He laughed as he placed a peanut between his teeth and cracked it open. “I’m Cap. You remember me?” he asked Thayer.
“A little. Peanuts are good, huh?”
“They sure are. I heard about the fire. Sorry about that, kiddo.”
“It’s okay. My mom’s going to get me a new Spider-Man blanket and some toys tonight.”
“Good thing.”
The bell rang above the door and Ryan walked in. He was going through better days; I could see it in the set of his shoulders.
“A pow-wow? Why didn’t anyone call me?”
“Just got here.”
“What’s a pow-wow?” Thayer asked.
“When you get together with your friends,” I answered.
“Ryan, you remember Thayer, don’t you?”
“How you doing little man?” Ryan patted him on the shoulder and took his usual seat on the other side of my counter. “I heard about the fire, you doing okay?”
“Yeah. All my toys were in there.”
“That sucks, Dude.”
“Thatcher said he lost his toys in a fire, too.”
“Fires are pretty scary. Luckily no one was inside.”
“Yeah.”
This felt good. It was playing house. Hanging with the guys. My son was here where he belonged and all felt right in my world. It reaffirmed that I could do this. I could be the father I was so afraid to be when he was born. I could be better than my father. I would be better than my father. I could get my inheritance and figure out what to do with Deer Creek. All in all, I could be on top of the world soon enough.
“How are the lots coming along?” I asked Ryan. A few months ago, Ryan got engaged to Lone Star’s reporter, Miranda Phillips, a co-worker of Abigail’s. Since then Ryan has turned his late parents’ section of farmland into a construction site where they were currently zoning parcels in order to sell lots and build single-family homes.
“Great. I’ve got zero complaints. The zoning is going well. The twins are ready for school. Alex has been helping the mayor with this tree planting program he got involved in this summer. Bri’s still writing articles-”
“Yeah, I loved that last one she did. What was it, Cap?”
“Tobacco use?”
“No. That was the one before. I liked the one about what would be the proper age to discuss the birds and the bees with children.”
Cap and I burst out laughing. “Did you have that talk with her or what, man?”
“Sometimes I can’t read her articles. I feel like they’re a reflection on my parenting skills or lack thereof. No. No birds and bees talk. Not yet. Fine. It’s been a borderline topic. Especially since Miranda and I became a thing. I think I pushed that topic onto Miranda to discuss with Bri.”
“Dude, you got to bite the bullet at some point.”
“Not today. What about you, Thatch? How’s the birds and bees going for you?”
I shrugged, “Never better,” I lied.
Our conversation went on like this for a while until the guys left and Abby’s mom picked up Thayer. Quick as they left, my phone pinged with a text from Grace. Dropped it all off.
I owe you one.
A big one, she replied.
There were a few more invoices I had to take care of that I hadn’t been able to finish this morning that I worked on once all was quiet. All the while, I waited and hoped Abby wouldn’t take offense to the surprise Grace helped me with. I was too eager for a man my age, wondering how Abby was going to feel about it all and hoping she was going to love the gesture. The only thing I could do was wait.
Chapter Ten
Abigail
The second Grace Patterson came into view from the sidewalk carrying shopping bags, I knew something was up. She refused to go into detail, bringing all the bags around my desk and depositing them at my feet. They were from Thatcher. That was all she told me before she complimented me on my aqua-rimmed glasses and left.
All from Thatcher? I stared at the various colored bags, afraid that if I opened them, it would be like opening a part of my heart that would allow Thatcher inside.
“Where’d you get all the bags?” Miranda snuck up next to me and positioned her butt along the arm of my chair.
“Thatcher Patterson. I stayed with him last night after the fire.”
“Is Adrian still out of town?”
“Yes, but that is another discussion all on its own.”
“Have you heard from the fire marshal yet?” she asked, trying to peek into the bags. I swatted her hand away.
“Not yet. But it’s still early. There were a few guys milling around there this morning when we drove by. It looked awful. All of our stuff-” My voice caught in my throat as my vision blurred with unshed tears. Miranda pulled me into a one-armed hug.
“I’m sorry, Abby.”
“I know. Me too. Have you written about it yet?”
“I’m working on it. But I was hoping you would tell me what happened once you heard from the fire marshal.”
“I will,” I sniffed.
“Now, are you going to look through these or make me?”
“No, but you can sit here for moral support while I take a peek at them.”
“Fair enough.”
I opened the first bag which held a bunch of clothes for Thayer. Spider-Man t-shirts, Batman shirts and a few other superhero items. The second bag had a Spider-Man blanket and my heart expanded fifty-times its normal size inside my chest. That Thatcher. The man drove me insane and I bet he just knew it.
“Awfully nice of the guy, no?”
“Oh yeah, it’s awfully nice of him. I can’t believe he went through the trouble.”
“Why can’t you?”
I glanced up at Miranda, “I don’t know. He comes across sometimes like he’d like nothing better than to see me disappear.”
When Miranda didn’t say anything, I continued glancing through the packages. Bras and panties for me as well as some lounge shorts and comfy-looking camisoles. Two pairs of jeans and a couple pairs of shorts as well as some way-too-nice blouses and tank tops that I’d never find at a garage sale. All my size. That sneaky man must have gone through our clothes yesterday to see what sizes we wore. A few items were much sexier than I would have ever purchased but after wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday, which even washed, I still swear smelled like smoke, I was grateful for anything.
“I can’t believe he went through all the trouble. When’s Adrian getting back into town?”
“Well, about him…” I spoke in a hushed tone, deciding now, with the office mostly empty because of lunch, was the perfect time to tell Miranda about my situation. I explained in detail everything that happened between Adrian and I, as well as all the unfinished business between Thatcher and me. I left out Thayer and Miranda didn’t question that part, which was a relief. I wasn’t sure I wanted to explain that to anyone yet.
“And Thatcher knows this, right? About you and Adrian?”
“Oh yes, he knows. Which is why I think he’s been being so sweet to me and all. He wants his chance.”
“Are you going to give it to him?”
“I don’t know, Miranda. A large part of me wants to. But part of me is so scared that he’ll back out and come to his senses. Realize a family isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. After my heart is involved. Like it was last time.”
“Sometimes you have to just go for it.” There was a wistfulness in her eyes as she spoke and I figured she was referring to Ryan. Their relationship had been difficult at first. Miranda still dealing with the after-effects of her wild-child youth as Lone Star’s Problem Child and Ryan being Lone Star’s Poster Child, well, the relationship had difficulties in the beginning. Knowing Miranda, I knew her to be extremely willful and one to get the job done. I no doubt expected she went after Ryan the same way.
“I tried that once and Thatcher broke my heart. I’m not completely certain I can go through another round of Thatcher.”
Miran
da laughed, “Abby, something tells me going any number of rounds with Thatcher would be a good thing.”
I shivered at her implication. Yes. Even I couldn’t deny the unspoken chemistry between us. The attraction that brewed stronger than any coffee or tea I’d ever had, squeezing all of the air around us so that when I was near him, all I could feel was him. All I could smell was his vanilla smell that got my insides crying for relief. Had me wondering if he would still be the man that talked dirty to me while he was doing dirty things to me.
I didn’t need to know any of that. But I wondered. If I was completely honest, I was hoping. ‘Cause even though he didn’t think so, Thatcher sure had a way with words. My nipples hardened as I tried to get the mental image of his large hand looming above my thighs ready to entice them open, out of my mind.
“I better give him a call and thank him for all this stuff.”
“Better yet, why don’t you stop over there really quick? No one’s going to mind you taking a lunch break, especially with everything you went through yesterday.”
“Really? I’ll walk down quickly. It won’t take me too long.”
“Abby, I promise. We can handle the phones and any visitors without you. Go tell the man thanks. He did this from his heart and something tells me, he’s willing to be far more vested in you guys than you believe.”
After shoving all the bags underneath my desk, I stepped out into the bright sunlight, immediately loving the way the sun felt against my skin. As I walked the block and a half toward the feed store, I marveled at how well shop owners kept up their brick buildings along Main Street and what a great community I lived in. Mrs. Reynolds came out of the florist and stopped in front of me.
“Why hello, Abby.”
“Mrs. Reynolds, how are you?”
“I’m doing okay now that I have witnessed myself that you are okay after that terrible fire.”
“We are okay. It’s just the loss…” My voice trailed off because what could I say? It was evident what the damage of a fire could do to people and I felt awfully silly crying to Mrs. Reynolds, my middle school choir teacher, about all the things I’d lost. All of my pictures of Thayer that I was never going to get back, broke my heart into a zillion pieces. The pain was literally overbearing at moments.
“Oh dear, trust me, I know. It’s unbearable. Let me know if you need anything, anything at all, you hear?”
“Yes Ma’am. Thank you.”
“You take care of that young man of yours. I bet he’s shaken up quite a bit.”
“He isn’t as bad as I thought. But I am and I will. He’s with my mama right now so he’s in good hands.”
Dale Andrews was just getting into his old beat-up pickup truck as I got to the parking lot of the feed store. I didn’t know him all that well but I did know he lived on the opposite side of town from Thatcher, out in the country on a piece of land that used to be kept for pig farms.
“Good day, Abby. How’s Lorna been lately? Haven’t seen her at Rummy. Has she caught the cold?”
“No. Mama is doing great. She’s busy renovating her house, which is why you probably haven’t seen her at cards.”
“Hear anything about what caused that fire?”
“Nope. Not a peep.”
“They’ll figure it out soon enough. Probably faulty wiring.”
“I hope it’s only that and nothing more serious.”
He hopped into his truck and I took a shaky breath before entering Thatcher’s shop. Once inside, my eyes zeroed in on him right away. He was sitting at a stool near the main counter where his cash register was, with a pen between his teeth. Had he looked this amazing this morning when he dropped me off and I hadn’t noticed? The red in his shirt brought out his tanned skin-tone and that damn tattoo of his that hugged his body like a glove, threatened to rub me in all the right ways. His piercing blue eyes brightened up the entire image and I realized in that moment that I’d already given this man my heart.
My whole heart.
A long time ago.
What that meant for us now, I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was irrevocably in love with Thatcher Patterson and as long as I’ve tried to deny it, well, it hadn’t ever gone away. His azure eyes continued to gaze at me and standing just inside his shop, I gave myself a moment to take him all in. To soak him up like I’d just soaked up the sun.
His eyes and those crazy-long black lashes. His broad nose and high cheekbones. My fingers twitched, demanding me to graze their fingertips along his stubble and along his soft, perfectly shaped lips. I wanted to so badly. I missed him. The intimate feeling of him. The soft, loving, care-free side of him. Hell, I missed the demanding, arrogant side of him, too. Last night was a teaser really. Dipping my toes into the water to see if I wanted to jump in.
His thoughtfulness regarding the clothes – Thayer’s blanket – had me wanting to jump right in even if it’d only been a day. On some level, it’d been five years for me. Five years of wondering about him. Five years of recalling the nights we’d spent together talking and laughing and making love. Five long years of burying any ideas or thoughts about him, about us, inside of me that it’d just become the way it was.
His dimples made an appearance as his mouth turned up into that wicked grin that drove me crazy on so many occasions so long ago and I smiled back.
“Thank you for all the clothes. Your sister dropped them off a little while ago.”
“You’re welcome. I thought it would help a little, at least.”
“It helped a lot. Now, I can go home tonight instead of spending the evening shopping.”
“When you say home, do you mean my home?”
My body heat ticked up a notch, “yeah,” I nodded, “I mean your home.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
“How was Thayer this morning?”
“He was great. He helped me move a few things, he played and he ate some peanuts. The guys came in and we all sat around like-” he stopped. “We had a good time.”
“Thanks for watching him. My mama insisted he spend the night with her since she hadn’t seen him over the weekend. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Why would I mind?”
“‘Cause you won’t see him tonight. It’ll just be you and…” my voice trailed as I realized what I was going to say. Tonight. Him and me. All alone. He stood, the metal of his stool screeching against the concrete floor as he pushed it back and came around to meet me at the door where I still stood rooted to my spot.
“After five years of watching you be married to one of my best friends, I’m finally able to spend an evening alone with you?”
“Mmmm-hmmm.”
“I love Thayer but I got to tell you, I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time.”
Me too. Although I didn’t dare voice it.
“Abigail Murphy, would you be my date tonight?”
“We can’t go out on a date, Thatcher. I don’t want the whole town seeing me with you. No one knows about my divorce just yet.”
“I know. I meant at home. Trust me, Baby, I don’t want to be anywhere with you except in the quietness of my house.”
I had trouble finding my voice so I did the only thing I could and nodded. Brazenly, I leaned over and placed the gentlest of kisses along his jaw, teasing my lips to high heaven as the feel of his prickly hairs caressed the sensitized skin. Soap teased my nostrils for a second, my nipples hardened and ached for his touch and my body hummed in delight at his closeness.
“What was that for?” his voice was rough and low.
“For the clothes,” I said nervously.
“Kiss me right and you have my word, I’ll buy you the moon.”
I laughed, “Someday I may take you up on that offer. But right now, I have to get back to work. You’ll be there to pick me up?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Phew. I released a long breath the second I walked out of the feed store and trudged back to work. Electric currents raced th
rough my body as I thought about being alone with him tonight. What would happen? It was amazing how ready my body and mind was for Thatcher considering I used to be a married woman not that long ago. Was I acting foolish thinking of this? Adrian and I had never had sex and I couldn’t help it if my body was thrumming with excitement for Thatcher. He was the one and only man I’d ever had in my entire life.
I was reading too much into it. I doubt he was even thinking about sex with me any more than he was thinking about the dirt on his boots. One step at a time. Tonight with Thatcher was going to be a gift to treasure no matter what we did. All I could do was go along for the ride.
Once I got back to the office, I admired Thayer and my new clothes. Unbelievable. Not garage sale finds and definitely much sexier than anything I would have chosen. Once I got to Thatcher’s place, I decided I would put on one of these nice tops. It was a date after all.
“Did you hear the sirens? Bob and Tracey Underwood’s house caught fire.”
“No. You’re kidding me!”
“Just got word about it. I’m heading over there now. No way this is a coincidence.”
Miranda grasped her notebook tight to her chest as she ran outside and peeled out of her parking spot.
This was not good. Another fire in town? I agreed with Miranda. There was no way it could be coincidental. Fires, especially structural ones, just didn’t happen every day in Lone Star. Let alone twice in two days. In fact, a quick search on my computer pulled up an article we did on a house fire five and a half years ago. That and a few other brush fires where burning ditches had gotten out of hand.
Interesting. That year, there wasn’t simply the one house fire, but three. All within a week of each other. I printed each article out, tapping my foot as the stupid printer booted to life and spit my papers out.
Miranda hadn’t been the one to write the articles but a series of seemingly unconnected fires had burnt three homes to the ground that year. The first one occurred midday on a Sunday. The occupants, Jennifer and Terry Hesslink, had not been home when the fire occurred. They’d just gotten back from church to discover the fire department putting out the blaze. Mr. and Mrs. Hesslink’s cat had sadly not survived.
Wild: A Small Town Romance (Love in Lone Star Book 2) Page 9
