His Wicked Mouth

by Jessica Mills

  Working with my hands was nice, too, in a way I didn’t expect. It had been over a year since I had been out in a field, sweat pouring down my body as I worked in the dirt with my hands. I was glad I brought an extra change of clothes in the truck as I wiped sweat off my brow with the arm of my shirt and looked up to see a giggling Annabelle.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You just wiped dirt all over your forehead,” she said, laughing.

  I grinned and bent back down to continue working. “Guess I’ll need a shower before we head out then.”

  I watched her blush and turn away, putting some of the harvest in a wheelbarrow and moving it farther along. When the sun began to set, she called it a night, and we headed back to the house. I ran to the truck, which Cassidy had grabbed from the tow lot early, and got my clothes out. As I walked inside, Annabelle was already in the bathroom and the water was running. I knocked on the door.

  “I’ll only be a minute,” she said over the sound of the water. The image of her body under the hot showerhead made my cock twitch.

  Moving over to the fridge, I grabbed the iced tea and made two glasses, one for her and one for myself and waited. When she came out already dressed but her hair wet, my body reacted, but I kept to myself. I needed the shower and we needed to get a move on to bring Hugh his dinner. Showering quickly, I got dressed and joined Annabelle in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and preparing the dinner. When it was all cooked, she packed it all into an old-fashioned picnic basket, complete with gingham blanket, and we stuffed it into the truck.

  I walked around to open the door for her, and as I did, she pecked me on the cheek. It was small and simple, but it made me light-headed as I walked around to the driver’s side and got in.

  “Want some music?” I asked as I turned the ignition.

  She nodded and flipped on the radio. An old country tune blared from the speakers and she turned it up as I drove away toward the hospital.

  Chapter 30

  Annabelle

  The energy around my father’s hospital room didn’t seem as tense and cautious when Garrett and I got to his floor. The nurses gathered around the station were casual, talking and laughing. If they had acted that way the night Daddy came into the hospital, I knew I would be furious.

  But that night, it was reassuring. If they were feeling that at ease and relaxed, it had to mean he was doing well and wasn’t in any immediate danger. They hadn’t called me, and the most logical part of my brain knew if something serious had actually happened, they would have gotten in touch with me. But there was still the little voice in the back of my mind that questioned if they would think about it.

  I worried they would get so wrapped up in taking care of him and managing the immediate crisis they would forget to let me know. The thought made my stomach drop. I hated the idea of him having to be alone in the hospital at all, but it was completely unacceptable to consider he might go through something challenging or dangerous without me there by his side.

  One of the nurses who I recognized from the night before gave me a bright smile when she noticed Garrett and me coming out of the elevator.

  “Hey, Annabelle,” she said. “How are you doing this evening?”

  “Doing okay,” I said. “How is everything around here? Is Daddy doing all right?”

  “He’s giving us a run for our money,” she said.

  That didn’t sound good and I lifted my eyebrows. “Is something wrong?”

  She laughed and a couple of the other nurses joined in. “Not at all. I wouldn’t say he’s ready to jump up to his feet and start running marathons or anything, but he’s recovering extremely well. He’s been asking if I’ll let him get up and roam around the hospital, and he’s putting up quite the fuss about the food.”

  I laughed. “That, I can definitely believe. If he’s complaining about the food, then he’s definitely feeling better.”

  “I thought you told me he promised he was going to work harder on his diet and do what you told him to do,” Garrett said.

  “He did,” I said. “And I’m pretty sure he actually meant it. But in his mind, that promise doesn’t really go into effect until he’s out of the hospital and back home. If he’s here, he’s not actually following my instructions, and he never said anything about doing what the doctor told him.”

  Garrett laughed. “I knew there was something about him I liked.”

  I gave Garrett a playful swat and shook my head.

  “Is he awake?” I asked. “Can I go in and see him?”

  “Absolutely,” she said. “Go ahead. He’ll be happy to see you.”

  I walked down the hallway toward my father’s room and noticed Garrett hesitate. I paused and turned around to look at him with a questioning expression. “Aren’t you coming?”

  “Maybe I should just hover around here and wait for you,” he said.

  I took a couple of steps toward him, searching his face. “Garrett Montgomery, is that fear I hear in your voice?”

  “No,” he said. “I’m not afraid of him. I just would rather not have to deal with the ranting of a man in a hospital bed. There’s no competing with that. No matter what, I would come out looking like the jackass.”

  I laughed and shook my head again. “That’s not going to happen. Just be your charming self and he will have no reason to rant at you.”

  “My charming self?” Garrett asked. “Have you met me?”

  “Yes, I have,” I said, pressing my body to the front of him and tilting back so I could look into his face. “And I happen to find you very charming. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

  He grinned and leaned down to kiss the tip of my nose. “It counts for everything.”

  “Good,” I said. “Then you’re coming along with me. It’s bad enough I have to drive my own truck back to the farm rather than being able to ride with you. I don’t want you hovering around out here wasting the time we could be spending together.”

  It sounded really corny when it actually came out of my mouth than it did when I thought it through. Fortunately, Garrett didn’t say anything about it. He just took my hand and let me lead him down the hallway to my father’s room.

  The door was standing partially closed, so I knocked on it quickly before poking my head inside.

  “Daddy?” I asked. “Can we come in?”

  “Of course, you can,” he said from the room.

  At some point, one of the doctors or nurses checking on him had pulled the curtain part way closed around the bed, so I couldn’t see him. I walked up to it and pushed the curtain out of the way so I could approach my father’s bed. It was good to see him sitting almost all the way up.

  “Oh,” he said almost like he was disappointed. “You took my canopy away.”

  “Your canopy?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he said. “After that nurse closed the curtain, I decided I was going to pretend I was sleeping in one of those big fancy canopy beds you see kings and queens using in books. They always have those big curtains with the gold tassels that they pull down around their bed at night. That’s what it felt like with those curtains around.”

  I stared at him for a few seconds. “Daddy, is that the medication talking, or have you just gotten a bad case of cabin fever?”

  “Well, I have to do something to keep my mind occupied while I’m locked up in here, don’t I?” he asked.

  I let out a breath of relief. “So, cabin fever. I can deal with that.”

  “Who else do you have with you?” he asked.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “When you got to the door, you said can we come in. Where is your we?”

  I turned around and noticed Garrett hadn’t followed me all the way into the room. He was still hesitating out of the door.

  “It’s Garrett,” I said.

  “Garrett Montgomery?” he asked as if he hadn’t just had dinner with the man a couple of nights before.

  “Well, of course, it’s Garrett Montg
omery,” I said. “What other Garrett do you know of?”

  I gestured for Garrett to come the rest of the way into the room, and he reluctantly obliged.

  “How are you doing this evening, sir?” he asked.

  “Doing fine,” Dad said.

  It was obvious he wasn’t exactly thrilled Garrett was around. I didn’t want to hover over the two men too much. They needed to get used to each other, no matter how uncomfortable it might be. So, I just stood there and let the conversation unfold as it was going to. My father ended up laughing at a couple of jokes and I could see just how much effort Garrett was putting in. I appreciated it so much.

  “So, Garrett,” my father said after a few minutes of them loosening up around each other. “What has you all mottled and bruised? Not that I’m all too unfamiliar with you looking that way.”

  “Daddy,” I said sharply.

  He shrugged and Garrett laughed.

  “It’s fine,” he said. “He’s telling the truth. People around here probably are only used to seeing me in the middle of a fight or right after one. Some of them might not even recognize me without a few bruises and cuts. As for this particular collection, most of it comes from Roy Hayes.”

  I knew exactly why Garrett decided to tell my father that part of the story. Daddy’s reaction confirmed it. His jaw clenched and he shook his head, making a disapproving sound.

  “Those damn Hayes people,” he said. “When are the people of Green Valley going to recognize that family is nothing but a nuisance and figure out a way to get them out of town so the rest of us can live our lives in some semblance of peace?”

  There it was. The common thread that would help the two men connect with each other outside of both of them having a strong relationship with me.

  “You have me there,” Garrett said. “I know I haven’t exactly been the most angelic of its citizens, and I’ve given the police department plenty of grief over the years, but the Hayes family is horrible. They cause nothing but turmoil around this town. Now seeing Roy as the sheriff’s deputy just makes me a little bit sick.”

  “As it should,” Daddy said. “They’re all bad seeds. Every single one of them. Including that sister of theirs. I know for a fact they gave your father a lot of trouble for no reason other than pure envy. That Hayes father has been as green as the grass on the fields of yours he wants so much.”

  “He most certainly did,” Garrett said. “In some ways, we’re still recovering from it.”

  I listened to the two of them bond over how much they both disliked the Hayes family and the chaos that they seemed to leave in their wake no matter where they went. They were finally in a comfortable, easy conversation and I just let it keep unfolding it.

  It was good to hear them talking and know they did have the capacity for getting along. After the conversation Garrett and I had, I knew there was no more hiding our relationship or trying to act like nothing was happening between us. God willing, Garrett and my father would be spending considerably more time together in the very near future. It was a good time for a dry run.

  We visited there in my father’s room for a little more than an hour before it was time to go. We said our goodbyes and I started out of the room. I didn’t get all the way before I heard my father’s voice behind me.

  “Annabelle?” he asked. “Can you come back and sit with me for a moment?”

  I looked over and saw that Garrett had already walked out of the room. Fortunately, we had made plans for meeting up later.

  “Is everything all right?” I asked when I came back. I sat down in the chair next to his bed and reached for his hand, expecting some sort of revelation or deep moment between the two of us.

  “It’s about that Montgomery boy,” he said, dashing my dreams of everything really going smoothly.

  “His name is Garrett. I know he isn’t exactly your image of the perfect man for me, but we’ve been enjoying spending time together recently. I’m pretty confident he considers us a couple.”

  “Annabelle, I trust you,” my father said, cutting me off.

  “You do?” I asked, somewhat incredulously.

  “Yes,” he said. “I know you, and I trust you to make good choices in life. Perhaps I judged Garrett too harshly right off the bat because of his family.”

  I kissed Dad on the cheek again, thanked him, and told him I would be back the next day.

  “How much longer do I have to stay here?” Dad asked.

  “Well, I did get some more information from the doctor and your nurses. They talked to me about how you are recovering and what was happening to you. They told me unless you have some serious emergency tonight, you can come home with me tomorrow.”

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Really,” I said.

  He smiled and settled back into his pillows like he had been tense and almost sitting up the entire time.

  “Thank goodness for that.”

  I gave him another kiss to his cheek. “You sleep well. Get all patched up and I’ll be back for you tomorrow. I love you.”

  I leaned down and gave him another kiss on his forehead before walking out into the hallway where Garrett was waiting.

  “Drive me home?” I asked, taking his hands and pulling them around me.

  “I thought you were going to pick up your truck and drive it home,” he said.

  “I know,” I said. “But I’d rather you bring me.”

  He smiled. “Anytime.”

  Chapter 31

  Garrett

  As we drove back home, Annabelle leaned over to rest her head on my arm. I smiled at the comfort of that gesture. It was more than just the chemistry that clearly existed between the two of us, the attraction to one another that sparked and sparkled whenever we spoke, or our fingers glancing across the other’s. It was a sincere, calming happiness. A contentment. Even with her father in the hospital and the massive amount of work she was looking at having to complete now that she was running the farm on her own, she felt comfortable enough with me to close her eyes and lay her head on my shoulder. It was trust. Someone trusted me.

  It hit me in that moment that I wasn’t sure anyone had ever trusted me that much.

  We pulled into the driveway of her farm, and I noticed another car there. I decided not to say anything about it since I didn’t know if she had called someone to watch the house while she was gone or something. When she put the key in the door and turned the knob though, I let out a laugh at the scene that played out in front of me.

  Lying on the couch, a heavy fleece blanket wrapped tightly around her, leaned forward and throwing popcorn into her mouth was Annabelle’s friend Bridget. Bridget froze. Annabelle froze. I tried to stifle the laughter that bubbled up at the sight of Bridget, her hair in a messy bun, makeup only partially wiped away so she had raccoon eyes, wearing pajamas that read “Hot Lips” repeated all over them.

  “Oh,” Bridget said as she looked back and forth between me and Annabelle.

  “Bridget,” Annabelle said. Her eyes were wide, and she tried to very sneakily gesture toward me. I didn’t let on that I saw it. She had a massive fake smile plastered to her face, and she spoke through her teeth.

  “Oh,” Bridget said again, seemingly at a loss for other words.

  “Hi, Bridget,” I said, raising my hand to wave at her. She slowly raised her own and waved back, either struck by horror or embarrassment. Probably both. Probably horror at her own embarrassment.

  “So I…” Bridget began, her eyes not leaving Annabelle’s. Annabelle began to nod to encourage her, and Bridget nodded back as she searched for the words. “I was just leaving!”

  “Are you sure?” I teased. “You look mighty comfy. Is that kettle or butter popcorn?”

  “Butter,” she said, muttering but not looking at me.

  “Why don’t you and I go into the kitchen, Garrett?” Annabelle said, suddenly turning to me and placing both hands on my chest. I knew if I didn’t start moving, she was going to pull me, so I leaned
into it, and we started walking directly across the room. As we went through the arch into the kitchen, I could hear Bridget hastily run for the bathroom.

  “I am so sorry,” Annabelle said as we got into the kitchen.

  “No, it’s fine. Really. If you’d rather hang out here with her tonight, I totally understand. I can come back tomorrow.” I might be disappointed not to spend that time with her, but after everything she had been through, I couldn’t begrudge her other best friend offering to have a movie night. If I had any friends anymore, I would probably want the same thing in her shoes.

  “I don’t think that’s necessary,” Annabelle said. “You could stay, watch a movie with us, maybe?”

  “Only if that’s what you want,” I said.

  “It’s part of what I want,” she said and suddenly went beet red.

  I smiled and pulled her in close to me, touching a kiss to her lips. “Me too. But I can deal with a night of watching chick flicks with your friend too, if that will make you happy.”

  She smiled and we kissed again, only breaking it off when Bridget cleared her throat in the arch leading to the living room. She was still in her “hot lips” pajama pants but had changed into a regular T-shirt and had wiped off all the makeup.

  “So, I think I can go ahead and head out,” she said.

  “Oh, no, Bridget, it’s fine,” I said. “If you girls had plans, I can totally see her again later.”

  “No, Garrett, there were no plans,” she said. “Really, I was just keeping her company tonight, and if you’re here, then three’s a crowd.”

  “Bridget, you can stay,” Annabelle said, but there was a hint of something in her voice. Like she wasn’t entirely behind the words she was saying. Bridget seemed to pick up on it, and I wondered if the two of them had some psychic link I wasn’t aware of.

  “No, its fine,” Bridget said. “I have an early day tomorrow anyway. I should get to bed early, and then I can come over tomorrow after work. That sound good, Annabelle?”