by Debbie White
“I’m glad you asked. Swords represent air. Can
you figure out the last one?” Darla asked, her eyes
twinkling.
“Well let’s see. We have water, earth, and air,”
Cody said tapping his finger to his chin. His eyes
widened. “Fire?” he yelled.
Darla giggled. “You’re a smart cowboy, aren’t
you?”
“Process of elimination,” Cody said.
“Here, shuffle the deck,” Darla said, pushing the
cards over to Cody.
Cody shuffled the deck and passed it back to her.
Darla cut the deck and tapped the top. Cody put the
one half on top of the other half and grinned.
Darla tossed three cards face down in front of
them.
Touching the left card she said, “This represents
the past. “The middle is the present and this one,”
she said tapping the far right one, “represents the
future.”
She slowly turned over the one closest to her. She
stared at it for a moment. “Eight of swords,” she said
aloud.
“What does that mean?” Cody asked.
“This means you were trapped in a hurtful
relationship at one time.”
Cody lowered his head. He rose quickly and
locked his eyes onto hers. “This could be
representative of anyone who’s ever been in a
relationship before.”
Darla frowned. She slowly turned over the
middle card. “Two of cups,” she whispered.
Cody laughed. “Okay? I can’t wait to hear what
this one means.”
Darla softened her face. “This card represents a
union. It’s time to bury the hatchet or pursue
someone passionately.”
His left eyebrow took a quizzical dip.
“Interesting,” he said.
Darla turned the final card over. She stared at it
long.
“Well? What does this card tell you, Darla?”
Darla arched her eyebrows. She reached up and
played with a lock of her hair. “This is the lovers’
card.”
“The lovers’ card? What does that mean?” he
asked.
She locked her gaze onto his. She didn’t want to
mince any words on this one. Her heart was beating
fast and her hands felt clammy as she handled the
last card.
“A love relationship of your lifetime began
melting your heart as these cards were dealt.”
Cody pushed the stool back. He looked off into
the distance. He swallowed hard. Just once. He
cleared his throat and turned to face her.
“You can stay with me for a couple of days while
we figure this out. Can’t you ask your family for any
financial help? ‘Cuz I hate to tell you this, but telling
fortunes is not big business.”
“I’ll have you know I had a very lucrative
business reading cards. Don’t you want to discuss
your cards and their meaning?”
“This is voodoo stuff. I’m not going to believe it.
It was fun. I’ll give you that much,” Cody said as he
stood up and stretched. “The guest room is down the
hall and on the right.”
Chapter Four
Cody was up before Darla. He didn’t like the day
to get started without him. He poured his second cup
of coffee and was leafing through the paper when she
came strolling into the kitchen with her hair all kinky
and black mascara smudges under her eyes.
Cody laughed. “Good morning. Do you always
look this beautiful in the morning?”
Darla let out a gruff sound and plopped down on
a stool. “I don’t do mornings.”
“Coffee?” Cody asked. “Cream, sugar, black?”
Cody inquired as he got a mug down.
“I like my coffee the way I like my men—dark.”
Cody angled his head. “Come again?”
Darla threw her head back and let out a roar.
“You’ve never heard that expression before?”
Cody got the cup down and poured the coffee. He
slid the mug over to Darla. “No, can’t say I have.”
“It just means I like my men dark and
mysterious. Some substitute the word dark for black.
I’m good with that, too,” she chuckled.
Cody frowned. “You sure do have a way with
words. What do they say for people who like a little
cream and sugar in their coffee?”
Darla leaned in closer to the kitchen counter. “Oh
well, that’s interesting, too. It just means you like
your women, or men, to be fun, flirty, and not a
stuffy shirt.”
Darla wrinkled her nose. “They say opposites
attract,” she said as she took a sip of the piping hot
coffee.
Cody pursed his lips. “They say a lot of things. I
don’t listen to them,” Cody said. “Let’s talk about
what you mentioned last night. About staying on
here,” Cody continued.
Darla took another sip of her coffee. “I’m sort of
hungry. What do you have to eat?”
Cody furrowed his brows. “Eggs, toast, cereal.”
“Are the eggs cage free?” Darla asked.
Cody smirked. “I don’t know. I doubt it.”
“Is the toast gluten free and the cereal organic?”
Cody went to the cupboard and fetched the cereal
box. “Here—you read the label.”
Darla squinted at the box. “This is good. Yes.
This is healthy. I’ll have a bowl of this. Do you have
soy or coconut milk?”
Cody’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
Darla pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders.
“You’ll get used to me, yet.”
Cody ended up making steel cut oatmeal for his
guest with the dietary restrictions. He watched on as
she ate the oatmeal with nothing on it. “That’s gotta
be some of the most tasteless oatmeal,” he said
shaking his head.
Darla ignored his statement and continued eating.
Cody got up from his stool and headed over to the
sink to rinse out his coffee cup. “I’m headed into the
restaurant today.” Cody looked at his watch. “In fact,
I was supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago. What
are you going to do while I’m gone?”
Darla pushed back her stool and stood up. She
started to speak and then paused. Cody looked on.
She took a few steps and placed her bowl in the sink
and ran water to fill it up. “I don’t really know. I
guess I’ll shower and get dressed and then head out.”
“Head out to where?” he asked.
“Wherever the wind takes me,” she said.
Cody furrowed his brow.
“You really shouldn’t do that. See this crease is
beginning to become permanent,” she said touching
his forehead.
“Okay. Whatever. So you’ll lock up before you
go?”
“Please. You live so far out in the country I doubt
anyone even knows you’re out here,” she said.
“I still lock up my house. So if you know what’s
good for you, you will do the same,” he said as he<
br />
brushed past her to get his keys off the counter.
“You can stop by the restaurant if you want,” he
added.
“Why would I do that?” she asked.
Cody locked his eyes onto hers. She was a
strange lady. She always was second guessing him.
He didn’t really appreciate that. “I don’t know.
Because you didn’t get to have the million dollar tour
the other night?”
“True. And that is why I came.”
Cody tilted his head. “You came out here just to
see the restaurant? I thought you came out to see
me?”
“That, too. It’s a long story, but your friend Gabe
sent me.”
“Gabe?” Cody tossed his keys back onto the
counter. “I’m not going anywhere until we get this
story all ironed out. I thought you said Bryan sent
you?”
“Well, he did, sort of.”
“Darla, please stop playing games. I need to
know the truth.”
Darla let a small sigh escape from the corners of
her mouth. “I was visiting Bryan when he lived in
New York. He hadn’t lived there long. Anyway, he
was put in contact with Gabe to help get a job and a
place to stay. Gabe’s a wonderful man. He has such a
big heart.”
“Yes, I know that about him. He’d give you the
shirt off of his back.”
“Just before Bryan admitted himself back to
Walter Reed, Gabe and I had a long talk. I told him I
didn’t know what I was going to do. I felt like a lost
soul. He thought maybe a fresh start would do me
good. He said he had friends all over the United
States and the world. He started tossing out city
names and when he said yours, something about a
cowboy named Cody had me intrigued.”
“Does Bryan even know you’re here?” Cody
asked.
Darla nodded. “I told him. He was happy.”
“So this changes everything. You do realize
that?” Cody stated.
“How?”
“How? Because Gabe sent you, that’s how. I owe
that man everything. He helped me get the loan for
the steakhouse. Without his help, I’d just be another
former Marine trying to put the past in the past and
make the future better.”
Darla softened her face. “Did you see a lot of
terrible things over there—wherever it was you were
serving?”
Cody brushed his hand through his thick dark
hair. “Let’s just say I’d sooner forget about it than
talk about it.”
Darla perked up. “If you give me just fifteen
minutes I can be ready. We can ride in together. How
about that?”
Cody pulled out a stool and plopped down onto
it. Darla rushed over to his side and gave him a peck
on the cheek. “Thanks. I’ll be right down.”
While Darla was in the guest room getting ready,
Cody’s mind wandered for a few minutes to a time
he’d not thought about in a while. A time he didn’t
care to think about. Hearing about Bryan stirred
some emotions, and it was hard to close the door
once the emotions and memories came crashing
through. He shuddered. He loved serving his country
and he’d do it all over again, but he wasn’t the same
young man that went into the military. He’d changed.
He was different. He wouldn’t take crap off of
anyone, and he certainly wasn’t going to be
manipulated by Darla. He chuckled. “Bryan. Your
sister is a trip,” he mused.
Darla came bouncing down the hallway all
dressed and ready to go. Cody caught a hint of
jasmine and vanilla. Her hair was still wet from her
shower, and the small ringlets bounced to and fro on
her back as she pranced through the house. Cody
pushed back his stool. “Ready to go?” he asked.
Darla grabbed her macramé purse off the console
table and the two headed out the front door.
Cody started up the engine and was about to back
the truck out of the driveway when he caught a
glimpse of Darla staring at him. A slow grin quirked
his mouth. “What are you staring at, girl?”
A devilish smile appeared on her mouth. “I’m
just looking at one hunk of a man. You’re too
handsome not to stare at.”
“Now quit it, Darla. Remember, I told you I’m
not comfortable with you flirting with me.”
“Oh, man. You need to get over that. Besides,
flirting is innocent. Now if I did something like this,”
she said, and she leaned over and kissed Cody on the
lips. “Then, I could see you getting a little nervous.”
Cody stared at her. He ran his tongue over his
lips. He took his hat off and tossed it onto the seat
between them. Darla looked straight ahead out the
windshield feeling confident she’d gotten her point
across. Cody hesitated for a minute then he reached
over and pulled her to him. He stared into her blue
eyes waiting for some response. Instead, Darla
reached up and put her arms around his neck and
pulled him toward her. “You’re playing with the big
girls, now,” she whispered.
He lowered his head and their lips met. She let
out a small sigh and then mashed her mouth to his.
Cody broke loose first. He pursed his lips and stared
out into space. He looked back toward Darla, who
was now sitting very still in her seat with her hands
clasped in her lap. He put the truck in gear and put
his foot to the gas pedal. “Some things are just better
left unsaid,” he pondered.
The silence was unnerving—especially after their
kiss. Cody wasn’t sure really what came over him.
He’d never kissed a hippie before. He laughed out
loud.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
“Listen. I’m sorry if my flirting with you made
you uneasy. I was really just messing with you. Are
we cool?”
Cody turned his neck and eyed her. He quickly
turned back around and watched the road.
“Seriously, Cody. Are we?”
Cody gripped the steering wheel tightly. “So how
often do you kiss strange men?”
“Strange men? I don’t think you’re strange,” she
said, letting out a little giggle.
“Strangers—strange men as in strangers,” he
emphasized.
“I know what you mean. I’m not stupid,” she
sputtered, poking out her bottom lip.
Cody focused on her full bottom lip. He let out a
sigh. He pulled into the restaurant parking lot and
drove around the back. “I like to save the parking in
front for customers,” he said.
“How considerate of you,” she said a bit curtly.
Cody furrowed his brow. He remembered what
she’d said about the permanent crease in his forehead
and quickly went from frown to relaxed face in a
millisecond. “Listen, I have some business to
conduct wit
h my staff before we open up for lunch.
Find a chair and sit down and be quiet, okay?”
Darla stiffened her back. “Excuse me? What did
you say to me just now?”
“I have work to do. I don’t need you flitting
about doing your fortune telling or giving out your
tofu recipes. I need for you to be quiet and let me do
my job.”
“Whoa, cowboy! I don’t know who died and
made you king of the cowboys, but I don’t like the
tone in your voice.”
Cody grabbed the steering wheel with both
hands. “I’m sorry. That did come off wrong. I guess I
just …”
Darla reached over and gently stroked his hand.
“It’s okay. I’ve thrown a lot at you in the past
twenty-four hours.”
Cody nodded. “Anyway, let’s go inside. I’ll
introduce you to the staff.”
“That would be groovy,” she said.
Darla opened the truck door and slid out. She
walked around the truck and Cody and she entered
the back door to the restaurant. Once inside, Darla
could see a few people gathered in the kitchen
talking. They looked up as the two entered.
“Hey, everyone. This is my friend, Darla. Darla,
this is Keith, my kitchen manager, over there is
Marcus, he’s one of the cooks, and this is Marcy, and
this is Julie, they’re servers here,” Cody said.
Darla smiled at the group. “Greetings, wonderful
staff.”
A couple of snickers came from the group. Cody
knew what they were thinking. “Come on, Darla let
me show you to the dining area. I’ll get you
something to drink.”
Cody looked over his shoulder and gave a dirty
look to Keith and Marcus. He made eye contact with
the girls. They were in a huddle giggling. Cody
shook his head and led Darla out the swinging doors
to the main room. “You can sit at the bar or at a
table, whichever you prefer.”
“I’ll sit over here so I can look out the window,”
she said.
“What can I get you to drink?”
She opened up her macramé shoulder purse and
took out her cell phone. “It’s only ten o’clock in the
