CHAPTER NINE
F our times. Four times he’d been called out today. Apparently a whistling Teddy was a creepy Teddy. He wasn’t going to argue. Not when he was this damn happy.
He was still reeling from taking Summer Willis, his dream girl, on a date. Summer had actually moaned into his mouth. Put her hands on his body. Rocked on his lap. Nothing. Not one goddamn thing was going to take away his good mood today.
“Jake,” Teddy greeted as the man removed his Stetson and carefully placed it on the bar counter.
“Teddy.” Jake nodded, running his hand once over his shaggy brown hair.
“What can I get ya?”
“Just a soda, I’m driving. Just waiting for Lily to close up the store.”
Sounded about right. The stern, serious rancher was a marshmallow when it came to his wife, Lily. Every morning Teddy watched Jake drop off and pick Lily up from the hardware store across the street that she owned. It was as if the man couldn’t stand being away from her a second longer than he had to.
And you don’t feel that way about Summer?
Leaving that question for later, Teddy went about fixing Jake’s drink.
“So, you and Summer, huh?”
Teddy couldn’t help but chuckle. It had been one day. Guess you can’t keep a secret in this town. “Wow. News travels fast. Let me guess, Dotty?”
“Actually, Lily. She heard it from Alice, who heard it from Ivy, who heard it from Summer. Our women tend to talk.” A slow grin spread across Jake’s sun-stained face.
The fact that Summer was the reason people knew, made his chest tighten. He’d been ready to shout it from the rooftops the first time they’d kissed, but he’d been waiting on her. For her to feel comfortable with people knowing. Apparently he needn’t have worried.
“Good to know. In that case, yes. Me and Summer. It’s still early days, but I’m happy, man.” Teddy slid the soda over.
“I can see. Was that whistling I heard when I came in?” Jake let rip a throaty chuckle.
“Yeah, like you weren’t sickeningly happy when you and Lily started hooking up?”
“I ain’t about to deny it. So you’re hooking up then?”
Jesus. How did I manage to put my foot in my mouth straight away?
Teddy rubbed his neck. “Uh, nah, not hooking up. We’re uh ... taking it slow. Well, actually, I don’t know how we’re taking it. But it’s been like one date.”
Could he have sounded any more panicked? Jake seemed to take pity on him. “I get it, man, don’t worry. Word of advice though, from one old man to another?” Teddy grunted a “sure” before Jake continued. “Lily and I took it slow ... if you know what I mean. And I gotta say, I’m happy as fuck that we did. See, it gave us a chance to get to know each other. Like really get to know each other. And by the time we took that next step ... well, it kinda solidified what we’d built, if that makes sense?”
“I already know Summer pretty well; we grew up together.” He didn’t know why he was confirming this. It wasn’t like the man didn’t know. Everyone knew.
He watched patiently as Jake slowly took a sip of soda and swallowed it down. “I get that. But you know her as a friend. Not someone you’re dating. Not a girlfriend. Or a woman you’re in love with. Trust me, you’re both gonna need time to adjust. She ain’t your friend anymore, Teddy. Unless you stick your tongue down all your friends’ throats ... in which case, I’m gonna have to seriously rethink that barbecue invitation.” He was back to grinning now.
“Smartass.” Teddy’s hand had moved from rubbing his neck to messing up his hair as he pushed through the short strands. “Okay, I get it. You’re right. I want to move us forward out of the friend zone, but not so fast as to freak her out.”
As he was thinking about all the ways he was going to gently move their relationship forward, Jake downed the rest of his drink. It wasn’t until the glass clinked back on the bar that Teddy looked up again.
“Happy for you, man. Glad to see you finally pulled your head outta your ass and made your move. Took you long enough.”
***
L ater that night Teddy wasted no time making his next move.
Teddy: I’m taking you out on Sunday. Will pick you up at 1.
Summer: Didn’t we talk about this? You’re supposed to actually ask me. I could be busy.
Teddy: It’s your day off??
Summer: Right. But what if I decided not to spend the day staring at my phone, waiting for you to call?
Teddy: Did you?
Summer: Teddy!
Teddy: Summer!
Summer: You’re annoying.
Teddy: Summer. Can I please take you out on Sunday? I miss you. When I’m not with you, I spend the day staring at my phone waiting for you to call.
Summer: Fine!
Teddy: So you didn’t have plans?
Summer: Don’t push your luck, buddy.
Teddy: Night, dollface. See you at work.
Summer: Night, Teddy.
Teddy settled back and rested against the headboard of his bed, his phone still in hand. It was late. All he wanted to do right now was sleep. But there was one more thing he needed to do. His monthly call to Tyler.
It had been going on three years, Teddy should be used to it. But the need to psyche himself up beforehand was strong. Even if it did make him feel guilty. Tyler was his friend. His brother. His teammate. And the only other person who could begin to understand the hell he went through in Iraq. Because he was there too. Four of them were captured, two survived. He and Tyler.
Ignoring the heaviness in his stomach, Teddy swiped down to Tyler’s name and hit call.
“Is it that time of the month already?” Tyler sighed down the line.
“You missed me that much, huh?”
He heard Tyler mutter, “Like a hole in the head,” before clearing his throat. Charming. “Let’s get this over with, shall we? I’m fine, Teddy. Same as I was last month, and the month before that and the month before that.”
“I ain’t allowed to check in?” Teddy pushed down his frustration. They had the same conversation every month. Unfortunately for Tyler, Teddy was a stubborn bastard. He wasn’t about to give up on his friend just because he found his calls annoying.
“Oh come on, Teddy. We both know you’re not calling me to shoot the shit.”
“I got plenty of shit to shoot, Ty.”
“Oh yeah?”
“ Yeah.” Fuck it. “Remember the girl I told you about? Summer. Well, she’s back in town.”
The line went quiet for a minute, giving him just enough time to regret his attempt at a normal conversation. Their monthly calls normally consisted of surface-level pleasantries and nothing more. With Teddy usually gathering just enough information to reassure himself that his friend really was okay and wasn’t about to do something stupid. They hadn’t had any kind of heart-to-heart since they’d been back stateside.
“She is? Shit. You okay?”
Teddy puffed out a relieved breath. “Yeah, man, I’m good. You’ll be pleased to know that I manned up and told her how I felt. Even got her to agree to a date.”
“Was this like a gunpoint type of situation?”
“Fuck off.” Teddy let his grin widen as his friend continued to rib him.
“Come on, man. Be real. You don’t expect me to believe you won her over with that charming personality of yours, do you?”
“I’m a fucking delight, Ty, and you damn well know it!”
“Delusional more like.” Tyler sniggered, sounding more and more like the carefree teammate Teddy remembered. It was good to know Ty was still there, lurking beneath the surface.
After a couple more jibes about his sunny disposition, Teddy decided to go all in. He told Ty about the date. What he was feeling. And even confessed how scared he was of royally fucking things up.
As Teddy listened to his friend’s advice, he realized for the first time that he was the reason their relationship had deteriorated. All these years he’d been treating Tyler with kid gloves. Trying to stick to light topics. For fear of triggering him. He’d known the man a eight years but today was the first time in three years that he’d shared something personal with him. What kind of friend did that make him?
“I’m sorry, man,” Teddy cut Tyler off mid-sentence. “I’m really fucking sorry.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve been a shit friend, Ty. I might’ve checked in with you, but it’s not escaped my notice that this is the first real conversation we’ve had in years. I’m a dumbass.”
“Well, I’m not disputing that.” Tyler paused, letting out a slow breath that muffled the line. “It’s okay. I’ve not exactly gone easy on you. I know I can be an asshole.”
“You? Never!”
“Ha-fucking-ha. Seriously though, man ... we’re good.”
Teddy felt something shift inside him. Could it really have been that easy to get his friend back? No. This was just the beginning. The first of many more normal conversations.
“So, when do I get to meet this Summer of yours? I gotta meet the woman that’s had you twisted up in knots for more than a decade.”
More like two decades.
“You think I’m gonna let your slimy ass near her?” Teddy chuckled. “I’ll wait until I lock her down if it’s all the same.”
As much as he gave his friend shit, he was more than aware of Tyler’s special skills with the ladies. It wasn’t just the blond hair and blue eyes either, it was those blasted dimples. Teddy had spent years watching women fall victim to them. Over and over again.
“Scared of a little friendly competition?”
“Scared you’re gonna scare her off more like ... with that ugly mug of yours.”
Laughter erupted down the phone. That was more like it. This was what his friend had needed from him the whole time. Well, Teddy had plenty more jibes and a whole hell of a lot more real life to throw Tyler’s way. Their monthly calls were about to get more interesting. Teddy even began thinking about his next visit.
Maybe I could take Summer?
As they continued to talk, hope bloomed in Teddy’s chest. The future was looking brighter by the second.
***
A fter a whole week of stolen looks across the bar and some pretty shameless flirting, Sunday had finally arrived. It was time for date number two. Teddy knocked on Summer’s apartment door, no less nervous than he’d been all morning.
“Hi, dollface.”
“Hey,” she returned, a tinge of pink highlighting her cheekbones. “Uh, am I dressed okay? I didn’t know where we were going.”
Excellent. A chance to check her out without looking like a perv. Her hair was down and styled into loose curls, and other than a pink shade of lipstick, she wasn’t wearing much makeup. As his eyes roamed over her flowy vest and tight blue jeans, he also noticed the signature black bracelets gathered at her wrists. He couldn’t help but smile. She’d always had a hippy rock chick style going on. Eventually his gaze made it down to her scuffed black boots. She looked stunning. As usual.
“This is fine.” His voice came out rusty, his body finding yet another way to betray him.
“Fine? That’s all I get. Jeez, Teddy, give a girl a complex, why don’t you.” She failed to cover her smile as she grabbed her keys and locked up.
More than happy to take the bait, he immediately spun her around and pinned her to the door. Letting his hands drop either side of her head, he made sure she was locked in. He delighted in the sharp inhale she took and the fire he saw dancing in her eyes.
Not giving her a chance to speak, he dropped his lips on hers and gave her a proper hello. A demonstration so to speak of just how good he thought she looked and what exactly that outfit was doing to him.
They were both breathless by the time he drew back. It wasn’t an easy task, letting go of those luscious pink lips, and it was even harder not to go back for more once he got a look at how swollen they were from his kiss.
“You’re looking really good, doll ... in case you were wondering.”
Her eyes remained hooded as she struggled to reply. “Uh ... um ... thanks.”
He reluctantly pulled back. Not touching her wasn’t an option anymore though, so he settled on taking hold of her hand instead. A compromise. He then carefully maneuvered them down the stairs and through Mickey’s, being sure to ignore the looks as they strolled out hand in hand.
“You gonna tell me where we’re going?”
“Well ... first I’m gonna feed you. I recently found out that we’re supposed to have three meals a day.” Summer snorted, and he had a feeling she was also rolling her eyes. “Then we’re going over to Moonrock. I thought I’d take you for a ride.” He glanced over at her to see one eyebrow raised and quickly realized his mistake. “Uh, horse ride. We’re going on a horse ride,” he clumsily clarified.
Shit. Smooth, Teddy.
Why were his ears hot? Damnit. The woman made him feel constantly off-kilter.
It wasn’t until they’d settled into a booth at Get Pied that he finally managed to pull himself together. He already knew what he was going to order, so it made sense to forgo menu browsing and instead drink in the sight of Summer’s face lighting up as she studied the pie list.
“This place is awesome. Until today, I never knew I needed to be able to choose from fifty different types of pie. But now I know ... there’s no turning back. I have no other choice than to try all fifty flavors.”
Teddy felt his lips twitch. “No other choice, huh?”
“Nope. How am I gonna know which one I like best if I’ve not tried all of them?”
“I see your point.” He stopped fighting his smile. “So, which one you gonna try today?”
Summer hummed for a little while, her eyes going back to the menu. “I’m trying to decide between lemon meringue, cherry, or pecan.”
Teddy didn’t get a chance to reply as their waitress arrived to ask if they were ready to order. It didn’t matter though, he’d already decided. If his woman wanted three different flavors, then that’s what she would get.
“We’ll take a slice of the lemon meringue, cherry, pecan, and apple pie, please. And I’ll get a coffee—cream, no sugar.” He glanced over at Summer. “Doll, what do you wanna drink?”
“Oh, uh, a Coke for me, please.”
As soon as the waitress was out of sight, Summer kicked him under the table. “Oh my God. Why did you do that? She’s gonna think we’re having some sort of pie-eating contest.”
“’Cause you couldn’t decide. Now you don’t have to.” He flashed her a toothy smile. “Besides, you need to make a start on those fifty, right?”
“I won’t be able to eat three slices of pie, Teddy. Well, I could ... but I won’t be able to eat them all and go riding afterwards.”
After letting out a chuckle, he reached across the table and took hold of her hand. “Don’t worry, whatever you can’t eat, we’ll box up and take home.”
They stared into each other for a moment. She was so freaking beautiful. If she let him, he would buy her pie every day. A different flavor for each day of the week. Who was he kidding? He’d do much more than buy her a slice of pie every day if she agreed to be his. He’d get her whatever the hell she wanted, whenever she wanted.
Suddenly, she drew her hand back. “Oh, I forgot. I got you something.” She started routing through her bag and pulled out a plain white box. She then proceeded to slide it across the wooden tabletop. “It’s a housewarming present.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything, doll. I haven’t even moved in yet.”
Curiosity won out. Quickly. And he tore open the cardboard box like a kid at Christmas. He pulled at the object until it was completely out, and just stared. Dumbfounded. A sudden clog of emotion filled his throat. When he didn’t say anything, Summer filled the silence.
“Uh, it’s a cuckoo clock. Like when you were little. I remember you telling me about the one your mom had that used to drive your dad crazy, and I saw this ... and, uh ... I thought that uh ... if you don’t like it, I can take it back. I got it at the gift shop down the road ... I didn’t get a gift receipt ... but I’m sure Bob won’t mind exchanging it for something else.”
Teddy finally looked up to see the concern on her pretty face. He wanted to fix that. Immediately. But the only words he seemed able to choke out were, “You remembered that?”
“I remember everything, Teddy.” Her serious expression hit him hard. Because this was serious. He was seriously gone for this woman.
“Thank you, doll. This means ... this means a hell of a whole lot. More than you know.”
He was pleased to see her shoulders sag a little. Less worried and more relaxed as she reached across the table and took hold of his hand again. Teddy looked down at her small hand interlaced with his much bigger one and smiled. This was right. She was right. And his goddamn sister was right. He’d been in love with Summer Willis a long ass time. This time though, there was no way in hell he was going to let her go.