Page 33 of Don't Look Back

Sophia looks so much like Leslie. You can easily tell they’re related, but instead of Leslie’s dark brown hair and golden-brown eyes, Sophia has bright blue eyes and chocolate hair. Sophia’s cute, but way too young for my liking. I can see the mischief in her eyes and I'm sure she’s a handful to deal with when she wants to be.

“Hey, Colt. Thanks for inviting me.” Pecker shakes my hand and steps into the living room.

The second his gaze falls on Sophia, he freezes mid step and stares at her. The attention doesn’t upset her one bit, if anything I think she’s enjoying it. She doesn’t hide the slow once over she gives him. She sinks her pearly white teeth into her bottom lip as she watches him with a devilish grin.

“Sohpia, this is Pecker, one of my deputies. Pecker, this is Leslie’s cousin, Sophia.” I motion between the two ofthem, barely holding in a groan when Pecker trips over his own feet trying to close the distance between them.

“That’s a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”

“And Pecker? Is that a nickname because…” she lets her words trail off and drops her attention to his crotch.

“It’s his last name,” I groan. “How old are you? Do I need to worry about jailbait?”

“Oh stop it!” Leslie giggles from next to me. “She’s twenty. No one is going to jail.”

“That’s good to know.” Pecker grins.

“Are you that sure you can convince me to give you a shot? You did just trip over yourself to shake my hand,Pecker.” Sophia arches a brow, teasing Pecker.

“Brad. Uh, my first name is Brad, but everyone calls me Peck or Pecker.”

“Sophia, come help me in the kitchen and leave Pecker alone.” Leslie practically drags Sophia out of the room. I know she said the girl was boy crazy, but I didn’t expect this.

“She’s…”

“A handful? Going to be the death of me? Give this town something to talk about?” I supply a few answers for him, but he just shakes his head.

“Nah, she’s beautiful.”

“You keep saying that.” I chuckle as I settle back into the couch.

Pecker follows my lead and takes a seat on the other end of the couch. I swear his eyes haven’t left Sophia since he walked in this house.

“You know, if you want her attention, you can't keep tripping all over yourself.”

“I know,” he groans. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m never nervous around women.”

“Pretend she’s someone else.” I shrug, wishing I could be more helpful to him. “And if that doesn’t work, show up in your uniform next time. That always has women melting into your arms.” I smirk.

“What are you majoring in?” Pecker takes a bite of his chicken, never taking his attention off of Sophia.

“Business. I want to own my own bakery when I grow up.” She grins. She isn't embarrassed to be younger than us, she doesn’t care at all. Though I guess Pecker isn't that much older than her.

“That’s awesome. What’s your favoritething to bake?”

“Baklava or carrot cake. Baklava takes so long to make, but it’s relaxing for me. Plus, it tastes amazing. And the carrot cake… I just love the icing.”

“I’ve never had baklava, but carrot cake is my favorite. Maybe you can make some for me some time.” Pecker aims a sweet smile in her direction and I watch Sophia melt the smallest amount.

I know she has twin brothers who are a bit of a handful according to Leslie, and she grew up around a lot of boys. I have a feeling a lot of her ‘in your face’ personality is her trying to act tougher than she is. She’s trying to protect herself, just like Skylar always did.

“Maybe I can,” she says softly.

I groan as my ringer fills the air. The last thing I want to deal with is getting a call right now. I don’t want to leave dinner or miss spending my night with Leslie and Sophia.

“Hello?” I ask, trying to keep my annoyance out of my tone.

“Hey, Colt. This is Jerry. Pecker told me to be on the lookout for any strangers in town. Some guy just stopped to get gas. I don’t recognize him. He didn’t do anything shady, but Pecker said to let you know about anyone.”

---