by Debbie White
the desire Cody was feeling was even stronger—if
that was possible.
Cody reached out and pulled Darla closer. They
stared into each other’s eyes. Then in one swift
move, Cody leaned in and planted the kiss on her
mouth that he’d been thinking about since she
crawled into his bed. She took her hands and placed
them behind his head, running her fingers through his
hair. Shivers ran up and down his spine. He swept his
tongue just inside her mouth, finding her sweet spot
and causing her to let out a gasp. He moved closer,
and he was just about to make his move and mount
her pretty little body when sounds of vibration went
off on the bedside table. Cody started to break off the
kiss, but Darla was holding on for dear life. With one
eye open and half of his mouth off of hers, he tried to
squeeze out a plea. “I need to answer that. It might be
Gabe.”
Darla released her grasp and flung herself onto
her back and on the pillow. Her head was reeling
with desire.
“It better be someone really important,” she said,
feeling her pulse racing a mile a minute.
Cody answered his phone. Darla listened as Cody
conversed with the individual on the other end. He
sat on the edge of the bed talking softly. Darla looked
over and saw his lean back. He’d grabbed a portion
of the sheets to cover his backside, but Darla got a
glimpse and something sparked inside of her. He
slept in the buff!
After a few minutes, Cody put the phone back
down on the table. “It was Marcus.”
Darla propped herself up on the headboard,
fluffing up the pillow for softness. “The restaurant?
Is everything all right?”
Cody lowered his head. “Nope, it’s not. They had
a fire. It’s been destroyed.”
Darla reached her arms out to Cody. “I’m sorry,
Cody. I know the restaurant meant the world to you.
Can’t you rebuild?”
“Right now I can’t think. I’m stuck in a strange
town, my truck is in another strange town, and …”
He trailed off.
Darla lowered her head. She knew what he was
thinking. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t suggested, you
take me to see Bryan none of this would have
happened.”
Cody shook his head. “Don’t say that. I willingly
came, and you had no control of the events that
transpired. It is what it is.”
Darla pursed her lips. “So now what?”
“I told him I’d contact the insurance company
and go from there. If you still want to go see Bryan
then we need to stay on the course,” he said, looking
at her for her answer.
A tear dribbled down her face. Cody reached
over and wiped it away. “Don’t cry.” He leaned over
and kissed her on the forehead, then her cheek,
finally arriving at her mouth. He softly kissed her,
feeling her softness once again. He took her into his
arms and then gently laid her down. He scanned her
face and then her body. She pulled him to her. “No
interruptions. Let’s finish what we started,” she
whispered. Darla felt the heat coming from his body
as he moved on top of her. She stared longingly at
his face, his eyes dark and filled with desire. She
welcomed him with open arms. This would be a
night neither of them would soon forget.
Chapter Twelve
Darla looked over at Cody. He was sleeping so
soundly. She gently pushed back the covers and
slipped one leg then the other out from under the
covers. She sat upright and scooted to the edge of the
bed. Darla could hear Cody stir slightly. She quickly
stopped and looked back at him. His eyes were still
tightly closed. She stood up and quietly moved away
from the bed, tiptoeing out of the bedroom.
She headed to what was to be her bedroom for
the duration of their stay and grabbed some clothes
and then hit the shower. The warm water rushed over
her body. Her mind traveled to just a few hours
before when she and Cody laid in each other’s arms.
Still unsure exactly what they were doing, Darla
knew one thing for sure. She didn’t want to get hurt.
She’d been down that road before.
* * *
“Good morning,” Darla hollered as she got down
a cup from the cabinet.
Cody stumbled into the kitchen and sat down.
“Good morning. What time is it?” He scrunched up
his face and tried to focus on a clock that was
hanging on the wall.
“Don’t you worry about what time it is,” she said,
setting a hot cup of coffee in front of him.
“I have a lot of calls to make this morning,” he
said, picking up the cup and blowing on it.
“I know you do. First things first,” she said
coming near him. She sat on his lap and put her arms
around his neck.
Cody smiled. She leaned down and dropped a
kiss on his mouth. She started to pull away, and he
held her in place. She gently pushed him away.
“Cody Richardson!” She scurried over to her cup
and took a long draw of her coffee.
Cody cleared his throat. “After I finish this great
cup of coffee I’ll jump in the shower. Then I’ll make
some calls.” He took another drink.
Darla nodded. “Okay. While you are doing that, I
thought I’d scout out the area. I can tell from the
windows we’re in a beautiful place. The water is
right across the street.”
“This is the Charleston Battery. It’s a beautiful
place, for sure,” he said getting up from his chair.
“Care to join me?” he asked, pointing to upstairs.
“I already had my shower. Maybe next time,” she
said winking.
Cody shuffled his feet and moved slowly toward
the rest of the house. Darla finished her coffee and
then put the cups in the sink. She grabbed her purse
and headed out to explore.
The heat was scorching, and it was only ten
o’clock. Darla could feel the humidity and instantly
she began to perspire. She reached into her purse and
retrieved a rubber band. She quickly pulled her hair
into a ponytail and set off to see the town.
She walked all around the Battery. The view was
awesome. The historical houses that lined the streets
were breathtaking. Many of the sidewalks were
cobblestone or brick, and she stopped to read the
plaques that were on many of the gates. She gasped
when she read how old some of the houses were.
The heat was pretty intense for so early in the
day. It was July though, and it was only after she saw
people putting up banners of red, white, and blue that
she realized that the Fourth of July was nearing.
Darla stopped and watched as two men attached a
huge bunting to the front porch of a very elegant
home. She put up
her hand and gave a small wave.
The older man smiled back and nodded.
“Warm day,” Darla shouted.
The man stepped down from the ladder and
walked toward her. He was wiping the sweat from
his brow with a white handkerchief.
“Are you in town for the celebration?” he asked.
A slow grin quirked her mouth. She’d totally
spaced out the Fourth of July. She didn’t want him to
think badly of her.
“What kind of events are planned?” she asked,
trying to cover up her ignorance of the soon
approaching holiday.
“Fireworks over the river, music and food down
at the Waterfront Park, and well, just lots of good
old-fashioned celebration.”
“I’m not familiar with the Waterfront Park. How
far is it from here?”
The man creased his brows as he thought about
her question. “It’s a long walk from here. But if you
don’t have a car, a rickshaw can pick you up.” His
eyes twinkled.
Darla had seen some while on her walk. She’d
wondered what they were all about. “Well, you’ve
been kind answering my questions. I better let you
get back to hanging your decorations.”
The man smiled. “Welcome to Charleston.”
Darla took a few steps. She looked back and
smiled. “Thank you. I like it here. Seems like a nice
place to live.”
Darla walked another couple of blocks before
heading back to the house. She wanted Cody to
finish exploring the city with her.
* * *
“Oh, my. It’s so warm out,” Darla said, reaching
inside the freezer and pulling out ice cubes.
Cody watched as she wet a paper towel and
wrapped the ice cubes in it. She then proceeded to
rub it all over her face and the back of her neck.
“Did you get your calls made?” she asked.
Cody frowned.
“I take that as a no,” she said, pulling out a chair
and sitting down.
“I got hold of the insurance adjuster. He will
make it out to the restaurant by the end of the week.”
“That sounds promising,” she said.
“I called Gabe. He and Cooper and the girls are
going to come out. They said they would take the
next flight out. We’ll all be together for the Fourth,”
he said.
“That’s what I was going to tell you. I’ve been
walking around and noticed all the festive banners
going up. Apparently, there will be fireworks over
the bay, food, and music,” she said.
“Good. By the way, Gabe is sending a transport
truck to pick up my truck from the Bates Garage.”
Cody let out a chuckle.
Darla arched her brows.
“We can continue with our trip after we unwind a
bit and enjoy Charleston,” he said.
Darla nodded. “Let’s go exploring now. I hear
there is a cool outdoor market, and I’m famished,”
she said.
Cody slid his chair back and stood up. He held
out his arms to her. “First—come here.”
Darla flounced over to him. Cody watched as her
body moved forward, her hips rotating in an
easygoing movement, her ponytail swinging back
and forth, and her smile wide showing almost all her
teeth. She moved into his arms and snuggled her face
into the crook of his neck. As she closed her eyes,
she took in a deep whiff of the woodsy scent of the
bath soap he’d used for his shower.
He placed his hands on her shoulders, one on
each side and gently guided her backward. She
looked up at him and smiled. He leaned forward and
dropped a kiss on her forehead. She relaxed her smile
and focused on his eyes. “We need to talk about last
night,” he said, dropping his hands from her
shoulders.
Darla lowered her head. She knew exactly what
he was talking about.
“I thought I was ready to take the relationship to
the next step. I guess I wasn’t. I hope you don’t think
I’m a big tease.” She searched his face for answers.
“Of course not. I don’t want you to think I was
forcing myself on you.”
Darla shook her head. Her face softened. “I don’t
think that for one minute.”
Cody nodded. He reached out and took her hands
into his. “Can I ask you a personal question? It might
be more of a statement really. But you don’t strike
me as a shy woman. I know you’ve been with men
before. Heck, you’ve been flirting with me from
almost the first day. Why didn’t you want to make
love?”
Darla squeezed his hands. “Because it’s different
this time. I can’t take back all those other times, but I
can make sure this time will be the right time and the
last time. I’m done with putting my feelings out on
my sleeve only for them to be shredded later. I want
to make sure you’ll be the guy that sees me through
all of my days—good and bad. I have to be sure.”
She paused briefly. “I think I’m sure, now. But it’s
happening so fast that it’s hard for me to believe it.
Do you know what I mean?” She held onto his
hands.
Cody nodded. He leaned in and kissed her lightly
on the lips. He leaned back and licked his lips just
once. A slow grin quirked his mouth. “Cherry?”
Darla smiled. “Yes.”
“I wanted to take it slow, anyway, but you did
crawl into my bed,” he said, laughing as he pulled
her in close.
“I know. I did. Guilty as charged. But then this
little voice spoke to me.”
“The voice of Buddha?” he asked.
“You could say that,” she said.
Cody widened his grin. “How much weirder can
this be? A former Marine, now a rancher and
businessman, hooking up with a hippie who prays to
Buddha.” Cody shook his head and laughed.
Darla put her arms around his waist and hugged
him tightly. Cody let out a noise like she was hurting
him with her bear hug. He reached back and
unclasped her hands.
“Come on. Let’s go exploring.”
Darla placed her hand in his and smiled. “Okay,
cowboy Cody. Let’s do this,” she said, giving him a
watery smile.
* * *
Cody and Darla flagged down one of the
rickshaw drivers and soon were headed downtown.
The city was bustling with tourists. The driver let
them out near the marketplace. As Cody paid him,
Darla peeked inside the covered bazaar. Rows and
rows of tables were set with the most interesting
items. She couldn’t wait to go farther inside.
After she had purchased a few items unique to
Charleston, the two headed for ice cream.
“This basket is so beautiful,” she said admiring
her purchase.
“Sweetgrass,” Cody said, gently touching the
handle of the basket.
Darla nodded. “I like this town.”
&n
bsp; Cody stopped in front of the ice cream shop. He
opened the door so she could enter first. The air-
conditioning was on full blast, and it felt good to get
out of the heat. Darla eyed all the cartons, finally
settling on peach and coconut. Cody chose his
favorite, rocky road. They found a bistro table by the
window and licked away as they watched passersby
enjoying their day out in one of which they decided
was the most beautiful town they’d been in.
Cody looked at his watch. “Gabe and his crew
should be landing soon. Ready to head back?”
Cody and Darla made their way down the
cobblestone sidewalks admiring all the old buildings.
Soon they were in front of a huge pineapple looking
fountain. “This is Waterfront Park,” Cody said.
“Let’s walk on the pier,” Darla said, pulling him
as she walked.
After they had walked the pier, they headed
through the park. The sidewalks were lined with
huge shade trees and Darla was happy for them on
this hot day, particularly. After they’d walked a few
minutes, Cody spotted an open bench. He gently
tugged at Darla’s arm to let her know to follow him.
“This view is so awesome. I mean, where else in
the world can you be and your mind be so free?”
Cody dropped his head and gave a chuckle.
“What? Are you laughing at me, again?” she said
chewing on her bottom lip.
Cody gently tapped her shoulder with his. Then
he dropped a wet kiss right on her mouth. “No. I’m
not making fun of you. I love your quirky little self. I
told you that. You see everything so simple, though.”
“Simple? Simple as in dumb, uneducated?” she
said, feeling her anger rise to her cheeks.
Cody frowned. “No. Not at all. You just have a
way of seeing things positively all the time.”
“It takes way more energy to be mad and
negative. I’d much rather fill my head and my heart
with love.”
Cody reached over and took her hand in his.
“That’s okay, but—you must know the world is not
