Son of a Preacher Man (22 page)

“Could be. Where did Hornblower say he was going?”

“He didn’t. He just said out of town and that he’d be back Wednesday.”

“I’ve got a few questions for Mr. Hornblower. Like how did he know you were staying at Mary Ellen’s?”

“I must have told him.” Although she didn’t remember mentioning it to him.

“I’ve got a call into his cell phone, but if he contacts you first, don’t meet with him alone. I don’t trust him.”

“He’s got to be in his late sixties. And he looks like Colonel Sanders. I really doubt he could have smashed up my car then scurried off unnoticed.”

“His office is right across the street from the post office. Yesterday, he could have seen you at the park near the green and circled around to smash your car. Today, he could have seen you go into the alley and been over in a flash.”

“J.T., I think you’re reaching here. He wears seersucker for heaven’s sake.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I don’t know—it just seems wrong though. Muggers don’t wear seersucker.”

“No one should wear seersucker, but that’s not the point. Until I clear up some of these questions, I don’t want you meeting with him alone.”

Nadya sighed. “Fine.” She didn’t need to fight J.T. on everything. She’d gotten her way about not going to the hospital—she could let him win this battle.

Even though J.T. drove slowly, the ride up the rocky driveway was painful. If Mary Ellen was right and tomorrow would be worse, she wasn’t sure how she would get out of bed.

“Go take a shower. I’ll get you some tea and ibuprofen. Are you hungry?”

“Not really. Maybe later.” Her head ached and her face throbbed. The last thing she wanted to do was try to eat anything.

She stayed in the shower until it started to run cold. The warm water felt heavenly on her abused muscles. When she stepped out, J.T. stood there waiting for her with a huge towel and a bottle of ibuprofen.

“I thought I’d give you a massage first, then we’ll see if you’re feeling up to eating.”

“Okay.” He was being so gentle with her, it touched her deep inside.

He propped up some pillows so her face was cradled and squirted some lotion onto her back.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any girlie lotion. All I have is this generic stuff I use when my face gets chapped from being outside too long.”

“That’s it!”

“What? What’s it?”

“There was something about my assailant that I couldn’t put my finger on. Something that triggered a memory, but I couldn’t quite get it. He smelled like that stuff hunters spray in the woods during deer hunting season.”

“Doe urine?”

“I don’t know what it’s called, I just remember it stank if you rubbed up against a tree and got it on yourself. Mama would go out in the woods wearing her most obnoxious perfume whenever we came across those wick things hanging in the trees. She really hated hunters.”

“So whoever attacked you was probably a hunter. Deer season isn’t until September, so he either was poaching or he got some of the stuff onto his clothes before he went after you today.”

“There’s only a hundred or so hunters in Dale. I guess it isn’t that great of a lead.”

“It’s another piece of the puzzle. When you put them all together, you get the whole picture. What I want to know is how this lotion reminded you of doe urine. If that’s what it smells like, I’m in big trouble.”

“Idiot. No, when Mr. Farley used to go hunting, he’d get all red and chapped, and Mrs. Farley would make him use lotion, which he hated. You talking about using the lotion for when your face got chapped reminded me of that which reminded me of the hunting-scent stuff.”

“I guess that makes sense. In a convoluted sort of way. Now rest while I try to ease your shoulder. I know it’s hurting you.”

Nadya let J.T. massage her back and shoulder. At first, she winced every time he touched her upper arm, but after a while, the soothing motions helped her to relax and she felt less sore.

“You’ve got one heck of a bruise on your cheek. I’ll get some ice for that.”

Rolling over was easier than she expected. The ibuprofen must have kicked in. “Thanks. For everything. I’m sure this wasn’t how you expected to spend tonight. I know it wasn’t what I had in mind after this morning.”

J.T. helped her into a flannel shirt of his that was loose and soft. When she was covered, he held her hands in his. “The day I don’t want to have sex with you will be the day they put the last nail in my coffin, but that’s not all I want to do with you. I have a good time whether our clothes are on or off. I always have.”

“Really?” Her heart melted like butter. “I remember you spending a lot of time trying to get my clothes off the summer we graduated high school.”

“Well, yeah. I was an eighteen-year-old guy and you had breasts. It was hard to think about anything else.”

“News flash, I still have breasts.”

“Yeah, but I have a little more control over my dick now. Sometimes. You still manage to push me over the edge.”

“I find that hard to believe. You had some pretty amazing control for a teenage boy. I was all set to lose my virginity to you and you stopped.”

“That really bothers you, doesn’t it? It’s not the first time you’ve mentioned the incident.”

“I guess it does bother me. I felt like I was making this life-altering decision, then you changed the game plan. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you were thinking about protection, because I sure wasn’t, but still. I guess I always felt like I wasn’t good enough or something.”

She couldn’t look at him, so she turned her head aside. He brought her gaze back to his with two fingers under her chin.

“I never wanted to do this, but you’re forcing my hand. I lied to you.”

“What?” She was stunned. Before she could pull away, he pulled her close. “That day by the creek, I was so excited to touch you, to have you touch me, I lost control and came too early.”

“What? You made me think
…
All this time I thought
…
And you just had premature lift off!” She smacked him on the arm. “Even when we were on Mary Ellen’s porch you made it seem like you were thinking about me and not having protection. Jerk.”

A wave of relief rushed through her. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted her enough. It was that he’d wanted her too much. She couldn’t hold back the laughter any longer, and it burst from her in a roar.

“Hey, that was a traumatic moment for me. You were a virgin, and I’d already lost it at my last school. I was supposed to be experienced, and you shot me off like a rocket. I had to save face somehow.”

“In a way it was a good thing. For a girl, losing her virginity isn’t a great experience. I’m glad that wasn’t the memory I carried with me for the last twelve years.” If she could have bitten her tongue off, she would have. She’d all but said she’d pined after him all this time. “Not that, you know, I thought about it a lot.” Great, now she sounded defensive.

“I did.”

“I’m sure. I’ll just bet you’ve been celibate the last twelve years because of an aborted seduction by the creek.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but when I was lying in a hospital bed in Iraq, wondering if I’d live to see my father again, I had a lot of time to think. That was a memory I returned to over and over again. I think that’s part of the reason I ended up here in Dale. I could have gone anywhere when I got discharged. I came here.”

Nadya’s heart felt too big for her chest. Her emotions were so close to the surface, she was afraid of what would spill out of her mouth if she said anything. Finally, she couldn’t take the silence any longer.

“I’m glad you came back. I’m glad I did too.”

“I want you to stay.”

Chapter Fifteen

Nadya stared at J.T. and didn’t know what to say. Her heart was jumping up and down screaming, “Yes! Of course I’ll stay!” Her brain wanted to step back and consider all the angles.

“And do what? I have a job in New York. I have college loans to pay. I can’t just quit and work part-time at the store.” It seemed easier to focus on the practical concerns than on the emotional ones. Was he asking her to stay for him?

“I’m sure there are law firms in Canton. Hell, if you sell the property to the developer you won’t need to work.”

“Is that what you want me to do?”

“I don’t care if you sell the place, keep the place or burn the whole thing to the ground. I want you to do what makes you happy. I want you to be happy. Here with me.”

“I-I don’t know what to say. I’ve had a lot of shit thrown at me this week. I really don’t think I should be making any life decisions right now.”

J.T. took a step back and visibly collected himself. “I guess you’re right. I’ve only had to deal with seeing you again and surviving the gut punch it gave me. You’ve had pretty much your whole life turned upside down.”

“Seeing me gave you a gut punch?” The thought pleased her inordinately.

“Knocked the wind right out of me when you climbed out of that fancy car of yours.”

“You did a number on me when I realized the police officer sitting in front of my childhood home was my first love.” Ack! What was she saying? Had he slipped in truth serum with the ibuprofen?

“First love, huh?”

Of course he wouldn’t let that slide. “Puppy love. I was eighteen, for heaven’s sake.”

“Honey, eighteen or twenty-eight or a hundred and eight, I plan on being your only love. You can bet the farm on it.” He gave her a quick kiss and headed out of the room. “I’ll make you some soup. You shouldn’t have any more medicine on an empty stomach.”

Nadya collapsed onto the bed. Had he just told her he loved her in a roundabout way? She replayed the conversation in her head. No, he hadn’t admitted his feelings, just told her he’d make sure she loved him.

So if he wanted her to love him, that must mean he loved her, right?
Argh
. That man was turning her brain to mush. She needed to talk this out, get her head on straight.

She slowly wriggled into her shorts and slid her feet into her sandals before grabbing her cell phone and slipping out the back door. The setting sun painted the sky in shades of pink and orange. The full moon was already on the rise and was as red as a cherry. It would be another hot one tomorrow.

Funny, she didn’t feel the heat so badly anymore. It didn’t take long to get her Southern blood back, she guessed.

She dialed Sandra’s cell, hoping her friend would answer. Sandra would give it to her straight. She could be more objective than Mary Ellen, who was too close to the situation. And who was really pulling for Nadya to stay with J.T.

“
Bubele
! Where are you? Are you back in New York?”

“Hey, Sandra. No, I’m still in Georgia.”

“When are you coming back?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh, no, don’t tell me you’re thinking about staying in Deliverance?”

“San, I need your advice.”

“When did I become your
mentsh
?”

“Please.”

Sandra heaved an audible sigh. “Fine. What’s the problem?”

“I’m really thinking of staying here, but I don’t know if it’s a good decision or not.”

“Let’s look at this logically. Would you have a place to live independently if you stayed there? I don’t mean with your teen heartthrob.”

“Maybe. I now own property, or at least I do for the time being. I could sell it and make a bunch of money.”

“But you don’t want to sell it?”

“I don’t have all the facts yet. I’ve been offered seven hundred and fifty thou for the land I grew up on.”

“But you don’t sound like you want to take the offer.”

“I’m trying to look at it unemotionally, but if I sell, people I care about could be hurt. I know they’ll be disappointed.”

“But how do you feel? If there was no one else involved, no feelings on the line, would you take the money?”

“I need to think about that some more.”

“Okay, tabling that for the moment, what are the pros if you stay in the back end of beyond?”

“I can spend more time with my friend Mary Ellen and her family. Her folks were like my second parents. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until I came back here.”

“Not to rain on your parade, but there are these things called airplanes, and you can visit them whenever you want. You don’t have to move there.”

“But if I go back to New York, when will I get the chance to visit? If I work enough billable hours to get a vacation, I have no time for the vacation.”

“There is that. Okay, what are the other pros?”

“J.T. He’s the biggest pro.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere. Is the sex that good that you’d want to give up your job, your friends and a decent bagel, for crying out loud?”

“Yes, but it’s more than just the sex. God, I’m ass over teakettle in love with him and it scares me. A lot.”

“Ahh, so now we get to the real reason you’re in such a state.”

“It’s only been a week and I have had so much thrown at me. My entire world has been turned upside down, and I’m avoiding things instead of facing them head on like I normally do.”