“You were just busting my balls about always being hungry and now you want me to bring you back enough junk to feed a small island nation?”
Abraham shrugged. “Your brother-in-law makes stuff that I would sell my mother to eat again. And I don’t even like sweet stuff.”
Clayton shook his head at his friend. Abraham was tall, good looking, brown skinned and brilliant. He joined his unit as their medic after he dropped out of medical school in his final year. Clayton was never sure why Abraham left his Ivy League school to join them in what he liked to think of as the pit of hell, but he was glad for it. Because Abraham had saved his life and his leg and he owed him for that.
“If they have that ice cream I’m taking it for myself. The rest I can do.”
“Thanks, but we really need to go out. When’s the last time you got some? What’s that saying? If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it? Yours is about to fall off and die. We need to hit up the town. Meet all the beautiful woman this place has to offer. Or if you’re lazy I know my girl, Ashley, at Primo’s probably has a cute friend. You can’t have Ashley though, because I saw her first.”
“Maybe next week.” He tossed his bag into the back of his truck, got in and pulled off. He didn’t have it in him to tell Abraham that the last place he wanted to be was in some noisy bar. He wasn’t looking for anybody. He didn’t want to be involved with any woman, because even the most casual affair led to complications and he didn’t need any complications in his life right now, especially since he was thinking about going back. He had been offered a position with a defense contractor. The pay was good, but it would bring him back to Afghanistan. He was supposed to give them his final decision soon, but as he pulled up and saw his baby sister sitting in front of the bakery her husband owned he knew why he hadn’t decided yet.
Maggie waved at him, a big happy smile on her face. She always seemed happy to see him. “Hey, Clay,” she said as he hopped out of his truck. “Did you have a good day at work?”
“Yeah.” As he walked over to her he could see that her belly had popped. She had a little baby growing in there, and sometimes he still couldn’t believe that his best friend and his sister were going to be parents soon. “How are you feeling?” he asked knowing how sick she had been early in her pregnancy.
“Good. Great actually. I’m over that can’t-stand-the-smell-of-sweet-things phase. It was hard on me, but torture for Alex. He looked like he wanted to cry every time he looked at me with my head in the toilet, and the sink, and in the trash can. He was going to close down the bakery if I hadn’t stopped him.”
“I could see how that would be a problem since that’s how he makes his living.”
“We’ve plenty of savings.” She got up from her seat and hugged him. “He loves what he does. I couldn’t let him give that up because I wanted to toss my cookies every time I smelled sugar.”
“He loves you, Mags. He would choose you over his business and if he wouldn’t I would smash his head in.”
“I know you would and that’s why it’s great to have a tough son of a bitch for a big brother.” She hugged him again, a little tighter this time, and she reminded him of their mother in that moment, and he without a doubt knew she was going to be a good one. “What brings you here? I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Just checking up on you. Alex called. He doesn’t like the idea of his pregnant wife alone overnight for three days.”
“Well, that’s what he gets for going off to France for that fancy chocolate expo.”
“It’s his job. You knew that when you married a world class pastry chef.”
“Yeah. You get angry when somebody messes with your tools. He freaks out when I bring in a chocolate bar I got at the gas station. I only put up with it because he feeds me cupcakes and brownies and doesn’t care if my ass spreads from here to Alaska.” She headed towards the door of the closed for the evening bakery. “Come inside. I saved some ice cream for you.”
“Do you have anything else left over?” He asked as he followed inside of Sweet Eats. “Abraham wants me to bring him some stuff tomorrow.”
“Abraham.” She smiled as she said his name. “I don’t usually like your friends, but I like him. He’s very dashing and can name every bone in the human body.”
“What do you mean you don’t like my friends?” He frowned at her. “You married my best friend.”
“But I didn’t like him. I still don’t. I just happened to fall madly in love with him. It was an accident really.” She stepped behind the counter and began loading a large paper bag full of stuff that hadn’t sold that day. There wasn’t much. Even though Sweet Eats had a slow start, it was the most popular bakery in town, so popular that local grocery stores started selling Alex’s cakes. In the past year he had to hire three additional bakers just to help him with the demand.
“You’re crazy, Mags.” He shook his head. “Why don’t you come stay at my house for the next few days? I don’t want you here by yourself.”
“I’ll be fine.” She came out from behind the counter. “Just because I’m having a baby, I’m not in any more danger than I was when I was single.”
“I know, but I would feel better if you weren’t here alone.”
“So would Mom.” She rubbed her belly. “She called an hour ago and ordered me to stay with her.”
“Ordered?” He nodded. “That sounds about right. You’re carrying her first grandchild. I’m surprised she didn’t lock you in a cage as soon as she found out.”
“No, but I think she loves my unborn child much more than she loves me. She calls me every morning to make sure I slept well the night before and every afternoon to make sure I had a nutritious breakfast and lunch and she stops by every evening to bring me food that’s supposed to be good for pregnant women.”
Clayton winced. His mother was lovely and generous, but she could be a bit much. He had been the recipient of such attention since he left the military. “How is Alex taking it?”
“He loves it.” She rolled her eyes. “They call each other just to talk about my pregnancy. Baby names. Nursery ideas. You’d think he was the one who was knocked up.”
“He’s excited about it.” Alex had lost his mother at fourteen, and he was an only child. Clayton knew how important family was to his friend, that’s why he was glad to see he was starting one with his sister.
“Yes,” she said softly. “I’ve never seen a man who wanted to be a daddy more than him. That’s why I can’t wait to tell him there are two babies in here.” She rested her hand on her tummy.
“What? Twins?” He felt happy for her, even though he couldn’t bring himself to smile, he felt happy for her. They’d had a difficult childhood, with parents who stayed in a bad marriage twenty years too long, but Maggie seemed to have gotten through it with her optimism intact.
She was the opposite of him who’d rather stay in war ravished countries than deal with all the bullshit that came with his parents. Things had calmed down between them, in fact everyone seemed much happier now, but Clayton still had a hard time escaping those nagging bad memories from his childhood. “You’re going to be a good mom, Maggie.”
“You think so? I worry sometimes. That’s a lie. I worry all the time. Mom and Dad were happy before things turned to shit. What if things turn to shit with Alex?”
“They won’t,” he said knowing he spoke the truth.
“Why not? Because if they do, you’ll bash Alex’s head in?”
“No. If he hurts you I will, but I know because you and Alex aren’t Mom and Dad. End of story.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” She saluted him. “I’m glad you’re back, Clay,” she told him softly. “I want my babies to grow up with their uncle here.”
He nodded but didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to make promises that he couldn’t keep.
“Drop me off at Mom’s place? My feet are swollen like sausages, and I forgot where I put my car keys.”
“Yes, sure. No problem.”
> “I’ve got pregnancy brain. I keep forgetting to give Mom the flowers that Alex got her for being his guinea pig while he tried out his new Independence Day recipes. They’re over there.” She motioned to the big bouquet of yellow sunflowers by the window. “Can you grab them for me?” She hoisted a large pink floral printed duffel bag over her shoulder.
“No. Give me the bag.” He took it from her. “You grab the flowers.”
Thirty minutes later and after three attempts by his mother to feed him he arrived back at his place. He lived in a little cottage that was one of Ambrose’s rental properties. It was falling down around him when he first moved in, but Ambrose let him live there rent free in exchange for his carpentry services. He had been fixing it up for over a year, making it into a place that would be a nice home for someone else. It was in a good location, walking distance to the local swimming hole and not too far from a playground. It would be a great place for a family.
Not a place for a single guy with no attachments like himself. But he was finding that out all the places he lived, this one was his favorite and if he took Ambrose up on his offer it could be his. It could all be his.
He got out of his truck, turning to get his tool belt out of the back, when he noticed the sunflowers Maggie had once again forgotten to give to their mother. He was tempted to leave them there, but they would never survive in his truck with the unseasonable heat they were experiencing that early June, so he took them out and that’s when he noticed her. That little girl with the big brown eyes that always seemed to be there whenever he came or went. She was sitting in the yard, under the shady oak tree, a book in her lap.
She had long chestnut hair, a round face and chubby cheeks. She smiled at him sometimes, a shy smile, that reminded him so much of Maggie when she was a kid, Maggie who also had chubby cheeks and always seemed to have a book in her lap. He and Maggie were close as kids. She was his pain-in-the-ass little sister, but they were close, but no one else had any idea what it was like being raised by an angry demanding man and a woman who was in constant fear of displeasing him.
He shook off the memory that was beginning to invade his mind, the one of his mother weeping when she thought she was alone. He didn’t want to think about that. Or the night he almost killed the man who brought him into this world.
He wasn’t sure what made him do it, but he pulled one of the flowers out of the bouquet and walked over to the little girl under the tree.
“Here.” He handed it to her and watched her eyes go wide.
“For me?” She pointed to herself.
“For you.”
He turned to walk away when he saw the girl’s mother standing on the porch staring at him. There was something about that woman. Something about her that made him want to get a little peek of her whenever he came and went. The only way he could describe her is wildly beautiful, wildly outrageously beautiful. She had long dark hair that hung down her back when it was loose, and big almond shaped eyes that made her look a bit exotic. She was tall.
She was thick.
In Clay’s mind he knew that most women didn’t like to be described that way, but she was. Thick like the best piece of chocolate cake. Thick like a juicy steak. Thick like something he would enjoy sinking his teeth into.
She was interesting too. He had never said more than hello to her and yet he knew she was interesting. Not like most mothers around here. She drove a black Mustang. She wore cutoff shorts and tube tops when she gardened and she had a tattoo. Daisies on her lower back that he saw when she was bent over in her garden.
She wasn’t his type. He didn’t go for women like her. Women who looked kind of wild. Women with baggage. But there was something about her. Something that gave him a jolt every time he saw her. And it was damn annoying.
He kept eye contact with her for a long time before he nodded at her and went into his house, once again putting her out of his mind, just like after every time he saw her.
Chapter 3
Daisy didn’t know if Clayton knew she was standing on the porch when he walked over to give Aubrey the flower. She had come outside when she heard the truck pull up. She came outside whenever she heard any car come down their quiet road when Aubrey was outside alone. Part of her hated the idea of letting her play outside without her. Daisy wanted to be there with her every moment, making sure she was safe. She hadn’t grown up like that. Her parents were older when they had them, permissive. They were allowed to roam the neighborhood freely. No curfew. No rules. Freedom to explore. Daisy had never wanted kids, but she thought if she had them, she would be like her parents. But she wasn’t. She was the opposite. So afraid that something might happen to her kid that she sometimes was overprotective. She had to work hard not to be.
She had to give Aubrey her space. Because Aubrey wasn’t a baby anymore and she deserved some freedom. But Daisy still checked on her. And when Clayton pulled up she checked on him. She was surprised to see him get out of the car with that bouquet of flowers. Especially since they were hers, from her shop. She could tell by the way they were wrapped in plain brown butcher’s paper and tied with twine. Her shop mostly worked with corporate clients. She supplied for most of the inns, and hotels in the area. She had a contract to do all the local country club’s events. She even did a few weddings here and there, but she didn’t sell many bouquets like that and she wondered how he’d had got them. He hadn’t come into her shop. She would have known.
Somebody must have given them to him. Somebody had given the big scary bearded man flowers and he had just given one of them to her little girl.
It was a sweet thing to do. On the surface just plain kind. She saw how Aubrey’s face lit up when she received it. A mix of surprise and pleasure that she hadn’t seen often from her kid. And then he looked up at her, looked her in the eye, and for the first time she saw beneath that shaggy hair and bushy beard. His eyes were piercing and a kind of blue she could only describe as icy, but not exactly cold. In fact the way he looked at her without breaking contact kind of made her heat up and it had nothing to do with the upcoming summer weather.
And then he nodded at her. One slow nod before he went into his house. She wasn’t sure what to think about the exchange, what to think about him giving Aubrey that flower. But she knew she was feeling less than comfortable about it.
“Mama, did you see?” Aubrey came running up to her, grinning after Clayton shut his door. “The scary man gave me a flower. I told you he was nice.”
The scary man was nice. Such an odd thought.
“It’s a nice flower, Cookie.” She smoothed her hand over her hair. “I don’t think you should call him that anymore. His name is Mr. Calhoun.”
“Mr. Calhoun? How do you know?”
“Because we got some of his mail by mistake.”
“Oh.” She turned thoughtful for a moment. “I think we should invite Mr. Calhoun over for dinner. It’s what neighbors do.”
“Is it?” She grinned at Aubrey. “Maybe later in the summer. Mr. Calhoun seems like a man who enjoys his alone time.”
*
Summer was coming. Daisy could feel it in the air as she drove to her flower shop two days later. She had so much planned for her and Aubrey. Trips to the beach, and mini vacations to amusement parks, a road trip out west to see some of the country’s beautiful national parks. It could be a great summer of sleeping in late and vegging out in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal, and staying up really late playing beneath the stars, if she had had that kind of kid.
Aubrey wanted to go to camp. An all-girls tech camp at the local university and then a sleepaway camp in Maine that one of her friends was going to. Daisy was fine with the tech camp in fact she was thrilled with the idea of her little girl being so into science and technology already, but sleepaway camp?
No.
It was too much. Not for Aubrey, but for Daisy. She was really looking forward to a lazy summer. Too bad Aubrey was just like her mother. Jane never allowed herself any downtime.
Every minute of her life was scheduled. Never a vacation. Hardly any weekends free. Daisy hated to blame her sister for the distance between them, but it was part of the reason they hadn’t seen each other in the year before she died.
Daisy shook off her sadness as she entered her shop. She had just moved her shop here when they outgrew one in the bordering town. She was glad they moved. Durant was a funky little college town with a bustling downtown and plenty of green spaces. There was a mix of green haired artists and business suit wearing entrepreneurs to give the town a mix of interesting people. She felt like she fit in here, like Aubrey fit in here. It was the perfect place for her to grow up.
“Good morning, sunshine,” she heard a woman with a thick Brooklyn accent say.
“Good morning, yourself,” she said back to Loretta, her mother-in-law, who was seated at the computer behind the counter. Or maybe she should say former mother-in-law. Danny had been gone for two years now. But Loretta was a lifelong fixture. Daisy would have probably never married Danny if Loretta hadn’t been his mother. “You want to come over for dinner tonight? I’m making chow mein casserole.”
“No thanks. I still haven’t recovered from the last time I ate at your house.” She didn’t look at Daisy as she said it, but the look of disgust on her face was clear.
“I didn’t burn it, or undercook it. Nobody got sick. I only tried to poison you the one time and that was seven years ago. You should probably forgive me.”
“It was zucchini lasagna with no noodles, sauce or meat!” She looked away from the computer screen, her black lined eyes sparking with heat. “You served me rabbit food and had the nerve to call it dinner.”
“It wasn’t that bad and we were having our no carb week. Plus it was meatless Monday. You know I have to switch things up for Aubrey. I know she would love it if I let her live on French fries, but I’m trying to be the responsible adult social services thought I was when they gave her to me.”
A Curvy Girl for the Cadet: A Perfect Fit Novella Page 2
