Chapter Twenty-Seven
Pete
Saturday
I had my feet up on the porch railing and a cold beer in hand when Emma pulled up into the driveway. She climbed out of her little blue sedan and came waltzing over, dressed in sandals, shorts that showed off her shapely, toned thighs, and a tank top made of loose, gauzy fabric that drifted easily in the breeze. She had a plastic bag hanging from each hand, weighed down with whatever she’d prepared for us to eat.
“Aren’t you grilling?” she asked as she walked up.
Before I could answer, Riley jumped up from where he was lying flat on the porch and ran out to meet her.
“What the hell?” I mumbled, sitting up in my chair so I could watch him trotting up to her, his tail wagging excitedly.
She giggled, set one of her plastic bags down in the dirt, and leaned down to scratch him behind the ears. “Who’s a good boy?” she crooned.
“Not him,” I replied, the shock lifting enough for me to grin. “That damned dog has never gotten off his ass to greet anyone like that — not even me, and I’m the one who feeds him.”
Emma picked up her plastic bag and came up to the porch, smiling. “Dogs can sense how good people are.” Her smile expanded, those pretty eyes sparkling in the last of the day’s sunlight. “That’s probably why he likes me best.”
I had to laugh at that.
“You didn’t answer me,” she said, setting her bags down on the empty chair beside mine. “Are you grilling tonight?”
I reached to take her hand and tugged her down into my lap. She came down laughing. I planted a sloppy kiss on her lips.
“I’ve got a brisket baking in the oven. Thought I’d try something different.”
“Sounds good,” she said, looking hard into my eyes like she was searching for something. I wondered what she saw in there. I didn’t get time to ask, though. She leaned into another kiss, this one deeper, her tongue venturing into my mouth much more forcefully than I’d expected. I felt a deep stirring between my legs, and having her on my lap only made it worse.
“What was that for?” I asked as soon as she pulled away.
“Things felt off yesterday after breakfast,” she said, smiling shyly. “I just wanted to make sure things were okay between us.”
“Things are better than okay,” I said, and her smile got brighter. Damn, I’d never get used to being able to light up her face. I never wanted to do a single thing to keep her from smiling like that.
She stood up, and we went into the house through the open front door, banging the screen door behind us. Old Riley stayed outside, content to rest on the porch for the remainder of the night. We went back to the kitchen. I didn’t own a tablecloth — I couldn’t see the point in that — but I’d laid the table with plates, silverware, and napkins. While I checked on the brisket, Emma unloaded her dishes, setting two covered glass containers in the center of the table.
I took the brisket out of the oven, setting it on the stovetop to rest a little before I cut into it. I turned from the oven to find her holding a pie.
“Goddamn, that looks good!” I said.
“It’s apple.” She held it out so I could see the crisscross pattern on top, lightly sprinkled with sugar.
I licked my lips and grinned. Had I told her that was my favorite? Or had she just guessed? “I can’t wait to taste it.”
She set it onto the counter next to the fridge, smiling, too, then took a seat at the table. “That smells so good, Pete.”
“I hope it tastes good, too,” I said, and she giggled. I cut some slices to put on a serving tray and brought it to the table, taking the seat across from hers. “What’d you bring us?”
“Homemade coleslaw and corn casserole.”
I made an appreciative noise, and then dug in, taking huge spoonfuls of each. I was thinking about that pie. I had to make sure not to overdo it on the rest of the food. Who the hell was I kidding? I’d have a slice of that no matter how much I ate. Through some twist of good fortune, I had a half gallon of vanilla ice cream in the freezer.
I looked up in time to see Emma take her first bite of brisket. I held my breath, lifting my eyebrows.
She made an approving noise deep in her throat, her eyes rolling back in her head a little. “That’s so good!”
I relaxed a little more. I’d made brisket a few times before, but never for her.
“What did you get up to yesterday after work?” I asked. I felt a little stupid for how I’d acted the day before. The possibility of having to choose between Emma and Lacey still troubled me a great deal, but I couldn’t let it ruin how well things were going between us. I’d kicked my own ass up and down the farm for letting her leave last night without saying goodbye to her.
“I went over to my daddy’s for dinner,” she replied, lifting her green eyes from her loaded plate so she could meet my steady gaze.
“You seem pretty close to him.”
She nodded. “I try to see him as much as I can. Kasey was there, too, which was nice. We’re so damned different in so many ways; it’s hard to believe we came from the same two people.” She took another large bite of brisket.
“I grew up wishing I had a few siblings to run around with. I got Lacey, I guess, but you know what I mean.”
She laughed, the color rising into her cheeks. “You’d say that until they start annoying the hell out of you.” She set her fork down and considered me seriously, seeming on the brink of saying something really important. “I feel kind of sad for my daddy sometimes. After my mama died, he got stuck with raising two girls. We were both so young, but he made it work.”
“That must have been hard,” I said.
She shrugged. “He didn’t make it seem that way. He taught me how to ride a horse and why there’s so much value in putting in a hard day’s work. I’ve never seen the man sit idle in his life. Even Kasey, who can’t stand working outside and getting sweaty, knows the value of a dollar and takes pride in an honest day’s labor. Daddy’d be more than happy working on a farm until the day he dies.” She grinned. “I get that from him, too.”
Shit, we had that much in common. I’d always found something magical in sweating hard and working on your own property. People who didn’t know that luxury had no idea what they were missing. Sunshine and sweat could cure damned near everything.
“I feel bad sometimes,” she said, her smile long gone and emerald eyes serious. “He worked so hard to make things okay for me and for Kasey that he never thought about his own happiness. I know he misses Mama every day. He used to say he could see her living inside us. I’ve seen the pictures. We look just like her.”
She didn’t quite look said, just thoughtful. I liked when she let the door to the safe creep open, sharing this sweet, vulnerable side of her. It was happening more often the longer we were around each other.
“My daddy was the same way,” I said in a low voice. “He never remarried after my mama died. He used to joke that you only get one soulmate. After that, you’re just wasting your time.”
“My daddy would agree with that,” she replied, lips curving into a small smile. “He never came right out and told me, but I know he can’t see himself with another woman. Believe me, plenty tried, but he just kept to himself.
“In a selfish way, I’m glad he did. That left so much time for the three of us to be together. But now that I’m grown, I worry about him getting older alone.”
I didn’t know how to answer that. My cheeks burned a little with shame. I’d never even considered things from my daddy’s point of view. I’d been so wrapped up in how much I missed Mama. But I hadn’t gotten the time with him as an adult. I wondered if Emma knew how lucky she was to still have him in her life.
“Speaking of Daddy,” she said, light eyes shining in a mischievous way I hadn’t seen before. “What would you think of meeting him?”
I sat back in my chair, too stunned to speak. My mouth dropped open, but no sound came out.
“He really wants to meet you.” She laughed as she considered the look on my face. “He won’t bite, Pete. And, as nervous as you feel, it’s not half as nervous as I am. I’ve never brought a guy home before.”
“You aren’t helping,” I said, grinning nervously. We’d finished our food by then, which was good because I didn’t know if I could eat another bite after this sudden twist in our relationship. I hadn’t met very many girls’ fathers. I had no idea how to act or what to say. But I could see from the high shine in Emma’s eyes that this meant a lot to her.
“I think I might know how to help,” she said, swallowing her smile.
I lifted my eyebrows. “Yeah?”
She nodded as she stood from the table. While I watched, she pulled the tank top over her head and dropped it onto her empty seat at the table. She lifted her dark eyebrows, her pretty mouth pressing into a sexy smile. That grin alone was enough to get me rock hard where I sat at the table. She reached behind her back with both hands, unhooking her pale pink bra. It fell to the floor, freeing her pert breasts capped with light pink nipples. She had just enough for two handfuls. Any more would be a damned waste.
Before I could say a word, she turned and strode off down the hall in the direction of the bedroom, shaking that pretty behind.
I jumped up and followed her, pulling open the belt on my jeans as I ran to the bedroom.