CHAPTER 19
Lowe
“You’re taking me to your house, huh?” Mely says as she lowers her voice an octave. When I look over at her sitting in the passenger seat of my truck, she waggles her eyebrows at me knowingly.
Laughing, I just shake my head. “Not taking you to my house.”
“But you’re heading down the dirt drive that leads to the lake. Your house is on the other side,” she points out.
“Pretty sure I know my way around here better than you,” I say as I do indeed drive down the dirt road that leads to the lake, and then on around to my house.
“Let me get this straight,” she says slowly. “We’re on a dirt road that as far as I can remember, leads directly to Mainer Lake, and there’s nothing around Mainer Lake but your house.”
“Correct.”
“But we’re not going to your house, so I’m going to assume we’re going to be on the boat in the lake again,” she says confidently.
“Wrong,” I tell her more confidently.
“Wrong?”
“Wrong,” I affirm.
Mely lets out a mock sigh of frustration. Her voice is dry when she says, “Well, if you’re not taking me to your house—which is disappointing slightly—and we’re not getting in the boat, I can only then surmise you’re going to take me out into the woods and kill me.”
“That’s a pretty big leap,” I say with a grin as we bump along the road.
From the corner of my eye, I can see her dramatically throw her hands up in defeat. “I can’t figure out what the heck we’re doing.”
“Which is why it’s a surprise,” I say smugly. “Just cool your heels and have a bit of patience.”
“I’m a New Yorker. I move at the speed of light. I don’t have patience.”
“We’re going to change that about you,” I tell her with surety. I’ve learned enough about Mely to know she’d take to slow country living quite well.
I follow the road that runs on the outside of the trees that surround Mainer Lake, then turn into the path that’s big enough just for one vehicle and goes back about fifty yards to my cabin.
“Aha,” Mely says with superiority coating her voice thickly. “You did bring me to your house. You’ve got ulterior motives, don’t you?”
I drive past my house, cutting through my rough-cut front yard that borders the lake. “You want me to have ulterior movies?”
“Maybe,” she says coyly, and I don’t dare to look over at her. If the look in her eyes matches her tone of voice, I will indeed stop my truck and drag her into my house.
But that was not on the agenda, so I drive past my house, cut my wheel right, and pull up a few feet, before putting the truck deftly into reverse to back it up to the edge of the lake that’s bordered by a patch of cattails.
After I shift it into park, I turn the truck off and turn to look at Mely. Her eyes are bright, probably because she had a few beers more than she should have. I stopped after two because she and Morri were having fun after Gill and Travis were booted out.
My hand throbs slightly, but I ignore it. It was so worth it to effectively shut his trap for him.
“I’m sad to say, sweet Mely, that I’ve got no ulterior motives tonight with you. We’re just camping.”
She blinks at me three times, slowly. “Camping?”
“With lanterns,” I add on.
“With lanterns?”
“In the back of my pickup.”
“Am I in the Twilight Zone?” she asks but her lips are curled at the ends so I know she’s amused.
I don’t respond. Instead, I jump out of the truck where I jog to her door and open it. I reach a hand out. She places hers in mine, and I help her with the slight hop down.
“You wait right there.” Opening the door to the rear cab where I stowed some gear earlier, I start unloading.
Mely watches me silently as I set everything up. It takes me seven trips into the rear cab to get everything. It takes about ten minutes to get it all up, and then I’m ready.
I turn to look at her reaction as she takes it in. I had transformed the back of my pickup into a little outdoor bed complete with a thick layer of blankets on the bottom for softness, followed by two sleeping bags on top. I even had two of the pillows from my bed in deference to this being what I’m betting is Mely’s first camping trip. I don’t want her to have to totally rough it. On the ledge of my truck bed, I’d placed various lanterns and candles. Every lantern was filled with citronella to help keep the bugs away, but it was a continuation of the mood the Lantern Festival had evoked last night when we were out on the lake. Finally, I’d put my battery operated, wireless speaker on the hood of the truck and had some Tim McGraw playing softly.
It was romantic as hell.
Would have gotten me laid with any other woman.
But tonight… we’re seriously just camping.
“What do you think?” I ask her with a self-assured smile.
“I think it’s amazing,” she murmurs as she takes it all in. Then she lifts her face to the night sky, and adds on. “Even more perfect than last night because the stars are all out tonight.”
“I ordered those up special,” I tell her.
“You could totally get lucky tonight, you know?” she says thoughtfully as we stand about three feet apart, just sizing each other up.
“But I won’t,” I reply simply.
“No, you won’t,” she says with a soft, grateful smile. “Because I’m buzzed, and you’re a gentleman, and tonight isn’t about that for you. You want to show me some of the southern charm my grandmother experienced when she lived here.”
“Got me,” I tell her, and then hold my hand out. She steps forward and takes it. Takes another two steps and comes toe to toe with me, her eyes shining with feeling over my gesture.
I lift her hand up and place a kiss on her knuckles. “Hope you like it, Mely.”
She sighs and her eyes flutter closed briefly before she pins me with a soft gaze filled with happiness. “You are kind of amazing.”
“Bet you’re glad I defaced your property, aren’t you?”
She laughs. “Yes, I am. It let me get to know you, and that’s become just as special as me purchasing Mainer House.”
I wait for a scant second to see if any bitterness is still left over the fact that Mely is now the owner of my family’s history.
And… there’s nothing.
Not a single negative feeling.
Only excitement to share tonight with this woman.
“Ready to crawl into the sleeping bags with me, so we can stare at the stars and talk all night?” I ask her.
“Yes,” she says with excitement. “No, wait. I need to pee. In fact, given the beer I had, probably not going to be the only time tonight.”
God, she’s adorable as she turns expectant eyes to my cabin that sits within a stone’s throw.
I put my hands on her shoulders and turn her toward the tree line. “Bathroom’s right there.”
Her head whips so hard to look over her shoulder, I get slapped in the face by her hair. “No way.”
“Way,” I tell her as I turn from her to dig in the back of my truck cab. I emerge with a flashlight, a roll of toilet paper, and a plastic baggy. I hold them out to her. “Be glad you don’t have to use leaves. It sucks to get poison ivy on your butt.”
She looks down at them with her nose wrinkled, placing a hand on top of mine and pushing the stuff back toward me. “No thanks. I’ll hold it.”
“You can’t hold it all night,” I scold her with a serious look, but inside, I’m dying laughing.
“I can,” she says primly.
I let out a bark of a laugh and reach out to grab Mely’s hand. Turning to the house, I start walking her that way. “I’ll make an exception this time. But future camping trips, you’re learning to pee in the woods.”
“I will,” she says gratefully. “Promise.”
“And just because I’m letting you in to pee doesn’t mean you can stay in there all night,” I tell her sternly. “Pee and get out. We’re camping, okay?”
“Okay, Lowe,” she says with exasperation. “It’s not like I’m a princess or anything.”
“You are if you’re camping and refuse to pee in the woods,” I tell her in a matter-of-fact tone.
Mely jerks her hand away from me. Before I can even stop my stride, she’s marching toward the trees. “I am not a princess.”
Snickering, I jog after her. When I reach her side, she snatches the implements of the peeing-in-the-woods trade. I think she might just stomp right into the darkness, but she hesitantly asks, “Is there anything dangerous in there?”
“No, way,” I assure her. “But I’ll come with you.”
She doesn’t refuse my offer, and I think it’s hilarious that outside of kissing, the next most intimate thing we’ll be doing together is peeing in the woods.
But that’s alright by me.
There’s nothing normal about how Mely and I have come together.
♦
“I think I’m done,” Mely says softly, and then yawns.
She’d just gotten back into the truck after her third trip into nature to pee, this one on her own even though I offered to come with her. She’s gone ahead and proved to me she’s completely game when it comes to camping. This is good because the truck bed is kind of like staying in a hotel in my opinion, so we’ll graduate her to a tent next time.
“Proud of you,” I murmur as she snuggles in closer to me. This was made possible after the first time we hopped into the truck, Mely grumbled that the separate sleeping bags didn’t allow for cuddling, and she wanted to cuddle.
I sure as hell wanted that too and wasn’t about to say no. In fact, if she hadn’t of drank more than a beer tonight and wanted to get frisky with me, I wouldn’t have said no to that either. But I don’t mind taking this a bit slow. Mely and I have a slow burn going, but I can tell when it ignites, it’s going to become hotter than an inferno. That kind of connection is special. I can wait a bit more for that, so tonight it’s just about cuddling.
So, I unzipped the sleeping bags and zipped them back together into one large one, and she’s got her head on my shoulder and her front pressed to my side. It’s gorgeous out tonight, and the stars seem to be within plucking distance. The bullfrogs have gone to bed for the most part, but the crickets are still making a bit of music. The citronella sweetens the air even more and the lanterns lend a romantic glow. I find it soothing. Apparently, Mely does as well as she yawns again.
Her arm comes across my stomach and I think that she fits against me nicely. Her squeeze tells me something, but her words tell me more. “Thank you for what you did for Morri tonight.”
“No thanks needed,” I tell her.
“Well, that’s because you’re Lowe Mancinkus and you’re like the best guy ever,” she says dryly. I laugh in return, loving how she and I just get each other in the humor department. “But seriously… thank you.”
“Wish I would have knocked some teeth out,” I mutter.
“That would have been awesome.”
“Just know that’s not what the South is all about, Mely,” I tell her earnestly. “Someone like Morri may not be understood. May be feared, even. But there are plenty who don’t care, and they are the ones who will quietly have his back. The ones who are ignorant are also usually loud and stupid, so they always seem to be heard. Don’t let it get you too down. I’ve always got your back and Morri’s when he visits.”
Mely lifts her head to look at me. “How are you even real?”
My hand comes up to the side of her face, and my thumb strokes her cheek. This is no joke when I tell her, “You make it easy to be this way.”
She gives a slight shake of her head, like she can’t believe what I’m saying. “No, Lowe… you are just genuinely a good human being. Your family is that way, as a matter of fact.”
I don’t say anything. I don’t self-deprecate because I know it’s important for Mely for some reason to say these things to me. So, I just look at her.
“I feel like I’m living a part of my grandmother’s life,” she whispers. “The one where you live in a magical place, surrounded by good people, better food, and there’s a good man waiting there for you who doesn’t seem quite real.”
“I’m real,” I assure her. “And Mely, I think you’re freaking amazing too. I don’t question what we got, only what we’re going to do with it. And I’m here to tell you, we’re going to do something with it.”
“Yeah, we are,” she says softly, and then lays her head back down on my shoulder again.
She’s the first to fall asleep, but I don’t go long after her.