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I was still trying to wrap my head around it all. Who would have imagined Ryder and me, here in Colorado? Not only that, we were together. And then there was Bobby Jay. I kept staring at him in amazement. While Ryder had a certain refinement and charm, Bobby Jay was loveable and clunky. Not the kind of man I had seen Marlowe with this past year.
Bobby Jay laughed at me and nudged me like we were two kids swinging on the front porch swing. “Quit looking at me like that, girl.”
“It’s just . . . I mean, how did it happen?”
He stopped the swing and looked down his nose at me. “What are you trying to say, Miss Shelby?”
“This is not an indictment against you. I’m just worried. She’s always acted put off by you.”
“Nah.” He waved his hand in front of us. “She digs me.”
“Are you sure?”
He flashed me a wicked grin. “Believe me, darlin’, I’m sure.”
My eyes widened, thinking of all the possibilities I prayed he wouldn’t voice. “I don’t want you to get hurt, especially after what Leigh Anne did to you.”
He put his arm around my bare shoulders, and with the push of his leg we were swinging again. “I appreciate that, but for now we’re just having some fun. Unlike another couple I know who were tangled up on the couch last night.”
Heat seeped through not only my cheeks, but my entire body. I wanted to tell Ryder good night last night when he got back from work, and I did it with my lips, for hours. I didn’t even know Bobby Jay was home. “We were having fun too.”
“I saw that, darlin’.” He chuckled.
“How long has this thing with you and Marlowe been going on?” I changed the subject.
“Since our first night here.”
I leaned away. “Really?”
Bobby Jay sat up, proud like. “When I left here after talking to you, she was coming in. I worked my charms on her and took her for a drive.”
“But the next day at church she was with Ryder.”
He grinned. “She told me she was still going for him. I warned her it wasn’t going to happen and she was only asking to get hurt chasing after a man who was in love with another woman. Told her you and Ryder were written in the stars. It didn’t take her long to see I was right. Her sister, on the other hand.” Bobby Jay shook his head. “Foolish girl.”
Poor Macey could barely look at me yesterday at the boutique. I did my best to give her some space. I even let her go home early.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but do you have anything in common with Marlowe?”
“She likes to talk about herself and I love to look at her while she talks.”
I rolled my eyes.
Bobby Jay chuckled. “Don’t worry about me, girl. We get along. She can’t resist my Southern charm and I can’t resist her beauty; it all works out.”
Speaking of the beautiful creature, she walked out in a blaze of glory. Her legs-for-days were on display in her Daisy Dukes. Her tank top showcased the rest of her nicely.
Bobby Jay jumped up looking mighty pleased. “Gorgeous.” He reached for her hand and she took it, to my surprise, though she gave me a look that said she didn’t want to hear a word about it.
Mr. Carrington came out and smiled at the two of them before saying, “Take good care of my girl.”
“Yes, sir,” Bobby Jay replied.
Marlowe rolled her eyes. “Dad, I’m not in high school.”
“I probably should have had a few more talks with those boys and some of the men you’ve brought around since then.”
Marlowe tugged on Bobby Jay’s hand. “Good night, Dad.”
Mr. Carrington laughed and waved. He took Bobby Jay’s empty seat next to me. “She’s always been so pleasant,” he teased, making me laugh. “I like that Bobby Jay, though. I met with him last week. He and his cousin have created quite the business.”
“I’m real proud of both of them.”
Mr. Carrington gave me a knowing smile. “I’m glad to see the other cousin came to his senses.”
I bit my pink tinted lip. “Me too.”
Mr. Carrington patted my knee. “You have a good night. I’ll leave a light on for you.”
I took his hand and squeezed it before he stood. “Thank you.”
He squeezed back tenderly. So like a father. He reminded me of Ryder’s daddy and of what my own lacked. Mr. Carrington left me alone there to contemplate how truly terrible my own father was.
Since yesterday, I’d been so overjoyed about my reunion with Ryder, I hadn’t had much time to stop and think about the wicked game my family had played with us. The levels they’d sunk to were astonishing and heartless. I was giving up on calling them. At this point, I was fine with never seeing my parents again. Memaw and I would eventually have some words. I couldn’t believe she told Ryder where I was and that she had spoken to him and never mentioned it to me. It was as if she was playing her own game. I refused to be part of any games anymore.
