Deep Down (Lockhart Brothers #1) (10 page)

“It’s a good time, man,” he said. “Last year I had some kickass moonshine that Tubby Taylor made.”

“I’m selling raffle tickets—which reminds me, you guys better be good for at least fifty bucks each worth of tickets.”

“Oh, yeah?” Austin yelled as he ran down the court. “What are you gonna do if we don’t—sue us?”

We all laughed and then I said, “I’m just glad I don’t have to wear a tux or anything dressy. Mom said jeans would be just fine.”

“Yeah, she’s right. It’ll be held in MacArthur’s barn again this year,” Kyle said. “Everyone will be wearing jeans and boots.”

We all walked over to the bench for a break. I wiped the sweat from my face with a towel and sat down to stretch my legs.

“When are we gonna get back to boxing?” I asked Kyle, my best opponent in the ring.

My oldest brother shook his head and gave me an apologetic look. “No more boxing for me. I sprained a finger last time and it fucked up my surgery schedule.”

“No shit? I guess surgeons do have to watch out for their hands. Well damn, who am I gonna box with now?”

“Me,” Mason said.

I laughed until I realized he was serious. “I’d clean your clock and you’d be pissed off for the next two years,” I said.

“I would not.”

“You fight like a girl.”

“Suck my cock.” He shoved me and I couldn’t help laughing again.

“Alright, I’ll spar with you,” I said. “Just don’t cry about it when I bruise up your pretty face.”

He shrugged. “I’m not worried.
If
that happens I’ll tell everyone I stopped a robbery or something, and it’d probably get me laid.”

“Whatever I can do to help the cause,” I said sarcastically. Mason was a confirmed bachelor with no desire to have a serious girlfriend.

“Let’s do it. After the hospital fundraiser thing. Mom would have our asses if we showed up to that with black eyes.”

“Hell, yeah, she would.”

I hadn’t been back in Lovely for long, but already I couldn’t imagine leaving the place again. My dream was to start a legal aid nonprofit, and my hometown was the perfect place to do it. Hopefully in time I’d be known as something other than the guy who got ditched at the altar.

I STOOD AT THE
entrance to the most enormous old barn I’d ever seen. Laughter and music drifted out from the red two-story structure. Two huge doors were propped open, beckoning me to join the party.

What was I doing here? I actually knew the answer to that question. I’d been asked to help sell raffle tickets at this barn dance by Grace Lockhart and I just couldn’t say no. When she’d told me it was for the Lovely Hospital Foundation, and that no dancing would be required, I’d been all too happy to help out.

But social situations involving me and makeup made me nervous. I was woefully out of practice. Usually, on Friday nights, I had my hair up in a ponytail and was making pizza with Noah, Margie and Gene. Instead, they were making pizza without me this time. But I still planned to go to their house for the night when I was done. Noah loved our weekly sleepover at Margie and Gene’s.

Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad. I adored Grace, and the hospital foundation was a cause close to my heart. Fortunately this event was casual. I was wearing my favorite old dark jeans, a green blouse I’d scored for a dollar at a garage sale and brown ballet flats. Hopefully I was rustic enough for a barn dance.

When I walked in, I couldn’t help breaking out in a big smile. The inside of the barn had been transformed. Lights were strung from the rafters and the walls were decorated with wreaths of fresh flowers. The lively music I’d heard was from a group with fiddles and other string instruments. Couples were already spinning around on the wood dance floor.

“Ivy, you made it!” Grace approached and embraced me warmly. Her dark shoulder length hair was held back with a headband in a red handkerchief pattern. Like me, she wore jeans and a simple blouse.

“Hi, Grace,” I said. “Thanks for asking me to come.”

“You look so pretty, as always.”

“Well, I came to work, so you just let me know what you need.”

“I’ve got you at the raffle and 50/50 ticket table. Right over here.”

She led the way to a long folding table and I did a double take when I saw who was sitting there. Reed rose to greet me, smiling sheepishly.

“Hey, Ivy,” he said. “Nice to see you again.”

He wore jeans and a blue flannel shirt, his five o’clock shadow a little more grown out this time. And damn, was he
tall.
Reed looked more at home in his casual clothes than he had in his dark, perfectly tailored suit. And, surprisingly, he looked even more handsome this way.

I laughed nervously. “You, too. I promise I won’t slip on any milkshakes tonight.”

“I’m a little disappointed to hear that.”

My heart had turned into an out of control drum, pounding to no particular rhythm. The way he was looking at me, his brown eyes so warm and . . . interested. Not just attracted but
interested
. . . it was unnerving.

“Oh,” Grace said, looking back and forth between us. “So you two have already met?”

“Yeah, Reed and Austin came into Gene’s the other day and he saved me from wiping out on a wet patch on the floor,” I said.

“Well, I should hope so. I’m proud to say I raised five gentlemen.” Then, changing the subject she added, “Reed already knows all the details on the tickets sales. Have a seat, Ivy.” She gestured at the folding chair next to Reed’s. “I’ll send in a replacement later so you can enjoy the dance.”

“Oh, I’m just here to work,” I said. “Don’t worry about relief for me.”

Grace nodded and smiled before heading away. I went around to the other side of the table and set my purse down beneath it. Reed was still standing. I was about to ask him if everything was okay when he pulled out my chair for me.

“Thanks,” I said, sitting down. He slid the chair back in and then took his seat again.

Ticket sales were brisk and we sold tickets for a while, mostly chatting with the people buying them. Everyone knew Reed. I tried not to eavesdrop, but a conversation between him and an older woman caught my attention.

“Reed, I’m so glad you came home, honey. You shouldn’t be ashamed to show your face in Lovely.”

“Thanks, Mrs. DeGeorge. No shame here. I was working in St. Louis after law school.”

The white-haired woman gave him a skeptical look through her thick-rimmed glasses. “But you got stood up at your own wedding. That’s humiliating. It’s okay to admit it.”

I heard Reed sigh softly. “It was five years ago. I’ve definitely moved on. And it’s great to see you, Mrs. DeGeorge. How many raffle tickets would you like?”

“Just one, dear. And as long as we’re talking . . . well, you know I was one of the guests at the wedding that day. I sent a nice blender as a gift, because your mother was so good to me after my Don died. And, well, since you didn’t actually get married . . . I’d like the blender back.”

There was a moment of silence. I forced my expression to stay neutral, though it was hard to not even crack a smile.

“I’m sorry to hear about that, Mrs. Degeorge,” Reed said. “I don’t know where the blender is, but I can pay you back so you can buy a new one.”

“Oh, that’s good of you. It seems like it was forty-seven dollars if I remember right.”

She looked at him expectantly and he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and counted out some bills.

“I don’t have change so we’ll just make it an even fifty,” he said.

“You’re such a dear,” Mrs. DeGeorge said, handing back one of the bills to pay for her raffle ticket. “Save a dance for me tonight. I’m not spoken for anymore, you know.”

Reed handed over her change and gave her a polite smile. I made sure Mrs. DeGeorge was out of earshot before I laughed softly.

“Subtlety is a lost art in Lovely,” I said, giving him a sympathetic look.

“Ain’t that the truth,” he muttered. “It wasn’t the end of the world. I was supposed to get married five years ago. I’ve been over it since then, but sometimes it seems like no one except me wants to forget about it.”

“So, she just didn’t show up? That’s pretty harsh.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Just wasn’t meant to be, so it was best to find out before the wedding, even though I wish it had happened differently.”

“Very true. And did you, uh . . . ever meet someone else?”

He looked over and gave me a small smile. “No, I’m still a bachelor. How ‘bout you? I hear you’ve shot down most every single guy in Lovely.”

My cheeks warmed. “Definitely not that many. I have a little boy. If I’m not working, I’m with him. I don’t have time for a social life right now.”

“What’s his name?”

“Noah. He’s three. He’s actually . . . the reason I came tonight. When I came to Lovely, I was pregnant and alone. I didn’t have health insurance. The hospital foundation covered all the costs of my delivery. I would have been in debt for the rest of my life without that gift. Now I help raise money for the foundation to give back.”

Reed nodded knowingly. “That’s how you got to know my mom, then. She’s always been active with the foundation.”

“Yes. She taught me to knit and she’s the reason Margie and I bake fifty pies for the bake sale every year.”

“I’m gonna need to know when that is. I’ve got a weakness for apple pie.” His serious look turned into a grin. “So Noah must keep you busy.”

“He does.”

“Does he like sports?”

I laughed and furrowed my brow. “He’s only three.”

“Yeah, but that’s old enough to chase a ball around. Bring him by the gym sometime if you want and I’ll lower one of the hoops and teach him some basketball.”

“You play basketball?”

“Ever since I started walking.”

“I guess it makes sense since you’re so tall. How tall are you, exactly?”

“Six-four.”

“Wow.”

“Seriously, if you ever want an afternoon to yourself some weekend, I’ll play basketball with Noah. He’s probably too young for boxing.”

“Are you kidding?”

He gave me a lopsided grin. “Yeah, I’m kidding. I’d never box with a kid.”

“I’d take kickboxing at the gym if I had time.”

“Yeah? I could teach you how to box if you want. You could hit me, but I wouldn’t hit back.”

“I’ve wanted to learn some kind of self-defense for a while.”

“I can help with boxing, or teaching you how to shoot.”

My eyes widened with surprise. “With a gun?”

“Yeah.” He laughed. “I’m a hunter, but I’m decent with handguns too.”

“Really? That’s good, I guess.”

Reed grinned and nudged my shoulder with his arm. “Quit looking at me like I’m a serial killer. This is the Bible belt. Guns are an everyday thing here.”

“I know. But they’re not my thing.”

His gaze was warm. “So what is your thing?”

“I don’t really have any
things.
I’m always working, or I’m with Noah. I read sometimes when he goes to sleep. And I was on the dance team in high school, but that was so long ago.”

“How long?”

“You’re asking how old I am?”

“In a roundabout way, yep.”

“I’m 22.”

Grace approached the table, her cheeks flushed. I’d seen her running around all evening to coordinate things.

“I’m closing up ticket sales since the drawings are coming up in about five minutes,” she said. “You two go enjoy yourselves. There’s plenty of food if you’re hungry.”

“Actually, I’m hoping for a dance,” Reed said. He stood and held a hand out to me.

I pushed back a wave of nervous excitement. “Oh, I don’t—”

“Dance?” His lopsided grin was back. “Tell me another one. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten how in four years, Ivy. Come on.”

“Go on,” Grace said. “Have some fun, Ivy.”

“I don’t . . .” I paused, unable to finish the sentence. My mind was racing and what I wanted to say was that I didn’t touch men, but I knew that would sound weird.

And it
was
weird, but it was true. Other than customers bumping into me at work, I hadn’t touched a man since that awful night in my bedroom four year ago.

But Reed looked expectant and sincere. I wanted to say yes, but I stayed seated in my chair.

“C’mon. Save me from Mrs. DeGeorge,” he said in a teasing tone.