Page 8 of Mr. Mistletoe
“You, what? Momma, what is this? Why didn’t you call me?” I say once I step closer to her.
My mother takes a look at my entire outfit, “Little girl, now I know damned well you’re not prancing around in a tank top and shorts while there are men in this house? You had better not be in the same bed as that boy you brought here, fiancée or not.” She rolls her eyes at me.
Deacon snickers as he clears up the area taking things out of the way and cleaning up what seems to be their station. I hear the back-screen door slam shut which means he’s out back. I move the food and sit on the coffee table to face my mother. “How serious is it?” I ask her as I wipe my tears away.
“Kimberly Charity St. Andrews, I’m fine. I have been fine for a year now. Deacon comes over and takes good care of me,” she answers, looking me dead in my eyes.
“Is it kidney failure?” I ask again. The music is not playing any more and the silence is deafening.
“Mmhmm.” she answers. “How long do we have left, Deac!” she yells.
“Ms. Faye, it’s only been like 2 minutes,” he laughs. “You do this all the time! I promise to go to my momma’s house and pick you up that Fairhope Charm magazine you always like. The special edition, you know, the 1978 version.”
My mom’s eyes go wide with a smile on her face, “Make it, 1986, and I’m sold, baby.”
“Done.” he yells back. “Now, let me get to fixin’ things in your garden, leave me alone,” he teases.
She narrows her eyes like he can see her. “Boy, I will whoop your scrawny behin’ from here to Founder’s! Don’t touch my tomatoes.”
He laughs loudly and the sound travels throughout my entire body. This is a bad idea to be here like this. “I meant your flowers, Ms. Faye.”
“Good!” she yells back. She tilts her head dramatically, “You got somethin’ else to add?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask.
My momma reaches out and cups my cheek. “Baby, you were so busy over in the big city and I just wanted to keep this quiet. You would’ve dropped everything to be here by my side and I couldn’t let you do that. Not for something that I know for sure I’m not dying from.”
I feel the tears fall down, and I want to hug my mom, but I know she needs to do the dialysis. “I need you to be okay, momma. I can’t do this without you. I love you too much, momma.”
She smiles at me as she wipes my tears. “I love you too. Don’t you worry, I ain’t going nowhere. You know us St. Andrews women, we’re as stubborn as a mule.”
Deacon comes back into the house as she finishes talking and snickers. “Ain’t that some truth.”
“Boy…” my momma warns.
I stand and lean in to kiss my mother’s forehead. I leave her to complete her dialysis session and follow Deacon as he moves around my mother’s kitchen as though he lives here. I stand there with my arms folded over my chest. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this?” I whisper-shout.
Deacon shakes his head as he faces the sink with some flowers in his hands. He places them on the counter as he fills a vase with water. “Like you woulda picked up my phone call to even hear me say shit. Don’t take that tone with me for no fuckin’ reason, Charity.”
“Excuse you, don’t talk to me like a fucking child. You’re not my father, Hiram.”
Deacon places the flowers in the vase and places them on the island. He walks away from me without another word and goes right outside. I follow him, irritated that he would really walk away from me like that. How freaking rude.
Once I’m outside, Deacon goes back to tending to my mother’s flower garden. The backyard looks fantastic. The roses, the other flowers oddly go with her vegetable garden on the opposite end. “What are you even doing here this early in the morning?” I ask.
Deacon rolls his shoulders back, which means he’s irritated and ready to flip the fuck out. I know he tells, but I don’t give a damn. “Ms. Faye and I have a routine, if you don’t mind, I want to get everything done before I head home to go to the mayor’s office.”
I scoff. “The playboy of the town knows how to work, what a joke.” I cringe saying that. I should take it back. I don’t even know why I said that.
Deacon stands up and throws the gardening tools on the side. He marches over to me, and I take every step back that I can, but I slam into the wall on the side of the door. Some of his hair falls to his face and he runs his fingers through it as he leans in. His eyes shine with mischief and he smirks but not his regular one, his cruel one. “You know what’s a joke? Your fucking engagement. You found this man, dated him, got into something serious and now you’re engaged but you didn’t bother to tell me? Instead, you hide. What are you hiding from me, Kimberly?” When he calls me my full name, I know he’s mad.
“Fuck you, Deacon, fuck you so hard. You first imply that my engagement is a joke and now you think I’m hiding something from you? You pretentious asshole, move!” I yell. That was a bit extreme and dramatic but I need to make it look real.
Come on, Kimberly. Come the hell on!
I push at his chest, but nothing moves. He cocks his brow and he grins as he takes me in. He traps me with his body as he pushes up on me. He groans and the lust is so evident in his eyes, it makes me shudder. “Fuck me, huh? Honey, don't you wish. You wanna sit here and tell me this shit ain’t a joke then do that but don’ ever fuckin’ act like anyone you bat your pretty little lashes at will ever be better than me. Cause baby, I’m the best thing you’ve ever had in your life and you know what you did with that. You bailed like a fuckin’ coward.” He sneers at me, and I open my mouth to respond but I hear James calling for me. Damn it! Yes, I said, act like my man but not right now.
I almost whimper and then Deacon grabs my jaw and makes me look up at him. He doesn’t say anything, he just leans in close to my mouth. I try to resist and push him away but I can’t. I stand there breathing him in and the hurt in his eyes he gives me a glimpse of. I wonder how the world always stands still when he looks at me. I’ve never known peace as I’ve known it with Deacon. The realization of my words causes me to close my lids. Deacon lets me go and that goddamn song that I avoid so much plays in the background, Brett Young’sIn Case You Didn’t Know. He moves out of his hold and turns away from me. He shakes his head and goes to pick up everything that he was working with. Deacon goes back inside without another word spoken to me. I stare at the spot that he was just in and my hand goes to cup my jaw just like he did. Just trying to touch the spot that’s sizzling right now. It’s so on fire that I don’t feel or hear James when he comes outside until he has his arms wrapped around me.
