Page 20 of Heart of Dixie
I yanked my hand out of Deke’s pants. “Oh, Jesus.”
“Go away, Colleen.” The deep rumble of his voice vibrated against my chest, pretty much right beneath the place that had been tingling only a moment ago.
His strong hold kept me from turning until Colleen’s soft-soled footsteps faded away. Which was sweet, considering the edges of my blouse hung unnoticed at my sides. I reached up to tug the flaps together, and fumbled with buttons.
Deke’s hand cupped my face. His thumb stroked the curve of my cheek. “Looks like we’re about to be kicked out of here. Can I interest you in dinner now?”
With my eyes closed, I rested my forehead against his chest and nodded my head. I wasn’t hungry. God knew food was the last thing on my mind. But my clock was counting down, our minutes together sifting through the funnel of an imaginary hourglass. I’d make time for Beth, somehow, between organizing a burial and shutting down what was left of my former life. And with the bat radar the biddies of Kissing Creek seemed to possess, she probably already knew she lost her temporary roommate.
“I have an idea.” His eyes shot through the glass of the front window, to where he was parked at the street. “Where’s your rental?”
“I left it down near the diner.”
“Run it back to the lodge and I’ll be there in—” His eyes stole a quick glance at his wristwatch. “Thirty minutes. Oh, and you’ll want to change into jeans.” He linked our fingers and led me out through the shop without a word to his sister. It didn’t bother me at all; she just caught me making out with her brother. I wasn’t sure my face was back to its normal shade yet.
At the sidewalk Deke opened the passenger door of his truck. “Get in. I’ll drive you to your car.”
“That’s not necessary. I’m just around the corner.” I pointed in the general direction.
His face broke out in a wide grin. “You’re from LA. As I understand it, nobody walks if they can drive it.”
I scowled, but climbed onto the seat. It wasn’t that we absolutely had to drive . . . more like everything was so far. Before I saw Deke in the hardware store and felt the need to find a bunker, my stroll up Main Street had been enjoyable. I needed to make time for another walk around before I left to go home.
“So, what’s this idea of yours?”
The late afternoon sun caught him in the eye. He squinted. “Just a place I know. I thought we might have a picnic.” He paused to flip the visor down. “You might want to bring a light jacket, too. The mosquitoes will be out later.”
I wasn’t big on surprises. Even less excited about mosquitoes. “A picnic could be fun.” I reached for the door handle as he pulled up behind my car and blocked Main Street.
He reached for me before I could slip out of the truck. “Relax, Dixie. It’s no big deal. Really. Just something I want to show you.”
I grinned. “No big deal to you, maybe. I have to explain to Beth why I’m blowing her off for dinner again.” I gave the door a shove and managed to avoid dinging the chrome of my bumper. “You’ve got thirty minutes, McAllister. And this better be one great picnic spot.”
12
Dixie
Half an hour later the throaty blast of a car horn sounded from across the gravel parking lot. I moved to stand in the open doorway of my cabin to find Deke pulling up in a classic Mustang. He parked and hopped over the side, a grin stretched across his cheeks. He offered a friendly wave.
“Come on over!”
All the invitation I needed. I bounded across the threshold.
“Deke, you got her! You really did it!” I couldn’t help but squeal as I moved closer. The Shelby had been his dream car for as long as I’d known him. I trotted over and ran my hand over the high gloss sheen of the polished fender. “Red. You always said it could only be red.”
I circled the car,oohingandaahing. The idea of owning this car had always been important to him. “So, tell me. How long have you had it? Did you have to fix her up or did you find her already this perfect? Oh, it is a she, isn’t it? Aren’t all cars?” An incredible aroma drifted from inside. “Do we get to take her on our picnic? Because that would be really great!”
“Hop in.” He reached to pull the door open for me, but I waved him off. If he could hop over, I could hop, too. I hadn’t given up my heels for nothing.
Deke kept the speedometer at the regulation twenty-five going through town, but once we hit the highway, he opened it up. With the top down, my hair whipped around my head, so I confined it in my fist at the nape of my neck. The dust from the road mingled with the cedar from the woods and the wild jasmine growing along the shoulder to tickle my senses. I got another whiff of dinner and my stomach rumbled in protest. It had been far too long since I ate that pickle.
I bracedmyself in the seat as the road deteriorated to two rough lanes, then clutched at the dash when Deke bypassed the bridge, left the road, and blazed a narrow track along the edge of the creek to where the water widened to a pond. I glanced at the path behind us, but we didn’t seem to have left any parts in our wake. “You know, there’s a popular amusement park near my house. It charges a boatload of money to take people on rides like that.”
He just laughed. “I didn’t realize the road would be quite this bad.”
“Road? The only road down here is that rut we just made as you bounced us through the grass.”
He opened the door to get out, shut the door with a slam. “Yeah. Poor Lucy.”
