by Dixie Cash
She cautiously stepped into the kitchen, too aware that he had seen her naked.
He stood there looking at her, his hands propped on his slim hips. “I fried up some bacon.” He gestured toward the cookstove where several slices of cooked bacon lay on a plate. “I’ll scramble some eggs.”
“I need to get home. I ate those cookies, all three of them”
“You need to eat something with protein.” He hurried to open a bread loaf lying on the counter and popped two slices into a toaster. “Take a seat at the table and I’ll get it together. Eggs will just take a minute.”
With no strength or will to argue, she sank to a chair at the table and set the bottle of Advil beside a salt shaker. She barely remembered eating at this table last night. “Thanks for the Advil. It was thoughtful of you. Although I probably deserve it if you hit me with a hammer. Have you eaten?”
“Earlier.”
He dropped a chunk of butter into a cast-iron skillet. It sizzled at once, filling the air with the soothing aroma of melting butter. She watched as he broke an egg into a bowl, than picked up another. “One’s enough. I don’t —”
But he had already broken the second one. He whipped them madly with a fork, then deftly poured them into the sizzling butter and seasoned them with salt and pepper.
In no time, the eggs were done and the toast had popped up. He put together a plate of the eggs, several slices of bacon and the toast and brought it to her at the table. He even added a jar of strawberry jam. “There you go. Eat up. Nothing like greasy food for a hangover.”
He sat down opposite her and picked up the newspaper again.
The thought that he had seen her naked continued to batter her. If he had undressed her, he had touched her bare skin in places. Gluing her eyes on her plate, she swallowed a bite of the soft scrambled eggs. “I need to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
Unsmiling, she looked up at him. “What happened last night?”
He sat back, giving her a piercing look. An odd emotion showed in his eyes. “What do you think happened?”
The soft scrambled eggs began to feel like lead in her stomach. She drew a shuddery breath. “Did you undress me?”
“Had to. You poured a glass of wine down your front, then soaked yourself with soapy water.”
She closed her eyes, arched her brow and shook her head. “You took off my bra?”
“It was dripping wet.” His eyes held hers for a few seconds, then broke away. He picked up the newspaper again. “Don’t worry about it, babe. I practically raised my two little sisters and I’ve got an ex-wife. You haven’t got anything I haven’t seen before.” He opened the newspaper.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, ma’am. I might not always be a gentleman, but I don’t take advantage of drunk women. Ever. Although, several times, you did extend an invitation.”
Inside, she winced. Oh, dear God. Had she really done that? If only the floor would open so she could sink through it. She closed her eyes. “I did not.”
“Would I lie? You did.”
She opened her eyes to see him looking at her across his shoulder, his brow arched.
“And where did you sleep?” she asked.
“Beside you. I’ve only got one bed. And my couch is way too short. I didn’t see any point in sacrificing a night’s sleep. You were passed out. You never knew I was there.”
This situation kept getting worse. She had to escape. She had eaten only half the food on her plate, but she rose on shaky knees. “I have to go.”
He closed the newspaper, folded it and dropped in on the table. “Did you want to say ’bye to Buster? I mean, that’s why you came out here, right?”
“Where is he?”
“In the backyard.”
“I’ll stop by and see him on my way out.” She looked around and spotted her purse in the living room on a glass-topped coffee table that looked to be made of a well-used wagon wheel. Last night, she hadn’t noticed it. She walked over, picked up the purse and hung it on her shoulder, then started for the back door. He followed her.
She stopped, turned around and looked up at him. “I feel like hell and I know I look like it, too. Why don’t you look as bad as I do?”
“I dunno. Probably because I stopped after three glasses.”
She gave him a squint-eyed glare. “And you let me drink too much?”
He planted his fists on his hips. “What, you think I forced you to drink a bottle and a half of wine? I tried to tell you we didn’t need to open that second bottle, but you insisted. I think you said something like, ‘I bought it, I brought it and I’m gonna to drink it.’” His brow arched, he stepped back and pointed his finger at her. “Another thing I don’t do is argue with drunk women.”
A picture of herself turning up a wine bottle came to her. Dear God. Drinking straight from the bottle. Will I ever live this down?
Her jaw clenched, her mouth pursed. Without a word, she opened the door and walked out onto the porch.
He followed. “Sandi, stop.”
She stopped, turned and looked up into his sky blue eyes and a serious expression on his ruggedly handsome face. “I’m yanking your chain. Seriously, you were so uptight. It seemed like you needed to let your hair down a little. I tried to be a friend and listen. Your virtue or your safety weren’t at risk.”
She hesitated a few seconds. His eyes were beautiful. And he had thick lashes, like a girl’s. Be a friend and listen? Oh, dear God. What secrets had she told him? “I was not uptight.”
“You were uptight.”
“You tried to listen? What did I say?”
He tilted his head and looked at her from beneath his brow.
“Okay. Don’t tell me then.”
She gave him her back and scanned her surroundings. The day was cloudy and dreary, but still too bright. She dug her sunglasses out of her purse and shoved them on. “Is it going to rain?”
She hoped so. Maybe she would drown. Or at the very least, maybe it would wash away this humiliation.
“Better than a fifty-fifty chance,” he said. “We need it. We had a dry summer.”
“Where’s Waffle?”
He led her to the fenced backyard where Waffle and Randy were play-wrestling. When Waffle saw her, he bounded to the fence. She opened the gate and stepped inside, sank to her knees. He put his front paws on her shoulders and gave her slobbery kisses. “Oh, Waffle, I miss you so much. I wish I could take you home with me.” She couldn’t hold back the tears that sneaked into her eyes. The sweet dog whined and let her hug him. She had read somewhere that dogs didn’t really like to be hugged, but Waffle had always been a hugger.
She soon gave up and started for her car, now sniffling. Nick followed her to her car door and opened it for her. Before she could slide in, he said, “I know you’re not feeling great right now and maybe this isn’t a good time to ask, but next weekend, I wonder if you’d do me a favor.”
“What?”
“I was hoping you might go with me down to Salt Lick. I want to apologize to your aunt and her partner. That might go a little smoother if you’re with me. If you’d go with me, I’d drive up here and pick you up.”
“Aren’t you going to be at work at the Flying C?”
“I’m going back down there later today.”
“It’s sixty-five miles from here. You’re going to drive up here from Salt Lick just to pick me up, then turn around and drive back down there, then turn around again and bring me back here? That’s two hundred miles of driving. That makes no sense.”
He shrugged. “I don’t care if it doesn’t make sense. It’s important to me. I don’t want those two women thinking I’m an asshole.”
She shook her head. Pain darted between her temples. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes for a few seconds.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked, his voice soft and filled with concern.
She drew a deep breath. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Look, I’ll let you know. My
day off is usually Thursday. If I decide to do it, I’ll drive down there and meet you.”
She pulled on her door, but he held it and didn’t let her close it. “Sandi. I don’t want you thinking I’m an asshole either.”
...I practically raised my two sisters...Ol’ Nick is a square shooter.... She didn’t know what she thought of him. But she didn’t think he was an asshole.
“I believe you when you say you didn’t take advantage of me while I was...incapacitated. I admit I was awful. Good enough?”
He straightened and smiled. “Good enough. I’ll call you in a day or two.”
She chastised herself all the way home. He might be right in that she had been under a lot of stress lately, but did that justify drinking herself into oblivion at a virtual stranger’s house and winding up undressed in his bed? She might never be able to face him again. And she certainly would never tell anyone what had happened. Hell. She didn’t even know what had happened.
She arrived back at her house in time to feed everyone and shower and shampoo, which made her feel slightly better physically, but she didn’t know what would make her feel better emotionally and mentally. She was so confused. She didn’t want to like Nick, didn’t want to be lured by him, but she couldn’t help herself.
She would love to stay at home and nurse her embarrassment, but she started for LaBarkery, satisfied she would get there early enough to open it on time. She found her sweet, loyal employee Betty Ann already there. With her was a cute little white fluffy dog with a pink ribbon tied around a topknot. Betsy the Westie. Sandi knew it immediately. It bounced around and made cute barks that sounded like a puppy. How could anyone who called himself a human being be mean to such a sweet little dog? “What are you doing here?” she asked Betty Ann.
“I was afraid you might not want to come in. Like, you know, if you spent the night. I’m waiting for a full report.”
Sandi ducked her chin. “Nothing to report.”
“Did you have a good time? Was it great?”
Sandi couldn’t keep from laughing. Her two employees were determined for her to have a romance. “It was fine. I see you have a new dog.”
“I know I’m not supposed to have her here, but Juanita dropped her off and I haven’t had a chance to take her home. I fed her a couple of Barkies. I put the money for them in the cash register.”
Sandi walked over to her showcase and removed half a dozen of the Barkies and a couple of Little Fidos. “Here. After what Betsy has been through she deserves some more. On the house.”
Betty Ann gave her a huge grin. “Thank you so much.” She picked Betsy up and fed her a Little Fido. “Say thank you to your ga’ma,” she baby-talked to the dog.
Sandi bit down on her lower lip. She was too young to be a grandma. “So Juanita captured you, huh?”
“She brought her by so I could look at her. Look how trusting she is. I couldn’t believe the little thing had been left to run the streets alone. What mean person could leave something so sweet and cute, knowing that in the end something bad would probably happen to her?”
“Happens every day, Betty Ann. It’s sad, but that’s the way it is. I keep warning you about Juanita. Pretty soon you’ll be as tied down as I am.”
***
On Tuesday, before Nick had started his day, Harley called and asked him to drive up to Midland to look at a couple of bulls. Saturday night had nagged at him for two days. He wanted to get better acquainted with Sandi. Saturday night’s behavior notwithstanding, he believed her to be a loving, caring person who’d had some bad luck. He pressed in her cell number. Several burrs passed before she came on the line. “This is Sandi.”
“How are you?”
“I’m fine. How’s Waffle?”
He heard no enthusiasm and no interest in his call. She only cared about Buster. This wasn’t going as he had hoped. Still, he pressed on. “He’s good. We’ve been busy. Listen, I’m on my way up to Midland. Got a business errand to do for Harley and I’m gonna stay tonight out at my place. I was thinking about the past weekend and I was thinking...well, hoping we could try it again.”
“Supper, you mean? Or another visit with Waffle?”
“Either or both. You like barbecue?”
“Oh...I guess so.”
“Well, do you or don’t you?”
“Okay. I like barbecue.”
“Me, too. Maybe we could go to Tag Freeman’s place for some ribs or something. And this time, I’d like to come to your house and pick you up.”
A pause. Finally, she said, “This is Tuesday. Thursday is usually the day I take off. I was planning to drive down to Salt Lick to meet you at the Styling Station. My aunt and her partner both are always in their shop on Thursdays.”
“That’s good. That works for me. Does that preclude us going out for some barbecue tonight? I can pick you up about six.”
She sighed. “Okay.”
Chapter 22
After closing the store, Sandi rushed home and pulled her most feminine dress out of the closet. Lavender with clear crystals adorning the sweetheart neckline. The last time she had worn it was to a friend’s wedding.
Nick the Beautiful did come and pick her up. He was dressed in starched and pressed Wranglers and a blue-and-white tiny check shirt with a red Cinch logo below the pocket. The blue checks matched his eye color.
He looked her up and down and told her she was beautiful, which left her giddy as a teenager. He drove them to Tag Freeman’s Double Kicker Barbecue & Beer restaurant. “I don’t get to Tag Freeman’s very often,” she said.
“You don’t like ribs?”
She laughed. “I love ribs, but I’d never eat them on a date. Too messy. I get barbecue sauce all over my face.”
He laughed, too. “Well, lady, I’ve seen you with worse than barbecue sauce all over your face.”
Going through the buffet line, they both ordered something safe—sliced brisket and French fries. He found them seats at the end of one of the long tables.
“Holy cow. A whole table to ourselves. Wonder where the customers are.”
“Slow weeknight maybe. I’m glad. We can talk.”
Without Waffle, what would they talk about? She unwrapped the cloth napkin holding her silverware and spread the napkin on her lap. “An evening of conversation, huh?”
He, too, spread his napkin, then looked her in the eye. “I want you to know I feel bad about all that’s happened. I want us to be able to be friends.”
Oh. Phooey. That was all he wanted? She felt a letdown. “Don’t worry about it. I’m getting over it. I believe Waffle really is Buster and he really is your dog. You were right all along. That judge’s ruling was silly. We don’t have to stick to it.”
“But what if I’d like to stick to it?”
“Why would you?”
“I don’t know about you, but I’ve crossed some thresholds in this whole thing. I’ve experienced several firsts.”
“What firsts?”
“Well, I’ve never sued anybody before. And if I’d ever thought about it, I wouldn’t have thought it’d be over a dog. I know a lawsuit is a hostile thing, but I didn’t mean it that way. I got too far into it to back out.”
She shrugged, picked up her knife and fork and sliced bites of brisket. “We all survived. What was it Nietzsche said? What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? That’s probably true.”
“I confess I didn’t read a lot of Nietzsche in school.” He tucked into his food.
“Probably wasn’t part of the football playbook, huh? You were itemizing your firsts. I’m listening.”
“You’re the first woman I’ve ever seen Harry attack.”
“Huh. I should probably get a medal of some kind for that one. He never spit on your neighbor’s wife?”
“The neighbor didn’t have a wife. He was too hard to get along with. No wife would put up with him.”
“Ah, I see.”
“You’re the first and only one I’ve had out to my house be
fore and for sure, the first one to spend the night. You’re the first and only one besides me to sleep in my bed. I’ve never wanted any of the women I know getting that close.”
Her interest piqued. “Really? Why is that?”
“I have trust issues. It goes back a long way. I don’t mean this to be a feel-sorry-for-me-story, but my mom split when I was about ten and to this day, I don’t know why.”
...I practically raised my two little sisters...
Sandi frowned, trying to picture a young boy taking care of two small girls. “Oh, no.”
“No, no. Don’t say ‘oh no.’ I know you’ve got a soft heart, but I honestly don’t want you to feel sorry. I’m just trying to explain something to you and make a point. I’ve always had trust issues with women and I think my mom leaving is why. All through high school, I never had a steady girlfriend. Didn’t have one in college either. Even if I liked some girl and she liked me back, I feared the day she would leave me. So I dealt with it by keeping my distance.
“Until I met my ex-wife. We married after I graduated. I was sappy-in-love. Or at least I thought I was. I thought she was, too, but not too long after we got married, she took off to California with my best friend, a guy I’d known all my life.”
Oh, my God. No wonder he has trust issues. “Oh, Nick, I’m so sorry.”
He stopped eating and looked at her. “The point I’m trying to make is this. After she left, there was no chance I was ever again going to find myself in a position to be left. So since then, I haven’t had a close attachment to any woman.”
Sandi, too, stopped eating. “But you sleep with Sylvia. Isn’t that close?”
“No. Being a woman, I know you don’t understand, but Sylvia and I don’t share anything. We just...” He sighed.
“Have sex. In my book, that’s pretty close.”
“But it really isn’t. Not in the way I think about being close. And I told you. I haven’t been with her in a while.”
“So what’s the point of this heart-to-heart between you and me?”
“After two divorces, I know you’re bound to have trust issues, too. I’m wondering if two scared people like us could take a risk and make a go of it.”
