Cupid's Heart: Western Contemporary Small Town Romance (Return to Cupid Book 6)

by Sylvia McDaniel

  He knew Cody must have seen Chloe at some point. She was coming from his direction. And the turd not saying anything before Drew bumped into her didn’t make him happy.

  “No,” she said, biting her lip.

  Suddenly it dawned on him, she had no keys, no cell phone, nothing. "Are you going to be able to get into your house?"

  "Of course, I'm quite capable of breaking and entering," she said.

  "You're always welcome to stay at my place," he said with a grin.

  "Thanks for the offer. Sleeping over at your house. Every girl's dream for Drew Lawrence to ruin her reputation."

  What could he say? So he was known as a man who liked women. Why wouldn't he? Beautiful and so easily manipulated, women adored him until they learned he never intended to marry. Even after doing the Cupid Stupid dance.

  "Since I'm staying at the Cupid Inn Love Nest Bed and Breakfast, I hardly think Mabel Underwood would let me bring in women. And most especially not the preacher's daughter."

  "You'd have a hard time sneaking someone past that lady," she said with a laugh.

  They drove along in silence.

  "Thank you for rescuing me. The ladies in my father's congregation would rip me to shreds for dancing around the Cupid sculpture. Particularly, since they're trying to rid the city of the statue."

  "Why?" he asked, wondering why anyone would want to destroy the town's history.

  With a shake of her golden curls, her brows raised as she glared at him, indignation flashing in her deep blue eyes. "To protect their children. They are prevailing on my father to force the town council to remove Cupid so their kids will never be tempted to dance in the town square in the buff."

  "I know Ryan, the sheriff, would like it gone, but everyone else thinks it has magical powers," Drew said, remembering how Cody and his sister insisted the God of Love brought them together. Even his brothers Jim and Kyle were happy, either in wedded bliss or preparing a wedding because of their dance.

  Gazing at the scantily clad woman, he realized that according to the legend, she would be his love, but he didn't believe in legends or superstitions. Facts were what he relied on, and it took a lot more than seeing an unclothed lady to make him give up his bachelor ways and settle on just one woman.

  The preacher's daughter was not exactly who he imagined himself with. Maybe a model or an actress or a rich socialite.

  "Stop here," she said. “This is my place.”

  "Do you need help?"

  She laughed. "You've been gone a long time, Drew. For two years, I've remodeled houses. I’m capable of finding a way into a house."

  "Just wanted to make sure you had a place to spend the night."

  "I'm fine." With a toss of her blonde hair, she stared at him. "How many times have you lifted a hammer?"

  "I defend the people who commit breaking and entering and find themselves looking between metal bars. So, if you need someone to bail you out of jail, I'm the man you call."

  "I'll keep that in mind. In the meantime, with my background, could this be our secret?"

  He shrugged. "Tonight I'll consider as attorney client privilege and no one needs to know about what occurred while we danced around the fountain."

  If this became public knowledge, they would both suffer consequences he didn't want to explore. Nothing like having the whole town up in arms against him because they believed he'd taken advantage of Chloe.

  "Thanks," she said. "Guess I better go. I'll get your shirt back to you."

  Nodding, he gave her his best seductive smile. "We'll always have Cupid."

  "Oh yes," she said, getting out of the car, a flash of her long silky legs tempting him. "By the way, nice junk."

  Laughing, he replied. "Right back at you. Great tits and ass."

  And they were. All she had to do was say the word and they would be sharing more than a naked dance around Cupid.

  With a slam of the car door, he sadly concluded the evening was over as he watched her make her way up the drive.

  Like a gentleman, he waited until the lights came on in the back of the house before he drove off. With more curves than a mountain highway, Chloe Kilian came with a lot of expectations and he wasn't a man who did well with assumptions.

  Especially ones that featured a wedding ring.

  Chapter 2

  The next morning at church, Chloe walked past the group of mothers trying to persuade people to sign the petition to remove the Cupid statue. Their opposition was one of the many reasons she decided the time had come to take a chance on the superstition and learn if she could meet someone and fall in love.

  Only that completely backfired and she'd run into the one man in town she never would have considered as a potential mate. Last night's adventure left her filled with mixed emotions. Disappointment in who she met, fear of getting caught, and humor at the serious lawyer whose snappy one liners kept her on her toes.

  She blushed as she remembered his last words. No, she shouldn't have said nice junk, but her curiosity overcame her inhibitions. Everything had been out there in the open for anyone to see.

  Her experience with men's genitalia was from textbooks and last night she ogled his member curious as to what one looked like. From her limited perspective, his was not extraordinary, but wasn't bad.

  Tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder, she was heading to the parking lot when she froze in her tracks, her breath catching, her heart racing. Drew Lawrence strode toward her in that determined stride of his that screamed confidence. What was he doing here?

  A tantalizing smile crossed his face as he reached her inside the vestibule. "Good morning, sunshine. You look lovely today, though I did enjoy what you were wearing last night."

  A trickle of alarm started at the base of her spine and traveled upward causing her lungs to seize. A frown drew her brows together. Oh my, she hoped he hadn't come here to rat her out. That would certainly create a stir among the members.

  "Why are you here?"

  "Why else, coming to church," he said indignant. "Listening to the word of God."

  "Why? You've never been here before."

  The man must have an ulterior motive and she prayed it didn't involve blackmail.

  "I just moved back to town. My family attended this church many years ago, before my mother's death."

  That was true. The recollection of his mother and all his brothers and sister attending when they were all innocent kids returned. Before her own mother passed away.

  "Okay," she said, wondering at his real purpose for being here. "Welcome to the congregation."

  "Thanks," he said. "Do you need a ride home? I'd be happy to take you."

  Gazing at him. ”On Sunday, I dine with my father. It's kind of a tradition."

  "Won't he question why you can't drive?"

  A frown gathered between her eyes. The thought had occurred to her, but she didn't want to admit to her father why she didn't have her car. “This morning I walked to church. But I also have a spare key to my car.”

  "It's raining outside."

  She glanced out and sure enough a steady stream of rain came down.

  "Well, rats!"

  "If you need me to, I can take you home."

  With a glance, she noticed the moms against cupid watching the two of them. At the memory of what she and Drew had done the night before, she wondered what the ladies would think of the two of them dancing naked around the statue. The image brought a smile to her face.

  "Usually my father and I go out to lunch on Sunday."

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father walking up to the two of them. Reaching out, he shook Drew's hand, but she saw the telltale frown on his face and the glint of warning in his gaze. Drew would never be on the please date my daughter list of eligible suitors. And her father would never approve of her chatting alone to the known womanizer in town.

  "Good to see you, Drew."

  "Thank you, Reverend Kilian. I'm back in Cupid to stay," he said.

 
; "Then we'll be looking forward to having you in church," he replied, taking Chloe by the arm. "Are you ready?"

  "Yes," she said. "Nice to talk to you."

  He smiled at her. "Hope I run into you again."

  What could she say? She knew exactly what he was referring to and it had nothing to do with seeing him in church. The man's wicked streak ran like a river and according to the legend, he was her true love.

  When they arrived at the restaurant, Chloe hurried inside out of the rain. The only sit-down eating place in town, the eatery on Sunday after church was always a busy time.

  "Reverend," Judy Holloway called, strolling to her father. Chloe put on her best fake smile while cringing internally. The woman chased her father faster than a hooker on crack. Like the position of pastor's wife was a job application, she sidled up next to Chloe's father.

  "Happy Sunday," her father said.

  "The ladies and I would like to know if you would ask the members to sign the petition to remove the Cupid statue. We're still at least two hundred names short."

  "Of course," her father said.

  Turning to her, Chloe’s insides chilled like an artic front passing through. She didn't like this woman. Never had. And she realized before she ever opened her mouth, Holloway’s question and no one would like her response.

  "Chloe, I was hoping you could take the petition into your Sunday morning class and ask everyone to get behind us."

  Why did people assume your opinion was the same as theirs about things like religion, politics, and even personal choices? Wouldn't you find out their beliefs before you asked them to do a task like this.

  "Judy, I restore historical homes and I'm a fan of historical events. That statue was placed in the city square by the founding father of our town. While you may not like the superstition attached to the boy in a diaper, the legend is part of the town's heritage. I can't condone removing our past."

  The woman's eyes widened and she stared at Chloe like an extra head had grown from her skull, spouting evil.

  "Our teenagers are stripping off their clothes and exposing themselves to one another as they dance around the statue."

  "Maybe their parents need to have more control over them. Though, I have to say the human body was created by our Lord and Savior and we shouldn't be ashamed of what he's given us."

  Her father cleared his throat, which was his signal she'd gone too far. "I'll mention it again next Sunday and we'll put it in the newsletter. This should be each member’s decision. We don't want our children doing harmful things that lead them into a life of sin."

  Judy gave her a look that said Chloe owned a one-way ticket straight to hell.

  After the woman walked away, her father sighed. "As my daughter, you should learn the art of diplomacy."

  "So, I should lie and tell her I'll get her signatures when all I would do is throw them in the trash."

  There was no way she would help this group of frightened women who feared their children might partake in the Cupid superstition. Several of the mothers probably danced around Cupid in their past. From first-hand experience, she knew it didn't work. It was a silly story that would get you into trouble. But she would not help them take down the God of Love.

  "No, you just say, I'm sorry, but I don't want the statue removed. Leave it at that."

  "You're right, but sometimes I enjoy watching the reaction when I say something they consider outrageous."

  What would her father think if he knew about her Cupid dance? Growing up in the church, she was watched for any little indiscretion. After her mother died, Chloe suddenly had an army of women determined she would grow up correctly.

  Which only made her rebel, but in her own private way. After college, she donned a pair of jeans, picked up a hammer and went to work restoring rundown houses. The love of transforming something downfallen into a beautiful living space gave her joy.

  "My biggest fear has been you would decide to dance without your clothing around Cupid and get caught. The telephone would ring in the middle of the night and the sheriff would tell me my daughter has been arrested for public nudity."

  Chloe had just taken a sip of water and she choked, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. What could she say? Your nightmare almost came true last night.

  "If I thought the Cupid superstition would find me love, I'd do it in a heartbeat, especially with my luck with men."

  Immediately, her father shook his head. "That's listening to the devil. That tale is not real."

  Getting a reminder of who she met while she did the Cupid dance, she had to agree with her father.

  "You can say that again," she said, not meeting his eyes. "Right now, I don't know where to meet good men."

  "You've certainly dated some weird ones." Reaching across the table, he patted her hand. "My wish for you is to find the love and happiness your mother and I had. The only reason I asked those men to date you is that I prayed one of them would spark with you. That the two of you would fall in love."

  "Stop," she said, holding up her hand. "It's not working, and in fact, it only pisses me off. I'm not attracted to the men you found."

  "Shame Austin turned out to be such a cad. Associate pastor of my own church, dating my daughter and having an affair with a married woman."

  For a moment, her chest clenched at the pain of the memory of walking into his office and seeing him creating coitus interruptus with a woman from their church family. How stupid and arrogant did you have to be to have sex in the church? While he was diddling a member of the congregation, he and she were talking rings.

  Telling her father about Austin's affair had been difficult, but she felt blessed she learned of it before she walked down the aisle and promised him forever. Before they announced their engagement.

  Still, it hurt.

  "Let's see, Austin cheated. Bill and Tanner believed I should be grateful to be going out with them. George, Joe, and Griffith III, had mother separation anxiety and lastly, Tom, Rick, Henry, and Chuck, you set up on blind dates. Four God-fearing, church-going, men who wanted me to give up what I love, obey them, and walk ten steps behind them."

  A grimace crossed her father's face. "You're exaggerating, as usual."

  "Oh, really? Would you like to see a text I received from Tom?" Pulling out her phone, she read, "Dear Chloe, being a preacher's daughter I thought you would be relieved at my offer of marriage. Be willing to sell your business and become my wife. I'm praying you come to your senses and realize you need a Godly man to take care of you, Tom."

  Somewhere between when her mother and father dated and now, men had changed, or maybe she lived a sheltered life protected from the ugliness in the world. At this moment, her dating scorecard sucked. Chloe zero, losers ten. Was her luck that bad or did she attract less than stellar men?

  With a sigh, her father squeezed her hand. "Your mother and I were a team. We obeyed God's commandments, but we loved and respected each other. You should find someone you can experience the same kind of love with."

  Right up until the day her mother died of a heart attack in her father's arms, her parents' union had been beautiful. Since then, her father and she struggled on, missing the buffer of her mother's gentle words and understanding. The glue that meshed them together into a family. Now, her presence was sorely missed.

  "I want the same thing you and Mom had, but so far, I'm not finding it. Maybe I should consider moving," she said, thinking about the job opportunity she recently read about in Austin, Texas.

  After reading about the company, she sent them her resume with pictures of some of her remodeled homes. The Victorian ladies, she helped make beautiful once again.

  There was a house here in Cupid she tried to purchase, but had been rejected by the owner. She wanted to restore that grand old home to its former beauty, update the features inside, but maintain the elegant history of the building.

  "What about that fellow you were talking to earlier?"

  With a jerk her head came up a
nd her chest constricted. "Drew Lawrence? The renowned womanizer of Cupid? Dad, like I've told you before, you have terrible taste in men."

  "Maybe I'm a crotchety old man, but I don't want you moving away from me. I like having you close. People change and Drew was at church today. Maybe he's different."

  It was all Chloe could do to keep from laughing out loud. What could she say?

  Oh yes, Dad I bumped into him running naked around the statue last night. He's definitely reformed.

  "Hardly."

  "Well, I'm going to pray on this. Your mother and I always hoped you would marry a local boy and not leave Cupid. We dreamed of living next to our grandchildren."

  "We have to consider I may never marry. What if I'm going to be one of those women who never finds a husband."

  Shaking his head, her father said, "I'm not ready to accept that yet."

  Running into Drew in the darkness, she wondered why the statue would put her with him? There was something so wrong about waiting for the right man to come along, and then he never showed up.

  Drew glanced around the family dinner table with a sense of satisfaction he hadn't experienced in years. It was good to be home, surrounded by the people who cared and loved him. The only people missing were his mother and father.

  A nagging guilt ate at him since the day his mother died from a blood clot in the brain. Nothing should have prevented him from being there at her side.

  "Drew, Cody told me you did the Cupid dance," his younger sister Kelsey said with a grin. "Who was the lucky girl you met?"

  For a moment he considered telling everyone, but then remembered his promise to Chloe. "Can't tell you."

  "Why not," she asked.

  "Top secret information."

  "Awe," Shadow, his brother's fiancée, said. "That's so sweet. We know how Kyle and Tempe met and Kelsey and Cody, now it's your turn. Who is your Cupid love?"

  Maybe so, but he wasn't sharing. Chloe asked him not to say anything, and he wasn't going to tell his sister or sisters-in-law.

  They had finished their meal and sat around talking, drinking beer and catching up. "Sorry, I'm not saying. My family would descend on this poor girl, letting her know she's the chosen one. Me, I'm not brainwashed by the lure of the legend. Marriage is not in my future."