See Bride Run!

by Unknown

  The women stood together as Nelson and Darla danced; now and then, Nelson rubbed his crotch against her. “Oh, my Lord,” Lillian said to Annie. “I hope she doesn’t get pregnant.”

  Once the song ended, Kazue led Darla to the overstuffed chair and had her sit. Darla gave Annie a stern look. “You’re going to pay for this, Annie Hartford,” she said, unable to hide her amusement. “I almost got a speeding ticket getting here.”

  Darla had barely gotten the words out of her mouth before an old Rolling Stones song blasted “Honky-Tonk Woman.” Nelson danced around the apartment, stopping to rub up against the guests while Lillian filled their glasses with more wine. Annie chuckled when he came up behind her and began pressing hot kisses to the back of her neck.

  Finally, he kicked off his shoes and stepped up on the coffee table. Facing Darla, he immediately went into a bump-and-grind routine that soon had the women squealing. He reached for his bow tie, pulled it free, and tossed it to Darla.

  “Take it off,” Darla yelled, sending the women into a fit of giggles.

  Nelson’s jacket and vest came off in one tug, and he was soon bare from the waist up. Cheryl took pictures with her phone.

  Another Rolling Stones song began, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” and Nelson spent the next few minutes flexing his muscles and making suggestive moves that whipped the women into frenzy. Lillian came through with more wine, and Nelson tossed his cummerbund at her. Then, with one quick jerk, his pants came off, leaving him in a thong bikini. The women went wild. Ira fanned herself with a magazine. Nelson motioned for Annie to join him, and, despite the blush that burned her cheeks, she joined him. The women cheered her on, and Cheryl snapped pictures.

  Outside, Sam could hear screaming over the loud music and decided it was time to investigate. He shot up the stairs and through the front door like a bullet, then, stood there dumbly as he watched a barefoot Annie dance far too close to an almost naked man. Everybody was so wrapped up in the show they didn’t notice him. This was not the Annie he’d come to care about, he told himself as he watched the two dance in a way that would have gotten them kicked out of most places. He shook his head sadly.

  Just as he started for the door Annie saw him. She looked surprised and a lot embarrassed. “Sam, what on earth are you doing here?” she asked. She climbed off the coffee table and Kazue took her place. Annie hurried over to Sam, noting the dark scowl on his face. “Why are you here?” she asked.

  Sam was glad the other women were so involved with the show that they paid him no mind. “This is what you call cleaning your apartment?” he said. “This is a helluva party you’re giving, Annie. Once word gets out, you’ll be the most popular girl in town.”

  Annie felt her temper flare. “That’s not a very nice thing to say to me,” she said testily. “Had you bothered to call first—”

  “Oh, I get it. I’m not allowed to drop by, because Lord only knows what you’ll be doing. Well, you just go ahead and party. I certainly don’t want to interfere with your fun.”

  Annie could see that he was hurt as well as angry, but that did not give him the right to barge in uninvited and falsely accuse her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Sam Ballard. Please leave before you ruin everybody’s fun.”

  “Gladly.” He turned and stalked down the stairs. He drove straight to his office, where he tried to cool off and catch up on paperwork. But he could not get the image of Annie and the college kid doing some kind of weird mating dance on her coffee table. She obviously enjoyed it because she’d been wearing a huge grin. Further, he didn’t know what to make of the other women who had been applauding loudly. Is that how the Pinckney Social Club held their private meetings, he wondered.

  Sam was furious. He’d spent years being the butt of bad jokes after his ex-fiancée left town. What had started out as a fun relationship had begun to sour after her best friend accepted a job in Boston. The relationship crumbled when Sam adamantly refused to leave Pinckney, and, as his fiancée referred to, “That tacky construction trailer you call your law office.” That did not sit well with Sam. He liked his office just fine.

  They were between arguments when Sam presented her with a lavishly wrapped gift on Christmas Eve. She opened it to find a plane ticket for one to Boston.

  Once she left town, Sam asked Lillian to give his office a face lift. She and Kazue had done a perfect job, giving it a slightly masculine feel with earthy colors and rich looking furniture. They had shelves installed for his law books and added a round table with four upholstered chairs to serve as his conference area. One counter held a dorm-sized sink, microwave oven, and refrigerator with a hip looking coffee station. They had managed to do all that and upgrade his small bathroom so that it was more than presentable to his clients. It would never be as fancy as a law office in Boston, but Sam didn’t care. The people he worked for lived in Pinckney, Georgia, and that was just fine with him.

  Still, the relationship had left a bad taste in Sam’s mouth, and the teasing had only made things worse. Darla had accused him more than once of having a chip on his shoulder, which was why Sam had tried to avoid Annie when she arrived in town. But he’d soon discovered, she was not only pretty, she was good and decent and genuinely cared about people. Not only that, all he had to do was look at her, and his testosterone shot straight through the ceiling. Maybe it had been his ego talking, but he thought she felt the same.

  It just proved, once a fool, always a fool. He was sure it was stamped all over his forehead.

  It was coming up to ten p.m. when Sam decided to call it a night. He locked his desk and file cabinet and was about to grab his briefcase when the door was flung open.

  Annie stepped inside, closed the door behind her, and planted her hands on her hips. She was clearly annoyed. “Do you have something you want to say to me?” she asked.

  “How about this: My office is closed, and I’m not taking on any new clients. Have a nice life.” He picked up his briefcase and headed for the door. Annie crossed her arms and stepped in front of him. He laughed. “You’re going to try to stop me from leaving? Seriously?” he added. “Is your party over already? Did your boyfriend have to run home in time to make his curfew?”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Annie said.

  “I have eyes, Annie. I saw how much you enjoyed having that young stud’s hands all over you.”

  “Thank you for mentioning that, Sam, because I need to remind you that, number one, you do not just walk into my apartment without knocking.”

  “I heard someone scream.”

  “You heard screams of laughter. That brings me to the next topic. You do not stand in judgment of how I live my life. Not you or anyone else.”

  “I agree. May we leave now or will you tackle me before I can get to my Jeep?”

  “After you apologize for almost ruining Darla’s bachelorette party,” she said.

  Sam blinked several times and cocked his head to one side. “That was Darla’s bachelorette party?”

  “Yes, Sam, and what you saw was a group of women letting their hair down.”

  “Plus, one almost naked guy,” he added.

  “Everybody danced with that almost naked guy, and we had a ball doing it.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You weren’t invited.”

  “Is that why you were in such a hurry to leave the picnic?”

  “Yes. And another reason I didn’t tell you or anyone else was because Lillian asked me not to. Besides, I’m not obligated to tell you every move I make.”

  Sam gave a huge sigh. “You’re right,” he said. “On all counts,” he added. “I never should have shown up at your place unannounced. I’m sorry.”

  “Keep going,” Annie said.

  “I had no right to judge you or anyone else for that matter. I’m really sorry, Annie. And embarrassed,” he added. “I’m thirty-five years old, but I keep acting like I’m back in high school. My only excuse—not th
at I really have one—is that I’m crazy mad about you,” he said, “but if I were you, I would stay as far away from me as possible because I am obviously a jerk.”

  Annie nodded. “You’re being awfully hard on yourself, but I think I’ll let you keep at it. In the meantime, would you give me and my bicycle a ride back to my place?”

  “You rode your bike here? At this hour?”

  “Yes, Sam, I did,” she said. “Why do you ask?”

  He’d almost done it again, stuck his foot in his mouth. He was going to have to practice keeping his mouth shut and minding his own business. “Well, because, that means your ankle must be completely healed. That’s great news!”

  Ten minutes later, they were on their way to Annie’s with Kazue’s bike tucked into the back of Sam’s Jeep. Neither of them said anything, but Annie was still touched by his apology, and his desire to make things right.

  Sam parked in Lillian’s driveway and climbed from the car. He pulled the bike out, opened Lillian’s garage door, and rolled it inside. He closed the door and looked at Annie. “It’s safe and sound,” he said. “I’ll wait until you get safely inside your apartment before I leave.”

  Annie frowned. “That’s not going to work, Sam.”

  “You don’t want me to wait?”

  “I don’t want you to leave.”

  Chapter Ten

  At first, Sam was certain he had misunderstood. He searched Annie’s face, her eyes, trying to decide what she was asking of him since he had managed to get a few things wrong lately. Her eyes were soft and he thought he read the same deep longing he felt.

  “I thought you were mad at me,” he said.

  “I was mad at you, but I’m over it. Do you want to come upstairs or not?”

  “Hell, yeah, I want to come upstairs, but I’d like to think we were on the same page, if you know what I mean.”

  “We’re definitely on the same page, Sam.”

  He followed her up the flight of stairs to her apartment. He wondered if he would ever be able to see her behind in a pair of jeans without wanting to take them off of her. Annie unlocked the door. They’d barely made it inside before Sam pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. When he raised his head they both sucked in air.

  Annie began unbuttoning his shirt. She pulled his shirttail from his slacks.

  “Are you trying to seduce me?” Sam asked jokingly.

  She smiled. “Yes. How do you think I’m doing so far?”

  “You’re doing great. Please don’t let me stop you.” He kissed her again, this time slowly, leisurely, as though he had all the time in the world. Once his tongue had explored her mouth, he cupped her face between his palms and kissed her closed eyelids, her forehead, then, pressed his lips against the hollow of her throat. Without warning, he swept her high in his arms and carried her into the bedroom where he gently placed her on the bed.

  Annie pulled him close for another kiss. His mouth was hot; she drank him in and felt a tug of pleasure low in her belly. The world around her seemed to disappear, as though tucking itself behind the shadows so that the only thing left was the two of them, lost in each other’s embrace.

  Sam told himself to take it slow, but he could not wait to have her warm and naked under him. He pulled off her jeans and sweater, and the sight of her in a black lace bra and matching panties sent his pulse racing. He reached for the clasp on her bra, and freed her breasts before stripping away her panties. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion, “but then, I knew you would be.”

  He kneaded her breasts gently with his hands, then, closed his mouth around one nipple, teasing it with his tongue until he felt it tighten and quiver. He moved to her other breast before exploring the rest of her body with his mouth and tongue.

  Annie’s body responded to Sam’s kisses and each intimate touch, filling her with a sense of longing and urgency. She felt like crying out when he pulled away and dispensed with his clothes. He quickly rejoined her, and, as Annie eagerly lifted her hips to meet him, filled her deeply. She whimpered his name once before she lost herself to him. It was the sweetest sound that Sam had ever heard. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, and she snugged against him like a kitten.

  #

  When Annie opened her eyes, Sam was propped on one elbow, watching her. “Did I fall asleep?” she asked.

  “You dozed off for maybe twenty minutes.”

  “Have you been staring at me all that time?”

  “Yes, and I enjoyed every moment,” he said. “Plus, I had time to think.”

  “About what?”

  “I’m going to offer Darla the job of managing the restaurant.”

  “I think that’s wonderful,” Annie said. “She is one of the hardest workers I know.”

  “I want to teach her to do the books, take inventory, place the orders, and pay the bills. She has a good head on her shoulders. I think she’ll catch on quickly.”

  “I hope she is going to get a big fat raise!”

  “Yes, she will definitely get a substantial salary increase.”

  “Only one question,” Annie said. “Darla already does a lot. How is she going to fit in all that extra work?”

  “I’m working on it,” Sam said. “I’ve already hired a busboy. He starts tomorrow, in time for the Okra Festival.”

  “Yes!” Annie felt like doing a happy dance.

  “He will actually do more than bus tables,” Sam said. “When business slows after the lunch crowd, he will do the heavy duty work up front, as well cleaning the front windows which we all know is a major job. He’ll also help Flo and Patricia break down the kitchen in the evening. They’ll be thrilled to know they don’t have to wash the big pots and pans or sweep and mop the floor.”

  “That’s great news for everyone, but I can’t help being a bit nervous about the Okra Festival. I’m not nearly as good a waitress as Darla, and it sounds like we’re going to be swamped.”

  “There will be three extra people on board,” he said. “Patricia’s daughter, who has filled in before, will work in the kitchen. Wayne, the guy I’ve hired, will make a huge difference up front because you girls won’t have to clear the dishes off your tables and wipe everything down.”

  “You’re right,” Annie said. “That will make a huge difference.”

  “I’ll be working the front as well, running the register, taking to-go orders, refilling coffee and tea, and picking up broken dishes.”

  “You just had to bring that up, didn’t you? But what about your other jobs? When are you going to do your lawyerin’ and selling cars?”

  Sam grinned. “I cleared my lawyerin’ schedule a month ago and I’m not really responsible for running the car lot so that’s no big deal.”

  “When are you going to offer Darla the manager’s position?”

  “Not until after the wedding which is also the last day of the festival. She has enough on her mind right now.”

  “I’m concerned about her,” Annie said. “I’ve only met Bo once, but it was a harrowing experience.”

  “Bo is a good man, Annie. He made mistakes, some worse than others, but he paid for them. He deserves a second chance, and the people in this town are likely to give it to him.”

  “Well, I’m the last one to judge,” she said, giving a half-grunt, half-laugh. “I stole a car.”

  Sam chuckled but quickly grew serious. “When do you think your father is going to start looking for you?” he asked. “If he hasn’t already,” he added.

  “I’ve been thinking about it, Sam. I’m only three hours from Atlanta. I’m not hiding out or using an alias. Don’t you think someone as powerful as my father would have found me by now if he was looking?”

  “I don’t know how he thinks, Annie.”

  “He is an angry, bitter man,” she said. “It’s true that I humiliated him, but it did not have to be that way. I tried to break off the engagement, but he would not hear of it. I decided to leave. His good friend
at the bank froze my accounts. My credit cards were canceled.”

  “That’s illegal,” Sam said.

  “Not when you’re Winston Hartford. He lives by his own set of laws. I had cash in my purse the day I took off, but I was in such frenzy that I left it behind. I can’t reach Vera, our former housekeeper, who essentially raised Bradley and me; after our dear father sent our mother packing when we were four years old.” Annie could not keep the contempt from her voice. “He filled our heads with lies, but we were too young to know better. Vera could not say much because she feared getting fired, and she was determined to see that Bradley and I had the best upbringing she could give us under the circumstances.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Annie,” Sam said, reaching for her hand.

  “I’ve tried figuring him out,” Annie said. “On the one hand, he may want to visit long enough to tell me how much he despises me for not following his orders. On the other hand, I’m really of no importance to him now. I no longer serve a purpose. In his mind, I’m worthless, and I think he has always felt that way.”

  “That has to hurt,” Sam said.

  “That is why—” Annie suddenly felt a lump in her throat, and her eyes stung. She swallowed.

  Sam squeezed her hand. “What were you about to say, Annie?” he asked gently.

  She blinked several times. “That is why I am so appreciative of the kindness I’ve been shown since I arrived in Pinckney. I don’t have to try and act a certain way. I can just be myself. It is very healing, Sam.”

  Sam gazed back at her for a long moment. If he’d thought her beautiful before, she was even more so now that he’d glimpsed what was inside. “I don’t ever want you to change, Annie,” he said.

  He checked his wristwatch. “I need to go,” he said, “guess we’d better get some clothes back on. Then he smiled. “Do you need a ride to school tomorrow morning or is your dance partner going to pick you up on his tricycle?”