Wild Ride (10 page)

Looking at Lilly she said
, “Tommy?”

Lilly only smiled in acknowledgment.

“You must be the reason for Chuck’s smiling mug this past week.  Tommy McMurray… what’s your name?” he asked leaning against the counter that ran along the desk.

“Meredith Johnson, it’s nice to meet you too
,” she said.

He filled out a paper and stuck it in the top slot of a divider that hung on the wall.  Looking at Lilly he said
, “I guess I’ll be collecting my kid and heading home.”

Standing up Lilly grabbed the paper and moved it down a slot
.  Then she sat back down linking her arm through Meredith’s arm and said, “No… Dana’s meeting you at Gran’s with Melody and then we girls are going shopping for a few hours this evening.”

“Hmm…
three women out on a Saturday night… I smell trouble,” he smiled.

“You better believe it
,” Lilly laughed.

After
Tommy left the office she looked at Lilly. “You want me to go with you guys?” she asked.

“Of course…
you’re the dancing expert!” she whispered. “Besides it’ll make Chuck nuts wondering what we’re saying about him.”

After finishing the final clear coat on the paint job and cleaning the spray guns Chuck headed out of the paint booth.  Looking around he realized he and Dickie were the only ones there.  Checking the clock on the wall he noted it was after five…
shit!

“Missing something…
or
someone?
” Dickie asked with a smile.

“Yea…
where is she?” he asked, ignoring the old man’s attempts to goad him.

“Your little
friend
went shopping with Dana and Lilly.  They left about two hours ago,” Dickie said, watching his face for a reaction and after getting none added, “She’s a pretty sweet looking little thing.”

“What?”
Chuck said in disbelief trying to ignore the comment about Meredith’s looks. 
Surely Dickie was joking with him.
 

Then thinking
about how Lilly operated he winced since Meredith obviously wasn’t there anymore.  In fact her car… his ride… was also missing.

“Bobby, Tommy and the kids are at Gran’s and I was instructed to give you a lift over there when we got finished up.  Are you almost done?” Dickie asked
. “I’d like to clean up a bit before they get back.”

“Why is she shopping with Lilly and Dana?”
he asked.  She came with
him
today and should
be
with him…
not
Lilly and Dana.

“I long ago stopped trying to figure out how a woman’s mind works…
I’m guessing it was girly gossip of some sort since they were giggling and talking with their heads together when they left,” Dickie said with another expectant look.

Damn them!
  Dickie for having his number and being able to ring his bell so easily and Lilly for being nosy and even now probably pumping Meredith
for
information or
full
of information.  He shouldn’t really care since it wasn’t like they were dating or anything…
or ever could.

“Yea, let’s go
,” he replied with a sigh.

Dickie laughed at him as they locked up and headed to Gran’s.  Upon entering Gran’s little house he found her in the kitchen sitting at the table holding
baby Melody.

“The boys are out back with Gretchen.  I thought we could grill some chicken and baked potatoes…”
Gran said.

Dickie mentioned getting a shower and headed back the hallway. 
Chuck found the chicken marinating in a bowl and began pulling out the potatoes.  He enjoyed cooking and was always eager to lighten Gran’s load though she seemed content… even happy to do for others.

“So I met Meredith this afternoon when she and Lilly stopped by to pick up Dana…” Gran said as he stuck the first batch of potatoes in the microwave
. “Looks like something’s prompted her to participate in a quick hurry.  Sweet little thing… seems to fit right in.”

“Maybe…
but she’s Judge Patterson’s granddaughter,” he said. “He’d throw the book at me for sure if he thought for one second his little princess was taking up with the likes of me.”

“I always wondered why that old man is so hard on you, though I suppose he could have been a whole lot harder on you than he has been.  I’m especially curious why he would incorporate you into his own family if he thinks as poorly of you as you say he does
,” Gran said looking thoughtful.

He’d like to know that too
.  This past week had him wondering if the old man was rubbing his nose in those things he would never have… family… the love of a respectable and beautiful woman.

“I have no idea why he chooses to pick on me…
single me out… ride my ass or whatever,” he said pulling out ingredients from the fridge to make a salad.

“Well he’s a
judge for a reason so I have to think there is a purpose behind what he does and the decisions he makes,” Gran said, shifting Melody to her shoulder.

“Yea, to repeatedly punish me for a stupid mistake,” he muttered.

Gran frowned at him and then said
, “Well, even if you can’t date her she still seems like she’d be a good friend to have and she’s around your age.”

Friends
… yea right!  It would be like the lion befriending the zebra with the zookeeper looking on.  It was just a matter of time until temptation won out… because she was one
hell
of a temptation.  The difference was the zookeeper was Judge Patterson who had him in his sights and would take him down.

As he finished up the salad he thought back over the sketches he’d made of her over the past few days.  Each one was a little racier than the last one. 

It was like the sketches were counting down to the moment when his ability to resist her would be nonexistent and he’d do something stupid. 
Friends
…
pfft.

He rolled the potatoes in olive oil
, sprinkled kosher salt on them then wrapped them in foil and hollered out the back door for one of the guys to start the grill. 

Looking at the clock he noted it was already six o’clock.  They wouldn’t wear her out
too much…
would they?
  He caught Gran watching him with a grin and turned away to cut up some strawberries.

After finishing up the strawberries and adding a little sugar to them he handed the plate of potatoes and the bowl of marinated chicken out the backdoor to Tommy and Bobby. 

Dickie had since finished up his shower and headed out to the front porch.  He could hear the sounds of female laughter coming from the front. 
They were back!

The afternoon spent with Lilly and Dana had been full of fun and she’d laughed until her sides hurt.  Lilly was a little more daring than Dana and had driven all over the place looking at everything from dance studios, to videos to outfits that Dana could use in her birthday seduction mission. 

Dana, though a little more reserved almost to the point of innocence, was determined to learn how to dance and had convinced Lilly to learn with her. 

It was finally
determined that based on the size of the small town word would get back to one or more of the guys about them taking actual dance lessons.  So they’d convinced Meredith to try and teach them.  Since Chuck was at her house every evening it was decided that they would come in the mornings once school started. 

This would allow Dana to only have to worry about Melody since Gretchen would be in school as would
Meredith’s brothers, which was just as well since they wouldn’t be able to let it slip to Chuck.  She knew her mother well enough to know that she’d just be thrilled that she was having friends over again and would keep it a secret if asked.

They had talked about Dana and Tommy’s kids and the baby that Lilly was expecting.  Though she had no kids nor planned to anytime soon, their stories were outrageous and funny. 

Then the topic had switched to Chuck.  From what she could tell he was just as ornery to them as he was to her and it was obvious they both adored him.  They talked to her about Chuck as though he was her boyfriend and she didn’t have the heart to correct them.

As appealing as the idea of hooking up with Chuck seemed she knew it would only be for sex.  Josh had hit the target when he’d said that he was too young to be tied down to someone who was handicapped. 

Chuck was around the same age and even more energetic and wild than Josh had ever thought about being.  Somehow the idea of Chuck settling down with anyone seemed unlikely, especially someone who had to struggle to keep up with him.

As they headed back to the house Lilly and Bobby shared with his
grandmother, Edna, she tried to contain her excitement at spending time with Chuck… outside of his community service role. 

As they pulled into the driveway the older man
, Dickie, sat on the front porch.  Upon seeing them a smile spread across his face and he started walking toward the car.

“Oh they are up to something…
look at that grin,” Lilly said, looking to Dana.  Then they both looked to her in the backseat.

“I’m going to guess this is about giving Chuck a hard time so if I were you I’d just go with it
,” Dana said. “Chuck’s had it coming for a while,” she finished with a laugh.

“Should I worry?” s
he asked.

“Yes
,” they both answered at the same time and then laughed some more.

Dickie walked to the back of her car and tapped his hand on the trunk and Lilly pulled the latch.  He got
the wheelchair out and rolled it over to the door to open it just as Chuck exited the front door.

“Hi, I thought I could help you out to the backyard.  We’re kind of having a little cookout back there and we’d love it if you could stay. 
I can run you home later when you’re ready,” he said, with a smile as Chuck slowly jogged down the steps and started across the yard.

As Chuck made it to the car he said
, “I can help her, Dickie, but thanks.”

“It’s ok
, I don’t mind,” Dickie said, smiling at her and ignoring Chuck. “It’d be my pleasure.”

Dana headed into the house to check on Melody.  Lilly started down the driveway
toward the backyard but she stopped just past Chuck and turned to her giving her a smile and a wink.  Going along with whatever mischief the older man had cooked up she smiled at him and then said, “Ok… sure.”

He wheeled her into the backyard and stopped next to a chair that was under a large yard tent.  Then smiling down at her, he said
, “You don’t mind to sit by an old man, do you?”

“You’re not old
,” she laughed. 

“Well what I lack in youth I make up for in other ways
,” he said with a smile and wink. “Can I get you something to drink?”

He was flirting with her and by the look on Chuck’s face…
it wasn’t sitting well. 

“Sure
, whatever you have is fine,” she replied.

“I’ll be right back
,” Dickie said.

Before Dickie had even made it to the house Chuck came over and sat in the chair Dickie had indicated was his. 

“Don’t mind him… he’s an old pervert,” he said.

Catching the mischievous grin on Lilly’s face and the wink she said
, “He’s not that old!  He’s kind of good looking for an older man.”

Lilly covered a grin with her hand and turned away.  Chuck slouched in his seat with a look of bewilderment on his face.  Bobby was grilling chicken and baked potatoes while Tommy pulled out a chair for Edna and handed her the baby. 

Lilly was sitting on the picnic table next to Dana and the two were talking and watching Chuck from time to time.

When Dickie returned he handed a can of soda to her and then, pulling his other hand out from behind his back, he presented her with a flower and said, “I saw this out front earlier and thought that it’s almost as pretty as you are.”

“Seriously
, man?” Chuck said to him.

“What?” Dickie asked
, grabbing another chair and parking it right next to her wheelchair.

Chuck looked almost angry at Dickie but didn’t say anything.  Bobby pulled the chicken and potatoes off the grill as Dana, Tommy and Lilly carried out a salad, a bowl of strawberries, plates and plastic ware. 

When they’d finished setting things up on the picnic table, Dickie turned to her and said “I’ll get you a plate… anything you don’t care for?”

Chuck huffed under his breath and rolled his eyes and slouched further in his chair.