Page 4 of Flirt

Chapter One

Flirt

––––––––

As I crawled out fromunder my dad’s cabin, I continued to breathe through my mouth until I was free from the confined space and able to stand, then I took a deep breath and blew it out. I left the garbage bag I’d dragged out with me on the ground and handed my dad the flashlight I had used while under his place.

“You might want to leave the crawl space door open to air out the stench from under there,” I said as I bent and tried dusting some of the dirt from my jeans.

“What’s in the bag?” Romeo, my dad, asked.

“Raccoon. From the look of it, it’s been dead for a little while.” I straightened and pulled the work gloves off my hands and shoved the tops in my back pocket. Glad I thought to grab them on my way out of the house after answering the call from my dad.

“Well, how did the bastard get under there in the first place?”

“I have no clue, but you’re lucky Claire’s got a sensitive nose. If that raccoon stayed under there any longer, the smell would have seeped into the cabin and been intolerable.” I reached down and grabbed the twisted top of the bag, lifting it. “You want me to toss this in the dumpster at the clubhouse?”

“Yeah, probably better than stuffing it in my trash can,” my dad said as we started walking around to the front of his place. When we reached the front where my truck was parked, I tossed the bag into the bed.

“You want to come inside and have dinner with Claire and me? Pot roast.”

“Thanks for the invite, but I ate right before you called. Besides, I want to get home and clean up,” I said and reached in my pocket and pulled out my keys.

“Probably ate a sandwich, and that isn’t a meal. And I know you aren’t worried about tracking in a little dirt. So, why the rush?”

I snorted and pulled the driver’s side door open. “Until Claire, you ate sandwiches more than once for dinner.”

“Now I don’t have to. Well, unless she works late at the bakery.”

I reached out and patted my dad’s stomach. Knowing underneath the t-shirt his stomach was still flat, I teased, “Yeah, eating those desserts for dinner are starting to show.”

“You’re full of shit and a smartass,” Dad said, then slapped my arm. “But thanks for coming over and crawling under the cabin.”

“No problem. You shouldn’t be under there anyway; I knocked my head a few times getting from one side to the other. Not a lot of moveability space for an old man like you.”

“Claire doesn’t seem to have a problem with how I move.”

“Christ, now I know it’s time for me to go,” I said and got into my truck. “You better not let Claire hear you say stuff like that, or the only thing you’ll be moving is your hand up and down,” I added as I reached for the handle on the door.

“Please, the woman can’t keep her hands off me.”

I snorted. “Old and delusional.” Instead of laughing or coming back with his own smart-ass remark, my dad frowned and reached inside and clasped the back of my neck with his hand.

“All joking aside. Besides having you as a son, Claire’s the best thing to happen to me. Don’t wait until you’re my age to experience life with a good woman by your side.” Dad squeezed my neck, dropped his hand, and stepped back out of the opening of my truck door.

“Everything alright with you, Dad?”

“Sure, never better. I couldn’t be happier.”

---