AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The best surprise is the one ya don’t see comin’.” ~ Miss Dottie
“You can ring it up with mine.” I told myself that the reason I’d offered to pay for the lady in front of me was out of the goodness of my heart and not because I’d just spent the past thirty seconds with my eyes glued to her perfect, round ass. I wanted to believe myself since I’d never been one to ogle women. In fact, I was the opposite.
There was a running joke around town that I was oblivious to women flirting with me. The truth was, I did notice it; I just ignored it. I had no interest in dating casually. I knew exactly what I wanted, which was a wife and family. I didn’t see any point in wastin’ people’s time. So unless I could see a future, meaning I’d put a ring on it, I didn’t flirt or even entertain the idea of flirting. I kept myself to myself. In this town, just sayin’ hello to someone of the fairer sex had people’s tongues waggin’.
But when I walked into the gas station and saw the hourglass figure of the woman at the counter, my entire body took notice. The swell of her hips and ass were showcased by the faded denim of her worn-in blue jeans. The gentle curve of her neck was highlighted by the wispy strands of hair at the nape of her neck. Without getting permission from my better sense, my mind started picturing what she might look like beneath those clothes.
On the outside, my expression remained stoic and unchanged. Inside, I was an awooga-cartoon-wolf, with my eyes bulging out and my tongue rolling out on the floor. I felt like I’d gotten the wind knocked out of me by a sucker punch.
“You don’t have to do that,” the woman in front of me insisted as she turned around and tilted her head up. When she did, I was met with eyes bluer than the ocean that grew as wide as saucers as she whispered, “Kane.”
Holy shit. As soon as she said my name, the realization of who she was caused the gut jab to move south, and I felt like I’d just been kneed in the balls.
“Ruby?”
The last time I’d seen Ruby Rhodes, she was wearin’ pigtails and overalls. She’d been a little girl, not much older than my own daughter. Now, she was a woman. A woman I’d just had very inappropriate thoughts about. She also happened to be my best friend’s little sister, and she was one hundred percent off-limits. If Remi knew where my head had just gone, he would cut off my nuts and have every right to do so.
“Hi.” She licked her lips nervously, and the sight of her tongue sliding across her plump pink lips had my mind traveling right back into the gutter.
My mouth watered as I imagined what her tongue would feel like and taste like if it was me she was licking and not her mouth. I was flooded with arousal and had the strongest urge to pick her up, throw her over my shoulder, and carry her out of the gas station. I’d never had such a primal, visceral reaction to a woman before. She’d unlocked the caveman in me, which had apparently laid dormant for thirty-five years.
“Am I ringin’ it up together?” Velma’s question snapped me out of my Neanderthal fantasies.
“Yeah.” I nodded as I reached past Ruby and set two cans of Red Bull and two bags of David’s Jalapeño Hot Salsa-flavored seeds on the counter. When I did, a light floral and fruity scent drifted up my nostrils. I’d never been a fan of perfume. It was overpowering and tended to give me headaches. But this scent was light and fresh and gave me a funny feeling in my chest.
Velma shook her head as she scanned my items. “And they say chivalry is dead. Look at you; you have your very own knight in shining armor.”
I grinned as I tapped my card on the reader.
“No, you don’t have to—.” Ruby’s protest faded as the transaction went through and a receipt printed out. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’ll pay you back. I’m just, I’m just…waiting for a check to clear.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I insisted.
Ruby’s cheeks flushed as her eyes darted back up to mine. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“How’s your grandaddy doin’?” Velma asked as she bagged up my energy drinks and sunflower seeds.
“He’s doin’ good.” Grandad had fallen and broken his hip a few months ago. His recovery hadn’t gone as smoothly as we’d hoped. After his surgery, he’d developed a blood clot that had caused a stroke. As upsetting as that was, if he hadn’t had the stroke, the doctors wouldn’t have caught the clot, and he could have died. He was still at the rehabilitation home and going a little bit stir-crazy.
“I heard he’s givin’ them a run for their money over at Sunset Acres.”
I grinned. “He is.”
“It’s good seein’ you around here in the daylight. No more vampire shifts, huh?”
“No, ma’am.” After Grandad’s fall, I switched from nights to day shift because it worked out better for childcare. It was easier to get someone to watch Harper during the day rather than at night. Grandad moved in with me when she was just four months old and had always been the one to look after her when I was at work.
“You tell your grandad he’s in our prayers,” Velma instructed as she handed me the plastic Pit Stop bag.
“Yes, ma’am. You have a good day.”
“You too, Officer Kingston.” Velma turned her attention to Ruby, pointing a finger in her direction. “And you, little missy. You’ve been gone for way too long. It’s good to see you back where you belong.”
Ruby smiled. “Good to see you, too, Mrs. Ferguson.”
“It’s just Velma now, sweetie, remember.” Velma lifted her weathered hand and wagged her ringless left hand. “One hundred eighty pounds of dead weight.”
