Page 18 of Cody (Maine Silver Foxes)

A lina

I walked into the living room where Mom was getting set up for her usual evening routine of watching The Golden Girls, and every once in a while, an episode or two of Friends.

Laughing the night away was her method of winding down for the day.

I noticed that she had her cup of tea and a small plate of snacks already arranged on the small, round table next to her recliner.

Mom was a creature of habit, and I knew that for the next few hours she wouldn’t move unless she had to go to the bathroom.

I smiled upon seeing her settling down into her chair with a satisfied sigh. There was a colorful throw laid over the back in case she felt cold. Already dressed in her pajamas, she raised the footrest of her chair and picked up the remote.

When she noticed me in the room she paused from turning on the TV and smiled. “You look pretty tonight, honey.”

“Thanks.” I smiled and sat down in the chair on the other side of her. I had a few minutes before Cody would be there to pick me up. “Cody didn’t tell me where we were going for dinner, so I thought this was a safe bet.”

After trying on several outfits, I’d finally decided on a casual, yet pretty, white dress.

Large, dark blue, cloth-covered buttons lined the form-fitting bodice, which was sleeveless and scooped low over the top of my breasts.

I knew it would draw Cody’s eyes to my cleavage, but I didn’t care. I liked his eyes on me.

Since it was a plain dress, I’d added a trio of vintage bracelets that I’d been lucky enough to find on Etsy the year before.

They were dark blue and made out of Bakelite.

The seller had contacted me later when she’d found hoop earrings that were almost the exact same color as the bracelets, and together they looked like a set.

“Are you letting your hair grow long?” She set the remote down on her lap.

“Mom, I’ve always had long hair.”

She snickered. “You consider it to be long when it reaches your shoulders.” She had a point. “I haven’t seen it past your shoulders in years.” There was a slight pause when she took a sip of her tea. “So another date with Max, huh?” There was a pleased twinkle in her eyes.

Hadn’t she heard me say earlier that I was having dinner with Cody? “I haven’t been on a first date with Max,” I explained. “Dinner last week was to discuss the plans for my coffee shop. He’s making some pieces for me.”

“Max is a nice man,” she said.

But he wasn’t the man in whom I was interested. Our conversation opened the door for me to ask questions without revealing that little secret. “He is,” I agreed. “They all seem nice. Cody stopped and helped me out with my tire the first day I got home.”

“By ‘they’ you mean King’s friends?”

I nodded, hoping that she’d continue without prompting. I was curious about Cody.

“Max, Cody, Cramer, and Lincoln were in the Marines with King. They formed a tight bond.”

“I imagine that kind of thing is common. Did they serve in the same unit together?”

“Honey, I don’t know much about their histories. You have the perfect opportunity to ask Max all the questions you want tonight.” She reached for a cookie.

“I’m not going out with Max tonight.”

Her eyes grew round with surprise. “Then who with?”

“Cody asked me to dinner. We ran into each other at the church today. He and Max were taking down a dead tree.”

She made a face. “Yeah, that old tree was struck by lightning a while back. The first company we hired to remove it took the money and ran. Took months to get that back so we could hire King and his guys.”

I threw caution to the wind, hoping Mom wouldn’t read more into it. “What can you tell me about Cody?”

“I know he’s a good man. They all are.” Her hesitation suggested that she was mulling over how much she wanted to say. She took a deep breath and added with motherly caution in her tone, “I know he likes the ladies. If the gossip I’ve heard is correct.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her warning. Mom didn’t want me to get hurt. “I know all about his reputation, Mom. He’s been nothing but up front with me about it.”

She looked surprised, but relieved. “Oh. Then you know not to get your hopes up for anything long-term with him.”

“Mom, I’m not sure I want a long-term relationship with anyone right now. I just became single. There’s nothing to stop me from playing the field.” I avoided her eyes by looking down and smoothing my hands over my skirt.

She made a clicking sound with her tongue as she set her cup back down on the saucer. “I know you, honey, and women are different than men. Some men think with their, um, penises, and women think with their hearts.”

At hearing my mom say the word “penises,” I couldn’t contain my laughter, which she ignored.

“Cody doesn’t just date one woman for a while and move on. If the gossip I hear is true,” she stressed again, giving him the benefit of a doubt. “He dates several women at the same time. I’m sure he sleeps with them too.”

I hated everything my mom was saying, even though I already knew all of it. My thoughts drifted to the night when he’d walked into that restaurant with Tina. Had he taken her home and fucked her? Remembering how skilled a lover the man was, I didn’t want that image in my head.

“I know, Mom.”

She exhaled a loud breath. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” She chuckled briefly. “And I don’t want you messing up a friendship for me. If Cody hurts you by leading you on, I’m going to have to hurt him.”

That caused us both to laugh. I wasn’t about to admit that if he hurt me, it wouldn’t be because he was leading me on. It would be because, in spite of knowing what I did about him, I’d let myself fall for him. “I’ll be careful.”

A sudden realization lit up Mom’s face. “Oh, I almost forgot—the porch will be completed in a couple of days, right in time for Fourth of July. Why don’t we have a garden party like we used to when you and Dan were kids?”

I stared at Mom in surprise and disbelief.

Disbelief, because the last garden party we’d held had been right before Dan had married and moved to California.

They basically amounted to backyard parties and I remembered how much fun they’d been.

We hadn’t sent out invites, word of mouth was all you needed in a small town.

And we never knew who was going to show up.

With my mom’s age, my first worry was that she would be taking on more than she could handle.

She wasn’t as healthy as she’d once been, and the community had grown a lot over the years.

If we were going to move forward I knew that it would be best to limit it to the people we already knew, or friends of friends who came together.

“Mom—” I needed to word my next comment carefully, because if there was one thing I’d noticed since I’d come back home, it was that Mom was sensitive about not being able to do all of the things she’d once done.

“You’ve got me for help, but we’re missing two men,” I reminded her, referencing the absence of my dad, who had passed away three years before, and my brother.

I watched her expression warily. “I remember how much work...”

She smiled at the worry in my tone. “I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not a fool, honey. I know I can’t handle something like this on my own, even with your help.” Her excitement overshadowed the mild bitterness I detected in her tone. “I’ve already spoken to Margie Wilkins. You remember her?”

I nodded. The family owned a local catering business.

“We’ll keep the menu simple—hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, and drinks, like we used to do. Margie’s son Rob is going to do the cooking, and Margie is willing to work the price out at the end once they’ve figured out how much food they end up providing.”

Well, it was obvious that Mom had already thought it over and was prepared to shoot down any concerns I had.

I was proud of her for asking for help. My parents had loved having their neighbors and friends drop by for a brief visit and a bite to eat.

It was an effective way of staying current with what was going on in the community, and some folks had even followed my parents’ lead and held their own garden parties.

The Fourth of July was only a week away, but it seemed as if Mom had already thought of everything. “Okay, let’s do it.” My concession wasn’t really needed, but I could see how pleased Mom was that I was on board. “But let’s just spread the news to people we know, okay?”

I could hear the sound of a vehicle pulling into the drive, and then a light flashed through the window sheers, alerting us of Cody’s arrival.

“Looks like your date is here,” Mom said as she picked up the remote. “What time will you be home?”

I rose to my feet to answer the door. “I have no idea. Don’t wait up.”

“Have a good time, honey. Say hi to Cody for me.”

The fact that she’d flicked on the TV told me that she didn’t expect him to come in.

There was a knock as I headed to the front door.

I opened it and then stood in place, Cody’s body blocking my way.

Our eyes clashed briefly before he let his gaze drop down my body in a lazy sweep that stripped me naked.

The look in his eyes when they rose to mine again revealed that he liked what he saw.

His comment backed up his silent appreciation. “Damn, woman, you’re gorgeous.”

He didn’t look so bad himself. While he’d been appraising me, I’d looked him over and found nothing lacking in his jeans and a red, buttoned-down shirt that he’d left untucked.

The sleeves were rolled up, exposing the solid strength of his forearms. An evening breeze inundated my senses with the pleasant scent of his aftershave.

I decided he deserved a compliment. “You look pretty good yourself, Marine,” I smiled, taking his hand when he offered it to me. “So where are we going for dinner?”

With our hands linked together, Cody pulled me to his truck. “You’ll see,” he answered mysteriously.

He led me to the passenger side door and opened it for me, but before helping me climb in, he turned me around to face him. With the moon behind him, his face was in the shadows, but I could see the glitter of his eyes.

“But first, I need a taste.”

He pulled me sharply against him as his mouth swooped down to cover mine.

Cody was a good kisser, and just like the times before, this one quickly spiraled into a hot, consuming kiss that overwhelmed my senses.

I whimpered, my core clenching with need.

The quiet, other than the crickets and frogs surrounding us, was suddenly filled with the heavy growl of a hungry animal.

Cody was that animal.

My heart was pounding erratically by the time he tore his mouth from mine, and we were both breathing a little heavily. “Damn, you’re potent, baby.” He rested his forehead against mine. “We better get on the road before I lose control and take you right up against my truck.”

His words didn’t shock me. I knew how our evening was going to end, although there was a small part of me that wanted to scold him for assuming we’d be having sex. Wasn’t that why I’d chosen a dress? So he could have easy access if we got carried away?

Cody didn’t mince words while I played the silent, seductress game. He lifted me up on the seat and closed the door.

I watched him walk around to the other side of the truck and willed my pounding heart to calm down.