Surrender To Sultry

by Macy Beckett

  At the sight of her, his chest went all hot and prickly. She’d pulled her long waves into a twist with a tiny flower pinned behind one ear, and she wore the same knee-length black dress as her first day in town, but paired with a long silver necklace and matching earrings. A dusting of pink blush on the apples of her cheeks accentuated a timid smile that Colt returned in full force. Lord, she looked lovely. He was glad he’d taken the time to return home after his shift to change into khakis and his best sweater, otherwise he’d feel like a fool sitting beside her in his uniform.

  “Here,” she said, reaching for the bowl of mashed potatoes. “Let me take that.”

  Colt handed off the dish, and once Leah’s arms were occupied, he snuck a lingering kiss on her jaw, right below her earlobe. He made sure to whisper, “Angel, you look good enough to eat,” before pulling back and noticing the goose bumps that had puckered her skin. He wished they were alone so he could spread those chills all over.

  She blinked a few times, then noticed Emma. Leah’s eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t hesitate to crouch down and greet the crazy-haired-peanut-butter princess. While the girls gushed over each other’s clothes, Colt reclaimed the potatoes and took them into the kitchen along with the rolls. Once there, he helped Pastor Mac arrange all the covered dishes in the center of the oak table and left him to carve the turkey breast. When Colt returned to the living room, Emma was seated on the floor in front of the sofa, head tipped back while Leah smoothed her unruly mane with a wide paddle brush and refastened her ponytail.

  Once the up-do was complete, Emma faced her stylist and patted her head with explorative fingers. “Can you fix it like yours?”

  “I will after supper,” Leah said, standing from the sofa. “I worked hard on all that food, and I don’t want to eat it cold.”

  Emma jutted out her bottom lip, but didn’t argue as she dragged her feet into the kitchen. Everyone settled at the table—Leah and her daddy at opposite ends with Colt and Emma together on one side. It felt wrong watching the preacher sink into the same chair where Colt had feasted on the old guy’s daughter, and he wondered how often Leah thought of that day. If she remembered now, she didn’t show it. She kept her eyes downcast as she took Colt’s hand for grace.

  He grasped her cool fingers and discreetly brushed his thumb along her wrist while taking Emma’s left hand. With her right, Emma linked fingers with Pastor Mac, who blessed the meal.

  After amen, Emma announced, “That’s not how my mamma says it. And she does this when she’s done,” then crossed herself backward.

  “Avery went to Catholic school,” Colt explained while spreading Emma’s napkin in her lap. “Well, I suppose I did too, but only for a couple of semesters.” He didn’t mention they’d expelled him after he got busted behind the cafeteria with both hands under the cheer captain’s skirt.

  “There’s no wrong way to thank the Lord for His bounty,” Pastor Mac said to Emma while he handed the platter of sliced turkey to Colt.

  “For paper towels?” Emma asked.

  Colt snorted a laugh. “Bounty just means a lot of something.”

  “Oh.”

  He speared a chunk of breast meat and set it on his niece’s plate. She wrinkled her nose and objected, “I don’t like turkey. I want chicken nuggets.” Then, turning those wide brown eyes on him, added, “You promised, Uncle Colt.”

  He hesitated and darted a glance at Leah, who studied him silently from above her glass of iced tea as if waiting to see how he’d handle the situation. “Uh,” he began, turning back to Emma, “Miss Leah’s a real good cook, hon. Maybe the best in Texas. You don’t want—”

  “I don’t like turkey!”

  Colt recognized the edgy whine in Emma’s voice, the one that said she’d stayed up too late playing her Nintendo DS and woke up with the sun to watch SpongeBob reruns. Trying to reason with her would only make it worse. If he wanted any peace, he’d have to trek to the nearest McDonald’s for that pink pony. It was worth the trouble for an hour or two of silence.

  He started to push away from the table when Leah nudged him hard with her foot. He froze and gave her a questioning glance.

  “We have a rule in this house,” Leah said, mostly talking to Emma, “that I only make one supper, and that’s what we eat.” She swept a hand toward the cluster of covered dishes. “We’ve got turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, baked apples, and rolls. Out of all this, there’s got to be something you like.” When Emma drew a breath to argue, Leah cut her off. “And if not, I won’t make you eat it. But this is our supper, and your Uncle Colt deserves to sit down and enjoy it.”

  Colt gaped at Leah until she nudged him again and he added, “Uh, yeah. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Emma’s brows formed a V and she went boneless, slouching down in her chair and glaring across the room. Leah ignored her and asked Colt to pass the turkey. When a few minutes passed and nobody paid Emma any heed, she began kicking the vacant chair across from her.

  “Emma,” Leah said firmly, holding a forkful of stuffing an inch from her lips. “If you don’t stop, you’ll have to leave the table. And that’d be a shame, because I really wanted to talk to you about which Disney princess I’d trade places with if I could.” She shrugged as if it made no difference to her either way and slid the bite into her mouth.

  And, hot damn, if that didn’t do the trick. Emma didn’t exactly bounce to attention, but she quit kicking the chair and straightened her spine. Colt filled her plate with a few bites of everything before doing the same for himself, on a much larger scale, and passing each dish to the left. After a few minutes, Emma picked at a buttered roll while sliding sideways glances at Leah.

  “Which one would you pick?” Emma asked, then bit off a chunk.

  When Leah answered, “Ariel,” it was in a chipper voice, like the battle of wills had never happened. “I’ve always wanted to be a mermaid. How about you?”

  “Jasmine,” she said with a cheek full of bread. “’Cause she’s got her own flying carpet and a pet tiger. I think it’d be cool to have a pet tiger.”

  “She has a monkey too,” Leah added. “Don’t forget Abu.”

  “Oh, yeah. That’s double cool.”

  As far as Colt knew, they might as well have been speaking Dutch, but he grinned and tried to follow along while he savored his supper. The turkey was perfect—not dry like most white meat—and the stuffing was so dadgum delicious he wanted to make love to it. Leah had skills, that was for damn sure. And not just in the kitchen. She handled Emma like a pro. She’d make a great mama one day.

  When the preacher suggested they go around the table and share what they were grateful for, it didn’t take Colt half a second to come up with his answer. He faced Leah and drawled with a teasing smile, “Old friends and Richman’s éclairs.”

  He expected her to blush or giggle, maybe offer a witty comeback, but her answering grin wavered and a shadow seemed to pass behind her pale blue eyes. He’d seen her with this far-off look a few times since she returned to town, and he wondered for the thousandth time what made her so sad.

  A frightening possibility came to mind. What if she was heartsick over that asshole doctor? If she loved him enough to accept his proposal, it might take a while to get over him. Colt only hoped the guy wouldn’t take her back, because while Colt didn’t deserve Leah, her ex deserved her even less.

  Leah had just begun to speak when an obnoxious chiming from the sideboard interrupted her. Colt glanced over his shoulder and found the source of the noise, a black iPad with the words swipe to unlock illuminated on the screen. Figuring Leah had a call, Colt reached for the tablet so he could hand it to her.

  “No!” she shouted, leaping from her seat so fast she knocked over her glass of tea. Liquid rushed the length of the table while ice cubes plunked to the floor, but she ignored
the mess and bolted to the sideboard to snatch her iPad and silence it.

  What the hell was up with that?

  She must have sensed his confusion, because she offered a shaky laugh and tucked the device inside one of the sideboard drawers. “I never take calls at supper. It’s rude.”

  Colt’s bullshit detector had never led him astray, and it was blaring a red alert so loud it distracted him from the tea dripping into his lap. He was no dummy. Leah didn’t want him to know who’d just called, and that could only mean one thing: it was the doctor. And if the two were talking again, it probably meant they were toying with the idea of getting back together.

  Absently, he scooted back and helped Leah dab at the mess until they’d soaked up the tea and resumed their supper. But it wasn’t the same after that. An awkward silence hung over the table like a pestering cloud of mosquitoes. Emma must have sensed it too, her prattle a bit less animated than it’d been a few minutes earlier. She didn’t even ask if she could play Angry Birds on Leah’s iPad, which showed epic restraint on her part.

  After dinner, Colt helped Leah clear the table and hunt down matching lids and plastic containers for the leftovers while Pastor Mac ushered Emma into the living room for a game of Chutes and Ladders. While they worked together, Colt tried to lighten the mood with an occasional joke or a casual brush of fingers along the back of Leah’s neck. But each step closer somehow pushed him farther from his goal—she’d soften to him and then go wistful again. Colt’s instincts told him to step up his game or risk losing what ground he’d won over the past few weeks. He’d been kicking around an idea recently; maybe it was time to put that plan into action.

  “Hey.” He stopped her en route to the fridge and took the green beans. “I’ve got the day off tomorrow. Let’s do something.”

  When she pressed her lips together, he knew she was thinking of an excuse to say no.

  “I’ve been working on a surprise,” he went on. “I know you don’t like surprises, but I promise this is a good one.”

  She stared at her tiny bare feet, a lock of blond hair springing free from her twist. “I don’t know…”

  Tucking the strand behind her ear, he set the leftovers on the counter. “Look at me,” he said softly, then tipped her chin with his thumb. “I just want to spend some time together. That’s all. No shenanigans, and I’ll take you home whenever you want. You’ve got nothing to worry about, I swear.”

  She seemed to turn that over in her mind, chewing the inside of her cheek while searching his face.

  “You can trust me,” he added with an encouraging nod.

  That didn’t help. If anything, it made her hesitate further, forcing him to bust out the big guns.

  “Please, Angel?” He bent at the knees, lowering until their eyes met. With one hand, he cradled her face while settling the other at her waist. “Just a few hours? That’s all I’m asking.”

  A few seconds later, she agreed in a whisper, “All right. But I wish you’d stop calling me that. I’ve done things, Colt. You don’t know—”

  “We both made mistakes.” He kissed one cheek and then the other. “If there was a prize for biggest screw-up, I’d take home a trophy so wide you could swim in it. But that’s in the past. Let’s focus on the now, okay?”

  She nodded, but wouldn’t meet his gaze. He didn’t care if another man was on her mind. At least she’d agreed to come out with him, and that was an opportunity Colt wouldn’t waste. He’d worked too hard and come too close to give up without fighting for Leah’s heart. Time to turn it up a notch and make her forget Dr. Dickweed ever existed.

  His whole future hinged on tomorrow night.

  “I’ll pick you up at six.”

  Chapter 14

  “I’m going to tell him tonight,” Leah said into her iPad while scanning her closet for the right outfit to wear. Not that it mattered. Colt wouldn’t give a crap whether her belt matched her shoes once she smashed his heart and ruined any chance of a future between them. “I can’t put it off any longer.”

  Rachel paused on the other end of the line. “Probably for the best. Are you nervous?”

  Leah laughed without humor. “You could say that.” She’d had to tuck a paper towel in her back pocket so she could blot her sweaty palms every five minutes. And she kept forgetting to breathe. She’d darn near passed out twice this morning. “I’ll feel a lot better once it’s over and done with.”

  “I bet,” Rachel said. “Wish I was there to help. Call me and let me know how it goes. I’m channeling all my good mojo in your direction.”

  Leah needed more than good mojo. She needed a full-on miracle, complete with a resurrection because her heart was pounding hard enough to bruise a rib and puncture both lungs.

  The doorbell rang, and Leah pushed aside her bedroom curtain to peer at the front stoop. She spotted a distended belly, two puffy bare legs, and a pair of flip-flops straining beneath swollen feet. “June’s here,” she told Rachel. “Gotta go.”

  “Good luck,” Rachel added before disconnecting.

  When Leah answered the door, it was to June and a bonus visitor, Bobbi Lewis, who’d managed to hide behind her sister-in-law’s considerable girth.

  “Mornin’.” Leah greeted them with a tentative smile. Bobbi always made her nervous, and today was no exception.

  But instead of picking apart Leah with her shrewd gaze, Bobbi wrapped an arm around June’s shoulders and asked, “Can we come in for a minute?” Now that Leah paid attention, she noticed the concern on Bobbi’s face.

  “Of course.” Leah led them into the living room and motioned to the sofa. Daddy had left to meet his associate pastor for coffee, so they had the house to themselves. “You want something to drink?” She ran through a mental list of beverages suitable for an expectant mother. “Milk? Herbal tea, maybe? Or I can put on some decaf.”

  “No, thanks.” June gripped the armrest and gradually lowered herself into an open-legged sitting position, then cradled her belly with both hands as if her body couldn’t support the added weight. The poor thing needed an elastic pregnancy belt. “I’m here to take you up on your offer, if it’s still okay.”

  A moment passed before Leah recalled what she’d offered her friend. “Oh, you want me to check your blood pressure?”

  “If you don’t mind,” June said. “The doctor’s office is closed and it’s twenty minutes to Sultry Memorial.”

  “You feeling okay?”

  “Yep.”

  “Any vision problems or tingling in your hands?” Leah asked.

  “No, I’m fine.” June patted her tummy and nodded at Bobbi. “Bo’s giving me a hard time, and I just want some peace of mind, you know?”

  “Absolutely.” Pregnancy had a way of drawing out each woman’s inner neurotic. Once the seed of worry was planted, it only took moments to blossom into full-blown panic.

  “Well, look how swollen she is,” Bobbi said, pointing at June’s ankles. “That can’t be normal.”

  “Let me get my bag and we’ll see.” Leah returned to her bedroom for her stethoscope and cuff, then settled on the sofa beside June and took her blood pressure. A couple of minutes later, she announced, “One ten over seventy. Perfectly normal.”

  June grinned at her sister-in-law and chirped, “See?” while Bobbi continued pointing at the irrefutable evidence.

  “Are you watching your sodium?” Leah asked. “And staying off your feet?”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  Though there was no logical reason behind it, Leah couldn’t shake the feeling that Bobbi was right. “Check with your doctor on Monday, just to be safe.”

  June thanked her and settled back against the couch, clearly in no mood to hoist herself to standing anytime soon. “How about you? What’re you up to today?”

  “Did you hit the Black Friday sales?” Bo
bbi asked, still standing by the door.

  Leah took a seat on the arm of Daddy’s recliner. “I’m more of a Cyber Monday kind of gal.”

  “Me too,” Bobbi said. “It takes a lot more than fifty percent off to get me out of bed before dawn.”

  Leah imagined most women wouldn’t get out of bed at all if they were married to Trey Lewis, but it seemed inappropriate to say so. Bobbi must have known she was thinking naughty thoughts, because those green eyes scanned her face for several long beats.

  “You all right?” Bobbi asked. “You look ready to jump out of your skin.”

  No, she wasn’t all right, and Leah didn’t have the energy to pretend otherwise. She decided to tell the truth—half of it, anyway—since the whole town would find out soon enough. “I’ve got a date tonight with Colt.”

  Bobbi gasped and covered her mouth with one hand, then wildly shook the other while she jumped in place. A lot of squealing followed. She was so excited that Leah didn’t have the heart to tell her this first date would also be the last. Then the questions and comments came from both sides, each in rapid fire succession.

  “That’s awesome!”

  “I knew it!”

  “Where’s he taking you?”

  “What time?”

  “What’re you wearing?”

  Leah couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she held up a hand to silence them. All the estrogen in the air made her feel normal again. “He’s coming at six, and I don’t know where we’re going. He said it’s a surprise.”

  June placed a hand over her chest. “That’s so romantic.”

  “You have to let me do your hair,” Bobbi said, swirling her hands in the air to mimic whatever elaborate style she’d envisioned. She shook her head and decided, “No, we won’t put it up. Then he can’t run his fingers through it. Let’s go with a half-do. I’ll pin up a few strands around your face and leave the rest down—maybe enhance your natural wave.”