For some reason, the gift caused her heart to ache in ways she’d never thought possible. He might not be here with her, but his vegetables were his way of telling her that he was still there, still cared for her. She picked up the heavy basket and brought it into her kitchen, lowering her face so that she could breathe in the earthy scents. Ensuring that the doors were locked and the curtains drawn on the windows, she walked upstairs to her bedroom. But for the past two weeks, she’d slept in Derick’s arms. In his bed. Right now, the air mattress and sleeping bag looked…anemic. Pathetic.
After showering and pulling on yet another annoyingly large tee shirt, Carrie slipped into the sleeping bag, but couldn’t sleep. Instead, she stared at the ceiling, wondering where he was. She pictured jungles and deserts, guns and bad guys chasing him. It was almost dawn when she remembered that Derick was a capable man. He’d caught her up in his arms yesterday with barely any effort. And he’d carried her up the stairs to his bedroom. His strength was always controlled. But she didn’t think he’d control himself if some bad guy tried to hurt him.
Rolling over, she pulled her pillow closer. It was no substitute for Derick’s warmth, but at least she could fall asleep now, knowing that he could handle anything that came at him.
Chapter 11
“Can I help you?” Carrie called out to the two beautiful women standing on her front porch.
The ladies turned around, startled to find her behind them instead of in the house. “Oh! Hello!” the one with dark brown hair said. As Carrie watched, the two women came down the wooden steps, back into the still hot, evening sunshine. “Are you Jolene?” the one with startling green eyes asked. She was also about five month’s pregnant and glowing. That old phrase about pregnant women seemed trite, but was shockingly accurate.
“I am,” Carrie replied, taking off her work glove and extending her hand.
“I’m Abby Fisher,” the woman replied. “And this is Lexie Cain.”
“It’s great to meet both of you,” she lied, feeling grubby in their presence. Abby looked sophisticated and beautiful in her casual sundress and summer heels. Lexie wore a pair of cute shorts that showed off her amazing derriere and long legs. In contrast, Carrie was dressed in her normal baggy jeans and baggy tee shirt, feeling dumpy and definitely outclassed.
“Derick asked us to check in on you,” Lexie explained, pushing her sunglasses onto her head, revealing beautiful blue eyes and long, dark lashes. “He said he was worried about you, but,” she glanced behind her at the newly painted house and laughed, “You clearly are capable of just about anything you set your mind to.”
Her words caused most of Carrie’s animosity to dissipate. Her tense shoulders relaxed and she smiled slightly. “Um…well, I’m not sure what to say.”
Lexie pulled a bottle out of her purse and lifted it up into the air. “Why don’t you invite us in for a drink?” she asked.
Abby lifted a plastic container filled with what Carrie suspected were cookies. “She brought the booze, and I brought the cookies!”
Carrie stared at the box of cookies, thinking back to last week. “Please tell me those are Zeke’s cookies,” she whispered with reverence and hope.
Abby laughed. “They are. He’s my husband.” She patted her stomach. “This pregnancy is driving him crazy, and he bakes to relax. That means I’m constantly surrounded by baked goods.”
Lexie laughed, rolling her eyes. “He’s a bit nuts,” she whispered conspiratorially to Carrie.
“He is,” Abby nodded. “But he’s my glorious nut case.”
Both ladies laughed and the sound was so infectious that Carrie couldn’t help but smile. Plus, she was so tired of being sad and desolate because Derick was gone.
“Would you like to come inside?” she asked, hoping that they might want to stay and chat for a bit. Carrie hadn’t realized how much she’d like the company until the thought of them just dropping off the wine and cookies occurred to her. “I mean, I don’t have a lot of furniture, but…”
Abby perked up. “Derick warned us about that. Why don’t we go sit on his back porch? It’s shaded at this time of the day, plus he has those fans to cool things off.”
Carrie brightened at the idea. Any reason to be close to Derick was a good thing, in her mind. “That sounds great,” she replied, then hesitated. “Um…I should probably jump into the shower first.”
She was covered in mud and dirt – literally, it was all over her jeans, boots and even up to her elbows. Carrie suspected that there was even dirt on her face.
“What have you been working on?” Lexie asked.
“Oh, nothing really,” she replied, not ready to admit what she’d been doing.
Abby and Lexie looked at her with matching secret smiles. “Right. Okay, well, if you’re not going to tell us your secret, we might as well dive into these cookies. But they are caramel apple or something like that,” Abby explained. “So hurry up and come on over to Derick’s back porch and there might be some cookies left over for you.”
Lexie laughed, shaking her head. “She’s pregnant. So, she’s not kidding!”
The pair headed towards Derick’s yard, obviously familiar with the house. Carrie watched, admiring the way the two ladies leaned their heads together, as if their friendship was close and intimate. Her heart ached for a friendship like that.
Turning away, she reminded herself that she would have to leave soon. The threat against her was too strong to ever stay in one place for long.
But for now, for this moment, she was going to relax her guard and just enjoy being with potential friends.
With that in mind, she hurried into her house, stripped off her clothes as soon as the door closed behind her, leaving the filthy, sweaty mess piled just inside the door. She’d collect her dirty clothes later. She raced up the stairs and jumped into the shower.
When she was clean, Carrie pulled on the pretty sundress she’d worn that first night with Derick. She swished her hips playfully, feeling feminine as the short skirt danced around her thighs. Instead of drying her hair, she simply pulled it up on top of her head and slipped on sandals, then went to meet the two ladies.
“That was fast!” Lexie called out, pouring some wine into a glass, which she handed to Carrie as she stepped up onto Derick’s porch.
“Thank you!” Carrie said, accepting the glass and taking a sip. “Oh, this is good!” she whispered, sitting down in one of the porch chairs.
“Why don’t you have furniture at your place?” Abby asked, sitting with a glass of lemonade in one hand and the other resting over her gently pregnant belly.
“Oh, I’m only here long enough to renovate the house. I’ll sell it for a profit, then move on.”
There was a long pause as both ladies stared at her. “Does Derick know this?” Lexie asked.
“About you moving on?” Abby clarified.
Carrie glanced away, unaware of the longing on her face, which the other two immediately recognized. “I don’t know. We never talk about the future.” When she turned to look back at them, she said, “We’re only neighbors.”