Chapter 4
Jackson
I carried Candy over to the Sheriff office.
It would be easier to get her a room at the hotel but I already know it is full due to the festival.
And Jasper had mentioned that he didn’t think she was staying there.
So I got her settled in the cot we keep in the back office.
Taking off her shoes so she is more comfortable.
Laying two blankets over her to ensure she is warm.
Placing a bucket and a bottle of water by her side. And then I went to my desk to think.
Talking to Candy, she had seemed sweet and excitable, lit up with sunshine and goodness.
But the truth is she is likely just passing through.
I’ve had my share of relationships, but, unlike my brothers, I’ve never hooked up with an out of towner.
I don’t trust these people who live their life traveling around.
I believe in a house, a home, a town where everybody knows you.
There is safety in that. Familiarity and predictability.
I hope Candy isn’t like the many drifters I’ve seen come and go.
I hope she isn’t some party girl and that it was just Jasper’s sickly cocktails that got to her.
There is something about the girl that makes me want to look after her.
Protect her. Hold her. Touch her. But she is not mine to fix, and the truth is that I just won’t know what she is really like until we can talk again.
The next morning I wake up stiff and sore from sleeping in my office chair. The cot in the back is empty, Candy gone, the blankets folded. Despite wanting so badly to see her again, I decided to go home and take a shower and have a sleep before seeking her out at the festival.
And so, it was around lunch time that I make my way through the festival.
Lines of stalls selling hand crafted Christmas items. So many different smells from all of the food trucks.
Crowds of people milling about. And then I see her.
In a tiny little coffee trailer, painted bright pink.
Like its owner, it’s small but stands out in a crowd.
Candy is in the window, all smiles with her customers.
As I get closer I see there is an array of decorated cookies and other treats on offer. The whole thing is an explosion of color. But the most delicious thing by far, is Candy, her kissable lips, the way her whole face lights up and her smile is so genuine.
It shakes me to the core just how beautiful she is in the daylight. She must be tired, hungover, probably has a headache, but you wouldn’t know it. Working and talking with her customers seems to bring her joy.
The line in front of her trailer is dying down as I catch her eye. Pink fills her cheeks when she sees me and it is just adorable.
“Looks like business is good.”
She nods. “I think I owe you an apology for last night. I don’t normally do that sort of thing.”
I’m not sure if she is referring to the drinking, talking with a strange man in a bar, or the throwing up, but when she says, “You can have anything in the trailer, free of charge.”
I can only think of one thing.
I want Candy. I want to put my hands all over her body. I want to kiss that sweet mouth, hold her to me and make her moan out my name. My mouth goes dry as physical lust hits my body hard. It takes me a good minute to form an answer. And when I do, my voice sounds husky and raw.
“Just one black coffee.”
“I can do that.” She pauses. “But I can do something special. Carmel syrup? Whipped cream? I do a sweet gingerbread coffee that will get your blood racing.”
Her cheeky grin from the night before is back. And I don’t need one of her crazy drinks to get my blood racing. Just looking at her is enough to do that.
“Just black, thanks. Can you take a break?” She nods as she sets to making the coffee. She shuts her trailer window and sticks up a sign that says, Back in five.
I don’t want five minutes with her. I want to throw her over my shoulder and take her up to my cabin in the woods and spend a good forty-eight hours loving her. But I have to hold it in. Despite the heavy drinking, I have a feeling she is a nice girl. And nice girls like to be wooed.