This protective side of Carter was extremely attractive. He was kind of bossy too, but she could deal with it.
“I had a good time tonight,” she said a little shyly, looking up at him from under her lashes. “Thank you for the pizza.”
“Thank you for the ice cream and the movies. I had a lot of fun.” He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers, making her ache for more. “Sweet dreams, Mallory.”
Pulling the sweater tighter around her torso, she walked away immediately missing his warmth. When she closed the front door behind her and clicked the lock shut, she looked out of the window where he was standing. Watching. Just as he’d said he would. He turned and climbed into his vehicle and drove out of sight, his red taillights disappearing last.
Closing the drapes, Mallory kicked off her shoes and padded on stocking feet to her bedroom. She would definitely dream of Carter tonight.
Chapter Twelve
‡
The loud banging on Carter’s front door woke him up the next morning, the sun barely over the horizon. There were only a few people brave enough to drag his ass out of bed at this hour. His mom and dad, of course. Travis, his cousin, who was long past giving any fucks. And Noah, his older brother and a real pain in the butt.
Noah. He better have a damn good reason for this.
“What the hell do you want?” Carter growled when he opened the door, jeans on, barefoot, and shirtless. Tiger was already in the kitchen waiting on breakfast. “In some states I could shoot you for disturbing my peace.”
“Go ahead. You’re so bleary-eyed you couldn’t hit the broad side of barn right now. You need coffee.”
“Did you bring any?” Carter shot back as he closed the door behind them, but Noah was already headed into the kitchen.
“No, but I know how to make some. You’re such a bear in the morning. Jesus, I feel sorry for the woman that gets stuck with you. She won’t want to come near you until after eight.”
Noah ran the ranch and that meant he was up long before the sun or the chickens. It was a good fit because he was disgustingly happy in the morning. He loved it. He was constantly going on and on about how great it was to get up before everyone else and how peaceful and quiet it was.
Carter liked mornings too, but after growing up on a ranch and doing chores when it was still dark and freezing outside he enjoyed the hell out of sleeping late in his nice warm bed.
“Most civilized people don’t get up at four-thirty in the morning.” Carter checked his phone and winced. “It’s only seven. I didn’t get to bed until one.”
Noah slapped a filter into the basket of the coffeemaker. “Early to bed and early to rise. Were you out with Mallory?”
Instantly on his guard, Carter tensed at his brother’s question. Something was going on. He didn’t know what it was but his brothers rarely showed up at his house at the buttcrack of dawn and asked him about the current woman in his life.
“I was. Why?”
Might as well stop the dancing and get to the damn point.
Carter filled Tiger’s food bowl and freshened up the water. Might as well make the pup happy this morning. Someone ought to be.
Noah shrugged and pressed the start button on the coffeemaker. “Just asking. Is that a crime?”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Carter leaned a hip against the kitchen counter. “Since when do you care about my love life?”
His brother opened his mouth to answer and then snapped it shut. Taking a breath, he rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.
“Okay, you’ve got me on that one. Listen, I’ve been sort of deputized to talk to you.”
Yep, nothing good was going to come from this.
“About?” Carter prompted. “I’m waiting with bated breath to hear what you all think I need to be told.”
As the youngest male, he’d been lectured by his brothers and cousins more times than he could count. About women, about cars, about careers, about money, about…shit in general. He was beginning to lose patience with it all.
“It’s not like that.” Noah shook his head but seemed less sure of himself than he had only a few moments ago. “We just want to make sure that you don’t mess things up with this woman. She seems like a real keeper and those don’t come around often, bro.”
Whenever Noah called him bro, he knew some fuckery was afoot. Were Mom and Dad a part of this, too?
“Just who is we?”
“You know, all of us.”
“You sat around and talked about me? Christ, you must lead the most boring lives. Get a hobby, big brother. I hear the local women’s council is putting on a production of The Sound of Music. Maybe you could get a part as one of the Von Trapp kids.”
Noah appeared unfazed by Carter’s vitriol. “We’re just worried about you.”
“Really? That’s kind of funny, because they’re not worried about you. You’re way older than me and you aren’t any closer to finding the love of your life than I am. Hell, at least I’m dating. When was the last time you went out with a woman? Do you even remember what to do with one?”
This time his brother’s cheeks turned a ruddy shade. “Vaguely, but honestly I don’t have time to find a woman. I’m busy running the ranch and that takes every hour of the day. She’d have to show up on the doorstep for me to meet someone.” He poked himself in the chest and then pointed to Carter. “But I’m not you. We’ve all seen your increasing dissatisfaction with your life and Mallory is your chance to change things.”
Carter was well aware of what was going on in his own damn life.
“And you all think I’m so fucking pathetic that I’m going to blow it? Is that about right? You think that I need to be told what to do so that Mallory doesn’t go running into the mountains to get away from me.”
Noah held up his hands in surrender. “Hell, no. We just want to see you happy.”
“Whatever you think happy is.” Carter pushed away from the counter and stomped over to his brother, getting nose to nose, his hands clenched in fists at his side. Tiger whined and scooted closer to his leg, sensing the tension in the room. “This shit stops now. I am so fucking tired of every one of you having an opinion about what I need to do with my life and career. Every fucking one of you told me where to go to college, what to major in, what kind of car to drive, and what sports to play. Hell, you even have an opinion about what beer I should drink. Most of the time I just tune you all out and then turn around and do whatever the hell I want but I’ve grown tired of you all thinking that you have a say in how I run my life. You don’t. Not at all. Step back and fuck off. I’ll run my life any goddamn way I want to.”
Noah’s eyes were wide and he appeared stunned, as if he’d been hit in the head by a ball that came out of nowhere and his brain hadn’t caught up to it yet. Slowly a smile spread across his face which only served to piss Carter off even more. This wasn’t funny, dammit.
“Holy shit, little brother. Sounds like you’re all grown up.”
Son of a bitch. Carter was this close to throwing a punch right in Noah’s face.
“I have been for awhile, genius, you just didn’t notice. Now stay out of my life or I’ll rearrange that pretty face of yours.”
That simply made Noah laugh. “You do realize that my pretty face is damn near the same as yours? Now seriously, tell me about your date with Mallory. How did it go? We all really liked her.”
Carter liked her, too. He simply didn’t know what that meant yet.
Chapter Thirteen
‡
The gorgeous red roses in a lovely vase were sitting on Mallory’s welcome mat the next morning, right next to her newspaper. Smiling, she carried them inside, enjoying the heady fragrance of the flowers. A small card poked up from between the buds and she tugged it out of the envelope to read it.
Thank you for a lovely evening. Can’t wait to see you again.
Carter hadn’t signed it but then he didn’t need to. She shouldn’t be so happy about a dozen roses
but they were simply so beautiful and smelled like heaven. He’d admitted that buying bouquets wasn’t something he did usually so that made it all the more special.
That doesn’t mean he thinks I’m special, though.
Mallory needed to keep her head on straight. Falling for Carter Anderson would be so easy. He was handsome, charming, funny, intelligent, and kind of goofy. He was – in a nutshell – just her type. The problem was he was many women’s type. She wasn’t someone who wanted to compete for a man.
All day her anticipation built as those flowers kept catching her eye. They brought back steamy memories of last night that made it hard to concentrate on the papers she was trying to grade. The kisses, the caresses, the desire he hadn’t bothered to hide. It had been a long time since she’d felt so wanted. In a small way she had missed being in a relationship and not just because of the sex. That was part of it but it was also nice to have a partner to share things with. Talk about their day, go see movies, share a funny story. Most of the time Mallory was fine on her own but every now and then it would be nice to have a man around.
Men snore. Drop their socks on the floor. Leave the toilet seat up.
It would be better to be realistic. No romanticizing what it would be like to have Carter in her life.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t look nice, though. She spent a few extra minutes in front of the bathroom mirror making sure her hair was under control and her makeup wasn’t too garish. She was going for the no makeup makeup look which took more products than one would think. She was gliding on her lipgloss when the doorbell chimed. Right on time.
Smoothing down her sweater with her damp palms, she took a deep breath before opening the door. Damn, he looked amazing. Like herself, he was dressed casually in denim but there was something about a man in well-fitting jeans. Mallory couldn’t articulate exactly what that something was but it was making it hard to speak.
His face split into a grin. “You look gorgeous. Are you ready to go?”
Miraculously, the gift of speech came back along with a warm, tingly feeling from his compliment. “I am. Come on in while I put on my coat.”
He stepped in but stayed by the door so she had to point out the roses on the coffee table.
“Thank you, by the way. They’re absolutely beautiful. It was so thoughtful and sweet of you to send them.”
Frowning, he walked in close enough to reach out and touch a petal. “Was there a card?”
He didn’t look happy. Were they not what he ordered? Maybe he’d asked for a different flower or vase.
“There was.” She slipped into her coat and then retrieved the card and envelope from the kitchen counter. “Here. Did they mess up the order?”
He read the card and then looked back at the flowers. “I didn’t send these, honey. I wish to hell that I had, but I didn’t. Looks like you have a secret admirer.”
Wait…what? That didn’t make any sense.
“I hardly know anyone here,” she stuttered, shocked at his words. “I just assumed… I mean, the card mentioned last night.”
Carter snapped his teeth together, his jaw tight. “I noticed that and I don’t like it one bit. This guy sounds creepy as hell if you ask me, like he’s watching you.”
It was more than a little disturbing, and after the night she’d had on Friday she didn’t need anything else keeping her awake.
“Maybe they delivered them to the wrong person.”
Carter held up the tiny envelope where her name was neatly typed on the outside.
“These were meant for you. I don’t suppose these could be from your ex? Was yesterday any sort of anniversary for the two of you?
Brad? He wasn’t exactly the type to send flowers. Far too practical.
“I can’t think of any significance to yesterday,” she said, shaking her head. “And I doubt Brad even knows where I am.”
“Your family or friends could have told him.”
“They know I wanted to make a clean break. They would ask me first.” A thought occurred to her. “Maybe the florist mixed up the cards. So the envelope was for me but the card inside got mixed up with another one.”
Stroking his chin, Carter nodded. “That’s a possibility but it still doesn’t explain who sent them. Do you have a birthday coming up?”
Not even close. “My birthday is in July.”
Neither of them had any answers and now Mallory didn’t want those flowers displayed prominently in her home. She didn’t know where they were from but they made her feel slightly icky. A creepy secret admirer sounded stalkerish, not romantic at all.
She picked up the vase. “If these aren’t from you I just want to get rid of them.”
Carter reached for the heavy flowers. “Tell me where your outside trash can is and I’ll toss them.”
She kept it in the garage and within seconds Carter had them thrown out while she picked up a few stray petals and leaves that had fallen to the floor. Her fingertip ran along the velvety surface. They’d briefly made her happy but she didn’t want to see them anymore. She tossed the scraps into the kitchen trash and stopped to smell the real bouquet Carter brought her the night before that was sitting on her table.
The flowers were out of sight but clearly not out of his mind. “Are there any men at your work that might have sent them? What about someone in town that’s a little too friendly? Maybe the guy that makes your latte or a waiter that brought you extra fries?”
“I can’t think of a single person and I’m terrible at flirting. There are a few men at the school where I teach but I don’t think any of them are single.”
His mouth was a grim, flat line. “Men don’t need to be single to pursue a woman, honey. Have any of them shown you a great deal of attention? Maybe gave you compliments?”
“No,” she shook her head again, her mind whirring at a hundred miles an hour. Who the hell had sent those flowers? And why? “I swear no one has been weird or creepy. I’ve got a good sixth sense about stuff like that and no one has tripped it.”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Carter finally seemed to accept her answer. “I just want to know who sent them but it doesn’t sound like we’re going to figure that out easily. But you should be extra-aware from now on. Watch the men in your orbit closely. Whoever sent these will probably want you to acknowledge them.”
“I can do that.” She hiked her purse higher on her shoulder. “How about we put this out of our minds and go? I can’t even think about this when I’m too busy being nervous about eating dinner with your family.”
That declaration was rewarded with an easy smile. “Honey, my family already thinks you’re aces so you don’t have anything to be nervous about. But if you do feel nervous, just pretend they’re in their underwear. Isn’t that what they always say to do?”
All those handsome Anderson men barely dressed? That would make her blood pressure skyrocket.
Chapter Fourteen
‡
Dinner with Carter’s family had gone well. They were, of course, charmed by Mallory and she seemed to like them too. They’d told some embarrassing as shit stories about him just to see him cringe but she hadn’t encouraged it, which was sweet. When he’d told one about his brother Easton they had finally shut up.
Not everyone had attended so she hadn’t yet met Travis and Aubrey, who were traveling and Shane and Arden, who had a nasty cold. She did get a chance to meet West, Jason, and Easton’s wives and they all seemed to get along well. She’d played with the kids and even held Jason and Brinley’s new baby boy Eric, who hadn’t spit up or peed on her. Clearly Mallory had the Anderson seal of approval.
Until now Carter hadn’t given a shit if his family liked the female he was dating but it was becoming more important as he grew older. Whomever he married would have to deal with the Anderson name, something he’d been doing for over thirty years. Most of the time it was great, but sometimes it could be a burden. He didn’t want to throw that on some naive woman who couldn’t handle th
e expectations.
What the hell? I’m not thinking about getting married. I just met this girl.
He liked her, though. More than he had anyone else in recent memory. Thankfully she didn’t seem all that anxious to waltz down the aisle, which was a huge relief. She wouldn’t be buying bridal magazines after the third date or planning whether to release doves or butterflies at the reception.
He started the car and pulled out onto the long road that would take them to the ranch gate. He really wanted to take her to his house and get cozy in front of the fireplace but he didn’t want her to think he was a horn dog that would never take her anywhere and only wanted sex.
“It’s still early. Jason’s singing tonight at a local bar. He’s actually really good. Would you like to go for a little while?”
Carter also wanted to speak with his cousin. When he’d tossed those flowers in the trash, he’d slipped the card and envelope in his pocket. He had a feeling that whomever had sent them was being a jackass after seeing Mallory on the news. Jason might have a few ideas about how to find this guy. Carter wanted to give this jerk a lesson in manners.
Mallory’s eyes widened. “He sings? I had no idea. He didn’t mention it.”
“He’s modest—about that, anyway. What do you say? We don’t have to stay long. I don’t know about you but sitting in front of the fireplace sounds like a great idea later. We’re supposed to have record cold tonight.”
She nodded with enthusiasm. “I think that sounds like a great idea as long as we’re not out too late. I do have to work tomorrow. Is it a karaoke club?”
Carter took the turn toward the highway. “No, he sings with the band. He doesn’t do it often but he enjoys it. My aunt has their kids tonight so Jason and Brinley are making an evening out of it.”
The drive to the bar didn’t take long but finding a parking spot did. The place was packed which was unusual for a Sunday. Word must have leaked out that Jason was singing tonight.
Road to Danger Page 7
