Missy's Moment (The West Series Book 4) (11 page)

“Will do.” Melissa smiled and waved as the sheriff drove off. “Whew. I think you got off easy.” She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He laughed. “Considering the man carries more ammo than most Texans, I guess you could say that.”

“So…” She looked up at him through her eyelashes. “What do you say to dinner this Friday?”

He smiled and pulled her close. “Your place or mine?”

“I was thinking my folks’ place.”

He stiffened and frowned. “Your parents?”

“Sure, it’s a standing offer every Friday night. I think Grant and Alex are coming with the baby this weekend.”

“Well, I don’t…”

“Don’t go turning skittish on me now. If you can stare down a mean bronc, then you can have one dinner with my family.”

“And the sheriff,” he added.

She laughed. “Yes, and the sheriff. And don’t forget Jamella.”

He shivered. “I don’t know who’s worse…”—he took her hand and started walking towards the front door of the clinic—“your dad, your brother, the sheriff, or Jamella.” He turned to her and placed a kiss on her nose. He smiled when she laughed.

Melissa was in over her head. She knew she needed to call for backup, but she didn’t dare waste the time. It had been two days since Reece had stopped by her place and they’d spent what she was starting to think of as the best night of her existence.

Now she was down on her hands and knees and wishing she had a man around more permanently. She tossed her gloves down and glared at the betrayal that was her new yard.

When she’d moved in, the grass had been green and all of the flowers had been in early spring bloom. Now, however, the grass was quickly turning brown and most of the flower bushes were black and shriveled up. How was it that she could keep a human alive with no issues, but she took one look at anything green and it shriveled up and died on her?

She leaned back and felt like throwing the little spade she’d bought at the local hardware store across the yard. “Ugh!” she screamed. “I can do this.” She got up and dusted off her shorts.

“Problems?”

She turned to see Holly standing at the back gate, her arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing a pair of bright pink running shorts and a black tank top with pin stripes down the side. Even her running shoes matched the outfit. Her long red hair was tied up in a ponytail.

“No.” She turned and glared at her yard. “Yes.” She threw the spade down on the brown ground. “I can’t seem to get anything to grow.”

Holly chuckled. “I know it might be obvious, but have you tried watering?” Holly asked, opening the gate and stepping into the terror that was Melissa’s back yard.

“Of course I’ve watered it. The sprinklers are set to go off every night.” She motioned towards the small box at the back of the house.

“Let’s have a look.” Holly walked over and opened the box and then turned back to her and laughed. “These are set to go off once a week.” She turned a knob and made a tsking noise. “It was set to winter mode. In this spring heat they’ll need to go off at least every other day and, by the looks of it”—she glanced back at the brown yard—“every night might be even better.” She punched some buttons and the sprinklers started spraying water over the crisp yard.

“I don’t know how you do it.” She stood next to her friend and frowned. “You know something about everything.”

Holly turned to her and laughed. “It helps when you’re stuck inside a bookstore eight hours a day, five days a week.”

Melissa shrugged. “Still.”

They moved aside and stood on the wide back deck when the sprinklers turned their way.

“I was just jogging by and heard you scream.” Her friend sat in one of the deck chairs.

“Want some tea?” Melissa opened the back sliding door.

“I’d love some. I’m trying to keep my New Year’s resolution by jogging every week.”

Melissa took the tea out of the fridge and grabbed two glasses. “How’s that going?”

Holly rolled her eyes. “It would be better if it wasn’t getting so hot.” Her friend took a large drink of the tea. “And if I didn’t have treats in my store every day.” She leaned forward and whispered, “Got any treats?”

Melissa chuckled. “I was going to make some lunch after I had fixed my flowers.” She looked at her yard, which was still getting soaked by the sprinklers. “But, since you helped, I think I owe you more than lunch.”

Holly leaned back. “More is good.” She took a sip of her tea.

“I’ve been wanting to make some carrot cake. I got a new recipe online.” She stood up, and Holly followed her into the house.

“This is such a cute place,” her friend said, sitting at the little bar area. “There’s one major problem with living in the same building you work in.” Her friend frowned. “You can never get away.”

“You could always find another apartment,” she said, taking out her recipe and gathering the items she would need.

“You know…” Holly leaned her elbows on the countertop and watched her. “I’ve been thinking about moving everything.”

Melissa almost dropped the eggs as she spun around and looked at her friend. “You mean, out of town?”

“Oh, god, no.” Holly sat back up. “I’m not crazy. I love Fairplay. It’s where I want to get married, raise a family, and grow old.” She smiled. “I’m talking about finding another building downtown that could house what I have in mind. Something I can expand to a small coffee shop. Mama’s is a great diner, but I think Fairplay could stand a more upscale sort of thing. A place not only to get books, but someplace they could come and sit down and read those books and enjoy. You know, a place to get away for a while. Maybe even have wine in the afternoons.”

Melissa thought about it. “Holly’s Coffeehouse and Wine Bar?”

“Sure, I like the sound of that. But, it will remain a bookstore at heart.”

“Holly’s Bookstore, Coffeehouse, and Wine Bar.” She smiled when Holly laughed. “Are you sure you’re not taking on too much?”

Holly snickered. “What else is there in my life, right now? It’s not like I have a tall, handsome, cowboy knocking down my door. Like you.” She added after a moment of silence.

Melissa turned and smiled at her. “He is handsome.” Her friend leaned forward again.

“So, spill. I want to know all the details. Don’t leave anything out.”

When Melissa just looked at her, Holly shrugged her shoulders. “What? If roles were reversed, you’d be knocking down my door, wanting to know everything. Besides, it’s been almost a year since I went out on a date.”

“A year?” Melissa was shocked.

Holly shrugged her shoulders again. “It’s hard to find a good man in a town of three thousand.”

She turned to her friend. “Maybe we can do something about that.”

R
eece stood in the corner and tried to act like he fit in. Hell, to look at him, he did fit in. Every man in the place was cut from the same mold. They all had on crisp Levi’s, boots that had been spit shined, and cotton button-up shirts that had been either starched or ironed. To top off the appearance, every man in the dim place wore a ten-gallon hat on his head.

The difference was, everyone else was having a grand ol’ time, while Reece stood in the back and tried to be invisible. He hated bars, always had. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that nothing good had ever come out of his father visiting one. Maybe it was the fact that he’d avoided them while on the circuit. Whatever the matter, he wondered why he’d allowed Haley and Alex to talk him into coming that night.

Thursday nights were karaoke nights at the Rusty Rail and they both had promised he’d have fun. They’d strong-armed him into going and supporting them while they each got up on stage and sang.

Alex and Haley were swaying on the dance floor with their husbands. They had all been chatting at the small round table he stood behind until a slow song started floating through the speakers. Then they had disappeared on him, leaving him alone in the darkened corner. He didn’t mind, actually; he was wishing he’d thought to call Melissa and invite her along, but it had had been so last minute, he hadn’t had time.

He was taking another swig of beer, when he watched the two girls walk in the front door. They looked like they were inseparable. Their arms were linked and they were laughing as they scanned the room.

When Missy’s eyes locked with his, her smile brightened even more. She nodded and said something to Holly who immediately looked over towards his corner with a large smile on her face.

They started walking his way, and his night instantly got better.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Holly said, walking over and sitting on one of the bar stools. She looked at her friend and nodded. “I ran into Melissa earlier, and we decided a night out was in order.”

He nodded and pulled Missy closer to him. “I’m here with them.” He nodded to his cousins who were now dancing faster on the old wood floor with their husbands.

“They look good together,” Holly said. He thought he heard a hint of jealousy in her voice, but he didn’t know her well enough to tell.

“You clean up well,” Missy said.

He smiled. “So do you.” He leaned down and kissed the red lips he’d been staring at since she walked in the door. She was wearing a flowered cotton sundress covered with little red roses. Her red boots matched her lips and the little red purse she had strapped over her shoulder. He couldn’t stop touching her.

“I’ll go grab us a pitcher,” Holly said, quickly retreating towards the bar.

“I’m glad you came,” he said, running his hands up and down her back.

“Me, too. Holly stopped by and we got to talking, and then we decided to come here and try to find her a man.” He chuckled.

“Her? Not you?” He smiled.

She shook her head. “I’ve already got a good man.”

He nodded. “I don’t suppose you’d like to dance with your man?” He nodded to where his cousins and a half-a-dozen couples were swaying around the dance floor.

“I’d love to.” She took his hand and followed him to the floor.

When they began to slowly move around, using the moves most Texan’s are raised from birth to know, he smiled at her. “You know, I normally wouldn’t be caught dead in a bar.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”

Nodding, he continued. “I never could stand them. Crowded, loud, smoky.”

“Fairplay has been smoke free for three years.” She nodded towards dark room. He could tell. When he’d walked in, it was the first thing he’d noticed.

“I like it. My father smoked. Never could stand the smell.”

“Oh, I don’t know. My father and uncle smoke cigars on special occasions. I’m quite taken with the smell of those.” Her arms felt good wrapped around him. Pulling her closer, he felt her heart skip a beat next to his.

“So, tell me what your friend is looking for in a man,” he asked playfully.

“Why?” She laughed. “Know anyone in particular?”

He thought about it. “Local?” When she nodded, he thought harder. “Can’t think of anyone.”

“That’s the problem around here. Good men are hard to come by.”

“Oh?” he said, twirling them towards a dark corner. “Is that why you were so eager to go out with me?’

She laughed. “Point taken. I was a fool.”

Just looking at her smile made him smile. He stole that moment and leaned down to place a kiss on her lips.

“Are we still set for tomorrow night?” she asked when he pulled away and they started walking back towards the table. He didn’t know why he was trying to avoid dinner with her parents. He’d met them at Alex’s wedding and they had seemed very nice. Hell, he’d probably run into them in town several times since coming into town. It wasn’t as if they were mean people. Actually, that’s one of the reasons he had wanted to settle down in Fairplay in the first place. There wasn’t one person in town he could think of that he didn’t like.

“Yeah. I’ll pick you up at seven?”

She nodded and smiled at the group sitting around the table.