My Bad
Page 5
With that in mind, I looked both ways, and then crossed the street, very much aware of the eyes that stayed on me as I made my way over to the woman that was now bent over a different set of flowers. This one to the side of her walkway.
When I got closer, I realized that she was pulling weeds out with her hands and tossing them into the grass behind her.
“You do know, right, that all you’re doing is giving those weeds a different place to grow,” I teased.
Pru looked at me over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at the comment. Then they widened when she saw who’d made said comment.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, standing slowly.
The tight scrubs looked great on her, but Jesus Christ. Her in tight black jeans dressed like she was? Holy shit, that did it for me, too.
Up close it was even better.
Her body was voluptuous and curvy. Her breasts were not huge, but definitely not small either. And her hips were so pronounced that she almost looked like she’d been drawn to be the perfect female specimen instead of born.
Her eyes widened when they came to a stop on my cut, and she frowned. “You’re one of Bayou’s Guardians?”
Was that a hint of lust I heard in her voice?
I nodded. “Bear Bottom Guardians, yes, ma’am.”
Her breathing hitched.
“What?” I probed.
“How the hell am I expected to have control?” she inquired.
Her outburst had me blinking in surprise.
I frowned. “Ummm, what?”
She licked her lips and looked away. “Nothing.”
Frowning, I moved closer so that I could touch her hand with my fingers. She stepped away, a wild look in her eyes. “I won’t date you!”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why not?”
“Because you’re Army. Plus, you’re youngish and hot. You won’t want to have a girlfriend at home while you’re deployed,” she explained, waving away my concern.
I snorted. “You don’t know me.”
“I know your kind,” she countered. “And you’re all the same. I’m not interested in being a page in your book.”
The woman in front of me had no clue. None.
“Darling,” I drawled. “You wouldn’t be just a page in my book. I’m not that kind of man. Never have been, and I don’t intend to start.”
My dad had done it enough to my mom for me to realize the kind of pain that caused. Hell, if it wasn’t for my grandfather showing me what a good relationship was, then I might’ve never seen how good they could be.
He’d been faithfully devoted to the same woman for sixty years. Even when she’d been dead for fifteen of those years.
Hell, Dixie Normus might’ve wet his whistle with women since my grandmother had passed, but during all that time, he’d never once fallen in love with any of them. He hadn’t wanted to and hadn’t tried to.
My grandmother was it for him.
It was sad that my father hadn’t given my mother the same thing.
“I can’t date you.” She tried a different tactic. “What if we did, and didn’t work out? Then I’d have to see you over here all the time.”
“I’m not here all the time,” I paused. “But I am here quite a bit since Bayou’s my cousin. I spend just as much time at my other cousin’s house and I do have other friends. I don’t have a place of my own since I’m not currently living anywhere at the moment.”
Or ever.
I saw no reason at all to own a place or rent one for that matter since I was never fucking here. The only time I was here was when I was on leave, and that leave could end at the drop of a hat if I was needed for a mission.
That was the life of Delta Force. We were there when we were needed, and we didn’t have set dates when that happened.
With as much leave as I had built up after being in the military for fourteen years and never taking any of it, I could take off as much as I wanted.
Though technically, I was on leave right now thanks to my accident, I still had more than enough to spare.
“Even worse,” she said, looking relieved. “Bayou’s very protective of his family. Did you know he yelled at me once because I was mean to his sister? I’m sure he won’t like me dating you since he doesn’t really like me.”
My eyebrows rose. “He yelled at you?”
She nodded. “He did.”
When she didn’t elaborate, I pushed.
“Tell me what happened,” I ordered.
“Why?” she replied.
So fucking stubborn.
“How about we make a bet,” I offered.
Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Okay,” she rolled her eyes. “What do you have in mind?”
“I’ll take you over with me right now. We’re having a little get-together since so much shit’s been going on lately. It’s just the immediate club. If he says a word, I’ll just say you’re borrowing some salt and send you back home. Then I’ll leave you alone and never say another word to you,” I proposed.
She looked intrigued and saddened all at the same time. I could also tell she wanted to ask about the ‘shit’ that’d been going down, but didn’t want to pry.
“Fine.” She dusted her hands off. “I have to wash my hands, though. Give me two minutes.”
Instead of staying outside where she likely expected me to wait for her, I followed her.
She looked at me over her shoulder as she heard the tread of my feet close at her heels, but didn’t say anything. She pushed open the door and paused to let her eyes adjust to the darkness, then continued forward.
My eyes had adjusted before hers, which was why I saw the large blob on the floor by her feet.
Before she could fall, I caught her around the waist and halted her.
She squeaked in surprise and stilled in my arms, melting against me for ten seconds or so before remembering she wasn’t supposed to like being in my arms and stiffened.
“Let me go!” she ordered.
“I would, but you almost tripped over that…pig,” I said, staring at the object.
“Oh, shit,” she said, stilling once again in my arms. “Bacon, what the hell have I told you about laying in the middle of my floor?”
Bacon, the large black and white potbelly pig—and when I say large I mean fucking huge, at least a hundred and fifty fat pounds—lifted its head, oinked once, then collapsed back to the floor.
His little piggy tail, however, started to go a mile a minute.
She sighed and bent down to her knee, then started to run her palms over the pig’s fat belly. The tail picked up speed.
It was actually fucking cute, in a really weird sort of way.
“You have a pig,” I mused.
She snickered. “I have a pig.”
Standing, she stepped over the large blob. “Catch the door, though. When Bacon gets out, he’s really hard for me to catch. I also think that’s why your cousin secretly hates me. My animals get out all the time.”
“Animals?” My eyebrows rose.
“Yes, animals.” She paused. “I have a pig, a dog, two birds, and a goat. The goat stays outside, though, because he doesn’t have the potty training thing down just yet.”
I opened my mouth, and then closed it, searching for something to say that wasn’t ‘what the fuck are you doing with all these random ass animals?’
“It’s okay,” she snickered at the look on my face. “I know it’s weird. You should leave the madhouse while you still can.”
I shut the door behind me and followed her into the house.
I would not be leaving, no matter how weird I thought it was for her to have a massive pig in her house.
“Do you want to build a snowman?”
I paused and scanned the area, not seeing who’d just said that.
She had a cute little house. It was nearly identical to Bayou’s.
Large open kitchen that flowed into the dining and living room. A hallway off the living room that likely led to the bedrooms. And a door off the kitchen that led to her garage.
“Come on, let’s go and play!”
I paused in the middle of the kitchen while still scanning the area.
When I got closer, I realized that she was pulling weeds out with her hands and tossing them into the grass behind her.
“You do know, right, that all you’re doing is giving those weeds a different place to grow,” I teased.
Pru looked at me over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at the comment. Then they widened when she saw who’d made said comment.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, standing slowly.
The tight scrubs looked great on her, but Jesus Christ. Her in tight black jeans dressed like she was? Holy shit, that did it for me, too.
Up close it was even better.
Her body was voluptuous and curvy. Her breasts were not huge, but definitely not small either. And her hips were so pronounced that she almost looked like she’d been drawn to be the perfect female specimen instead of born.
Her eyes widened when they came to a stop on my cut, and she frowned. “You’re one of Bayou’s Guardians?”
Was that a hint of lust I heard in her voice?
I nodded. “Bear Bottom Guardians, yes, ma’am.”
Her breathing hitched.
“What?” I probed.
“How the hell am I expected to have control?” she inquired.
Her outburst had me blinking in surprise.
I frowned. “Ummm, what?”
She licked her lips and looked away. “Nothing.”
Frowning, I moved closer so that I could touch her hand with my fingers. She stepped away, a wild look in her eyes. “I won’t date you!”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why not?”
“Because you’re Army. Plus, you’re youngish and hot. You won’t want to have a girlfriend at home while you’re deployed,” she explained, waving away my concern.
I snorted. “You don’t know me.”
“I know your kind,” she countered. “And you’re all the same. I’m not interested in being a page in your book.”
The woman in front of me had no clue. None.
“Darling,” I drawled. “You wouldn’t be just a page in my book. I’m not that kind of man. Never have been, and I don’t intend to start.”
My dad had done it enough to my mom for me to realize the kind of pain that caused. Hell, if it wasn’t for my grandfather showing me what a good relationship was, then I might’ve never seen how good they could be.
He’d been faithfully devoted to the same woman for sixty years. Even when she’d been dead for fifteen of those years.
Hell, Dixie Normus might’ve wet his whistle with women since my grandmother had passed, but during all that time, he’d never once fallen in love with any of them. He hadn’t wanted to and hadn’t tried to.
My grandmother was it for him.
It was sad that my father hadn’t given my mother the same thing.
“I can’t date you.” She tried a different tactic. “What if we did, and didn’t work out? Then I’d have to see you over here all the time.”
“I’m not here all the time,” I paused. “But I am here quite a bit since Bayou’s my cousin. I spend just as much time at my other cousin’s house and I do have other friends. I don’t have a place of my own since I’m not currently living anywhere at the moment.”
Or ever.
I saw no reason at all to own a place or rent one for that matter since I was never fucking here. The only time I was here was when I was on leave, and that leave could end at the drop of a hat if I was needed for a mission.
That was the life of Delta Force. We were there when we were needed, and we didn’t have set dates when that happened.
With as much leave as I had built up after being in the military for fourteen years and never taking any of it, I could take off as much as I wanted.
Though technically, I was on leave right now thanks to my accident, I still had more than enough to spare.
“Even worse,” she said, looking relieved. “Bayou’s very protective of his family. Did you know he yelled at me once because I was mean to his sister? I’m sure he won’t like me dating you since he doesn’t really like me.”
My eyebrows rose. “He yelled at you?”
She nodded. “He did.”
When she didn’t elaborate, I pushed.
“Tell me what happened,” I ordered.
“Why?” she replied.
So fucking stubborn.
“How about we make a bet,” I offered.
Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Okay,” she rolled her eyes. “What do you have in mind?”
“I’ll take you over with me right now. We’re having a little get-together since so much shit’s been going on lately. It’s just the immediate club. If he says a word, I’ll just say you’re borrowing some salt and send you back home. Then I’ll leave you alone and never say another word to you,” I proposed.
She looked intrigued and saddened all at the same time. I could also tell she wanted to ask about the ‘shit’ that’d been going down, but didn’t want to pry.
“Fine.” She dusted her hands off. “I have to wash my hands, though. Give me two minutes.”
Instead of staying outside where she likely expected me to wait for her, I followed her.
She looked at me over her shoulder as she heard the tread of my feet close at her heels, but didn’t say anything. She pushed open the door and paused to let her eyes adjust to the darkness, then continued forward.
My eyes had adjusted before hers, which was why I saw the large blob on the floor by her feet.
Before she could fall, I caught her around the waist and halted her.
She squeaked in surprise and stilled in my arms, melting against me for ten seconds or so before remembering she wasn’t supposed to like being in my arms and stiffened.
“Let me go!” she ordered.
“I would, but you almost tripped over that…pig,” I said, staring at the object.
“Oh, shit,” she said, stilling once again in my arms. “Bacon, what the hell have I told you about laying in the middle of my floor?”
Bacon, the large black and white potbelly pig—and when I say large I mean fucking huge, at least a hundred and fifty fat pounds—lifted its head, oinked once, then collapsed back to the floor.
His little piggy tail, however, started to go a mile a minute.
She sighed and bent down to her knee, then started to run her palms over the pig’s fat belly. The tail picked up speed.
It was actually fucking cute, in a really weird sort of way.
“You have a pig,” I mused.
She snickered. “I have a pig.”
Standing, she stepped over the large blob. “Catch the door, though. When Bacon gets out, he’s really hard for me to catch. I also think that’s why your cousin secretly hates me. My animals get out all the time.”
“Animals?” My eyebrows rose.
“Yes, animals.” She paused. “I have a pig, a dog, two birds, and a goat. The goat stays outside, though, because he doesn’t have the potty training thing down just yet.”
I opened my mouth, and then closed it, searching for something to say that wasn’t ‘what the fuck are you doing with all these random ass animals?’
“It’s okay,” she snickered at the look on my face. “I know it’s weird. You should leave the madhouse while you still can.”
I shut the door behind me and followed her into the house.
I would not be leaving, no matter how weird I thought it was for her to have a massive pig in her house.
“Do you want to build a snowman?”
I paused and scanned the area, not seeing who’d just said that.
She had a cute little house. It was nearly identical to Bayou’s.
Large open kitchen that flowed into the dining and living room. A hallway off the living room that likely led to the bedrooms. And a door off the kitchen that led to her garage.
“Come on, let’s go and play!”
I paused in the middle of the kitchen while still scanning the area.
