Page 52 of Small Town Frenzy
“It’s eight!” she shouts, catching herself by ducking as ifthat will lessen the sound of her voice carrying. She pushes against my arm like she can actually move me. “Get up. Get up. Get up.”
Shit.I’m barely awake, much less functioning, but I drop my feet to the floor and stand with a fast rub of my eyes. “Okay. I’m up.” Looking around for my stuff, I find a piece here and a boot there.
Snapping her fingers doesn’t help, but neither does the high-alert mode she’s shifted into. She opens a drawer and grabs a long T-shirt that hits her mid-thigh. Recognizing the design, I say, “I was at that rodeo.”
“That’s great, but you need to hustle out of here. Go through the window.”
“The window?” Last night is still hazy from sleep deprivation. “What story are we on?”
“The first.”
Thank God.
A lady’s voice and then her son’s sneaks under the opening to the door, causing both of us to freeze where we are. As soon as it goes quiet again, she moves closer to me. “Oh my God, Griffin.” Panic strikes her pretty features, making them sharper. She points at the window again. “You have to go.”
“I don’t even have my pants on.”
“You need to go right now,” she demands just above a whisper. “My son could walk in at any moment.”
Pulling on my boxer briefs, I say, “Lock the door.” It was locked last night, so I’m not seeing the issue. That is until I look over to see the lock unlatched. “Shit.”
“Shh.Keep your voice down. Please.” Her hands are in front of me like she’s afraid to touch any part of my body but wants to. “I’m so sorry to end it like this.” She paces awayfrom me with the back of her hand to her forehead. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
“I’m holding you to that.” I give her a little smirk when she stops to look at me again. It’s not the first time I’ve jumped out a window, but it’s a first to hide from a kid instead of a gun-toting father. Tucking my socks into my boots, I grab the boots and jeans and move closer to the window. She props it open and pushes out the screen.
I’m about to slip on my shirt when her hands press to my back. “Go. Go. Go,” she insists, practically shoving me out the window.
“Okay. Okay. Slow your horses. I’m going.”
I’m about to climb out when she adds, “I had a good time.”
I chuckle with one leg out the window. What a time to be alive, but I’m happy to take the ego boost. I turn back, and say, “Give me a kiss for the road.”
She does without hesitation, then bats me playfully away with a gorgeous and devious smirk of her own sitting proudly on her face. “You’re the worst.”
Waggling my eyebrows, I laugh. “And the best you’ll ever have, babe.”
“I’ll give you that.” She laughs but then quietens with a glance at the door. When she turns back, she whispers, “Now get out of here, cowboy. I’ll talk to you later.”
I climb out the window, landing on soft grass that can’t be native to this part of Texas. Only rich people could afford this luxury in the hot hill country. It’s nice to land my feet on, though. When I turn around to duck and dash to the front of the house where I left my truck parked last night, a little boy—shirtless, jeans with a buckle too heavy for his waistband, boots on, and riding a hobby horse—rounds the corner.
His horse comes to a halt a few feet ahead. Blue eyes shine from the short distance as he stares in my direction. But it’s the familiar hat that’s too big for him sitting on his head, and a gasp behind me that pulls my attention back to the window. Leaning out through the opening with her knuckles whitening as she grips the frame, Cricket says, “I can explain.”
The kid doesn’t react to her, so I turn back to find him still staring at me.What the fuck do I do?“So I hear you like baseball?”
“Oh Jesus,” Cricket sighs behind me.
CHAPTER 22
Cricket
Griffin sendsme a look with “help me” spelled out loud and clear in his eyes.
Fortunately, Judy comes to the rescue. On the heels of Jacob when she rounds the corner, shock widens her eyes as they volley between me and Griffin, who’s holding his boots in front of him like they’d be able to hide him from being seen. I just slept with the man and know damn well those boots aren’t hiding much on his build. “Um . . .” Judy starts, covering Jacob’s eyes with her hands. “Let’s go to the park, Jakey.” She scoops him into her arms despite his desperate wriggles to free himself as he yells about a “naked man” in the yard, much to my horror and embarrassment, and scurries back the way they came.
“Griffin, come back,” I whisper-yell to the back of Griffin’s head. When he looks at me again, he does not look happy.That makes two of us, bud.“Get in here.”
“Back through the window?” He doesn’t bother whispering at all.
