Page 9

9

The next morning dawned as bright as the previous day with the sun beaming through the slit in the curtains. Sherrie opened her eyes and stretched, the soreness between her legs reminding her of the night before and a smile crossed her face.

“Hey, beautiful,” Tony said, pulling her in closely. Missing nothing, he asked, “How are you today? Are you too sore? Did we do too?—”

She pressed her fingers to his lips, halting his words of concern. “I’m fine.” Smiling again, she repeated, “Really fine.”

They heard the sound of a diesel truck nearby and he said, “Must be the snow plow. Let me go and thank them for coming out here.” He kissed her quickly, sliding out of bed and into his clothes. She watched him leave the room and snuggled deeper into the covers for a few minutes. What now? What happens when we return to the real world? Sighing deeply, she realized that she had no idea what he would feel once they were back around their friends.

Tossing the covers back she quickly dressed and headed for the kitchen. Glancing out of the window, she saw a large truck with a snow plow attached to the front and the driver talking to Tony. They chatted for a few minutes before she saw him pull out some money, handing it to the driver. The plow driver tried to wave the money away, but Tony insisted. Shaking hands, he made his way back to the cabin as the driver plowed around their vehicles before driving back down the driveway.

She hurried outside before he had a chance to come in, wanting to prolong their time at the cabin. He looked up as she stomped through the snow. “You promised to show me how to shoot.”

Smiling, he took her hand, leading her to the side of the house. Pulling his pistol from its holster, he acquainted her with his Glock 19. “This is a good one for you to use, baby. No kickback, easy to hold, semi-automatic.”

She nodded nervously as he placed it in her hand. Standing behind her, he showed her how to take her stance, aim, and pull the trigger. With his warm body behind hers it was hard to concentrate, but she wanted to show him that she could do this.

They practiced several minutes, firing at trees until she was able to hit them with a degree of accuracy. Twisting around, she looked up at him smiling as she said, “I’ll be in good shape to defend myself if I’m ever attacked by a tree.”

“Smartass,” he said, smacking her on her ass. Then looking serious, he said, “I’ll get you a weapon when we get back and take you to our firing range. I do want you to be able to defend yourself.”

“I just aim for the trunk, right?” she said, still smiling.

Laughing, he added, “You’re not too wrong. Actually, the creed is to aim for center mass.” Seeing her questioning expression, he said, “That means aim for a person’s chest.”

He took the pistol from her and they headed back toward the house. He sent her on ahead while he checked the vehicles again. She decided to fix lunch before they had to think about leaving.

Tony came in, stomping his boots off at the door. Looking up, he saw Sherrie standing in the kitchen staring at him and he could not stop the smile on his face. God, what would I give to see that every morning? Stalking over, he immediately took her face in his hands and pulled her in for a long, wet kiss. She opened immediately allowing his tongue to slip inside, drinking in her essence.

She wrapped her arms around him, wanting to feel his hard body pressed into hers. The kiss went on until she was not sure where she ended and he started. Finally pulling back to catch her breath, she moved her cheek to his chest, feeling his heartbeat.

Letting him go slowly, she smiled but he noticed it did not reach her eyes.

Turning, she moved to fix the coffee but was held back by his hand on her arm. He moved her back into him, lifting her chin with his fingers. She looked up questioningly.

“You going to tell me why that smile doesn’t seem like it’s real?”

“I guess I’m just thinking about what we need to do. We need to clean the cabin and get everything packed up. Then load up all our stuff before we leave. And then?—”

“Sherrie?” he interrupted, looking directly into her eyes. “I don’t want to know what all we’ve got to do. I want to know what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours.”

Pursing her lips, she retorted, “So you think you can read me now?”

He threw his head laughing. “Yeah, baby. I think after watching you for almost a year and spending every second of the past three days with you, I know you. So give it up, Sherrie.”

Sighing, she said, “I just…well, this has been really nice, although kind of surreal. So I was just wondering…um…what happens when we go back.” Feeling the blush rising up from her chest to her face, she tried to look away, but his hand on her cheek halted that plan.

“Oh, no, darlin’. I want to see your eyes when I tell you exactly how it will be. What we did last night was no casual fuck for me and I thought you knew that. But seeing the doubt on your face right now, means I didn’t do a good job getting that across and that’s on me. So, I’ll set you straight right now. As far as I’m concerned, we’re now a couple. This weekend has shown me that I can be happy again. And I want to be happy again. And that happiness can only be with you.”

Watching her face as his words washed over her, he saw the smile that he had sought, move from her beautiful mouth to her sparkling eyes. “And I’m going to make a promise to you, baby. I may be rusty about letting anyone know what I’m thinking, but I never want to see that worry and doubt in your eyes again, so I’ll work to make sure you know just how much you mean to me.”

Pulling him in tight again, she once more pressed her cheek against his chest, hearing his strong heartbeat.

Several hours later, after securing the cabin and a last, longing look backward, they pulled out of the driveway.

* * *

Pulling into the driveway of her little, Victorian house, Sherrie noticed that Tony was still right behind her. She had wondered if he would head straight to his place. I don’t know where he lives. She got out of her car, looking at the plowed driveway, including a shoveled sidewalk leading to her front door. She turned around, exclaiming, “Someone plowed me out!”

As he climbed down from his SUV, he had a grin on his face.

Stunned, she said “Do you know who did this?”

By that time, he had made it to her and held her tightly as they walked to the door. “Yep,” he answered.

“Well are you going to impart this knowledge on me?”

He took the keys from her hand and opened her front door. “I asked the guys to make sure everything here was secure for when you came back.”

“Secure?” she said, watching him hit the keypad of a new… security box? “Tony? When did that get put in?”

“I had Jobe and Vinny come over here yesterday to get you set up with security and they said they made sure your driveway and sidewalks were shoveled. I’ve got to make sure you’re safe.”

She could tell this was really important to Tony, and she knew why. In an effort to lighten the mood, she stood with her hip cocked, tapping her foot, and glared. “That’s very high-handed of you.”

He looked down at her snapping eyes and said, “Yep.”

“All you have to say is ‘yep’? And how did you know where I lived? And how the hell did they get into my house?” She began to push back on his chest.

“Not letting you get yourself in a snit, baby,” he announced, scooping her up and walking into her living room. Sitting down on her sofa, he maneuvered her so that she was straddling his lap. Staring into the face that first captured him a year ago, he noticed the thin line of her mouth. Oh shit.

“I found out where you lived after rescuing you last year. I just…wanted to know. I told myself at first it was because I wanted to make sure you were safe. But then…I just wanted to see you sometimes. Didn’t take long to see that you have few outside lights and no security.”

Ignoring that he had been noticing her for a year and stalking her, she pounced on his last statement. “But I do. I have a deadbolt on my front and my back door,” she announced.

“If it was so good, then how come my boys were able to get in here so easily?” he quipped.

“Be...be…because, they know how to break into stuff,” she stammered.

“Yeah. And…” he continued.

“And what?”

“Darlin, if they can get into your house easily, to put in a security system, then someone who did not have good deeds on their mind could have gotten in just as easily.”

At this, Sherrie looked down. “I knew when I had that lousy apartment, in that crappy neighborhood, dealing with Charisse’s druggie, prostitution life spilling over into mine that I needed to be cautious. But when I moved here,” she said with a soft expression as she looked around, “I felt safe. Clean. Like a real person and not just some poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks.”

Tony’s eyes roamed around the quaint room. When he had first seen that she had moved, he assumed she would move to an upscale condo; so when he drove by the little house he was surprised. An older, Victorian home with the look of a gingerbread house. It was blue with white shutters and a matching white front door. The wrap-around porch was painted white as well.

Now that he was more intimately acquainted with her, he knew that it was perfect. The pencil skirt, coiffed hair, and heels that she wore for work were part of the image she wanted to project. But when she came home…a little house, set back from the road with a picket fence around it was…just her.

“You’ve got a nice place here,” he said, sliding one hand up to the back of her neck. Gently pulling her down, his lips met hers. A soft kiss. One that speaks volumes without shouting.

She melted under his embrace, then gave a little mewl when they separated. Licking her lips, tasting him, she smiled. “It’s an old house and it has taken some work to get it fixed, but I love it. I have sunk all my money into it.” Blushing, she added, “That’s why I had to go as cheap as possible on the funeral…I just didn’t have the money saved up for a rainy day.”

Looking around, she smiled again. “I know this sounds silly, but when I was little, I saw a doll house that looked almost just like this. One of our foster families had it for their daughter. Charisse and I could look but not play with it. So I would just sit for hours, not touching it, but imagining what it would be like to actually live in a house like that.”

Tony’s heart lurched for the little blonde girl, sitting and staring at a playhouse and not being able to play with it. Reaching up, he smoothed her hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Rubbing her cheek with his thumb, he vowed to take care of her always.

“You want to see the rest of the place?” she asked, standing and pulling on his hand. Grinning, he allowed himself to be pulled up and followed her across the foyer into the dining room. An antique oak table graced the room with a large oak china cabinet and side bar next to the wall.

A hall cut through the middle of the house leading to the kitchen behind the living room. Spacious and updated, he could see her right at home here. Making breakfast. For both of them. Before his musing could take him further, she pulled on his hand again.

“Back here is the laundry room that leads to the back yard.” They peeked out together, viewing the snowy vision of her yard with mature trees. Leaning down, she noticed that her back patio had been shoveled as well. “Your employees are certainly efficient, aren’t they?”

He laughed as he pulled her into his arms. “Yes, they are. But they’re even better friends.”

Looking up, she said softly, “So they did all this for you?”

“You still don’t understand, do you? When Jennifer called Gabe to say that you were heading into a storm, any one of them would have driven to make sure you were all right. But what they really wanted was for me to pull my head outta my ass and be the one to go to you.”

“I could have handled myself you know. I’ve been on the streets and I’ve been on my own.”

Tucking another strand of hair behind her ear again, he leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Yeah, but you don’t have to now. So, I called Jobe yesterday and asked if he would clear out your drive and just case out your house for a security system, he jumped on the chance to help. Not just for me…but for you as well. There’s not a one of them that wouldn’t do anything to help you.”

Smiling, she led him into the room across the hall which turned out to be a study with built in bookcases lining one wall. The bay window had a cushioned seat, perfect for reading. He walked over to look at her books and saw romances mixed in with her paralegal text books. Turning to look over his shoulder, he lifted an eyebrow.

Catching his questioning gaze, she just shrugged and said, “Well, a girl’s gotta have something to read besides legal books.”

“Thank God.”

Laughing, she walked out, waving for him to follow. Up the wooden staircase, they came to a small landing. A quick glance showed two smaller bedrooms with a bathroom in between and then she led him into the master bedroom. Over the study, it also had a bay window with a cushioned window seat. A queen bed with a floral comforter graced one wall, with a dresser and chest of drawers on another. The master bath featured a shower and separate tub along with a double sink.

“This is really modern for an older house,” he noted.

“The former owners had done a lot of renovating before having to sell. They had done the bathrooms and kitchen. Then my neighbor and I have been working on the inside.”

Instantly on alert, he asked, “Neighbor?”

Sherrie wandered out of the bathroom, saying, “Yeah, he lives next door.”

“And just who the hell is ‘he’ that lives next door?” Tony growled.

Turning around, she asked incredulously, “Are you jealous?” Giggling, she continued, “He’s a darling man with a lot of house renovation experience who volunteered to help me with any of my projects.”

Stepping close, Tony said, “Well, from now on, he can take his project helping somewhere else.”

Swatting his arm, she said, “He also happens to be about seventy years old.”

Grumbling, Tony said, “Don’t think that old man doesn’t check out your ass every time you bend over in front of him.”

“Well, I said he was seventy, not dead.”

Turning to run out of the room, she screeched when he scooped her up and tossed her on the bed.

“He’d have to be dead to not check you out. But seriously,” he said looking down into her eyes as he leaned over her body, “You need help around the house, you’ve got me now.”

Grinning, she pulled him down for a kiss but his cell phone ringing interrupted the moment. Glancing at it, he looked back at her as he answered. “Yeah, Jennifer, what do you need?”

“Good morning to you too, grumpy,” she laughed. “I just wanted to make sure you and Sherrie got home safely. I tried calling her phone but she’s not answering.”

“We’re good,” he said, giving his patent short answers.

“Good as in safe or good as in good ?”

“Good as in that’s as good an answer as I’m going to give,” he replied.

Sherrie, laying under him listening to the conversation, grabbed the phone from his hand. “Jennifer? We’re safe. And not just good, but great. So great that he’s on top of me on my bed and your call interrupted what would have been a phenomenal kiss.” Hearing Jennifer squeal to Gabe in the background, she said, “So goodbye and I’ll talk to you tomorrow when I’m back at work.”

Disconnecting the phone, she tossed it to the side while never losing his gaze. “So where were we?”

A hungry look flashed through his eyes just before he recaptured her mouth. Her lips were warm and pliant beneath his. Hint of coffee and mint filled his senses as he licked the inside of her mouth, exploring as though afraid he would forget her taste all the while knowing that it was committed to memory.

Her doorbell rang interrupting them once again.

“Fuck,” he said, “Ignore it.”

It rang again, followed by a knock. “I can’t ignore it, Tony.”

The moment broken, he groaned as he rolled off of her. Lying on his back with his massive hard-on pressing into his jeans, he listened to her jogging down the stairs.

“Bernard. What brings you over on this cold morning?”

Finding himself wanting to know who the hell Bernard was, he headed down the stairs adjusting himself.

“Wanted to check on you, darling. Saw some men over here yesterday and I came over to see what was going on. They seemed all official but I’ve been keeping an eye out for you.”

“You are so sweet. I was stuck in the storm but home safe?—”

“Bernard, is it?” An outreached hand came from behind her toward her neighbor, who was looking up at Tony whose body was pressing into the back of hers.

“Yes, and who might you be?” Bernard asked, curiosity written on his face, shaking the extended hand.

“Tony Alvarez, Sherrie’s boyfriend. And those were my men who were installing her new security system.”

She watched in amazement as Bernard’s eyes lit while pumping Tony’s hand up and down.

“A boyfriend. ‘Bout time she finally decided to stop being single. Been after this girl to get her a man for months.”

“Well, she’s got one now,” Tony said, smoothly wrapping his arm around her shoulders once Bernard finally let go of his hand.

“Never was a fan of a girl living by herself. Me and Ethel tied the knot as soon as we got out of high school, God rest her soul. Now this one here,” he said pointing to her, “hasn’t had a man here since she moved in.”

“Good to know I’m the fir—” Tony grunted as her elbow made contact with his ribs.

“I’m right here, gentlemen. There’s no need to talk about me as though I’m not,” she grumbled.

Bernard laughed and turned to leave. “You got yourself a good ‘en,” he called out. “Girl, you call me for your next project, you hear?”

She could not help but smile, watching as her neighbor made his way back to his house before being pulled back into Tony’s embrace.

“Hate like hell to leave you, darlin’, but I need to get to the office to check on things.”

“I know. I’ll be back at work tomorrow, so I thought I’d get some things done around here.”

Bending down to kiss her, the taste of coffee and mint was just as potent as before. Dragging his lips from hers reluctantly, he pulled her head into his chest and held her tightly. “Gotta tell you, these past few days have meant the world to me.”

“Me too,” she whispered.

Leaning back, their gazes locked as words went unspoken. Words of grief relieved. Words of healing hearts. Words of futures promised. Unnecessary words only because they both knew them in their hearts.

Kissing the top of her head goodbye, he headed out the door calling for her to set the alarm after him.