“There’s not much I have forgotten about you.” He bit into a donut, then changed the subject. “I have already dealt with two disputes this morning. I have a feeling I’m going to get another call soon.”
“Who is fighting now?”
“Kincade kids. They’re terrorizing the trailer park. The little one said that their daddy told them to play outside while he went somewhere in the truck. I have no idea where the momma is. I’ve got a warrant for his arrest. I get to serve as soon as his neighbor calls me.”
“Did he leave them out all night?”
“No. Early this morning. Those kids were into everything. The church ladies are watching them now. They’ve already called me complaining that the little one was walking on the piano while the other kid was writing on the walls in the Sunday school classroom. I’m going there when I get done eating.”
Aubree reached out and rubbed his back. “You’ve got your hands full and it’s not even nine yet.”
“Yeah.” He sipped his coffee. “I get a call at least once a month about those kids. Social services only does so much.”
“Where does he go?”
“To find the wife. She’s in and out of jail for possession. Just enough that she gets caught. Not enough to actually stick.” Parker reached for another donut. “Do you need anything before I go? I got the paint, the brushes, the rollers, and all that stuff in my bedroom.”
“Nope. That’s it. I can’t start on the porch until the appliances come. After they leave, I can paint.”
“What about clothes?” He glanced at what she wore. “If you need something I can get it for you.”
She glanced over at him. “You don’t mind?”
“Nah.” He ate the last of his donut and licked his fingers. His phone rang and he frowned. “Will you answer that? Tell them I’m on my way.”
She stared at his phone and answered the incoming call.
“Hello?”
“Who is this?”
“Aubree Manning.”
“Ah, Aubree. I thought I misdialed for a minute,” Alice Denning said. “Is the Sheriff there? These kids are terrorizing the neighborhood. They locked the pastor in his office and hid the key.”
“Oh, goodness.” Aubree stood and walked around the couch. “Yes, he’s on his way now. He’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Good. I don’t know how much more of this my nerves can take.”
“I understand.” Aubree walked down the hall to find Parker in his closet. “How many kids are ther
e?”
“Three little ones is what I’ve got. Rose has the two older ones and she never has trouble out of them.”
“Do you need help? I mean, I can take them for a little while.”
“Oh, honey. That would be great. They’re a handful. You sure you’re up for it?”
“I think I can handle it. My daddy has a big ranch they can run around and play on.”
Parker handed her the clothes as he walked past her out of his room. “You’ll regret that once you meet them.”
“That sounds great. When can you come pick them up?”
****
Aubree followed Parker to the church and got out with him. He opened the front door for her and she stepped into chaos. Two kids were running around the church with Alice running after them.
“I’ve lost one.”
Parker laughed. “I’ll go this way.”
Aubree went with the chaos. Two boys and one girl. They couldn’t have been more than a year apart and looked like they hadn’t had a bath in months. She grabbed the rowdiest boy and lifted him on her hip, while stopping the other boy by grabbing his hand. The little girl stood off to the side watching her.
“You three have given Ms. Dunning a hard time.” Aubree glanced between them. “Tell her you are sorry and that you appreciate her taking care of you while your daddy was gone.”
The boys mumbled their apology while the little girl stared wide-eyed at her. Aubree glanced over at Parker who seemed impressed by her child wrangling skills.
“Come on. We’re going to go play on the ranch and maybe feed some horses.”
“Where’s my daddy?” one of the boys asked.
“He’ll be back soon. Have you had breakfast?” They all shook their heads. “Okay. We’ll get some breakfast and then we’ll play with the horses.”
She glanced over at Parker. “What are their names?”
“That’s Liam and that’s Noah. The little girl is Olivia.”
“Can you tell me where the key is?” Alice asked. “The pastor is still locked in his office.”
“The fireplace,” Olivia said. She twisted her fingers together. “Are we in trouble?”
Aubree tilted her head, staring at the little girl. “It’s not nice to lock someone in their office.”