“Looking for something?”
“I’m just checking out your car.” She lifted some receipts and the owner’s manual and then let out a tiny shriek. “Hey…you’ve been holding out on me.”
As if she’d discovered buried treasure, Annie triumphantly held up a candy bar before ripping the package open and taking a bite. She chewed slowly, rolling her eyes until her lids dropped, and then moaned with ecstasy. “Mmm…so good. Wans sum,” she slurred between chews, holding out the candy bar.
Kip noticed a puddle of melting chocolate at the edge of her mouth and he leaned toward Annie. “I’d like a taste,” he whispered, keeping his eyes on the candy bar.
As Annie looked at the candy bar, pulling the wrapper down to expose more of the creamy milk chocolate, Kip inched closer and placed his lips over the corner of her mouth, kissing away the chocolate threatening to slide down her chin.
Instead of pulling away as Kip had expected, she held stock-still, momentarily halting her chewing as her eyes grew large.
“Mmm…delicious,” he said, brushing his lips across hers. Kip pulled back just enough to see Annie swallow the candy bar, her eyes dropping to his mouth. She ran her tongue over her lips and he couldn’t hold back another second. He slid his hand behind her head and pressed his lips to hers. She didn’t resist, but it took a few seconds for a response. Hesitantly, Annie kissed him back, opening her lips to his probing tongue, and then sliding her free hand up his chest and across his shoulder. She continued to hold the melting candy bar in her other hand like a torch in the night. Without releasing his lips from hers Kip said, “Let me help you with that.” He took the candy bar out of her hand, dropped it in a cup holder, and then wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest. While the storm raged on outside the steamy car, their kiss became equally heated.
It was as if all the fight had gone out of Annie. She sagged against him and slid her now free hand under his arm to his back, gently grazing her nails along his spine. Her tongue dove deeper, his lips locked over hers, their breathing grew shallow, and a loud horn broke the intensity. Annie and Kip jumped back from one another and looked through the windshield at a double set of headlights bearing down on the car. The tow truck had arrived—finally.
“Couldn’t he have waited a little longer?” Kip sighed. He looked over at Annie, who was fiddling with her hair and smoothing out her skirt before opening her door. He reached out and grabbed her wrist before she could get away, giving her a sweet smile. What he got in return was another one of Annie’s stony stares.
Kip sat in his leather chair, elbows on his desk and head in his hands, trying to study a recent Supreme Court ruling on immigration. His mind was anywhere but on the document in front of him. Since the electric kiss less than twenty-four hours ago, he had wrestled with his original intentions and the feelings he was now having. It was supposed to have been just a matter of getting an introduction to Senator Cooper, but now all he wanted to do was kiss that soft, sexy mouth again and forget the senatorial support. He knew he was falling for Annie the moment she walked into the first staff meeting, but had convinced himself it was just his desire to clinch a vote. Now, he felt guilty about hiring her under false pretenses. She was working hard, taking her role seriously, and making a real difference. It was getting harder and harder to look her in the eye.
“Well, look who decided to come back to the real world.” Tom had silently entered Kip’s office and dropped into the chair in front of his desk.
“Yeah, I’m back from the land of Oz,” Kip said, slamming the notebook shut.
“You were gone most of the day. How did it go?”
“Well. We were able to pinpoint the problem at the farm and work out a solution with the county.”
Tom stood up abruptly and laid his hands on the desk, the better to leer down at Kip. “I’m talking about how things went with Annie. You said you have a date lined up. When?”
“Saturday we’re going to a crab feast.”
“With her family?”
“No, over in Shady Beach.”
Tom spun away from the desk and ran his hands through his hair. “Bro, you’re supposed to get an introduction to her father, get in good with him. What the hell’s the problem?”
Kip leaned back in his chair and smiled up at Tom. “It’s been a bigger challenge than I thought.”
“Yeah, and you seem to be enjoying it.”
With his fingers laced across his stomach, Kip rocked back and forth in his chair and replied with a satisfied grin, “Yeah, I have.”
“Kip,” Tom punched his fist into his hand and spun, coming behind the desk, “what the fuck are you doing? Time is of the essence. The bill comes up for vote in three weeks. Quit fucking around and get the introduction.”
Bringing himself to his full six-two height, Kip turned to face his chief of staff. “How would you like me to go about it? ‘Annie, we hired you because I need your dad’s support on the pipeline bill if it’s going to get through the Senate Appropriations committee.’”
“Why not? Whatever works.” Tom glared right back.
“I can’t do that.”
“Can’t because you’re being a huge pussy, or because you’ve suddenly grown a strong moral center? She’s just a means to an end—and a nice little end, I must say.”
Kip let the image of another term in office take shape in his mind. “You’re not wrong about that.”
“Then get it done already,” Tom huffed, turning toward the door. “Fuck the girl if you have to. Just get her father’s vote.”
Fourteen
Stretching like a cat, arms extended to their limits, with a flex of her feet, Annie climbed out of the deep cocoon of sleep, waking to sunlight streaming through her bedroom blinds. She sat up and snatched her cell phone from its power cord while tapping the screen in hopes of finding a missed call or text. Nothing. A small stream of disappointment coursed through her, but she quickly shook it off. She couldn’t expect to hear from him every day.
Since their amazing kiss had been interrupted, she’d wavered between picking up where they had left off and keeping a safe distance from Kip. Today, she didn’t have any choice; she was going to the crab feast with him and she wasn’t sure how she could possibly keep her distance—or if she even wanted to. Several times since they’d been stranded along the side of the road, Kip had sent her a text or call pretending to need some important information, only to end up engaging her in brief conversations about anything but the “pressing” topic. While in a committee meeting yesterday, he had sent her quotes from the discussion and then added funny commentary, forcing her to hide her laughter behind a series of violent coughs.
Bored? She texted.
With you? Never!
I meant with the meeting.
Yes…come rescue me.
She scrolled through some of the texts she had received since Wednesday night, when they’d finally made it back to DC in the cab of the tow truck. Kip had charmed the driver into taking the Lexus to the dealership rather than the local repair shop and had thrown in an extra hundred dollars as added persuasion. Annie tucked down into the sheets, biting her bottom lip as she continued scrolling and rereading.
Just received confirmation: it was indeed the jam nut.
Was there ever a doubt?
If there was, I’ll never admit it.
Any other mechanical problems you need to me to check?
Umm…I don’t think I should answer that.
Annie smiled, absently chewing on her thumbnail. Everything had changed since their adventure out to Heldreth’s farm and if she was honest, it scared her. After she and Kate said goodbye to their trivia team Thursday night, they stuck around for one more beer and Annie couldn’t stop her perpetual grin each time she received a text.
“What is going on? Why do you look like you just swallowed a canary?” Kate asked, grabbing Annie’s phone from her hand. “Who have you been texting all night?” With a couple o
f taps to the screen, Kate sagged against the booth and sighed. “Oh…so your lack of concentration tonight was because of a certain congressman, huh?”
Annie swiped her cell phone out of Kate’s hand and dropped it on the table as if she’d been shocked. When the phone dinged once more, Annie splayed her hands on the table, fighting the urge to read Kip’s latest text.
“Aren’t you going to see what he said?”
“Kate, this is crazy…what am I doing? He’s my boss.”
“Well, if you’re not going to read it, I am.” Kate picked up the phone and read out loud, “‘Wear something simple; we might get messy.’” She leaned forward, eyes bulging and said, “Messy? I’ve got to hear this.”
Annie laughed and took the phone from Kate, glancing down at the text. “We’re going to a crab feast tomorrow. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“That sounds tame. Why are you worried?”
“It’s not an official appearance. It’s a date. I shouldn’t be going on a date with my boss.”
“Why not? He’s single; you’re single. There’s nothing wrong with that. Where in the HR manual does it say you can’t go to a crab feast with your boss?”
“There is no HR manual,” Annie mumbled, continuing to glance at her phone.
“Exactly.”
“A politician is the last person I should get involved with. Look at my mother’s miserable life.”
“Don’t you think you’re jumping the gun? It’s just a date.”
Maybe Kate was right. It was just a date—didn’t mean anything. Besides, it had been awhile since she had such ardent male attention. Not wanting to end the string of texts, Annie picked up her phone and typed what do you mean by simple?
Within seconds her phone dinged with Kip’s reply. That thing you were wearing when I came to your apartment would work, minus the socks.
She remembered the way he had looked at her that day, shamelessly raking his eyes over her exposed cleavage and legs, and she couldn’t stop her lips from curling into a grin.
I’m not sure that would be a wise choice.
Why?
You might not be able to concentrate on breaking open those crabs.
I could do it with my eyes closed.
I’ll bet you could.
Ms. Merriman, I’m not sure we’re talking about picking crabs anymore.
When Annie saw “Ms. Merriman,” she felt a crushing weight of guilt press on her chest. She had to tell him the truth about who she was. She couldn’t keep up the ruse much longer. Surely he would understand the reason she’d lied. As soon as the time felt right, she would tell the truth. For now, she’d end the texting before it went too far.
That’s exactly what I was referring to.
Darn it.
Hey, gotta go. TTYL.
On Friday he had sent her several texts, but as of this morning she hadn’t heard a word. The crab feast started at five o’clock and they had agreed to meet at the club, since Kip was spending the weekend at his cabin. Annie threw her legs over the side of the bed and leaped to the floor. She needed to do laundry if she was going to find something perfectly “simple” to wear that evening.
The smell of salty, spicy crabs in make-shift steamers fashioned from fifty-gallon drums and the sweetness of barbecuing chicken filled the air as Annie and Kip walked across the gravel lot toward a long pavilion adorned with the Rivermen’s Club crest hanging below the roof’s eaves. They were hand-in-hand, approaching dozens of men and women talking in groups while seagulls squawked amid strains of country music coming from mounted speakers. They had pulled into the parking lot at the same time and Kip greeted Annie with a brief kiss before taking her hand in his, leading her toward the party.
“I think we’re the youngest ones here,” he said in Annie’s ear.
“No, you’re wrong.” She pointed toward a colorful metal structure with winding tube slides and two sets of swings where at least a dozen kids ran and played. “Maybe you’d be more comfortable over there.”
Kip stopped and let out a low whistle. “Look at that. That’s an improvement over the playground that used to be here.”
“So you’ve been here before?” Annie’s forehead creased in confusion.
“Every year until my dad passed away.” He ended the conversation with a tug of her hand and began introducing her to friends and relatives he’d grown up around. There was a lot of back slapping from the men who had been longtime friends of his father’s and hugs from their wives. While Annie chatted with two women who had known his family long before “Kip and his brothers had even been thought of,” Kip filled two red plastic cups from the cold keg resting in a tub of ice.
“We were just about to tell Annie some stories about when you were a boy, Kip,” one of the gray-haired ladies said with mischief in her eyes.
“Like the time you broke Virgil’s prop, running his boat aground.” The ladies laughed and Kip’s face cycled through several shades of red as he wrapped an arm around Annie, steering her away.
“I don’t need my sterling reputation ruined on my first date.”
The women continued cackling as Annie protested his leading her away. “Wait now, maybe I want to hear that story.”
“Trust me; you don’t,” he mumbled against her temple, then smiled warmly at the women. He gave them a wave and said, “Nice talking to you.”
“Oh, come on, Porter, don’t be such a spoil sport.” Annie laughed, noticing his obvious discomfort. “This must be some story to get a reaction like that.”
Kip squeezed her close, planted a kiss in her hair, and said, “Not one of my finer moments.”
An hour after they had made their rounds and Kip had introduced Annie to nearly everyone there, a blue pick-up truck pulled into the parking lot, followed by a heavy blast of the truck’s horn. They had just sat down to a large pile of steaming crabs mounded on the picnic table between them and Annie noticed a huge smile spread across Kip’s face.
“My mom and brother are here.” He climbed over the bench seat and rushed around the table to help Annie crawl over the wooden slat where she’d been sitting. “I guess I should have warned you.”
“No problem…I’d love to meet your family.” Annie hoped her enthusiastic response covered up the onslaught of nerves quivering through her body, making her knees go weak. Kip grabbed her hand and Annie found herself gripping it tighter, as if it were a lifeline. With each step that drew them closer to Kip’s mother and brother, Annie took deep breaths to quiet her jitters.
“Hey, you made it.” Kip released Annie’s hand and drew his mother in for a warm hug. He greeted his brother with a handshake and pat on the back.
“Sorry we’re late,” his brother said.
The affection they had for one another was evident, with sincere smiles and frequent touching, and Annie suddenly felt out of place. Though it had only lasted a moment, she felt like an eternity had passed before Kip wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into their circle.
“This is Annie.”
She looked up and found Kip beaming. Before she looked away, his brother drew her into a bear hug.
“Come here, girl. I’m Rob. Great to finally meet you.”
“Finally?” Annie murmured.
“And I’m Kip’s mom. Call me Helen, please.” His mother wrapped her arms around Annie’s shoulders, gave her a gentle hug, then cupped Annie’s face in her hands. “Aren’t you the prettiest thing?”
“Thank you,” Annie whispered. Her throat had inexplicably clogged with emotion and she felt her eyes welling up. She’d never felt such kindness from virtual strangers. Thankfully, Kip’s mother dropped her grip on Annie’s cheeks and she was able to step back, dropping her head to hide the tears threatening to fall.
“Come on. Annie and I were about to crack open some crabs.” Kip’s arm once more circled Annie’s waist and he pulled her tight against him, nearly lifting her off the ground. The smile he gave her was pure delight and she felt her ear
lier nerves melting away.
Returning to the weathered picnic table, Rob and Kip began their expert tutorial on how to open up the red, hot crabs to find the succulent white meat inside. But after Annie nearly gagged when she saw the yellowish goo also inside, Kip took over opening the bodies.
“That looks like the same stuff you stepped in at the farm,” she said. They burst out laughing at the memory and then quickly worked out a system for picking crabs: Annie pulled off the claws and broke them open with a hard thwack of the wooden hammer, while Kip snapped the body into quarters and pulled out the lumps.
Several times, friends of Kip’s father stopped by their table and commented how nice it was to have Kip back at the annual event, making him promise to return next year. The men praised Kip’s hard work in Congress and expressed the pride his father would have had, making Kip’s face blush a bright red.
It wasn’t until Annie walked over to get two water bottles from the icy cooler that she heard the first disparaging words about Kip. She took her time retrieving the water while listening to three men, huddled together in consultation.
“We need to talk to him.”
“Not today, Bill. Can’t you see the boy’s on a date? Leave him alone for now.”
“Let me tell ya somethin’, his daddy would not be any happier about this pipeline than we are. He needs to know the people around here don’t want it, no matter how many jobs it brings. Frankly, I don’t think it’ll create much of anything in the way of permanent employment,” said the man named Bill.
“I’m thinking about selling and moving to the Midwest. My farm won’t be worth a damn once that pipeline comes through,” said another man.
“I’ve heard the company running the show has a terrible reputation for shoddy workmanship,” the third man commented.
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