Picnic in Someday Valley (Honey Creek #2)(50)
He shook his head. He was worrying about hail while the sky was clear. Adalee probably only meant friendship. If she had meant more, Jesse doubted one hour a week would do.
Chapter 31
Marcie
As the sun touched the horizon, Marcie drove back to Honey Creek, with Brand following in his big black pickup. Even though the sky looked the same, she felt the air was clearer. She’d finally quit feeling sorry for herself and changed some things in her life. Somehow she’d found a new start. She planned to make the most of it.
New place. New job. A new man who seemed good to her, but she’d never trust anyone completely again.
She thought about the kiss Brand had asked for before their date. Just thinking about it made her lips tingle. If he kissed like that, how would he make love?
She’d promised after her last boyfriend that she’d never sleep with a man who she didn’t know completely. She knew Brand was kind, quiet, and polite. But there was so much more she didn’t know. After seeing him work out, she feared he did much more for a living than just breed horses. No man would be in that kind of shape unless his life depended on it.
What if he’d been in prison and got in the habit of working out like that?
Maybe he was a hit man for the mob. Being a rancher could just be his cover. He could be into the drug trade, or he might be a spy. No one in the valley kept up with him. He could disappear and be gone for weeks. No, that wouldn’t work. He showed up once almost every week to listen to her play.
Who knows? He could be one of those fighters they lock in cages to fight it out. But how could such a kind man be a fighter?
Another thing. He lived fifteen minutes from a gym. Why would he spend all that money to build his own gym with a shower room? He could have just walked across from the barn to the house to shower. Unless he needed to go into the barn in western clothes and come out the same way.
Brand pulled up behind her when they parked at Mr. Winston’s place. Then they walked two blocks over to a popular bar where Marcie had once worked for a few months. This one street in Honey Creek had always been a bit dark, a bit shady. The sidewalks were broken in places and kids had written on the sides of buildings. The locals tended to come here for the food and the beer, but tourists never bothered.
Marcie circled one arm around his upper arm.
He smiled. “My koala bear is back.”
When they got to the Pint and Pie Bar, it was noisy and crowded. Marcie didn’t recognize the bartender or, thank goodness, anyone else in the bar. The pizzas looked great. Thick crusted, loaded with meat, then covered with cheese so high it ran off the crust when it melted.
The bartender raised his eyebrow when they both ordered iced tea with their large pizza. When he walked away, Marcie leaned close. “You can have a beer. I’m the one who has to go to work tonight.”
His lips almost touched her ear as he answered, “I don’t like beer.”
“You are kidding. You order a beer every week while you listen to me sing.”
“I come to see you, honey. I wouldn’t order anything, but Wayne might kick me out.”
Marcie laughed. “I’m finally learning something about you, Brand. Tell me more.”
“There’s not much to tell about me. Fill me in about this job you’ve landed. It sounds exciting. You get to know everything happening in the valley.”
She told him details, including about how fun it was to sit beside Pecos when the calls came in. “People will be in trouble when they call, and it’ll be my job to get help to them.
“But it’s funny sometimes. The cat call made everyone in the office laugh, except the sheriff. While I was working, I felt like I was doing something good, something worthwhile. For the first time since I was in a band at eighteen, I was part of a team. It’s boring when I have to study the book, but time flies when the calls start coming in.”
“You do something good when you sing. There were weeks when I couldn’t wait to see you again. Your music, your voice lets my soul rest.”
She started to laugh, but his eyes told her he wasn’t kidding.
When the pizza arrived she was telling him every word the sheriff said when he insisted she apply. “When I was in trouble once, he was hard on me, but he was never cruel. I always had something to drink, and he’d tell me to let him know if the questioning got too much for me. During those days, I was mad at the world, but I knew he was just doing his job.”
The bar was getting louder. Some football game had started on the dozens of mounted TVs. They ate and talked with their heads close so they could hear. Marcie noticed a few people watching her, but Brand acted as if she was the only one in the room. She wished she could wrap her arms around his arm. She felt safe from any pain in the world with him so close.
When they walked out, the fresh air and silence felt grand. He took her hand and they walked without talking for a half block. She thought that they’d finally grown comfortable with each other. Men had always come and gone in her life. Not one stayed around long. Brand probably wouldn’t either, but something about him settled her.
It felt nice when she shivered and he put his arm around her shoulders. When they crossed the street he switched to the outside, silently protecting her.
Almost to the town square, on a piece of sidewalk where no streetlight brushed their path, Brand tugged her toward him and kissed her lightly. When she didn’t pull away he kissed her deeper and cocooned her in his arms. She felt warm and cared for, but this time she wouldn’t let feelings get all mixed up with love. Her fairy tale never turned out “happily ever after.”