See Bride Run! (19 page)

“I would consider it an honor, Darlin’.”

She loved being referred to as Babe and Darlin’. “Step in front of an eighteen-wheeler traveling seventy miles per hour?”

“For you? In a heartbeat.”

“Purposely give yourself a paper cut?” she asked.

He frowned. “Hold it right there, Annie. You’ve gone way too far.” He cocked his head to the side. “What would you do for me?”

She pondered it. “I would eat canned spinach for you, and I can’t even smell it without getting nauseous.” She shuddered at the thought. “The whole can if I had to.”

“Would you eat a whole can of sardines?”

This time Annie paused. “She thought of the hairy, minnow-sized fish covered with oil. She almost shuddered. “If you really cared you wouldn’t ask that of me.”

He grinned. “And you wouldn’t ask me to hit my thumb as hard as I could with a hammer.”

“True,” she said. “Let’s agree that there is
almost
anything we would do for each other.”

Once they finished lunch, Annie closed the containers and wrapped their used plates and flatware in a large dish towel. Sam lay down on the blanket, pulling Annie against his chest, and covered her with the extra blanket. They stared at the cloudless blue sky.

“What was it like growing up in a small town?” Annie asked.

“It was no different than it is today,” he said. “People, for the most part, are kind, law-abiding citizens. Of course, we have our share of gossips, often it seems like everybody knows each other’s business. If I got into trouble at school or did something I wasn’t supposed to, my parents knew it before I got home. When I turned fourteen or fifteen I couldn’t wait to grow up and get out of this town. I actually ended up in Atlanta after law school.”

“Really?”

He smiled and nodded. “Went to work for a big firm. I hated every minute of it. Decided I was a small town kind’a guy. I opened my practice in the building I still use. Bought the Dixieland Café so they wouldn’t tear it down. Sold a few used cars here and there. Sold off a lot of livestock. It paid the bills until I got my law practice going.”

Annie snuggled against Sam as he went on with his stories of life in Pinckney, Georgia. She snuggled against him, craving the warmth of his body, and the sound of his voice lulled her into a sense of well-being that she hadn’t felt in many months, if ever. She closed her eyes.

Sometime later Sam nudged her. “Annie, wake up. You’re trembling.”

She opened her eyes, blinking as she tried to remember where she was. She was cold. She sat up and pushed her hair from her face. “I must’ve dozed off.”

“We both fell asleep.”

“What time is it?”

“Six o’clock.”

“What!” She almost shrieked the word and pushed herself into a standing position. “I have to go home,” she said.

He looked surprised. “Now?”

“Right this minute!”

“What’s the hurry?”

“I have to clean my apartment. I haven’t had time to dust.”

“Is that bad?”

“I’m allergic to dust.”

“You are?”

“Oh, yes, I have terrible allergies.”

“Do you at least have time for a cup of coffee?” he asked.

“Look, Sam, I had a wonderful afternoon, but I told you in advance that I had plans later so I need to go.” She picked up the blanket she’d used and folded it quickly. “We can do this again when I’m not rushed.”

Sam stood, grabbed both blankets and the basket, and the two of them headed toward the house. “Do I have time to drop off the basket?”

“Sure. I’ll wait for you in the Jeep.”

Annie was already settled in the passenger’s seat with her seat belt on when Sam climbed in. He looked at her. “Did I do or say something to offend you?”

“Of course not. I just have things to do.” It would have been easier telling him the truth; that she was hosting Darla’s bachelorette party, but she had promised to keep quiet.

“Anything I can help you with?”

“No.”

They made the drive in silence. Annie figured she’d have little more than an hour to dust and vacuum the place, tidy up, and change clothes. She unbuckled her seat belt and had her hand on the door handle as Sam pulled into the driveway. She wasted no time climbing out. “Thanks, Sam, I had a great time.”

He reached for his own door. “Wait a minute, I’ll walk you up.”

“No!” She tried to calm herself. “Don’t bother,” she said. “I can manage perfectly.”

He shrugged, but his jaw was tense. “Fine.”

Annie hurried up the stairs without a backward glance. She would explain it to Sam later. She unlocked the door and stepped inside. She headed for the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door, and chuckled when she found several large bottles of wine. Lillian had also dropped off several platters of hors d’oeuvres as well as nice serving dishes.

Quickly, Annie went to work, first cleaning the half bath in the hall, then dusting the place. She wiped down the kitchen counter, ran a wet mop over the floor, and vacuumed the large rug in the living room and the matching runners in the hall. She showered and changed into the nice slacks and sweater Lillian had purchased and tried to do something with her hair.

She was touching up her makeup when the guests arrived. “We all rode together and hid the car,” Kazue said.

Another knock and Lillian walked in. “Is everybody here?” she asked Annie.

“Not quite,” she said, winking at Lillian to let her know the stripper hadn’t yet arrived. “Should I go ahead and call Darla?”

“Let’s wait for the entertainment to arrive. I just drove by the restaurant, and there was not a customer in sight. I figure Darla is getting ready to close.”

#

Sam had driven all over town, just trying to gather his thoughts. He was one confused man. One minute Annie acted as if she was having the time of her life. The next thing he knew, she couldn’t wait to be rid of him. If he lived to be one hundred years old, he would never understand women. Perhaps he was rushing her; after all, they’d known each other less than a week, and much of that time had been spent locking horns. But he, a man who’d never believed in love at first sight, had known from the minute he’d looked into those emerald eyes that he wanted her. He supposed that’s why he’d fought the attraction so hard. And he still wanted her. He didn’t care that her life was a mess right now, he would gladly help her any way he could.

The thought that Annie might not feel the same about him was crushing. She’d told him he had a chance with her, and she’d responded when he’d kissed her. But if she wanted more time, he had no choice but to oblige her. He would take her to school and pick her up. He’d wine and dine her and send fresh flowers, and he would become more tolerant of her as a waitress. What did it matter if he lost a few plates now and then? He’d just buy more.

Having come to a decision about his relationship with Annie, Sam wanted to run it by her and hopefully try to find out what had happened to sour the afternoon. But as he started to turn in to the driveway leading to her apartment, he saw a young man park in front of Lillian’s house and make his way up the driveway carrying one red rose.

Sam recognized him immediately, even though he was dressed differently than before. He wore a tux that was so tight, it was indecent. The shirt was open to his navel, and he was he carrying a boom box.

Sam felt his gut clench as he watched the man climb the stairs to Annie’s apartment. No wonder she’d been in such a hurry to leave. She had out-and-out lied to him by saying she needed to clean her apartment. What a crock. A man didn’t go to a woman’s apartment wearing a tux like that unless he had something on his mind. Sam gritted his teeth as he considered what Annie might wear to complement the man’s outfit.

His cell phone rang. It was Darla.

“I’m ready to blow this joint,” she said. “I haven’t had a customer in an hour. Flo and Patricia are already gone.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

#

When Annie answered the door, her jaw dropped open at the sight of the man on the other side. “Nelson, is that you?”

He grinned. “Hi, Annie.”

“Do you two know each other?” Lillian asked.

“Annie and I have a couple of classes together.”

“That’s nice,” Lillian said. She turned to Annie. “Nelson’s father passed two years ago. Nelson had to drop out of school and go to work making minimum wage. Then, someone told him he could make better money, um, dancing.

Nelson nodded. “My mother almost fainted when she found out, but I was able to get back in school. I’m socking away money as fast as I can because I plan to transfer to Duke once I earn my associate’s degree here.”

Lillian gave Nelson a stern look. “Now, our bride-to-be is probably going to tell you to take everything off, but I’m warning you right now, I’ll call your mama if you do.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, grinning. “I do have some modesty left in me.”

Lillian looked at Annie. “You can call Darla now.”

“Do you have everything you need?” Annie asked Nelson.

“I need to plug in my boom box,” he said. “How strong is your coffee table?”

Annie’s look went blank. “I beg your pardon?”

“Oops, I forgot you needed it for your act,” Lillian said. “It’s plenty strong enough. I need to move the hors d’oeuvres. I’ll just put everything on the dining table.”

Annie hurried toward the bedroom and placed her call to Darla who was getting in her car. “I need your help,” Annie said. “I tripped and fell on my bad ankle. I think I may have broken it this time. I need you to drive me to the emergency room.”

Darla was clearly upset. “Annie Hartford, I told you and told you to stay off that ankle. I don’t know how you think you’re going to work the Okra Festival with a broken ankle. And how I’m supposed to get you down that flight of stairs by myself? Should I call Bo?”

“No, don’t bother him. I’ll toss my crutches to the bottom of the stairs and scoot down on my behind. Please hurry. And don’t say anything to Sam.”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Darla said and hung up.

Annie made her way back to the living room, where she discovered everyone except Nelson held a glass of white wine. “Okay, Darla is on her way,” she said.

“Good.” Lillian handed Annie a glass of white wine. “Let’s party.”

Five minutes later, Darla burst through the front door and froze in shock when everyone shouted surprise.

“Welcome to your bachelorette party!” Kazue said, taking Darla’s purse and handing her a glass of wine. Nelson, who’d placed the rose between his front teeth and turned on a slow song, pulled Darla into his arms for an X-rated slow dance. Darla tossed back the glass of wine and handed it to Annie.

The women stood together as Nelson and Darla danced; now and then, Nelson rubbed his crotch against her. “Oh, my Lord,” Lillian said to Annie. “I hope she doesn’t get pregnant.”

Once the song ended, Kazue led Darla to the overstuffed chair and had her sit. Darla gave Annie a stern look. “You’re going to pay for this, Annie Hartford,” she said, unable to hide her amusement. “I almost got a speeding ticket getting here.”

Darla had barely gotten the words out of her mouth before an old Rolling Stones song blasted “Honky-Tonk Woman.” Nelson danced around the apartment, stopping to rub up against the guests while Lillian filled their glasses with more wine. Annie chuckled when he came up behind her and began pressing hot kisses to the back of her neck.

Finally, he kicked off his shoes and stepped up on the coffee table. Facing Darla, he immediately went into a bump-and-grind routine that soon had the women squealing. He reached for his bow tie, pulled it free, and tossed it to Darla.

“Take it off,” Darla yelled, sending the women into a fit of giggles.

Nelson’s jacket and vest came off in one tug, and he was soon bare from the waist up. Cheryl took pictures with her phone.

Another Rolling Stones song began, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” and Nelson spent the next few minutes flexing his muscles and making suggestive moves that whipped the women into frenzy. Lillian came through with more wine, and Nelson tossed his cummerbund at her. Then, with one quick jerk, his pants came off, leaving him in a thong bikini. The women went wild. Ira fanned herself with a magazine. Nelson motioned for Annie to join him, and, despite the blush that burned her cheeks, she joined him. The women cheered her on, and Cheryl snapped pictures.

Outside, Sam could hear screaming over the loud music and decided it was time to investigate. He shot up the stairs and through the front door like a bullet, then, stood there dumbly as he watched a barefoot Annie dance far too close to an almost naked man. Everybody was so wrapped up in the show they didn’t notice him. This was not the Annie he’d come to care about, he told himself as he watched the two dance in a way that would have gotten them kicked out of most places. He shook his head sadly.

Just as he started for the door Annie saw him. She looked surprised and a lot embarrassed. “Sam, what on earth are you doing here?” she asked. She climbed off the coffee table and Kazue took her place. Annie hurried over to Sam, noting the dark scowl on his face. “Why are you here?” she asked.

Sam was glad the other women were so involved with the show that they paid him no mind. “This is what you call cleaning your apartment?” he said. “This is a helluva party you’re giving, Annie. Once word gets out, you’ll be the most popular girl in town.”

Annie felt her temper flare. “That’s not a very nice thing to say to me,” she said testily. “Had you bothered to call first—”

“Oh, I get it. I’m not allowed to drop by, because Lord only knows what you’ll be doing. Well, you just go ahead and party. I certainly don’t want to interfere with your fun.”

Annie could see that he was hurt as well as angry, but that did not give him the right to barge in uninvited and falsely accuse her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Sam Ballard. Please leave before you ruin everybody’s fun.”

“Gladly.” He turned and stalked down the stairs. He drove straight to his office, where he tried to cool off and catch up on paperwork. But he could not get the image of Annie and the college kid doing some kind of weird mating dance on her coffee table. She obviously enjoyed it because she’d been wearing a huge grin. Further, he didn’t know what to make of the other women who had been applauding loudly. Is that how the Pinckney Social Club held their private meetings, he wondered.