Chapter 16
Baylor
“It’s Deputy McCall.” He lowers his sunglasses and looks over the top of them. “I should have known it would be a Greene causing a ruckus.”
“No ruckus,” I say, biting my tongue before I tell this fucker to back off. “Just stopping to check out the old property.”
He looks out at the run-down farmhouse ahead and the junk littering the yard, and then back at me again. Bending down, he smiles when he sees my passenger and takes his sunglasses off . . . as if he wants a better look at her. “Lauralee Knot, what are you doing with this troublemaker?”
“Baylor’s not so bad.” I look over at her when I hear the syrupy Southern accent that she thickens when speaking to him. Little does he know, she’s the troublemaker. “What can we help ya with, Dirk?”
“Listen,” he starts, “you can’t park on this here property. So unless you’re broken down, you need to move along. You hear me?”
“Loud and clear, Deputy.” The car is still running, but I fudge with a knob to act like I’m listening to s ome degree.
The wipers slide across the windshield while fluid squirts out, hitting the cop on the side of the face.
“Shit, I’m sorry.” I make sure the wipers are turned off and steal a glance at Shortcake, who is about to lose it laughing.
She covers her mouth and turns to face away from us.
Lifting from the quick ducking he did, the deputy wipes his face with the back of his hand and hits me with a scowl aimed in my direction.
If indecent behavior didn’t get me thrown in jail, that wiper fluid assault just might do it.
“I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you did that on accident. ”
“It was a pure accident, sir. Sorry about that.”
Annoyance purses his lips, but then he bends down once more to smile at Lauralee, which I find fucking annoying. “You headin’ out to Rollingwood Ranch?”
“Sure am,” she replies with a honeyed smile. The woman knows how to lay it on thick when she wants to.
He adds, “Say hi to Christine for me.”
“I will.” She waves her fingers at him. “Have a great day, Dirk.”
He walks away without acknowledging me again but taps the roof of the car as he works his way back to his own vehicle. I watch in the mirror until he backs out of here. Throwing my gaze toward the beauty next to me, I ask, “How are you doing?”
“Amazing. You?” She’s so chipper that I have no reason not to believe her.
“Never better.” I shift the car into reverse before turning the rest of the way around. “It was a close call.”
“You’re telling me. I almost didn’t get there.” My arm is punched. “You were going to let me just suffer. I’ll remember that.”
I stop the car again to look her s quare in the eyes. “It only would have been a few minutes. I would have made sure to get you there right after. But I also didn’t know you were an exhibitionist. I’m intrigued, Ms. Knot.”
She’s still smiling like she’s walking on sunshine. “Depends.”
“On?”
Reaching over, she scrapes her nails gently across the back of my neck before resting her arm on my shoulders. “With whom, when, and where I am.”
I move to rest my hand on her leg and kiss her. She meets me halfway without question. That seems to be what our relationship is based on. I’m not questioning. Just acting on instinct. But when I lean back, looking into her eyes, I’m starting to think we could be more.
The odds are against us based on distance alone. Thinking about how settled she is here with the shop she’s running, I imagine she’s not looking to leave her mom alone.
Sliding my hand over her inner thigh, I rub the pad of my thumb on her soft skin. “Peachtree Pass probably isn’t the where and when you’d like. We know how it goes here. One whiff of a relationship travels like a live wire through town. But what are your thoughts on New York?”
She rests her head back on the seat and looks ahead at the road when a car passes by. Her eyes remain staring into the distance for a moment, maybe more, but when she turns to me again, her gaze softens. “Are you asking me to visit you in New York, Baylor?”
I gently squeeze her thigh and rest my head back while facing her. “If I were?”
“I don’t want ‘if I were.’ I want you to stand behind your words.
” She massages the crook of my neck, easing the tension the deputy built up.
I lean into it, into her. “I know it’s hard when we’re just getting to know each other.
” Tucking hair behind her ear, she briefly lowers her gaze to her lap.
“But I need to know if you’re asking me to come to New York to see you or just talking about a future kind of thing. ”
This has escalated in a way I didn’t see coming. I don’t have a prepared speech or a line like I would typically have on hand to respond in a way to protect myself. But protecting myself from her isn’t something I need to do.
There’s no hiding anyway when she sees exactly who I am and she’s still here beside me, still kisses me like it means more than a fun few hours in bed or even meaningless sex. Shit . . . I like her. A lot.
She doesn’t take my shit or anyone else’s, for that matter. She doesn’t need me. If she’s here, it’s because she wants to be. That’s so incredibly sexy. To be chosen by her.
Taking hold of her hand, I bring it to my mouth and kiss the top twice before asking, “Will you come see me in New York, Lauralee?”
Her smile is worth the directness. “So formal, Mr. Greene. What happened to Shortcake?”
I chuckle with a slight shake of my head. “I can’t win.”
“You’re winning. Trust me, you’re doing everything right.” Her hand squeezes mine, and she adds, “I’d love to come see you in New York, but only on one condition.”
“Anything,” I reply, kissing her hand once more.
“I can stay with you.”
Leaning over the console, I kiss her cheek, and whisper in her ear, “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Shortcake.”
When I drop back to my side of the car, she’s still leaning back against her seat, with a dreamy look in her e yes that usually comes after her release. This time, it’s for me. Totally worth putting myself on the line and risking rejection.
She says, “If we stay here much longer, Deputy McCall will have a problem.”
I shift into Drive and pull off the property and onto the road again.
But I’m not letting her off the hook from my previous curiosity.
“As for your earlier suffering.” I chuckle, and ask, “How long has it been?” She hums, and her eyes face ahead as if deep in thought.
“I may be jumping to a certain conclusion but one that I have no right to judge, but selfishly, I’m hoping twenty-four days. ”
“Why twenty-four— ohhh .” She laughs. “That jump’s not so off because, sadly, you’re right.”
“Do you mind me asking why that is?”
“You can ask anything you please.”
Since there seems to be no embarrassment attached, I ask, “Why haven’t you come?”
She doesn’t avoid eye contact, but I only receive it here and there as she keeps redirecting her attention outside the vehicle. “I don’t know . . .” She readjusts in her seat and then says, “Truth?”
“Absolute.”
“I’ve been struggling in that area, which I’ve mentioned before, but I think you’ve tainted me.” A playful shove to my arm is followed by a nervous laugh. “I shouldn’t have admitted that.”
“It’s okay,” I say, not laughing at all. “I feel the same about you.”
“You do?”
I nod, but then I remember a few times. “Well, almost.”
“Almost?” she asks, her voice pitching.
“Don’t worry, baby, I haven’t been with any other women. But I didn’t have trouble getting off to the memory of you and me together.”
Her shoulders ease, and she sinks into the chair again. “Really?”
“Really. You give quite the show. I love watching you come.” Just when it seems her heart is in my hand, we reach the entrance to the ranch, which puts our time alone on the back burner until later.
Begrudgingly, I slide my hand to my side of the car as we cross through the open gates with large oak trees standing tall on either side. Pretending not to be attracted to her mind and body is becoming harder, making me regret ever agreeing to hiding whatever this is we have going on between us.
I don’t know what’s come over me. The Texas summer heat, the hottie next to me, or that this place has started to feel more like home again every time I visit. Probably all three.
But really, I know the real answer is just one. Shortcake.
Stealing one last glance before we must put on the “just friends act,” I ask, “You ready?” I park the car outside my dad’s house under another oak and crack the windows, hoping to keep the temps inside the car from melting the dash. It’s brutal out today.
“As I’ll ever be.” She pops the door open before I have a chance to even offer.
My sister stands on the front porch, reaching the railing and leaning forward with a huge smile on her face. “Lauralee! I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Your brother talked me into it.”
Christine’s eyes dart to me and then to her friend again. “That was nice of him. ”
“Very nice,” she adds, looking over at me. “He drove and all.”
“Hey, Bay,” my sister says, now smiling at me. “Welcome back.”
“It’s good to be back.” I adjust my jeans now that my hardness has subsided.
Lauralee climbs the few steps up to the porch and gives her a hug. Just like family, she asks, “What can I help with?”
“You’re the guest. Make yourself at home, and I’ll get you an iced tea. It’s too hot to be outside for too long without a drink in hand.”
“Baylor?” When I hear my name, I find Tagger coming toward me from the barn. “Come take a look. I moved the car up here. Thought you’d like to see.” When he spies Lauralee, he smirks. The fucking bastard. “You guys ride out together?” He’s going to give it away before I’m ready to explain.
Lauralee laughs. “Hello to you, too, Tagger.”
“Sorry,” he replies, taking his hat off and holding it over his heart like a true Southern gentleman. “Hello, Lauralee.”
She rolls her eyes but then laughs again. “Hi.”
He says, “You should come with us.”
She skips down the steps like the adventure is too good to pass up. “Where are we going?”
Tagger replies, “Looking at the car that Baylor wants.”
When she catches up, we start for the barn, and she asks, “What car are we talking about?”
“It was a gift to my mom.” Just inside the open doors, I see the car with the cover on it on the far side. “I’m sure the horses loved that being brought into their territory.”
He walks to our largest male and strokes just above the nose. “Nightfall doesn’t mind.” Pointing out the open stall door, he adds, “He comes in here a lot of times during the heat of the day t o try to keep cool.”
“Don’t let him near the car.”
“Don’t worry,” Tagger groans, “your precious is safe in here.”
Lauralee slides up next to me. Her hand touches my back but then falls to her side again. I move in and peel off the cover just to take another good look at her—the car, that is, though I don’t mind one bit seeing Lauralee here with me.
I nod for her to come closer. “My dad bought it as a gift for her but never had the time to fix it up. Running the ranch and farm kept him busy.”
“From what I remember,” she says, “so did you every Friday night in the fall and baseball in the spring.”
It shouldn’t surprise me that she knows about that or even remembers since she and my sister were dragged to a lot of my games.
But it does feel good in a way that only someone who’s known you so long can summon.
Sometimes I forget how much a part of my life she’s been.
Guess it’s easy to forget when you weren’t paying attention.
I had my eyes set on so many other things back then—playing my best for recruiters, scoring with girls, and getting into too much trouble with Tagger, to name a few.
Coming closer, she bends down to peek through the window. “It’s a beautiful car.” Standing upright again, she steps back and looks the car over from front to back. “What are you going to do with it?”
The question has me glancing at Tagger, who conveniently and guiltily looks away. At least he feels some shame for making me agree to this bet. “I want to fix her up.”
“Can I help?” she asks.
“I didn’t know you knew about cars?”
A quick pop of her shoulders leads to her saying, “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
Right then, I know what I’m going to do. Like the car, I’m going to fix that.