My hair and beard were out of control, thick and long. Hard to believe only a short time ago my hair was short and neat and my face clean-shaven. Seemed like a million years in the past.
I heard a sound like a knock, and I frowned. At first, I was sure I was hearing things, or that it was some animal in the woods. But then it sounded again. Someone was at the door.
“Mr. Anderson?” A kid’s voice.
I wrapped the towel around my waist and hurried out of the bathroom, striding toward the door, eager to find out what was going on. In the middle of another series of knocks, I opened the door…and stared open-mouthed at Mandy and Parker
“What are you doing here?” I asked, sounding grumpy.
“Good morning,” she said with a smile pasted on her face.
“Good morning, Mr. Anderson!” Parker said, also grinning.
Mandy’s eyes widened as she noticed I was nearly naked, her gaze making outlines of my physique. “Oh, sorry,” she stammered. “Is this a bad time?”
“Can’t think of a good one.”
Parker’s expression fell, as if he’d realized that he might’ve made a mistake by coming to visit. As much as I didn’t give a damn what anyone thought – kid or adult – there was some part of me that wanted to reach out to him.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, turning my attention to Parker. I dropped into a squat, bringing myself to eye level with him. “How’s the knee, big man?”
He seemed relieved I wasn’t mad that he’d shown up. “Good,” he said. “Doesn’t hurt at all.”
“That’s because you’re tough as heck,” I replied. “I can tell just by looking at you. You’re just the kind of dude your mom’s going to need out here in the woods.”
The kid’s face lit up as bright as the sun as if he’d never been encouraged in that way before. I had no doubt his mother was good to him, but moms never knew exactly what little boys want to hear, that they were invincible superheroes.
I mussed his hair and rose, glancing down at Mandy and seeing the foil-covered plate in her hands. And God, did she look good. Even in her simple outfit of jeans and a cable-knit sweater, she was like something out of a dream.
Hell, after last night she was something out of a dream.
Her hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail, putting her stunning face on full display. I didn’t say anything, waiting for her to explain why she was there.
She raised the plate after I raised a questioning eyebrow. “I, um, we made you something – for what you did for Parker yesterday.” She peeled back the foil, revealing a plate stacked full of cookies. “Chocolate chip and walnut,” she said with a nervous smile. “Hope you’re not lactose intolerant. Or nut intolerant, I guess.”
“I’m not. But I don’t need those. Keep ‘em for him.” I nodded at Parker.
“I already had a bunch,” Parker said. “They’re really good.”
“And he helped,” Mandy said pointedly, giving me a look that worked as a hint. “And was looking forward to bringing them over.”
Well, shit. Part of me wanted to tell Mandy to take her cookies and get moving, to let her know loud and clear there was no friendship to be built. But Parker… Seeing that kid fucking beaming up at me made me realize I’d break his damn heart if I were to turn them down.
“Much appreciated,” I said, taking the plate out of Mandy’s hands. My skin brushed against hers as I took it, the sensation more intense than I was expecting.
“Try them!” Parker encouraged. “They’re awesome.”
Mandy smiled and shrugged as if to say you heard the man. I took one of the cookies and bit into it. They were damn delicious – moist and chewy.
“Not bad, kid,” I said. “Good enough to eat.”
“Mr. Anderson,” Parker said. “Can we—”
My phone rang. “I have to get that,” I said, cutting him off. I grabbed my phone and saw it was Hugh. “Thanks,” I said, lifting the plate slightly. “But I got a day ahead of me.”
Mandy nodded. “And thanks again to you. Glad to know that there’s someone around here I can count on.”
My phone kept on buzzing in my hand. I didn’t know what to say to that. “Sure,” was the word that finally came out. “And take care, big man.”
Parker beamed again and waved goodbye.
I shut the door and leaned back against it, the plate of cookies in one hand, the buzzing phone in the other. The encounter had been…depleting – no other word to describe it.
“Did you see how big he was?” I heard Parker ask. “I bet he could knock down a tree just by punching it!”
“I, um, saw,” Mandy said, their voices fading as they left the property.
“Do you think he can come over sometime?” Parker said. “And play PlayStation?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t seem like…”
And that was all I could make out before their voices faded into the distance. The phone stopped buzzing in my hand, only to start again a few moments later.
“What’s up?” I asked, bringing it to my ear.
“Just checking in,” Hugh said. “How’re things on your end?”
I tore my thoughts away from Mandy and Parker and focused on the call, snatching clothes that I’d wear for the day. “Fine. And you don’t need to check in, Hugh. I’m not some kid on vacation away from home for the first time.”
“You know what I mean, smartass. Just want to make sure you’re not up in that cabin working through bottle after bottle of whiskey until you pass out hard enough for the wolves to start looking at you like a snack.”
I stepped into a pair of rugged jeans, then pulled a black T-shirt on over my head as we chatted. “Not planning on drinking myself to death up here.”
“Then what are you planning on doing? You got a job yet?”
“Working at the auto shop. Got my first shift in a couple of hours.”
“Good. That’s really good,” Hugh mused. “Work there for a while, become a known face to the town, and you’ll be fine.”
“Hugh, this isn’t some way of tricking me into making friends or some shit, is it?”
He laughed. “Nah, bud. You want to be a damn hermit, go for it. Not what I think is best, but that’s your call. I know what you’ve been through – I can understand.”
“Some neighbor stopped by, this woman and her kid.”
“That right?”
“That’s right. Guess it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for one of the neighbors to at least know who I am.”
“Right,” he said. “Because if you’re a total unknown entity they’re all going to start suspecting you the moment anything in goes wrong in that town.”
“I get it.” I grabbed my watch from the top of one of the boxes and checked the time. “Got to get moving, first shift.”
“Got it. I’ll probably swing into town this weekend. We can grab a bite on Sunday.”
“Sounds good.” I hung up and tucked my phone into my jeans pocket.
And immediately started thinking of her again.