“I thought we’d go down by the river.”
“Good idea. Why don’t you ride with me?”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. Your car will be fine here.” He glanced toward the house and saw a curtain twitch. Someone watched them. With a shoulder jerk toward the big house, he said, “Nice place. Who’s it belong to?”
“Desdemona Rosebud Hamilton.”
“This is her house?”
“Yep.”
“I’m hungry, Mommy.”
Elisa hoisted the child to her hip. “After her third husband passed away, Desdemona decided to come back here from Colorado.”
Tucker plucked the squiggly Daisy from her and hoisted the child to his shoulders.
Daisy giggled. “Look at me, Mommy.”
“I see you, sweetie.”
“Did you say third husband?”
Elisa nodded. “She’s a former Miss Georgia. And that’s enough gossip here in her yard.” She sighed. “Speaking of yards, look at this one. I could weep at the idea of Daisy having a place like this to play.”
“She has a pretty darned good yard at my place.”
Elisa laid a hand on the side of his face. “She does, Tuck. Thing is, that’s temporary.”
He flinched. Yeah. Temporary. Wasn’t everything? The sun drifted behind a cloud, and the world became a little less sunny.
* * *
On the way to their picnic, Tucker passed a house that was all but falling in on itself. An overgrown, weed-infested yard erupted around it. Toward the back of the lot, nearly obscured by tall grass, sat a rusted-out pickup.
He whistled, hit the brakes, and put the car into reverse.
“What’s wrong?” Elisa asked.
“Not a thing. In fact, I think Christmas has come early.”
“Christmas?” Daisy piped up. “Santa Claus?”
Elisa slid her sunglasses down her nose. “Now you’ve done it.”
He thumped a fist against his forehead. “I didn’t mean it literally, sweetie.”
“Huh?”
“A three-and-a-half-year-old doesn’t understand the difference.” Elisa decided to let Tucker field this one.
“Okay.” He pulled to the side of the road and turned to face Daisy. “Santa’s not coming for a couple of months yet, but I saw something I’d like to put in my Dear Santa letter.”
“I like Santa.”
“Me, too. I’m gonna go look at it, okay?”
“’Kay, Tut. Can Mommy and I come, too?”
“Sure.” He opened his door and whistled. “Oh, baby. I want this truck.”
“Why don’t you ask Santa for one? A red one like a fire truck.”
“Call me crazy, Daisy, but I like the old ones.”
“Mommy’s car is old.”
“Yeah, it is,” he agreed.
Elisa groaned. Then she asked, “Are there snakes in that high grass?”
“For this beauty, I’ll risk it. Besides, I came dressed for it.” He patted his jeans and lifted a foot to show his sturdy work boots.
“Well, Daisy and I didn’t.” She lifted her daughter from the car and went as far as the sidewalk. When Daisy wiggled to get down, Elisa let her. “We’ll wait right here.”
“But, Mommy, I wanna see what Santa’s bringing Tut.”
Just then, the door to the house opened and a man dressed in bib overalls shambled out. “Howdy. What can I do ya?”
Daisy plastered herself to her mother’s leg.
“Somebody lives here?” Elisa whispered to Tucker as she wound a protective arm around her daughter.
“Guess so.” He stepped forward, hand out. “Name’s Tucker Wylder.”
“I know who you are, boy. Seen you on TV with your brothers. Watched y’all turn old heaps into beauties. Whatcha doin’ here?” He spit a stream of tobacco juice into the weeds.
“What’s he doing, Mommy?”
“Nothing, sweetie.” She hefted Daisy onto her hip.
“Howdy, ma’am.” He tipped his stained ball cap, smiling at Daisy. “How are you today, little one?”
“Good,” Daisy answered before she hid her face against Elisa.
“She shy?”
“Sometimes,” Elisa said.
“I’m Finch Spivey. My guess is you spotted Beulah out back.”
“Beulah?” Elisa echoed.
“My daddy bought her a few years after he came back from World War II.”
“A ’49, right?” Tucker asked. “Mind if I look at it?”
“Not at all. Help yourself.”
Tucker waded through the tall grass and weeds, with Finch right behind him talking a mile a minute about his old Studebaker.
“Interested in selling it?” Tucker asked.
“Might could be.”
From her perch in her mother’s arms, Daisy watched the men. “What are they talking about, Mommy?”
“Tuck’s looking at Mr. Spivey’s old car, kind of the way you look at toys in the store.”
“Will he ask you to buy it for him?”
Elisa laughed. “I seriously doubt that, but he might buy it for himself.”
“Why?”
“That is a very good question.”
When Daisy started to fidget and whine, Tucker promised Finch he’d call later.
At the park, Elisa spread a blanket and set out their food. Tucker’s eyes followed her every move and made her feel clumsy.
“Tuck, why don’t you put half a sandwich on Daisy’s plate, then take one for yourself?”
“You have enough?”
“I always pack extra. Never know when you’ll run into some hungry, good-lookin’ guy.”
“You think I’m good-lookin’, huh? Handsome, virile, able to move mountains.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, but don’t break that arm patting yourself on the back.”
He leaned in unexpectedly and dropped a quick, hot kiss on her lips.
She closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the moment, deciding to make the most of this shared picnic lunch with an extraordinarily sexy man.
“You need to smile more.” Tucker’s voice took on a lower timbre.
Daisy patted his knee. “Kiss me, too, Tut.”
“Thought you’d never ask.” One quick, noisy smooch later, he glanced at Elisa. “How about the apple slices?”
“What?”
He held up the plastic container. “How many slices will Daisy eat?”
Just like that, she dropped back into the real world. “Give her two. There’re a couple of bottles of water in there that should still be cold.”
She watched as both child and man plowed through their portions and realized they’d been truly hungry. So had she, for the first time in a long time. Could be the mountain-moving guy across from her was responsible for that.
And yet a shadow hovered, a shadow she couldn’t tackle today, not here and not in front of Daisy. Her secret would keep.
There was something she could tell him now, though, and should. She took a deep breath. “We need to talk, Tucker.”
He glanced at her, frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s good news.” Fighting not to wring her hands, she folded them in her lap.
“Good news puts a look like that on your face?” He set down his unfinished sandwich. “I’m not gonna like it, am I?”
“Actually, I think you will. From what you said earlier, I assume you don’t know Desdemona.”
“Nope, but I ran into her at the grocery store. She reminded me of Delta Burke. That same overblown personality. The clothes.”
“From Designing Women?”
“Yep. Suzanne Sugarbaker.”
“She is a lot like her, now that I think about it.” Elisa studied him. �
��That show’s been off the air practically forever. How do you know about it?”
“Through osmosis.”
She swatted him.
“Hey!” He rubbed his arm.
She made a face. “Want me to kiss it and make it better?”
His eyes darkened and took on a smoldering heat. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
“So not going to happen.”
“More’s the pity.” Daisy crawled into his lap. Without a word, he wrapped an arm around her and snuggled her in. “Anyway, Designing Women isn’t defunct in my parents’ house, not on the rerun channels. My mother has watched every episode at least ten times.”
Elisa smiled. “What was Desdemona wearing when you met her?”
“We didn’t actually introduce ourselves over the salami and Virginia ham, so I’m making an assumption it was her.” He rubbed his chin. “She had on a long-sleeved red silk dress, red shoes with—I swear—eight-inch heels, and a double-strand pearl necklace. Sparkly earrings and a ring on every finger. You know. Your typical grocery-shopping outfit.”
“Pretty observant.”
“Details. A big part of my job.”
There was her opening. “Speaking of jobs, Desdemona offered me one.”
“What?”
“And a home.” Stretched out on the blanket, her daughter now asleep in Tucker’s arms, Elisa told him about the bookstore and the possibility of her and Daisy moving in with Desdemona.
Tucker said nothing, and the silence stretched into uncomfortable.
“Stay with me.” His hazel eyes held an intensity she’d never seen there.
She twisted the small gold ring on her pinky. “It doesn’t look good, Tuck. It was one thing when my car quit, I was less than a hundred percent, and we had nowhere to go. I’m forever in your debt—”
“I don’t want you in my debt. I want you in my—” He broke off and blew out a breath.
“This situation has trouble written all over it, Tuck. I know it, and you know it. Besides, you said it yourself. It’s time for Daisy and me to leave.”
“I didn’t mean it.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“Not for the reason you think,” he growled. “Truth? I’m not sure you’re safe with me.”
Elisa rose on one elbow. “Funny, but I’ve never felt safer.”
“What do you say we table this discussion for now?”
“Deal.” She held out a hand. Instead of shaking it, he drew it to his lips and dropped a kiss in her palm. “Oh, Tuck. What am I going to do with you?”
“You don’t want to hear my answer to that question, darlin’.”
Tucker realized he owed Gaven big. This break had done him far more good than a month of Sundays on some therapist’s couch. Now that he had his head straight, though, he needed to get back to work. “As much as I’ve enjoyed this, sugar, I’d best see what my brothers are up to at the shop.”
When he stood, Daisy shifted and woke, yawning.
“Thanks for coming with us, Tuck,” Elisa said. “This was nice.”
Daisy smiled up at him sleepily. “Yeah, Tut. Nice.”
He tugged one of her braids. “I agree, short stuff.”
“I’m not short stuff. I’m Daisy Elizabeth.”
Tucker smacked the flat of his hand against his forehead. “Of course you are. How could I forget?”
Daisy extended her arms out to her sides. “I don’t know.”
Laughing, he carried her to the car and opened her door. “Hop in, Miss Daisy, and I’ll drive you and your mama back to your car.”
He stowed the blanket and picnic basket in the backseat beside her.
Eyeing Elisa over the top of the car, he said, “We’re not done with our conversation.”
“I didn’t think we were.”
When they reached Desdemona’s, Daisy had fallen back asleep. Tucker pulled to the curb behind Elisa’s old four-door sedan.
“You need a new car.”
She shook her head. “You keep saying that, but this one’s paid for.”
“Understood. But it’s worn out.”
“It’s what I can afford.”
“Let me look around, see what I can find.”
“No. Absolutely not. This works for me.”
With a disgruntled mutter, he got out, only half closing the door, and rounded the hood to help Elisa out.
Rather than dropping her hand once she stood beside him, he pulled her close and, unable to stop himself, gave her a light kiss. Since she didn’t pull away, he kissed her again, taking it deeper till her blood churned and she forgot they stood in the middle of someone else’s sidewalk.
When he stepped back, he threw her a wink. “Don’t forget about our date tonight.”
The corner of her mouth kicked up in a small smile. He hadn’t forgotten.
Daisy stirred, and Elisa gathered her up, as well as her seat. Her body tingled and she raised fingers to touch her lips, his taste still on them. What did he have planned for tonight?
Chapter 17
When Tucker left work, his mind shifted to the mechanics of setting things up for tonight’s movie under the stars. He’d switched vehicles with Gaven, since he needed the truck to haul stuff. After a few quick stops and a coffee from Tommy’s Texaco, he headed home. Daisy and Elisa had called to tell him they were visiting Tansy, Gracie Bella, and the cats, so he’d told them to stay away a little longer.
He’d managed to round up six bales of hay. As Tucker lifted them from the truck and arranged them, he whistled Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and thought about Elisa. Alabama sure did raise them pretty—and stubborn as all get-out.
He used four bales to form a base, then stacked two more as a back to lean against—a sofa made of hay. Prickly hay. Running inside, he unearthed some old flannel sheets to drape over them. Given the cooler weather they’d been having lately, he’d make Elisa and Daisy wear long pants and sleeves. They’d need jackets, too.
Cursing and wishing he’d asked Gaven to lend a hand, he fought with the canvas tarp, finally managing to hang it on the side of the old shed. He pulled it tight to remove as many wrinkles as possible and nailed it in place. Darlene at Quilty Pleasures had cajoled Effie, the town’s librarian, into lending him the library’s DVD projector. Tucker swore Darlene could lay her hands on anything a body wanted.
Cleaned up and changed with five minutes to spare, he was in the kitchen throwing the food together when he heard the crunch of Elisa’s tires on the gravel out front. He tossed the bag of rolls on the counter and stepped outside.
“Hey, pretty ladies. You’re just in time.”
* * *
Tucker grilled hot dogs over the big fire pit while Daisy raced around the yard hunting wildflowers and pretty stones.
Elisa kept a close eye on her. “Slow down, Daisy.”
“As long as she doesn’t get too close to the water—”
“It’s not that.” She tapped a fingertip over her heart.
“She’s such a force, I almost forget sometimes. Want me to find something else for her to do?”
“No, I know I worry too much.”
“I didn’t say that. You’re doing a great job with her, Lissie, and you’re entitled to a get-out-of-jail-free card on the worry thing.”
She laid a hand on his arm. “Tucker, I have to say this. I don’t know what fluke of nature or cosmic woo-woo decided you should be the one to catch me when I fell, but I’ve thanked my lucky stars every day since that it was you.”
Before he could find the right words, she asked, “Dogs about done?”
He cleared his throat. “Yep. We’re good to go.”
“Tut says the hot dogs are ready, Daisy. Come eat.”
“’Kay, Mommy.”
The woman cut him off at the knees. Sh
e was gorgeous, but it was the things a man didn’t see at first glance that he loved most. Loved? No. Admired.
And her daughter. Daisy had wrapped herself around his heart.
When she plopped down in the grass, Tuck took a good hard look at her. She was ashen and her breathing was rapid and shallow. “Lissie—”
“She’ll be okay. Once she’s quiet for a bit, she’ll even out.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded.
“Okay.” He took a big bite of his hot dog. “Mmm. I need to do this more often.”
“Yeah, Tut. More often,” Daisy repeated.
She kept them entertained with stories about Gracie Bella and the kittens while they finished eating. Then, after peanut butter cup s’mores, Tucker settled her and her mama on the hay bales and arranged a soft plaid throw over them.
He added a couple more logs to the fire. “Warm enough?”
“Oh yeah.” Elisa pulled her daughter in to her side.
“C’mon, Tut.” Daisy patted the spot beside her. “You sit, too.”
He laughed. “I will. As soon as I get the movie started.”
“I didn’t ask what we’re watching. Is it okay for Daisy?”
He arched a brow. “You think I’d show her Fifty Shades or something? Give me some credit, Ms. Danvers.”
She held up a hand. “Sorry.”
“You’re forgiven.” Hearing her quick laugh of surprise, he smiled, then reached for the thermos he’d prepared earlier.
“What’s that?” Daisy leaned closer to smell it.
“It’s warm apple cider.”
“Do I like that, Mommy?”
Elisa chuckled. “Yes, you do. It’s like apple juice, only better.”
“Yay!” Daisy clapped her hands.
“By the way,” Tuck said, “I went back to Finch Spivey’s this afternoon.”
“And?”
A grin split his face. “Beulah, his daddy’s old Studebaker, is now mine.”
“You bought it!”
“Yep.”
“I knew you would. You wanted it the second you saw it.”
He lifted a brow. “Some things you know right off are meant to be.”
She raised a hand to her throat. “Tucker—”
I've Got You, Babe (Must Love Babies) Page 19
