Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 58108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 291(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 291(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“What’s up?” I asked.
Mary pointed to her phone. “That was Mrs. Ledger. She’s at the church rummage sale and asking for a ride home.”
“No one there can give her a ride?” Dan asked, knowing the event drew in a large crowd.
“Guess not,” Mary replied.
Dan checked his watch. “I’ll take her. I can stop by Nell’s bakery on the way home to pick up little Danny’s birthday cake.”
Mary shook her head and looked my way. “She specifically asked for Megan.”
Dan laughed, and I couldn’t miss the mirth in Mary’s eyes.
I shook my head and bit my lip to stifle my own smile.
“You’ve been summoned,” Dan murmured.
I stood, and he tossed me the keys to the patrol SUV.
“I assume you told her I was on my way,” I said, heading toward Mary and the front of the building.
“Does anyone tell that woman no?” she asked.
“I’ll finish the parade route and send it to the mayor,” Dan called.
I raised my arm and gave him a little wave over my shoulder. I might report to the sheriff, but everyone in town reported to Mrs. L.
Five minutes later, the spritely old woman slid into the passenger seat, setting her cloth bag on her lap and putting on her seatbelt.
“Thanks so much for collecting me. Ford dropped me off, and I haven’t seen him since.”
I glanced over my shoulder to check for cars, then headed down the street. “He didn’t tell you when he’d be back? That’s not like him.”
She shrugged. “His mind’s distracted these days with Indi and all.”
I didn’t say anything, only set my blinker and stopped at an intersection. Ford Ledger distracted? I highly doubted that, even though he was head over heels for Indi. Their love wasn’t all calf eyes and pining. It was intense and sharp and deep. The incident with her being kidnapped from her guide trip by a man who’d had her brother killed… it had made their relationship unbreakable.
“What about you, dear?”
“What about me?” I put my foot on the accelerator now that we’d cleared town. The Ledger place was a few miles out.
“I haven’t heard about you dating anyone.”
I clenched the steering wheel and took a second. If she even scented I had a thing with Hayes, she’d be on it like a bloodhound.
“You would know,” I replied.
“Don’t sass me, young lady.”
I laughed and glanced her way. She was smiling and gave me a wink.
“Is there someone in town wanting to date me?” I asked.
“In town? No. But I do have a number of fine young men staying with me now.”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am. They are fine.”
Only a blind woman would disagree; therefore, doing so would make her suspicious.
I slowed and turned down her drive.
“I’m not interested in dating, Mrs. L. I’m content being single.” I pulled up in front of her house and put the SUV in park.
“A man’s good for a few things. Changing the oil, replacing a furnace filter. A few others. One’s good to have around.”
I had a feeling she was specifically talking about the few other things. I doubted she was referring to talented oral skills or the ability to fuck deep and hard, but that was where my dirty mind went.
“Honey, in this day and age, you don’t need to settle down. You’re smart. Resourceful. You’ve got a good job and can take care of yourself.”
“Thank you.” I wasn’t exactly sure where she was going.
“Remember, if all you want is a little sausage, you don’t have to buy the whole pig.”
She climbed from the car as I choked on a laugh. Turning around, she stuck her head back in the SUV. “Turn this thing off and come inside. You’re staying for dinner.”
“Are we having sausage?”
She winked. “I’ll let you decide.”
HAYES
I loved Mrs. L.
Seriously, the woman was something else. She delivered Megan to me for dinner. We weren’t alone, but she was here. As we all sat out around the patio table on the back deck, I got to listen to the musical sound of her voice, watch every beautiful expression she made.
Of course, the downside was that apparently, we were pretending we weren’t dating. That I didn’t know about the birthmark on her left butt cheek or that she liked it best when I took her from behind. Yeah, the deep penetration made her cream and scream.
Even knowing all those intimate details about her, not dating her was technically true. She hadn’t granted me a date. A movie. Ice cream. Bowling. Whatever people did here in Sparks to get to know each other–outside of bed. But I would think six nights of screamed orgasms would constitute me a peck on the lips or a hand hold or something.
But nope.
She was pretending I was nothing to her.
And my male ego was taking it pretty damned hard.
Especially because Taft and Kennedy kept throwing me smirks like they couldn’t believe how…not far I’d gotten with this woman. Even Quincy was sending me quizzical looks.