“Hold on!”
I glanced over my shoulder and saw her standing at the entrance to her home. And damn, did she look as hot as she had before.
“I’ve got a dolly in here from when I moved,” she said. “Let me go grab it.”
Patters of rain fell on my hands, and the trees swayed in the increasing wind. “Don’t worry about it.” I wrapped my arms around the package and pulled it off the truck bed.
“How the hell are you lifting that thing all by yourself?” she asked, surprised.
“Just tell me where to put it.”
“Um, inside. Follow me.”
She went into the house, and I heard her frantically move things out of the way. I carried the box into the living room and set it on the floor, my muscles crying out in relief the moment it was out of my hands.
“What the heck is this?” she asked, gazing at the giant box.
I glanced at her and tried not to stare. Mandy was dressed in some comfy sweats that hugged her curvy figure. God, she looked good. I was still steamed at her from the stunt she’d pulled, but a woman as good-looking as her had a way of making a man want to bury the hatchet, so to speak.
“How should I know? It was meant for you, ended up at my place. You buy something earlier from that shop where you smacked into my truck?”
Her face reddened, as if she’d gotten caught up in the surprise of me showing up and had forgotten all about what had happened earlier. Silence passed, rain splattering on the windows, drumming lightly on the roof.
“Little Shop on the Corner,” she said, reading the label. “Lizzie must have sent me something.”
“That’s between you and Lizzie,” I said, my voice gruff. I couldn’t help but glance around the cabin, noticing school supplies, children’s books, and toys. She was a mom.
“Let me,” she said, grabbing a knife from the kitchen and approaching the box. “Let me just see what this is.”
“All the same to you,” I said. “I’m going to head—”
Before I could finish, she sliced open the box and let the cardboard sides fall to the ground. Mandy yanked away the Styrofoam, and once it was all gone, we were able to see a beautiful antique cupboard.
“Oh, Lizzie!” She smiled, putting her hands on her ample hips and stepping back. “But…” She stepped up to the thing and pressed her shoulder into it. She was trying to move the piece of furniture, but only succeeded at tilting it and making it nearly fall onto its side.
I rushed in and grabbed it, steadying the thing and putting it upright. “Hell!” I said, scolding her. “Be careful with something like this – you want it to crush you flat?”
Her gorgeous features, her deep green eyes that were the same color as the rain-soaked Firs outside, sparked. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I wanted. I wanted to be crushed. How did you know?”
I sighed, frustrated, but also a bit turned on by her spunk. “Where do you want this thing?”
She pointed to an empty spot on the wall. “I was planning on putting it right there. But I don’t need you to help.”
I wasn’t interested in arguing. I lifted the cupboard off the ground, carrying it over to the spot she’d pointed at. I set it down and stepped back, adjusting it a bit so it was flush against the wall.
“There,” I said. “Done.”
“I said you didn’t need to do that.” There was frustration in her voice, as if I’d done something wrong.
“Well it’s done now. I’ll be going.” I turned and headed for the door. I was eager to get away from Mandy Davis and her sparking green eyes.
But something told me my plans for solitude had just gotten thrown for a hell of a loop.
Mandy
It was Friday, and the drive home with Parker was one of total, icy silence. I was furious. The school had called, asking me to come pick him up early. And when I’d asked why, there’d been silence, followed by a ‘we should talk about that when you get here’.
“I’m hungry,” he said. “Can we get hamburgers?” We passed the Red Kettle, Parker’s fingertip on the window pointing to it as we drove.
“You’re in serious trouble, you know,” I said. “You think someone who’s been acting like you gets rewarded?”
He didn’t seem to give a damn about what had happened, the kind of trouble he’d gotten into at school.
“You’re new in town,” I continued. “We’re both new in town. Do you really think the best way to make friends here is by being a little bully?”
“I wasn’t being a bully,” he countered, his face angry. “And I don’t care if anyone here likes me.”
“Yeah, I can tell. If you did give a darn, you wouldn’t be picking fights with other students. Is that how I raised you? To be a mean little brat?”
“But they started it!” he griped loudly, his eyes widening as he looked over at me, indignation in his voice.
“You don’t fight! It’s just that simple!”
“But he hit me first!” he continued, indignant.
“I don’t care. You don’t hit. You walk away and go find a teacher.”
He opened his mouth to say something, and I could already tell it wasn’t going to be anything good.
“You’re already banned from anything with a screen, kiddo,” I reminded him. “Unless you want to be screenless and shut in your room for the weekend, you’d better be really, really smart about what you say next.”
He closed his mouth into a hard line, a scowl on his face.
“Good move,” I said.
As I made the turn toward our place, the phone rang. It was Lizzie, and I put the call on speaker. “What’s up?” I asked as the sun beamed through the branches of the trees overhead.
“Hey! We still on for dinner tonight? I was going to go by the Red Kettle and get some burgers and peach pie.”
Parker’s eyes lit up, and he looked at me with an expression of silent eagerness. I should’ve told her to pick up a salad and no dessert for the little troublemaker. But it was hard to go that far, knowing how difficult everything had been for him since the move.
“Sounds good,” I said. “But we’ve got someone here who’s on my bad guy list. And if he doesn’t clean up his act, you and I might be having some seconds.”
He gasped, as if the thought of not getting his burger and pie was totally unacceptable.
Lizzie laughed quietly. “Okay, fair enough. Be on your best behavior, got it little dude?”
“I will, Aunt Lizzie.”
“Alright,” Lizzie said. “I’ll be there around five.”
“See you then.”
We made the rest of the drive back to the house, and on the way there, we passed Hunter’s place. For a moment I could see his black truck through the trunks of the trees. But there was no sight of him.
It was strange. The guy was a jerk, rude and gruff. But he was nice enough to bring over the piece of furniture Lizzie had accidentally sent to him. Not to mention setting it up when I was struggling.
Who was this guy?
“Mom!”
Parker’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I glanced ahead to see I’d nearly missed the turnoff to the house. “Thanks, bud,” I said, slowing down and steering in the right direction.