Page 7 of Words from the Heart
Chapter 5
Delilah woke, the sunlight peeking through the sheet curtains, the warm glow kissing her skin as she stretched under the sheet. It took her a moment before she remembered where she was. Sadness filled her veins as she thought about her grandmother. Pushing the sorrow aside, she shoved herself out of bed. Her feet hit the cool wooden floor of her room as she stood. Glancing at the backpack propped against the wall, she couldn’t help but laugh. She’d been in such a hurry to get out of the apartment in New York, she’d only grabbed leggings, a t-shirt, and a few pairs of undies. Grabbing what little she had, Delilah hurried and showered. Once she was dressed, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and bypassed the makeup. She only wore it for John, and since he was gone – she decided it wasn’t important. Throwing on her tennis shoes, Delilah hurried down the stairs. She grabbed her bag and hurried out the door. Taking an extra moment to check the truck tires, certain they would hold up fine, she pulled out of her driveway. This time she was on a mission to get some clothes, groceries and back home in time to start cleaning the inside of the house. Tomorrow she planned on taking Ed out for a ride.
In a short drive, she was pulling into the local mall. If you could call it that. Florence had just about everything you could need – except a real mall. At least, it wasn’t like the malls in New York. But, none the less, it would serve her purpose today – and that was to get some clothes. While the temperature was warm during the day, it was closing in on November and the nights were much cooler, so she would need some warmer styled clothes for sure. And a swimsuit, because damn it, she planned to take advantage of being on the water. Her grandmother had built a nice dock off the backside of the property, making it easy to lounge, swim, or fish. All the things Delilah loved to do growing up. After spending a couple hours shopping for clothes, she headed to the grocery store to pick up food and other essentials.
After what felt like most of the day, she was finally headed home. It was nearly four o’clock by the time she pulled back into the driveway. Parking the truck close to the front door she started unloading her bags. She gathered an armful and headed inside. After dumping a load into the kitchen, she ran back outside for more. Determined to avoid multiple trips she stacked her arms full, precariously balancing items under her chin. She was concentrating so hard, trying not to drop anything, she hadn’t heard the car pull into her driveway. Nor did Delilah notice the echo of a door slamming shut. She hobbled up the stairs, taking one step at a time careful not to topple her bags. As she reached the last step at the top, the board gave way, splintering into two halves. Losing her footing, bags fell to the porch as she tumbled backwards, right into someone’s arms.
“Shit,” Parker wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her into his chest as he scooped her up.
“Umpfh,” Delilah breathed out, crashing into his hard as steel chest.
“Woman… you’re going to kill yourself trying to carry all that inside in one trip.”
He righted her and began picking up groceries and clothing that had tumbled out. Delilah grabbed an empty bag and began stuffing items inside.
“Um… this doesn’t look like food.” Parker held a pair of lace panties up in the air. His smirk was cocky as he dangled the material in front of Delilah’s face.
Snatching them off his fingertip, Delilah shoved them into the bag she held, “Thanks. Um… not food but a necessity. I sort of ran out of New York with very little. So, I did a little shopping.” She smiled and bounded up the stairs, stepping over the now broken step.
Parker followed her inside, toting a handful of items and slung them onto the kitchen counter. “Guess I’ll add the step to my list of repairs.” He smiled, humor laced his words as he spoke.
“I can fix it, I’m not helpless you know. I’d rather you fix the skylight.” Delilah pointed at the ceiling covered with a blue tarp.
“Yeah – I should have that mostly finished by tomorrow evening.”
Delilah realized he was standing in her kitchen sporting his deputy uniform. She couldn’t help but admire him, hell he filled the damn thing out like a glove. “Headed to work,” she asked, trying to cover the fact she was ogling him.
“Mmmhum.” He smirked, a knowing look on his face, “Just wanted to stop by and check in. Glad I did, you would have broken your neck had I not caught you.”
“Yeah – thanks for that save.” Delilah finished putting the groceries away while they chatted about the town. He’d fallen in love with the area just passing through and decided to put down roots. Delilah was shocked to learn he would be turning 35 soon, she placed him closer to her age – not that six years was a major gap, but he looked so much younger than he was. She assumed the years he’d served in the military kept his body in pristine shape, and now being a cop, he worked hard to stay fit.
“So, have you decided what you're going to do?” Parker leaned against the counter, propping himself up on his elbow.
“What do you mean?”
“Are you going to stay or do you need to get back to work in New York?”
“Oh – that. No, I quit my job yesterday. Momma Belle left me plenty of money, so I’m just going to figure things out for a while. I also plan on getting the house and farm back in shape. Maybe I’ll get some cows again. I don’t know. But I hated it in New York and this seems like the perfect opportunity to figure out who I am.”
Delilah watched as Parker nodded his head, “That’s great,” glancing at his watch, “Shit, I gotta run. I should be over tomorrow around one.”
“Don’t you work all night?”
“Yeah – but I am used to running on just a few hours of sleep… Marine remember?” His eyebrow raised as he gave her a devilish grin and he pushed off the counter.
“Well, don’t overdo it. The house will be here when you make it over. I’ll be going through Momma Belle’s things, so just let yourself in if I don’t answer.”
“Alright, call me if you need anything, or break anything else.”
Delilah watched as Parker pulled down the long driveway away from the house. Letting out a whoosh of air, she grabbed her bag of clothes and trudged up the stairs. Tossing the plastic bag on the bed, she decided she’d take a bath before grabbing something to eat. All she could think about was Parker. It was disconcerting to say the least.
