by Miley Maine
I actually felt rested most of the time now, and I was functioning like a normal human being most of the time.
So a date with the woman I was living with, an official one, seemed like a really good place to start.
I closed the door to the empty office and sat down across from her. “Would you like to go out tonight?”
Her focus went back to the book she was reviewing. “Sure.”
She’d obviously misunderstood. “No. I don't mean go out and explore the town. I meant I'd like to take you out if you're interested.”
Now I had her attention as she looked up.
“Take me out?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Like on a date?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Why now?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, I’ve been here for almost two months, and we’ve been sleeping together for the entire time. So I wondered, why now? Why not earlier?”
“Well, I don't consider you my employee anymore, so that makes it easier.”
“So if I were really your maid, then you wouldn't ask me out?
“Maybe I would,” I said. “If you were interested.”
“I'd definitely be interested.”
“Does that mean the answer's yes?” I wanted to be really clear about this. I didn’t want any confusion, either for myself or for her.
“Yes, it’s a yes. I'd love to.” A frown crossed over her pretty face. “But Tyler, even though I'd love to go out with you, and I really want to, but I do have some reservations.”
“What are they?” Surely we could work them out.
“You know I won't be here permanently right? You know I'm going back to Chicago as soon as I can figure out how?”
That part was not a surprise. I hadn’t suffered any delusions that she might want to stay here for the long term. I wasn’t asking her to marry me, just go on a date. “Yeah I kind of figured that. I can tell how committed you are to this story and to Chicago.”
“Yeah, I am committed to it. I'm tired of people slamming Chicago. It does have its flaws, but now that I know my own family’s involved in those flaws, I feel compelled to do my part. But that makes things a lot more temporary for us as far as dating goes. But maybe that's what you want?”
“No. I wouldn't use the word temporary if it were up to me. But I'm also not going to pass up a chance to date you, even if it's only for a week.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Okay then. I’m ready anytime.”
“Great.” I couldn't suppress a big smile. I would have to get busy planning a date for us.
She smiled right back at me. “Thanksgiving's coming up,” she said.
“Okay?” I had no idea why that was relevant.
“Thanksgiving is in two weeks.”
“God, time has really gotten away from me. I didn't realize it was that close.” I didn’t usually keep track. I just showed up when my mother told me to.
“I figured,” she said. “Tell me what kind of stuff do you do on Thanksgiving? I’ve been cooking so much, but I’ve never cooked that kind of food.”
“Abigail organizes a big lunch at my house. It's usually my mother, me, Abigail and Barrett, and whoever else is going to be alone this year.”
“That's really sweet of her to include people.”
“It was Abigail’s idea. She never wants anyone to be alone. She never wants anyone to suffer.”
She smiled wistfully. “That doesn't surprise me, just based on the way she helped me the day I got here. I'd always heard small town residents were suspicious of newcomers. But she immediately included me. It really gave me a lot of hope.”
I pulled her to her feet and wrapped my arms around her, inhaling the scent of apples. “You’re sweet too,” I said.
She kissed my cheek. “I need to go to the library,'' she said. It’s time for the book club.”
We left the sheriff’s office, and went straight to the library. After Ava said hello to my sister, she headed upstairs to start setting up for the monthly book club. I didn’t usually go in, if Ava was going to be at the library during the day, but today I wanted to talk to my sister.
When Abigail saw me, she put down the stack of books she was holding. “Hey stranger.”
I was no stranger, but it was true I needed to make a point to go see my sister more often. “I mentioned Thanksgiving lunch to Ava.”
My sister actually clapped her hands together. I didn't know anyone else who did that, but she did. When she clapped, her face lit up too. “Oh God, I'm so excited.”
“I'm glad you feel that way because it occurred to me on the way over here that I should have asked you if it was okay since you’re the one that’s hosting.” I didn’t break it to her that I was pretty sure Ava wanted to be the one doing the cooking. Abigail didn’t really enjoy it, so I figured she wouldn’t feel too territorial over that particular issue.
“It’s at your house. And of course it’s okay with me. You know I really like Ava.” My sister's eyes danced. “Wait a second. Is Ava coming because you don’t want her to be alone on Thanksgiving or is Ava coming because you like her?”
“I’ve got to get back to work.”
My sister jumped off her stool and raced around the desk. She grabbed me by the shoulders. “Tyler Michael Whittaker. You tell me the truth right now. Are you interested in her?”
There was no point in lying to my sister. “Yes. I am. I finally asked her out on a date.”
Abigail squealed, right inside her own library. “I’m so excited for you. Maybe she'll be my sister-in-law one day.”
“Abigail!” I couldn’t help my sharp reply. I glanced up the stairs, hoping Ava hadn’t overheard that part. “Did you miss the part where she came here to escape career criminals? She’s not going to be here that long, so don't get attached.”
“So then why are you asking her out, and why are you getting attached? Are you planning to move to Chicago one day?”
“Of course not, I'm not leaving Pine Hills,” I said.
“You could, you know. You're a great sheriff and you're great for this town, but don't let a sense of duty keep you here. You've already served your country; you've done enough to last a lifetime.”
She was right. I could leave. I wasn't sure I agreed that I'd done enough. I had served my country but I wasn't always comfortable with the sacrifices I made to do that. “I don't want to leave you and mom here alone.”
“We won't be alone. And I lived here all my life. Mom and I will be fine.”
“I also roped Barrett into coming here. I'm not going to ditch him either.
My sister squeezed my shoulders. “Stop acting like a martyr. You know good and well Barrett wouldn't have come here if he didn't want to. He's a grown man -- he can leave if you leave.”
She was right. Barrett had options. He wouldn’t want me to stick around just for him, and neither would my mother.
If Ava and I got serious, could I live in a big city? I wasn't sure, and I also wasn't sure the question was even relevant. Ava and I were not at that point in a relationship. I wasn't even sure how she felt. She'd given no indication whether or not she wanted something permanent.
But the option was worth considering.
I wanted this to be a real date, so I waited until a Friday night. I knew next to nothing about what Ava had done for dates in the past, so I was going to stick to the kind of stuff that was popular in Pine Hills. I had a better chance of success with that, than if I tried to imitate something fancy or sophisticated.
While she was at the library, I took my truck out in the driveway and washed it really well. Then I went over to Barrett’s house and borrowed his fishing boat. He even loaded it up on a trailer for me. We weren’t going to fish, but I figured I could show her around the parts of Pine Hills that weren’t accessible by car.
I even made sure there were a few lifejackets on board, and some mosquito repellent. At dusk, the mosquitoes could
get really vicious. I did not want Ava to associate our date with itchy red welts.
After we toured the Pine River, then I’d take her to dinner at the catfish house. That was about as country as you could get. And then hopefully afterward, I’d take her home to bed. We seemed to have that part figured out.
I went to pick her up, and she smirked all the way home.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“I’m just looking forward to tonight.”
“And?”
“It cracks me up that we’re going on a formal date when we already live together.”
I scowled, and she crawled over to me as I parked the truck in front of the house. “I’m not laughing at you, I promise. I’m just easily amused.”
I loved looking at her bright smile and her pretty white teeth. I grinned back at her and lifted her up, swinging her out of the truck so fast that she squealed.
I patted her bottom. “Now let me go get ready for our date.”
She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed me. “How should I dress?”
“Casual. Very casual.”
She walked off, and I watched her ass the whole way. She was aware, because she added an extra little sway to her hips as she breezed right on up the stairs to my house.
I had to reach down and adjust myself in my pants. I headed in too. I had to get out of this uniform. I put on jeans and a blue polo that she’d said looked nice with my hair and eyes one day last week when she’d been doing the laundry. I was usually hot when I was outside, so I didn’t need a jacket, but I did grab a hoodie and tossed it into the truck.
She was right -- it was pretty weird to date someone you already lived with, especially someone who regularly did your laundry.
But our entire situation was weird. Most people didn’t meet when someone randomly showed up to an interview as a maid, hoping for a job because they were on the run after investigating a gambling ring in a major American city.
The whole thing sounded like a Lifetime movie.
When she came walking downstairs, I was struck speechless for a moment. Instead of feeling like we were in a movie, I felt like we should be on a runway. Ava had changed into a fitted black top that clung to her body. It showed off the round swell of her breasts, and the hourglass shape of her waist. Her jeans were lime green, and showed off every curve.
I was tempted to take her back upstairs and spend our date time removing her clothes. But no. I wanted to show her that I could go out, if we wanted to.
She leaned in toward me, and ran her fingers over my collar. “This color looks so good on you,” she said. She smelled like vanilla and apples.
As usual when I was around her, my cock was rock hard. “I remembered when you told me that last week.”
I opened the door for her, and we got in my truck.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m going to take you out on the river,” I said.
“Oh wow, that sounds fun.”
She actually sounded sincere. She pointed at the trailer I was pulling. “In that boat?”
“Yes. It’s Barrett’s fishing boat, but we aren’t fishing today.”
“I’ve never been out in a fishing boat.”
How was that possible? “Not even at camp?”
“The only camp I attended was an exclusive horseback riding camp for girls. And my father has a yacht in the Hampton’s.
Right. “Well I’m sure you’ll find our swampy river spellbinding.”
“I know I will. Did you and Barrett spend a lot of time out here?”
“Almost everyday in the summers. We went to a camp once. But we were thrill seekers. The camp was way too tame.”
“Hmm, I’m not surprised you were bored at camp. You both became Navy SEALs, and then both ended up in law enforcement. I’d say the thrill seeking hasn’t worn off.”
She was right about that.
Even getting involved with Ava felt like a high risk of sorts.
I helped her into the boost, then I climbed in and shoved us off the bank.
“Have you been white water rafting?”
“Yes, in Canada,” she said. “Have you?”
“Yeah. To celebrate the end of a successful mission, several of us stopped in Norway and tackled the Sjoa River.” I found myself hoping I’d be able to take Ava on some overseas trips. So far we were stuck in this area until the men who were after Ava were in prison.
But after that, I’d love to go on some adventures with her.
I turned the motor on, and we took off.
Once she was settled on the bench of the little fishing boat, I took us up to the highest speed it could go, and she grinned as we coasted along the water. She tipped her face back up to the sky while the wind whipped her long hair around. I’d never seen a more beautiful woman in my life.
I drove us to the sandbar where Barrett and I used to fish, and where we’d spent hours swinging into the water off an old rope swing. The remnants of the rope still hung from the tree branch. It had been years since anyone used it.
“We used to catch crawdads here.”
“I’ve never seen one,” she said.
“The real name for them is crayfish. They’re indigenous to this area, and to Arkansas, but they’ve spread all over the south.” I showed her what their little mud houses looked like, and she poked around, looking at it from all angles. “We can bring some bait next time.”
“Do people eat them?”
“Oh yeah. Some people have entire crawdad boil parties, where they cook buckets of them. They look like miniature lobsters.”
“I don’t know if I’ll eat one, but I’d love to catch one.”
A long black snake slithered by as we crawled back in the boat. “That one’s not poisonous,” I said. “But the water moccasins are. Those will kill you.”
She seemed fascinated by the wildlife, and she took her shoes off and waded in the edge of the cool water. “I grew up walking along Lake Michigan, but it was in the city, where everything’s really nice and manicured. When we went on trips, they were always on very controlled excursions. We never got to just explore.”
I stepped toward her, and pulled her in. The last of the daylight filtered through the thick canopy of tree leaves. “When we finally get to leave town,” I said, tangling my hands in her hair. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
“Anywhere?”
“Yes. Anywhere.”
I didn’t have the kind of wealth Ava had grown up with, but I had plenty of money to take her on some freaking cool trips. “The first thing I’m going to do is take you to Utah. We camp in the National Park in Zion, and hike the Narrows. It’s a river valley with some of the best views you’ve ever seen.”
“I’d love that. I’ve been to Utah, but only to ski in Park City.”
“You’re going to love it.” And I would love getting to spend the night in a tent with her. I pressed my mouth to hers, savoring the way she tasted like sugar cookie batter today. Reluctantly, I pulled back. “It’s getting dark. We better go.”
I got us back to land, and then we went straight to the Catfish Bay Restaurant. It was the kind of place where they served beer in a tin bucket. The decor consisted of plastic red and white checkered tablecloths and a roll of paper towels for napkins. Country westeren music blared non-stop from tan old radio in the corner of the room.
Ava studied the menu. “I’ve never had catfish before.”
“Really? Never?” How was that possible?
“No. We ate seafood, but it was usually mahi mahi or salmon.”
Of course. “I need two catfish specials, please,” I said to the waitress. Once she was gone, I handed Ava a pile of paper towels. “You don’t need to look at a menu here. But you will need these.” Every item on the menu was fried.
I grabbed a few of the empty sauce cups and started adding horseradish, tartar sauce and ketchup and mixed it up with a plastic spoon. “Here’s your cocktail sauce. You can dip your fish and your
hush puppies in that.”
When the food arrived, Ava blew out a big breath. “That is a lot of food.”
“You can handle it. Dig in.”
She dipped the salty piece of catfish in the cocktail sauce. She chewed for a moment and then she sat up straight. “Wow. This is good. No wonder this place is packed.”
“People come from several counties away just to eat here.”
“I’ll look forward to coming back.” She took a sip of her beer. “I don’t want to over eat though.”
“Why not?”
She pursed her full lips. “Because. I have plans for you tonight.”
Damn. Her words went straight to my cock. I pulled out my wallet. “Well in that case, I think I better pay our check.”
I didn’t want to wait a second longer for another night with Ava.
Chapter Nineteen
Ava
“Here’s another batch of chocolate chip cookies,” I said. “And tomorrow I’ll bring peanut butter.”
Tyler’s secretary, Mrs. Smith, smiled at me as I handed her a tin of cookies. “And what’s after that?”
“Snickerdoodle,” I said.
She beamed at me and then looked back at her boss. “Tyler, you are a lucky man to have such talent around.”
“I am aware of that fact,” he said as we left the office for the day and drove to the grocery store.
Thanksgiving was coming, and I was determined to make a really good dinner. In my family, we’d never cooked at home for a holiday. We always ate in a restaurant, had it catered, or had the chef prepare it for us. My mother didn’t like the traditional meal, so we didn’t have many of the staples when I was growing up.
Tyler had confirmed that his mother had always cooked the traditional dinner with turkey and dressing when they were growing up, and that Abigail had taken over in the last few years.
I called Abigail to see if she minded if I helped.
