Page 11 of Seducing Daddy

“I’ll go with black,” I told her. “Thank you so much for welcoming me into your home. I know this is unexpected.”

“Don’t give it a second thought. You can stay in this room and get changed here if you’d like. This is the bathroom.” She swung open an adjoining door and turned on the light. I glanced inside and noticed the pretty, matching bathroom accessories. Everything about the house felt like it came from a place of love. It was such a normal life. She had raised a man of the church successfully, and I wondered how that felt. I hung my wet clothes on a towel rack and returned to the kitchen.

I remarked to Mrs. Pritchett, “If it’s past your bedtime, there’s really no need to make me anything.”

“Nonsense,” she declared. “I love having company. It’s a change from the quiet when I’m here alone. I’ll never get used to not having someone around to take care of all the time. A person becomes accustomed to making supper every night for a group of hungry men, and when they go, it leaves a bit of a hole in their life. But my darling son, Rex, has helped lessen that absence.”

“How so?” I asked her as she set a beautiful china cup full of hot tea in front of me.

“Do you take honey or milk?” she asked.

“Honey would be great, thank you.”

She went to the cupboard and returned to place a plastic bottle shaped like a bear with a red cone on its head, along with a silver teaspoon. “Rex made it his mission to use the commercial kitchen at his church to host the annual homeless shelter fundraiser. All year long, I help him with the project. It made me realize how much I enjoy the work. Now I volunteer every day at the shelter, making meals and serving them to people in need.” She took a sip of her tea and continued. “Not exactly having my boys living at home, but it’s pretty great.”

I judged Rex severely for being an exceedingly handsome male, figuring he was an asshole by association, like most hot guys are. I hadn’t realized his other good qualities. It wasn’t hard to see where he got them from, and suddenly, I wanted to know more about him.

“Mrs. Pritchett,” I said, “you must be so proud to have raised good men. It’s a real accomplishment these days. As a female, I have to say, I’m grateful for the results. To know that there are people out there of the opposite sex who don’t treat women like second-class citizens.”

She leaned across the table and grabbed my hand, then pet it gently. The gesture reminded me of her son consoling me about Margot in his pickup, and I gulped hard to keep hot tears from slipping down my cheeks.

“Please, call me Dorothy. My sons aren’t the only good men out there, Jolene. You’ll find one when you’re not even looking for it.”

“Trust me,” I told her, “a man is the last thing I’m searching for right now.”

She nodded her head for a good, long while before saying, “I can understand how you’d feel that way.” She knew nothing of my life or my past, and it was as if she had read my thoughts. “But love is out there for you. And it will come when you least expect it. When it does, don’t shy away from it. Leap into it with your whole heart and be grateful every day. Your ability to generate feelings of passion is unlimited, and when you love, you are in complete and utter harmony with the universe.”

She may have raised a preacher man, but she was apparently open to all kinds of wisdom.

In harmony with the universe?

Huh.

“Speaking of good men, sounds like Rex’s off the phone. Can I get you some more tea, dear?” she asked.

“No, I’m okay. I’m actually pretty tired and think I’ll just get to bed now,” I muttered.

“All right, let me finish up in here, and I’ll be heading that way myself.”

“Heading where?” Rex said as he ducked his head into the kitchen, grabbing a mug from the cupboard and pouring himself a cup of tea. He sat directly beside me, so close I could feel the heat from his thigh, and I squirmed in my seat to create distance between us.

Good Lord. What was it about this man of God that made me feel like sinning?

“Now, Rex, Jolene was just about to head off to bed.”

“Bed? It’s early, and I never have time to visit with her. Come on, Jolene, just stay up for a bit with me while I finished my tea,” he purred.

His mom’s joy bubbled in her laugh and shone in her eyes. “All right, you two. I’m heading off to bed. I’ll make pancakes for breakfast,” she said, brushing a hand over my hair. “Don’t forget what I said earlier, Jolene.”

Rex stood and gave her a hug and sweet kiss on the cheek, which wrapped me in a cocoon of sentiment. Something between envy and wonder.

He settled himself at the table when she was gone. “Thank you for taking care of everything,” I told him. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come along that road when you did.”

He said matter-of-factly, “Something tells me you can take care of yourself just fine.”

While focusing on the tabletop, I could feel his sharp stare boring into me. My voice was huskier than normal. “Well, that’s true, I guess, but it’s kind of pleasant to have someone else look out for me.”

He peered at me across his mug and took a long swallow of his tea. “Jolene, anytime you need my help, I’ll come running.”

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