Small Town Romance Collection: Four Complete Romances & A New Novella

by Brown, Carolyn

  James had never steered me wrong so I wore a white sun dress with red sandals and matching red clunky jewelry that evening. When the door bell rang, Peeta had already hopped off his perch in the window and was waiting expectantly when I reached the foyer from the far end of the house.

  “Hello. And hello to you, too, Mr. Peeta.” He bent down and rubbed the black and whit cat behind the ears. “You look lovely tonight.”

  I picked up my purse from the foyer table. “Me or the cat?”

  “The cat is a beauty but I was talking to you.”

  “Thank you. How did you know what my cat’s name is?”

  “It’s on your Facebook page,” he answered. “A person can learn a lot from social media. Which reminds me, Tamara asked if you would friend her.” He stood up and glanced around. “Looks like you have a nice place here.”

  “I do and I am ready. You are parked behind my car so you’ll have to back out and then follow me over to James’s place.”

  “We can ride together. I’ll be glad to bring you home when you get ready,” Rocky said.

  “And I also saw a picture of you and your sister together on your page. It’s hard to believe that you are even related.” He opened the truck door for me.

  I’d have to think about letting Tamara into my social media world but not tonight.

  “Are you the same man who wrote that hateful message on a coaster and had it delivered to my table?”

  “Are you the same woman that sent a go to hell message back to me?” He started the truck and backed out of the driveway.

  “Guess we both got off on the wrong foot, didn’t we? So now that Tamara is all better, when are you leaving?”

  “Edward gave me two weeks and I don’t even have to count it off as vacation. I kind of like it here. The fishin’ is good and I didn’t know how much I needed some down time. I slept like a baby the last couple of nights so I’m going to take him up on the offer.” He drove straight down the street for several blocks.

  “Turn right and it’s the second house. It will be the one with the white railing around the wide porch.” I pointed ahead to the stop sign.

  Before we could get out of the truck, James threw open the back yard gate and motioned us around the side of the house. “We’re all back here. Y’all come on.”

  Rocky placed a hand on my lower back and I was sure that the heat would leave a handprint on my skin for a week. It wasn’t fair to be so attracted to someone like that. His business was in Florida; mine was in Jefferson. Big city; small town and never the twain could meet.

  “Hey, everyone this is Rocky Rycroft. He’s in town for a few days. Rocky, this is Jessie’s sister, Ashley, and her husband, Danny. These guys here are their sons, Danny and Graham. And this is my Colleen.” He slung an arm around a woman that looked up at him with adoring eyes.

  I’d seen her around the court house when I went to visit with James but at that moment, I loved her like family. They were so cute together and someday things were going to work out for them. That one word, my had said volumes about how he already felt about her.

  Danny motioned for Rocky to join him and the other guys at the grill and Ashley and Colleen took me over to the picnic table. The two of them sat on one side and I took the other. The conversation around the grill went to football, the price of land and taxes as opposed to Florida and the best marinade for steaks.

  “So?” Ashley asked.

  “So what?”

  “What’s going on with him? Wasn’t he supposed to be sure you weren’t living on the streets and eating out of garbage cans, then get out of Jefferson?” Ashley asked.

  “Now, he’s decided to stay the full two weeks that they offered him. He likes the fishin’.”

  “The way he keeps stealin’ glances over here, it looks to me like he’s interested in more than fishin’,” Colleen smiled. “Not that I blame him. White looks really good on you. I’d love to be able to tan like that. I just burn and freckle. And to have your height—oh, my goodness—I’d live on the streets and eat out of garbage cans for that.”

  Ashley patted her shoulder possessively. “And if you were any taller, you wouldn’t look so cute with James.”

  The smell of steaks on the grill made my stomach set up a growl.

  “Hey, James,” Ashley called out across the yard. “She’s gettin’ hungry. Either hurry up or put on another steak.”

  “Or send Rocky out to kill an extra bull,” James laughed.

  “That is enough.” I told both of them.

  “Be warned, Rocky.” James ignored me and went on. “She can put away enough to feed Sherman’s march to the sea when she’s just snacking. When she’s really hungry, it’s Katy bar the door.”

  Colleen shook her head slowly. “If I was you, I don’t know if I’d poison him on Monday and watch him die a slow and torturous death or else kill him graveyard dead instantly. But please don’t do either one because my good black suit is too tight and I don’t want to attend his funeral. Besides I really like him and it would be nice to keep him around a while longer.”

  “Sometimes his Harley-Davidson mouth gets ahead of his Little Tykes behind, but I can see he’s met his match.” I smiled at her.

  James had pushed two picnic tables together and that made plenty of room for the eight of us. Everyone else seemed to be comfortable. As for me, little white hot sparks sent heat into every part of my body every time Rocky’s leg brushed against mine under the table. Or every time his fingers grazed mine as he passed the bread basket or the salt and pepper. By the evenings end, I was more than ready to go home and take a long cool shower.

  Rocky walked me to the door and caged me in with a hand on each side of my shoulders. I barely had time to moisten my lips before his dark lashes fluttered shut and lay on his high cheek bones like a fan. Then his mouth was on mine and the whole world stood still. We were the only two people in the state of Texas. Everyone else vanished right along with my determination to never trust another man. When the kiss ended, he stepped back and traced my lips with his finger.

  “Thank you for a lovely evening. I like your friends and your family,” he said. “They are all good people. You are lucky to have them in your life.”

  “Want to come inside for a cup of coffee?” I hoped that he couldn’t hear the breathlessness in my voice.

  “Love to,” he nodded.

  He followed me into the kitchen and filled the coffee pot while I measured out the grounds. My living room, kitchen and dining room are all an open area, so while we waited he laced his fingers into mine and led me to the sofa where he pulled me down beside him.

  With my hand in his, I swear, the temperature in the room jacked up ten degrees—maybe fifteen. “So I’ve been askin’ questions, meeting your family and friends and finding out things about you. It’s your turn.”

  My mind was flipping around like little kids on a jungle gym. My turn to do what? Lead him to the bedroom? Kiss him some more?

  Ask questions about him or Edward, that niggling voice in my head shouted.

  “Okay.” I said slowly trying to get my thoughts together. “Does Tamara work in the mortgage agency?”

  “No, she has a degree in elementary education. She loves kids and teaching but she’s taken time off to be a stay at home mother until Hannah is at least a year old. It could stretch until Hannah goes to preschool, though. I don’t expect her to go back to work any time soon, because she wants at least four kids. She says that having only child is the worse decision parents can make.”

  “I know what she means. I felt like an only child when Ashley went off to college. So does Edward’s wife work in the agency?”

  “Nope, Eva’s a CPA, but she only worked until Tamara was born. Ever since and Tamara and I were both little kids, she’s stayed home. She does charities and clubs and jumps when Tamara whines. But Tamara’s got a pretty decent nature even with all the spoiling. Eva dotes on her, and the new baby, Hannah, is going to be so rotten the garbage man
won’t even carry her away,” he laughed.

  “Whew,” I whistled through my teeth. “The lifestyles of the rich and famous. What about you? Are you so rich that they jump when you holler froggy.” She was amazed that they could talk civil to each other.

  “My folks are what you’d call comfortable, I guess. Mother is a nurse. Daddy is an engineer. Uncle Jasper was my idol so that’s why I went into business. My sister is doing her internship at the hospital right now. She’s going to be an emergency room doctor. She’s about Ashley’s size which is kind of small to be taking on the druggies and Saturday night gang fights, but she’s pretty spunky,” he said.

  “Really? And you are what, six four?”

  “She’s a small person like Mother. I’m tall like dad. Six-five to be exact. You saw my sister that night at Margaritaville. She was the dark haired lady who sat beside me.”

  So it wasn’t a brunette bimbo but his sister. It wasn’t the first time I’d been wrong but I did feel pretty danged foolish.

  “Edward?” I asked.

  “What about him? He’s close to sixty now. He was about thirty when he and Eva married and Tamara was born a few months later. They dated off and on for years. She had a temper and she was very jealous. Still does and still is but he loves her. They’re a good family, Jessica, and he’s a good man.”

  The coffee pot stopped gurgling. I started to pull my hand free but he held on, stood up with me and together we went back to the kitchen. I poured with my free hand and then he led me back to the living room and we sat down on the sofa again.

  “Now let’s talk about us,” he said. “I understand why you went into real estate but did you ever want to do anything else?”

  “I wanted to be a horse trainer when I was eight. Does that count?”

  He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “A woman after my own heart. I wanted to join the circus and ride bareback on horses when I was about that age.”

  We talked about crazy things, important stuff, ambitions, hopes and goals until after midnight. He kissed me goodnight and I slid down the backside of the door, wrapped my arms around my knees and wished I’d taken him to the bedroom.

  Crazy thinking, I know. But it had been a year and he was the perfect candidate for a two week fling. No muss, no fuss. Just a wild adventure to get him out of my mind and then he’d be gone, leaving me with nothing but some hot, steamy memories. It would be one of those consenting adult affairs but I wasn’t that woman. Never had been and I couldn’t start now. Either a relationship meant something or I didn’t fall into bed with a guy.

  * * * * *

  Peeta was curled up next to me and the sun coming through the window warmed my face. I could feel someone staring at me and for a moment, I didn’t know if Rocky was propped up on an elbow right beside me or if I’d only been dreaming. Slowly, I slid an eye open.

  Ashley was sitting in a chair beside the bed. My eyes popped open so fast that a pain shot through my head. “What are you doin’? Tryin’ to give me a heart attack?”

  “You’ve got a strong heart,” Ashley laughed. “At least you used to. It might be weakened by now. I heard that Rocky didn’t leave until after midnight. I’d like details.”

  “Go away.” I rubbed my eyes. “I’m not talking to anyone, yet.”

  “Always been an old bear early in the morning. Must have got that from Edward Rollin since me and Mama woke up happy every day.” She picked up Peeta and he went limp in her arms.

  “Don’t steal my cat. Just go away and let me sleep until noon.”

  “You are going to get up and go to church with me and my family. Danny asked Rocky to join us and to come to Sunday dinner at our house. We’re having pot roast and hot yeast rolls and I even made two pecan pies.”

  I pulled the covers over my head. Skipping church was not an option—not unless we were sick nigh unto death. Mama made sure of that even after we were grown and now that she was gone, Ashley had taken on the responsibility.

  “Send me back to Florida where no body knows me.”

  Ashley pulled the covers away and tossed them on the end of the bed. “Get up and get dressed. We’ve got one hour until services start. You can tell me all about what happened after the cook out while you dress. Coffee is brewing. I’ll bring you a cup while you get your eyes open.”

  “You probably know everything that happened then why did you wake me up? I can’t sneeze in this town without a dozen folks calling you to see if I’m sick.”

  “I want to know if he makes your heart do double time or if he gave you a case of vapors. You know, like James doesn’t do. I want to know if you’re going to fall in love with Rocky, and I want to know if I need to invest in tissue stock. Because if he breaks your little heart, then you’ll use up enough tissues blowing your nose that I could make a few dollars. Remember what happened when the last feller broke up with you for the tattoo queen?”

  “Don’t remind me.” I groaned as I slung my legs over the side of the bed. “I hated Rocky at first. You know that. I told you what an egotistical, pompous ass he was. But maybe we got off on the wrong foot. He’s really a nice guy but I’m not going to fall in love. I’ve only known him a week and most of that we spent not even liking each other.”

  I did not want to go to church. I sure didn’t want to be crammed up in a pew with Rocky next to me. I needed a few hours to digest everything that had happened, to think about my half sister, Tamara, and Edward some more and to analyze all the things that Rocky had told me.

  I wouldn’t admit it but Rocky did make my heart do double time but that wasn’t something that I was ready to admit—not even to Ashley.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Rocky held my hand from his truck to my porch where he eased down on the swing. “Dinner was amazing. I could get used to this lifestyle. I like your brother-in-law and your sister and their boys are great.”

  “Oh really? Wouldn’t you miss jogging on the beach, the sound of the ocean and wearing your fancy ties?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe, but I do like fishin’ in the bayou and I don’t miss five o’clock traffic.”

  “You’d be bored in six months if you made a change. Home is home and always will be. I like the beach and the sound and smell of the ocean but it only took a few days before I was homesick.” I told him.

  “Wouldn’t know unless I tried it.” He stood up and stretched. “I’m going to my hotel and taking a long nap before we go jogging this evening. Meet you at the bridge, like we were going to do last night before James invited us to the party?”

  “That’s good.” I covered a yawn with the back of my hand. “Five thirty. Bring your fishing gear and we’ll see if anything is biting. You’d best be careful though. They say that once you eat catfish from the bayou in Jefferson that you’ll always want to come back here.”

  “I’ll take my chances,” he chuckled and waved.

  Peeta rubbed around my legs when I went into the house and followed me to the bedroom where we both curled up on the bed for a Sunday afternoon nap. But sleep wouldn’t come, no matter how tightly I shut my eyes.

  My phone rang and I grabbed it from the nightstand. Man was I glad to see James’s picture come up on the screen. I answered it on the second ring.

  “Hey, what’s going on?”

  “We’re havin’ supper on the bayou. I’ll bring the caldron and oil. We’ll fry up whatever we catch right there on the banks. You bring the potatoes and Rocky,” he said. “Six thirty sound good. Oh, and the mosquitoes are gettin’ worse. Bring some of those candles that you use that keeps them away.”

  “We were plannin’ on going fishin’ so we’ll meet you about where we always go. We’re goin’ for a run first,” she said.

  “See you then,” James said.

  * * * * *

  The stars looked like twinkle lights on a Christmas tree and the moon was a big round, white ball suspended among them like the grand patriarch. The wind blew across my face and I tucked a long stand back into my po
ny tail. The red and white bobber glistened in the moonlight out there on the bayou. The black cast iron cauldron perched on a rack amidst a fire, and oil bubbled, ready for the first fish to be tossed in. One of my granny’s patchwork quilts was spread out on the ground with citronella candles on each corner.

  “I got the first one,” James yelled a few feet down the bayou.

  “Is it big enough to fry?” I asked.

  “Oh, yeah. Six more like this and we’ll have supper,” James said.

  “Ever done this before?” I asked Rocky, who was sitting only a few feet away to my left.

  “Nope, been deep sea fishing a million times and done lots of fishing but I’ve never cooked them right then,” Rocky answered. “You all do it often?”

  “A couple of times a year.” My bobber disappeared under the water but then came back to the surface. “More often when we were teenagers. There’s not a lot to do in Jefferson other than fish and steal watermelons.”

  “You stole watermelons?” He asked.

  “Hey, I was the best one of the whole group at figuring out which ones were ripe. We’d bring them down here under the cypress and willow trees and cool them in the water while we fished. Then they’d be our dessert after we had fried fish and potatoes for supper. Didn’t you ever do anything illegal?”

  “I didn’t steal.” He frowned.

  “Well, pardon me.” I did one of those head wiggles that annoyed both Mama and Ashley. “Know where we stole most of our melons? Right out of Fred’s patch. He’d rant and rave and carry on like he was going to kill the next kid who even looked at his fields, but I overheard him telling Mama years later that he watched us lots of times, and thought it was a hoot because I was right in the middle of all of it.”

  “You stole from your family friend?” Another frown.