The Patriot Girl (7 page)

She nodded. “I will. Thank you.”

“We have to go.” Dustin hugged his friend. “Thanks for dinner. Magnificent as usual.”

“My pleasure.” Wesley walked away.

“So?” MaKayla stood beside him now. “How did you save his son’s life?”

Dustin placed his hand on her lower back and walked her outside. The wind had picked up, the sun had disappeared behind gray clouds, and the ground was wet. She led him to her car where they stood face to face. “When I was practicing law, I got his son off burglary charges.”

“Oh? I guess I’d be dedicated to you too.”

He nodded as he caressed her cheek. No way was he going to leave on that note. If he were going to have sleepless nights from now until Friday, he wanted something more than her scent and smile to remember her by. At least he’d try.

He took a step forward and rubbed her shoulders. “Since the contract isn’t signed we don’t have to be all business yet. May I kiss you?”

“I don’t—”

****

Before MaKayla could tell Dustin they shouldn’t mix business with pleasure, his lips pressed gently against hers. If he’d allowed her to speak, she would have missed the caress of his tender lips gliding across hers, and the gentle sway of his tongue swiping her lips apart to enter her mouth.

His hand slid beneath her hair and clung to the back of her neck, pulling her in, making her wish they were somewhere private. By the feel of what now pressed against her, he mirrored her thoughts.

Feeling her body melt in his arms, she could no longer blame the amount of alcohol she’d consumed on Sunday evening for her attraction to him. With her eyes still closed, she broke the kiss and placed her forehead on his. “This was supposed to be dinner only. You never mentioned anything about dessert.”

“I’m sorry.” He pushed back and smiled. “Let me take that back.” And he did.

This time his hand moved from her neck, down her back, and ended on her rear end. His body couldn’t press against hers any harder without her shattering the window behind her, and both ending up in the backseat of her car.

“Dustin.” She had never kissed a man before who made her head fuzzy and her eyelids a dead weight. For a few seconds, she’d forgotten her name. The rush of arousal sent her knees on a quake and her heart pounding. A woman could really enjoy this moment, if she weren’t standing in the parking lot of Dalton’s most popular restaurant.

She eased him back and met his dilated pupils. “A parking lot isn’t the place to be doing this.”

Leaning forward, he stole another kiss from her lips. “After the contract is signed, it’s going to be the longest three months of my life.”

Could she work with him and not want more than a business deal? Not after that kiss. But she needed this business opportunity more than she needed a relationship, so she had to make this work.

She lifted a finger. “I have something for you.”

He smiled and kissed her pink polished nail. “I’ll take what I can get.”

“Cute. But that’s not what I meant.” She opened the back door of her car and pulled out the white cowboy hat he’d left behind at the robbery. “Duke asked me to give this to you.”

Dustin placed the hat on her head. “You keep it. Maybe it’ll be as lucky for our business deal as it was during the robbery.”

She adjusted the oversized Stetson on her head. “Thank you. I’ll cherish this forever.”
Along with that kiss.

“Do you have a business card?”

Fishing through her purse, she pulled out a white card. “Here you go. I’m at the bank until four. So Friday…seven o’clock again? That gives you two full days to review the contract.”

“Okay.” He stared at the card.

“Dustin, are you okay?” She lifted his chin with her fingertips. His skin paled and she could tell his smile was forced. “What is it?”

He shrugged. “Nothing.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you Friday at No Bulls.”

“Sure.” She drove away with a sad feeling in her gut. Something had changed his attitude in a matter of a minute. Could he be having second thoughts on sealing this business deal after all?

Chapter Five

MaKayla let the screen door slam shut behind her as she followed Alex into her parents’ home.

“Dad? Mother?”

The memories in this old house had always been a comfort. Each room had its own unique scent. The smell of fresh flowers and cinnamon in her mother’s kitchen hadn’t changed. The yellow walls and dark wooden counters always made her feel as though she’d stepped into the center of a sunflower.

“Mother?” The back of a flowered robe was visible between the center island and the cabinets above. “Alex is here to say goodbye.”

“Come on in.” Peggy Hall crinkled a bag of pretzels closed—her father’s favorite snack while watching reruns of
All in the Family
every evening. If he couldn’t find it on a television station, he watched the DVD version.

Her mother stepped toward her, handing her a bowl. “Take this to your father, please.” She handed MaKayla a can of beer from the refrigerator behind her. “For Daddy too.”

Peggy embraced Alex. “Oh, honey. I can’t believe Saturday’s the big day. Are you all packed, and has the car been looked at?”

“Just a few more things to gather. The car’s all set.”

Peggy looked at MaKayla. “Did Jodi and Duke like their anniversary gift Sunday?”

“Yes. They leave tomorrow morning. They were all set to leave for Kentucky on Tuesday. Duke was able to get the extra days off, as I was pretty sure he would be able to.”

“Of course he was.”

MaKayla removed a pretzel stick from the bowl and took a small bite. “Jodi’s upset because she won’t be here to say goodbye to Alex on Saturday. I promised her I’d call to let her know when he arrives in Kentucky.”

She turned down the narrow hallway, leaving Alex alone with her mother. She smiled as the sound of her father’s laughter drew nearer. Listening to Archie Bunker while napping on her father’s lap had become routine every weekend when she was a child.

She rushed past his view of the television and handed him the bowl. Kissing the top of his head, she placed his drink on the wooden table beside him.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hi, Mackey. Thanks.” David placed his hand inside the bowl. “Sit.”

She sat on the lavender sofa beside him. “I bet you’ve seen every episode twenty times.”

“They don’t make TV like this anymore, Mackey. The world has no more sense of humor for this stuff.” He placed several pretzels between his lips. “They’d get sued now for hurting someone’s feelings.”

MaKayla worried about all the junk food her father ate and its effect on his health. He’d lost both his parents to heart attacks when they were not much older than his sixty-five years.

Signs of his getting older were showing. There might not be a cure for balding hair, but he could lose a few pounds and get more exercise if he was going to outlive her. Without him, she would be lost.

She glanced at the seven o’clock hour on the cartoon watch Alex had given her for a birthday gift eight years ago.

Stopping by No Bulls on her way home crossed her mind. It’d been twenty-four hours since her dinner with Dustin and there were a few things she could go over with him. Already she wished tonight was Friday.

She caught the end of her father’s remark. “Excuse me?”

Since she’d met Dustin, her mind wandered to what he might be doing all the time. Breathing became difficult when his image occupied her mind. The memory of his scent assaulted her nostrils as if he were beside her. Focusing on anything these days became a chore. Somehow he had even managed to distract her from her father.

“Who is he?”

Those weren’t the last syllables she’d heard. There was no use in trying to talk circles around what was on her mind. Her dad would ask a million questions until he got the answers he wanted. In fact, maybe he could shed some light on the whole business/pleasure thing. “He’s a new client.”

“Client?”

“I’m starting my own PR business. I needed something to keep me busy while Alex is away. Anyway, this guy owns the nightclub near my house. I’m hoping to get him to sign a three-month contract tomorrow night.”

David set the pretzel bowl on the table, hit the
off
button on the remote, and then swigged his beer. Whenever Dad turned off the television, MaKayla knew she was in for a heart-to-heart.

He slapped his hands together. “Tell me what’s going on.”

She leaned back and stared at the gray ceiling. Her father understood her better than anyone. That’s why she always came running to him whenever she needed to sort things out.

“Life is changing so fast. I hope I’m doing the right thing.”

“You never know if it’s the right thing unless you try, Mackey. If this is what you want, then go for it. Your mother and I are always here if you need us. You go with your heart on this and your head will follow. Tell me about this
client
.”

She sat up straight. “He seems nice. Handsome. Makes me laugh. Literally takes my breath away whenever I’m with him—so much so that I’m not sure if I can do business with him. But I need a start. I’m struggling to keep my feelings—”

David chuckled. “Mixing business with pleasure? That’s how I ended up with your mother.” He chuckled again. “Best thing that ever happened to me. Love only comes around when you least expect it. If you want a relationship, don’t think you can’t have both. You deserve both, Mackey.”

“Right now I need the business. I don’t know much about this man except for how I feel—and that he’s willing to give me a shot.”

Alex entered the room. “Hey, Grandpa.”

“There’s my college boy.” David stood and embraced his grandson. “You all set to go?”

“Sure am.”

“Good.” David retrieved his wallet from his back pocket and handed Alex some money. “You need anymore, you let me know.”

“Thanks.” Alex gave him a hug.

MaKayla stood. “I’ll leave you two to talk. Alex drove his own car so he’ll be staying for a while longer. I should be getting home. I have a ton of phone calls to make and some paperwork to do.”

She took comfort in her father’s embrace. Even at thirty-eight years of age, being in his arms still made her feel as if she could do anything—including running for President of the United States—and win.

Then she hugged Alex. “Be careful driving home.”

“I know. I’m going to Tammy’s after here, so I might be a little late.”

Her mother’s voice came from the next room. She was yelling at the parrot as if she was in the kitchen with a child.

MaKayla shook her head at her father. “Don’t you get tired of all the bickering between those two?”

“Nope.” He smiled as if he enjoyed the banter.

It must be how he entertained himself when he wasn’t on the golf course or watching TV.

“Eventually, your mother realizes Rainbow is as stubborn as I am and she gives up.” Her father held her shoulder with one hand, and pointed at her heart with his other hand. “This business of yours will work out. And if not, better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all. Your heart will figure out the rest with this guy. You call me if you need anything, you hear?”

“I will. I love you.” She turned to go and nearly plowed into her mother drying her hands on a dishtowel.

“Is everything okay, honey?”

“Everything’s fine, Mother.” MaKayla sidestepped and headed for the kitchen. “I’m leaving. I have phone calls to make for my new business.”

Peggy followed. “What new business?”

MaKayla rolled her eyes. Why did she have to open her big mouth? “I’m starting a PR business, Mother.”

“Well, how much money will you make?”

Blood zipped through her veins in a fury. Her mother’s only care seemed to be about how much money she earned, not what made her happy. She wasn’t in the mood to hear negative comments or try to explain that this business was for sanity purposes and not the almighty dollar. She had learned long ago that there was no pleasing Peggy Hall unless there was a dollar sign attached. “I don’t know how much money, Mother. But I think I have my first client and I hope this project will lead to more.”

“Who’s the client? Anyone I know?”

“He owns that new club at the top of my street.”

“Well, a nightclub can’t earn much money. What else does he do?”

Knock. Knock.

Thankful for the distraction, MaKayla turned the doorknob and allowed Buck and Maggie Wilson to step inside. She hadn’t seen her parent’s best friends since she was a child.

They’d retired from the country music scene and settled in Florida. From their wrinkled, tanned skins, she assumed they were still there.

Buck’s silver hair had thinned. He was more hunched over than she remembered, but he still brightened the room with his presence and ice blue eyes.

Maggie, as always, dressed as a celebrity’s wife would—not a single long black curl out of place, makeup applied to perfection, and gold jewelry complimenting her purple pantsuit.

“What brings you to Dalton?” Peggy embraced her friends. “David, come look who’s here.”

“Is that Little Mackey?” Buck took MaKayla into his arms. His frail bones startled her. “What are you doing these days?”

“Hi, Buck.” She stepped back. “Good to see you two again. I’m getting ready to start a public relations business.”

“Well, good for you.” He reached in his jacket pocket and handed her a cigar. “I guess we have two things to celebrate tonight now.”

David and Alex entered the room, distracting him from relating what else they were celebrating.

She pulled the cigar he gave her past her nose. The scent reminded her of No Bulls and its owner. She
should
be more excited about the contract being signed than being in Dustin’s company
.

Her father hugged the couple. “What brings you into town?”

Buck handed out cigars to everyone. “Our granddaughter, Sara, had a baby boy.”

Congratulations sounded, and hugs were exchanged.

Jodi was probably on MaKayla’s voice mail at home right now informing her of their coworker’s new baby.