Son of a Preacher Man (18 page)

“You’re scaring me.”

“Good. If you’re a little afraid, you won’t take chances. Someone is out to hurt you. I don’t want to see that happen.”

“Me either.”

“Woman, you have the sexiest damn underwear. I don’t know whether to be pleased I get to see you in it or jealous about who you bought them for.”

“I bought them for me. Most of my clothes I get on consignment, so when I buy something new for myself, I make sure it’s something I really like. Something that makes me feel pretty.”

“Trust me, it works. Come on, if you don’t get covered up soon, I’ll never get to work.”

“And would that be such a bad thing?” she teased, using a little extra wiggle as she pulled on her shorts.

“I have a crapload of work to get done today and tomorrow if I want to enjoy my day off. And I plan on enjoying it right here with you. In bed. Taking off those panties that make you feel so pretty and showing you how effective they are.”

Tingles sparkled through her body like her blood was made of soda water. An entire day in bed with J.T.? She might just die from heart failure. But what a way to go!

“Makes me wish I had my car back so I could make a run into Canton and hit Victoria’s Secret.” She looked around for her purse and remembered it was in the truck still. “I guess I’m all set, but speaking of my car, what happened to it?”

“I had it towed to Al’s. He’s going to let me know if he can fix it or if he’ll have to tow it to Canton.”

“Great. Looks like I’ll be without wheels for a while.”

“Then consider me your chauffeur. Your limo awaits.”

She laughed and followed him outside. As she waited for him to open the truck door for her, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She had the nervous feeling someone was watching her.

Shaking it off, she climbed in and buckled up. It was probably just her imagination, and even if it wasn’t, they were headed into town anyway. If anyone was watching the house, they’d be watching an empty one.

Nadya was surprised to see Bill’s truck in the driveway when J.T. dropped her off, then she remembered it was Saturday. Wow, one week of vacation and she was already losing track of the days. Of course, a hell of a lot had happened in that one week. She’d found out the identity of her father, reconnected with Mary Ellen, faced down some of the women from her past and fallen back in love with J.T.

Whoa! Back the truck up!

Good sex, great sex even, did not equal love. She needed to keep her head on straight if she wanted to go back to New York relatively heart-whole.

“Keep your cell phone on you, not in your purse. I’ll touch base with you throughout the day and let you know if I’m going to be late. I have to go out of town for a bit this morning, but I should be back sometime this afternoon.”

“I think I’ll survive without you. It’ll be tough, but I’m strong.”

“Smart-ass.”

“You love my smart ass,” she shot back as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

“I surely do.” He pulled her close for a kiss. “Be careful. Keep your phone on. Don’t be afraid to call if something seems off.”

“I’ll be fine. Go, or you’ll be late to work and they’ll blame me.”

He waited until Mary Ellen opened the door and waved to him before he backed out of the driveway. As Nadya watched him pull away, she also saw curtains twitch on either side of the street. The phone lines would be buzzing early today.

“I feel like I should charge admission for the show y’all are putting on just by J.T. dropping you off on my front stoop,” Mary Ellen said as she ushered Nadya inside.

“I’ve seen dead bodies cause less of a stir in New York City.”

“Auntie Nad! Auntie Nad!” Billy ran down the hall and latched onto her legs. “I missed you. Mama said something bad happened to your car and Uncle J.T. was going to take care of you because you were sad. I’m sorry your car got hurt.”

“Lord, child, let her get in the door. And to think, you’re my quiet boy.”

“It’s okay.” Nadya detached him from her legs and squatted down to his height. “My car got hurt, but I’m okay. Uncle J.T. just wants me to be safe.”

“’Cause that’s his job. A police ocifer keeps people safe. He’ll catch the bad guys and throw them in jail.”

His little face was so serious in his belief of right and wrong, Nadya had to bite back a grin. “I’m sure he will.”

“Did you have breakfast yet?” Mary Ellen asked. “I’m making cheese grits, eggs and sausage.”

“I haven’t had grits in years. But I had breakfast with J.T., so I’m good. I will not eat any more carbs today. I will not eat grits and sausage, no matter how good it smells. I will be strong and fit into my clothes.”

“Honey, you worry too much. I’m sure you burned off plenty of calories last night.”

Either Nadya was getting used to Mary Ellen’s bawdy talk or she was too satisfied to blush, because for once she was immune to the taunt. “And I plan to burn off many more tonight, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to gorge myself on fat and carbs.”

“We’ll see about that. My mama’s making lemon meringue pie for tomorrow’s dinner, and I’m making my famous twice-baked potatoes.”

“And everyone always said I was the bad influence on you.” Nadya picked Billy up and headed into the kitchen.

Bill read the paper next to Hunter who sat in a booster seat. Bits of toast were scattered around the toddler like confetti. Sydney sat patiently under the table, eagerly awaiting the next fallen morsel. The radio was on a country station, and the familiar cadence brought Nadya back to the days when Mr. Farley sat in that same spot and Mrs. Farley bustled around the kitchen humming to the radio. Memories and longing washed over her, choking her with emotion.

She put little Billy down on the bench seat and helped herself to a mug of coffee. “I think I’ll take this and sit on the patio so I don’t give in to temptation. Y’all eat your breakfast and let me know when the coast is clear.”

“Coward,” Mary Ellen called after her.

It was early enough in the morning that the heat wasn’t overwhelming. Butterflies fluttered over the potted flowers on the edge of the patio. A small, gray bird splashed in the bird bath and others chirped in the bushes. Nadya tried to let the calm wash over her tumultuous emotions and soothe her frazzled thoughts, but it wasn’t really working.

This whole week she’d been pushing thoughts of her father away, telling herself she’d deal with them later. She’d skirted around the issues she hadn’t wanted to face and focused instead on the moment. At some point she’d have to confront all the crap circling around in her brain or it would come back to bite her in the ass.

Okay, she was a professional, she knew how to organize and deal with emotional issues objectively. First, she knew who her father was. How did she feel about that?

Angry. He was a selfish bastard. Just because he left her some money and some land didn’t absolve him of his guilt. He’d used and abandoned her mother, and she hoped he rotted in hell for it.

Okay, so much for being objective. Moving on. How did she feel about being back in Dale?

Conflicted. On the one hand, seeing Mary Ellen and spending time with her and her family had been great. She was head over heels in love with those boys, and she and Mary Ellen had picked up their friendship as if the ensuing years had never happened. She’d been surprised both at how sad she felt to see the town in decline and how much she enjoyed spending time with Opal and Jemma.

On the other hand, certain aspects of the town brought back a cold fury that wasn’t hidden as deeply as she’d thought. Much of her anger at the town had been for her mother. The absolute unfairness of Dale’s treatment of her mama infuriated her. When J.T. suggested her mama brought some of it on herself, Nadya thought she might have to kill him right then and there.

But was there a kernel of truth in his otherwise idiotic statement? Tala had encouraged the townspeople to view her as mysterious and foreign. Part of that was because she was a foreign entity in this white-bread town. But another part of it could have been a defense mechanism. Growing up, she’d been taught to distrust Outsiders. The
gadzé
were to be taken advantage of, or to make money off of. Living among them, she’d known she’d never be one of them, so why bother trying? And if it tweaked the noses of the proper ladies of the town, all the better.

Nadya heaved a sigh. There was no changing the past. She’d always hated people who blamed all their problems on their parents. It annoyed the ever-living hell out of her to hear people whine that they couldn’t make something of themselves because their parents were divorced or their father was an alcoholic or their mother abused them. She’d smugly thought about how she’d pulled herself up from poor gypsy trash to become a lawyer. If she could do it, so could they.

But how much baggage had she held on to? Hadn’t she had a chip on her shoulder about the town of Dale most of her life? Hell, she’d bought a freaking BMW instead of putting the money towards her college loans just to flaunt her success. Idiot. Look what that had done for her, creating a target for some asshole to hit.

She put her empty cup on the ground and wandered around to the boys’ swing set. Dale was Dale, just a small town in north Georgia. It wasn’t any more evil than any other small town. There were good people and bad people and some people who just looked the other way. If it wasn’t for people like the Farleys, her mother never would have survived.

Sure, there were people like the Campbells and Branson Taylor, but there were also people like Jemma whose father fixed their porch and put a new roof on their cabin for the cost of materials in thanks for finding Tommy. For all the men who tried to sleep with her mama, there were also men who treated her politely.

Damn, it was hard to let go of that image she’d kept in her mind all these years. Every time she’d felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work it took to get through law school, she’d motivate herself by thinking of all the people who’d doubted her. As time had gone on, she’d forgotten the teachers and other folks who’d encouraged her. She’d forgotten that the good times far outweighed the bad.

Which brought her to J.T.

Her stomach flipped at the thought of him. Was it really less than a week ago that she’d first seen him? She’d thought then the emotions she’d felt were leftover from when she was eighteen. When he’d pursued her, she’d been flattered and excited, and maybe a little intrigued about what could have been.

But what did she feel now?

Too much. Way too much.

Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered waking up in his arms like it was the most natural thing in the world. Yesterday at the park when he’d played with Hunter, it didn’t take much imagination to put herself there with him and a toddler of their own.

The fact that she longed for that image instead of running in fear from it shook her more than she wanted to admit. God, where had this come from? Sure, she’d thought she’d get married and have kids someday. But there was too much to do now to even think about dating seriously, forget marriage and a family. Back in New York, she had to work her butt off, not just to pay her bills, but to keep pace with all the other lawyers in the firm. Everyone wanted to move up the ladder, and you had to work twice as hard as the next guy if you wanted to stand out.

This was her first vacation since she’d graduated from law school four years ago. She’d worked sixteen-hour days, worked nights, weekends, whatever was asked of her in order to move up in the company. She had more lucrative clients now and didn’t live hand to mouth, but was she really living? Or just getting by? What was her goal? What was she working for?

Nadya pushed the baby swing and sent it gently swaying. If someone had asked her a week ago what she was working for, she’d have been able to answer without hesitation. She wanted to keep climbing up the company ladder until she was eventually a partner in the firm.

And then what? Have a house in Connecticut? A house that she’d never see because she’d be working sixty hours a week and weekends trying to keep her position? An empty house because she had no time to date?

But she liked her job. She enjoyed the challenge of manipulating a contract for her client’s best advantage. Trial law held no interest for her. She liked the intricacies of contract law.

And Dale didn’t exactly have a need for another lawyer in town.

What? Where the hell had that thought come from? Was she seriously thinking about staying in Dale? Panic crept into her brain. What were her emotions doing to her while her hormones were running the show?

Grasping the frame of the swing set, she clung to it for support. Her head was abuzz with conflicting thoughts.

Of course she was going back to New York. Her job was there, her apartment was there and she had friends there. She’d worked too hard to throw it all away.

Worked too hard for what? To continue working until she died of a heart attack at fifty? Alone? She had real friends here and a chance for more. Did she really want to throw that all away for a job?

But what if J.T. didn’t want more? He’d agreed with her when she’d insisted on no promises. He might just have wanted to finish what they’d started at the creek all those years ago. If he’d been anything like her, he had to have wondered what it would be like. Would she still want to stay in Dale if it wasn’t for J.T.? It was a question she just didn’t have an answer for.