“Doing an excellent job girls,” he called. “Don’t mind me. I’m just going to go lay over there in that hammock. Pull a little sheriff patrol for the misfits on my property.”
Both of the girls rolled her eyes at him. “Thanks Payton,” they called. “By the way,” Lizzie added, “my daddy’s gonna kill you when he finds out this is what you convinced him to let me out of wedding duty for.”
Payton laughed as he finished settling into the hammock and pulled his baseball cap down low onto his head to block out the sunlight from his eyes. “Nope. Somehow I just don’t imagine he’ll really kill me for this. I imagine he might kill you, though, when he hears what you did to my prize winning Pecan trees.”
“And let all the money he spent on this wedding go to waste? Heck no!”
“Mmm-hmm. We’ll just see about that when I take you home later. Did I mention that my digital camera is just itching to send out a few hundred copies of this occasion to all your family and friends.”
“Fine by me.” She flashed him a devilish grin that he obviously couldn’t see through his shielded and closed eyes, but she felt better for it anyway.
Payton closed his eyes against the sunlight and let the sounds of the light wind blowing the leaves in the trees and the sounds of Grace and Lizzie talking with birds chirping in the background lull him to sleep. The sun felt good against his skin, warming him while the breeze helped to cool him just enough. He focused in on Lizzie’s sweet voice- the cadence of her speech soothing him.
He dreamed about her. He could see her in his dreams looking the way she did now, all grown up and just as beautiful as the day he’d met her. Only in his dreams he could see her laughing, her eyes all lit up and dancing like they used to do when he’d known her back then. She was smiling and happy, and when she focused her gaze on him she could see the love shining from her eyes straight into his heart.
He smiled in his half asleep state, his eyes still closed to the world around him. It was amazing that even in his dreams he could smell her. That sweet smell that was all her own and that could intoxicate him faster than any whiskey ever could. Funny, she smelled so close to him. He could almost imagine that if he reached out his arms she’d be close enough to touch. Close enough to wrap her in his arms and haul her down into the hammock to take a nap with him.
Close enough that when his world turned upside down and he felt himself flying through the air then thudding clumsily onto the ground he immediately knew who the guilty party was. And the fact that he heard her giggling hysterically right beside him clued him pretty fast as well.
“Lizzie!” He turned his head to see her tennis shoes level with his eyes in the grass. Aw, hell. Now he was going to do something he might regret, he could already feel it growing in his bones.
She bent over at the waist and her upside down smile and sparkling eyes shot fire through him. “Thought the prison warden might want a little wake up call to know we’re all done here, sir.” She smiled that smug little smile that had him wanting to slap a kiss over her lips just to make it go away.
He settled instead for returning the favor in like kind. His hand shot out from his side and circled her ankle. He could see that she had just begun to register what he planned to do when he gave a sharp pull and sent her flying to the ground, but in the last second he rolled to catch her so she wouldn’t really hurt herself. He continued the roll so he ended up on top of her, effectively pinning her to the ground.
Her eyes went wide, and he could feel her breasts push against him as she struggled to pull in air to her startled lungs. Instinctively his body responded, and he felt himself go hard. She knew it, too. He could see the realization in her eyes, and the blush that followed. He smiled down at her.
“Thought I might return the favor. You didn’t get hurt when you fell, did you now, sweetheart?”
She narrowed her eyes at him until they were nothing more than cat like slits. “No, honey, I didn’t. Now, if you don’t mind, I think it’s time you took me home.” But instead of pushing against him and trying to free herself, she just lay there lost in his eyes.
Somewhere in the distance they heard a conspicuous clearing of a throat. “Speaking of home, I’ve got to run. I’ve gotta take Snickers to the vet for her annual feline check-up. Uh, guys? Did you hear what I said?” Grace cocked a hip out to the side and raised her eyebrows. It took a minute, but eventually Lizzie and Payton realized she was there and they tore their focus from each other. Simultaneously they turned their head to where she was leaning against a Pecan tree.
“Hi, remember me?” She smiled. “Look, I totally forgot. Payton, I really need to get to her there today and they close in thirty minutes. Mind if I take your truck and head on to town? It’d really save me a bunch of time from walking back home.”
Lizzie pushed herself out from under Payton and brushed the grass from her hair. “Don’t worry about it Grace. I need to get home, too. I’m sure my dad is about to kill me for being gone this long. Payton, can you drop her off in town on your way to drop me off?”
Oddly enough, Lizzie thought, Payton’s eyes went round with shock at the same time Grace said, “No! Uh, I mean… you know what? I really need to get to town right now. I don’t have time for you to drop Lizzie off, Payton. Can’t I please borrow your truck?”
“Sure,” Payton quickly replied. “Just make sure you don’t wreck it, alright?”
And with a quick thanks Grace jumped into Payton’s truck and sped off down the gravel drive like a NASCAR driver on speed.
“Jeez. What was that about?” Lizzie stood up from the ground and uselessly tried to brush the green grass stains off the legs of her jeans. “She certainly streaked out of here, don’t you think?”
“Ah, well, that’s Grace for you. A little whacked in the head if you ask me.”
“You would think that. Look, it’s getting late and I really need to get home. Thanks for the wedding diversion and all, but I’ve got to head home now.”
“Wait!” Payton cringed inwardly. He sounded a little desperate, didn’t he? “I mean… wait a second, okay? I need to run inside and grab a shirt. It’ll only take a minute and then I’ll drive you home.”
“But, you just lent Grace your truck, remember?”
“Sure I do. But I have another truck in the garage. It’s old and beat to hell and back, but it runs.”
“Oh, well. Okay.” She plopped down into the hammock and propped one tennis shoe on top of the other one, settling in to wait until Payton came back to take her home.
He returned a few minutes later wearing a pair of jeans and a burgundy t-shirt with an ad for Corona on the back. He crossed the yard to the hammock and held out his hand to her. “Come on. There’s someplace I want to take you.”
“Take me? But I really need to get back home.”
“I’ll take you there, too, but there’s someplace I want to go with you first.”
She eyed him curiously. Did she dare go anywhere with him? She knew that it probably wasn’t a good idea. It was probably a really bad idea, in fact, but she heard herself give in, and she held out her hand for him to help her up.
“Great. Hang on a second and I’ll back the truck out of the garage.” He’d no sooner helped her up when he disappeared back into the house and she heard the electric garage door opener begin to pull the heavy door up. The ugliest, most beat up truck in the world came rattling out of the garage, leaving her to stare in disbelief at its exterior.
“I told you it was ugly and beat to hell. Get in, and let’s go.” Payton yelled out to her through the open window then bent over the passenger side to open the door for her from the inside.
“Where are you taking me,” she asked as they drove out of the gravel drive.
“You’ll see.”
“This isn’t another wise-ass move to get me to do something for you that you’re too lazy to do, is it?”
Payton’s lips twitched at the corners. “I’m not lazy, and no, it’s not.”
“You know, the thought occurs to me that you sure do like to get under my skin. Do you do it on purpose, or is this just an annoying habit you’ve picked up since high school?”
It was her turn to smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Uh-huh. That’s what I thought.”
They drove in silence for a while. They had come back into to town and just reached her side of town when Payton pulled the old truck into a dirt drive that Lizzie recognized. It was the drive to Granny’s pond.
“What are you up to Payton?”
He stopped the truck and turned off the ignition. “I’m not up to anything. Just… trust me, okay?” He thought she might refuse and demand he take her home. He found himself holding his breath until he heard her say okay.
“Good. Now, go on down to the pond. You remember the way, right? Okay, well go on and I’ll meet you there in a minute.” He waited until she was out of sight and then he leaned his head back against the old, worn leather of the seat and took a deep breath. He was crazy. He knew it. What he was doing could only be described as lunacy, but here he was.
He took a deep breath and got out of the truck. Before he set off after Lizzie he grabbed the picnic basket that he’d stowed in the bed of the pickup truck before he’d pulled out of the garage. He sent up a silent prayer for luck and headed down the path leading down to the edge of the pond.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Lizzie had been staring out across the pond watching a turtle lazily crawl onto a stump to sun bathe when she heard the bushes rustle behind her. She turned as Payton cursed a bush that almost tripped him and then headed out into the clearing surrounding the pond. There was a basket in his hand, she noticed, that looked oddly like a picnic basket.
Lizzie got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“What exactly are you up to, Payton?”
He pretended that he didn’t hear her and set the basket on the ground. He started to hum softly to himself as he spread a big blanket out on the ground for them to sit on.
“At the risk of sounding like a broken record I’m going to repeat myself. What exactly are you up to, Payton?”
He continued to ignore her until he had meticulously straightened each and every corner of the blanket and then plopped down on one edge and patted a spot on the blanket beside him. He obviously wanted her to sit next to him, but Lizzie crossed her arms and cocked out a hip, raising her eyebrows at him like he was insane.
“Oh, come on, Liz. Give a guy a break, okay?”
“Not until you tell me what you’re doing.”
Payton wanted to jump up and force her down on the blanket beside him, but he settled for cursing violently under his breath and releasing a deep sigh. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m trying to have a picnic lunch with you.”
“Why?”
He slapped his hand to his face and ran it through his hair leaving it tousled. “Jesus, Liz, don’t you ever get tired of asking questions? Fine.” He flipped open this lid of the basket and fished inside until he found what he was looking for. “Happy Anniversary, for crying out loud. There, are you happy now?” He whipped out a single white cupcake covered in chocolate icing and topped with a single candle.
“Anniversary?”
“Yeah. Anniversary of the first day I ever met you.”
Lizzie’s eyes went wide, and he saw the corners of her mouth begin to turn up in a grin before she quickly squashed the smile. One hand that had been wrapped around her waste inched itself up toward her mouth to cover her gaping jaw.
“Y-you remember that day?” She looked at him in disbelief.
“Of course I remember that day. You were wearing a khaki skirt and white top with your hair pulled back and those big green eyes that looked like you were going to cry when everyone caught you staring at me.” He smiled. “I never knew a face could get as red as yours did, but I thought it was sweet.”
Lizzie’s legs weren’t going to hold out anymore so she sank to the closest edge of the blanket. “You certainly didn’t give anything away. I thought you didn’t even know I existed.”
Payton smiled. “Well, you got me there. I knew you existed but it just took a while before I let anybody know about it.”
“But you remember that day! Why on earth? I wasn’t even friends with you then. Hell, I didn’t have any friends then.”
Payton looked away to start pulling things from the basket, figuring since he had her distracted for a minute he’d get everything out in hopes that then she wouldn’t refuse to enjoy the lunch he’d brought. “I remember another day too. The day you punched Lou Ann in the face. Remember that?”
“Oh, God, kill me now.”
“I was so impressed that you could use a right hook that well. And then I saw you crying under the stadium.”
“I thought my dad was going to kill me for getting in a fight.”
He nodded. “I wanted to give you a big hug, you looked so sad, but I figured you were better off not knowing that I saw you.”
Lizzie looked at all the food he had pulled from the basket and relaxed enough to let a smile form on her lips. “So, you want to have lunch with me to celebrate me getting caught embarrassing myself in front of you a million times?”
He laughed. “Surprise.” He smiled over at her with that broad, lazy smile that used to melt her heart. He wondered what it was doing to her heart right now.
“No funny business, right?”
“I’m on my best behavior, I promise.” He did one of those scout’s honor hand signals.
Lizzie considered the pros and cons of this situation for a minute, added up that the cons way outnumbered the pros, and then decided she didn’t really care. For once in her life she didn’t really care. “Okay. Let’s eat.”
Payton smiled again. “Good. I was hoping you would say that.” He glanced at the food then scratched his head and shot her a sheepish grin. “I hope you’re in the mood for peanut butter and jelly. It’s all I had in the house.”
Lizzie laughed. “What, you mean you were too busy playing the big bad warden role to go out and get a real meal?” She picked up one of the sandwiches and took a bite. “Mmm, I always did like PB&J’s. Now I just need something to wash it down.”
“Ah, I have just the thing.” Payton reached into the cooler he’d brought and whipped out two Bud Lights, handing her one.
“Wow, I’m impressed. This is shaping up to be a pretty good lunch.”
Payton took a bite of sandwich and talked around his food. “Yeah? Well, if you like this, you’re gonna love dessert.”
Lizzie laughed. She realized she’d been doing that more today than she had in a long time. “Hmm, wonder what it is. If you say Oreo’s and milk I think I’ll be in heaven.”
Payton took another bite and smiled. “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.” He ate in silence for a minute then asked, “Do you still want to open your own clinic one day?”
She thought for a minute. “I suppose so, but Nashville’s already so congested with doctor’s offices. I’d be better off working for someone and then just buying them out one day.”
“What about Edenville? You don’t want to live here anymore?”
“Yes, but now’s there two of us to think about, and I can work anywhere. Josh needs Nashville to support his career.”
Payton’s jaw ticked. “He’s in investment banker. Why does he have to live in Nashville for that?”
Lizzie stopped eating. “What are you getting at, Payton?”
“You give up a lot for him.”
“So? It’s called a relationship, that’s what’s supposed to happen.”
“Yeah, but what does he give up for you?”
“You don’t need to be poking your nose in my business.” A warning note sounded in her voice.
“Just answer the question.”
She gave up all pretense of eating and dropped
the sandwich on her plate. “A lot. He buys me stuff all the time and he spends his time over at my apartment because his mother doesn’t really like me and she thinks women look cheap when they sleep at men’s houses.”
“His mother?” Payton groaned. “How old is this guy? He still bases his life around his mother’s thoughts?”
“Let’s just leave her out of this, alright?”
“Fine.” He looked murderous. “But just because he buys you stuff and sleeps and your place does not mean he gives up a lot for you. You’re giving up the place you used to love, Liz. And what about your family?”
She threw up her arms. “What about them?”
“You’re moving to Nashville, so you can live with Josh and his wacko mom, and leaving your family here. Don’t you want to be with them?”
“Yes, but I also want to be with Josh and sometimes you can’t have everything you want. I get the cake, but I don’t get to eat it, so to speak.”
“What flavor?”
She cocked her head. “What?”
“Just answer me!”
“Chocolate.”
“Aha! That’s what you think.” She looked at him like he’d gone insane. Maybe he had, but he had to finish his thought. “Look, in a week, you’re walking down the aisle to a chocolate covered cake, but when you cut into it you’re going to find out its caramel instead.” He scrubbed a hand across his face. “I’ve tried, Liz, I have. I wanted to be nice to him, regardless of the fact that he’s marrying the girl that I wish could be mine. But he’s not right for you.”
Lizzie jaw clenched and her fingers curled into fists. “Be careful what you say about him.”
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I want you to hear it now before it’s too late. You think he loves you, Liz, but he loves the idea of you, not you. Grace and I have talked...”
“Whoa. You’ve been talking about me behind my back?”
He ignored her and kept on talking. He knew he was in trouble but he had to finish. “He’s constantly doing little things to undermine your confidence like ordering for you and telling you to watch your diet. He wants you to change your hair color for crying out loud! And last night he told me that he wants you to have a boob job so you’ll look more like a porn star.”
The Heart Will Lead You Home Page 29
