I glance at my watch as there’s another knock at the door. Rawley yanks it open, revealing Tyson Holt.
“Hiya, where’s Archie?” A moment later, his mom, Kate Holt appears.
“You guys, I owe you so big. I appreciate this so much, Kate,” I tell her, pulling her into a hug over the threshold of my front door. I feel Dean watching the exchange, but I strangely do not feel uncomfortable with him being here. “As soon as Tanner is all squared away, I swear, you leave Tyson here for a week. I owe you so big.”
Kate smiles, ruffling her hands through Archie’s hair as he hugs my leg and runs outside. “Don’t even worry about it. You know they have so much fun together.”
I smile. “Well I should be back with Tanner and the car, and settled in by 5.” I dig into the jeans that I wore two weeks ago that have been draped over the chair in my bedroom since. Last time I wore these, I bought Archie an ice cream at the drugstore. I know there’s cash in these pants. I hand her a wrinkled twenty. “Happy meals on me.”
She waves me off. “Oh no, we’re going blueberry picking today. Don’t worry about it.” She steps down off the porch in her overalls and white t-shirt, her blonde hair twisted into a classy heap. “Good luck today, Clara June. We’ll see you this afternoon.”
“Thanks, Kate,” I say, then close the door. Rawley is unfazed by the presence of Dean, and puts his hands on his hips, ready to argue.
“C’mon, Rawley,” I sigh. “The sooner I get my car back, the sooner you’re free of me. Okay?”
Dean looks between us. “Where’s your car?”
“Oakcreek. Wrench Kings. Needed a new timing belt, among other things.” I look again at my watch. “It only takes thirty minutes to get there. If we leave now, we’ll get there right when they open.”
Dean looks between me and Rawley, offering, “I could drive you. If he’s wanting to stay here, I can drive you.”
It’s Saturday, so there isn’t school or football, and they won their game last night. I read about it in the Leader this morning in the tub.
“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that. Rawley’s got a car, he can drive me,” I explain.
“If I have to pay for gas, I can’t afford to drive you to Oakcreek,” Rawley says, folding his arms over his chest with a smug little smirk on his face. He thinks he’s found a loophole.
“If you can’t afford to drive me to Oakcreek, how in the world are you gonna drive out to Turner ranch, there and back, every day of the week? Man, I guess you won’t ever be driving anymore.”
He sighs, and snatches his keys from the hook, but Dean laughs, and his gentle laughter provides some sort of buoy amidst the awkward bickering my son and I are in the middle of.
“I really wouldn’t mind driving you, Clara June. And anyway, I got a buddy at Wrench Kings, wouldn’t mind saying hello.”
Thirty minutes in his truck. Half an hour with Dean McAllister. I swallow, and find a knot of arousal suddenly blooming between my legs. “Okay, well, if you don’t mind. Thank you.”
Rawley lets out a long sigh. I shoot him a glare. “I want the dishes done, the trash out and the living room couch made up with sheets and pillows when I get back.”
He nods his head, happy to trade thirty minutes in the car with me for a day of housework. Well, it’s not me. I know despite his moods—and this one in particular—that he loves me. He doesn’t, however, love the discussion of paying backthe tutor he ditched, and he really doesn’t want to hear my college talk again.
We say goodbye, and Dean opens the front door for me, then opens his truck door for me, too. It makes my pulse skip, being with a man who treats me like a lady. At the diner, I’m a waitress.Get me this. Honey, can I have this? Sweetheart, would you mind grabbing me this?At home, it’sMom, I need this. Mom, when are we getting this thingamajig? Oh by the way, Mom.
But to beMs. Colt. To have my door held open. To have someone ask me, for no reason other than that they want to genuinely know— “how are you, Clara June?” Dean asks, as we clip our seatbelts in unison.
It’s wild.
Dean makes me feel like a woman. A single woman who also has children. And it’s rare that I feel that way. I forgot that… I like being a woman, and I like attention from the right man.
I let out a sigh. “Oh, I’m alright. Rawley was driving me and Archie all week, and I was catching rides home.” I think about not having to ask someone if they’re headed home, and a little thrill wiggles inside me. “I’m happy to be getting it back.”
He looks at me across the cab, his hat now resting on the seat between us. His hair is strawberry and golden blonde, a little shaggy, the ends curling up against his neck. His skin is soft looking, and his mustache is thick and rough. He takes up that whole side of the cab with his mountainous, broad shoulders and strong, strapping chest. Under that long-sleeved flannel shirt, I bet he’s got the kind of muscles that stick out. His chest and abs are probably thick and strong, busting beneath the soft cotton of his clothes. He smells so good, too. Like hot coffee and fresh aftershave. Between mythighs, my clit has a tiny heartbeat in it, throbbing and aching.
“Tanner, too, I bet,” he teases, tossing me a wink that I feel in my belly. He keeps the stereo off and the air low, so we can hear one another, and yet I don’t feel pressure to talk.
“Mostly I’m happy to have Tanner home,” I comment, “but I compartmentalize. It helps me get through life. First thing, the car, next up, the kid.”
He nods. “I get that. You seem like you’re never not busy,” he comments, checking his rear view before flicking on his blinker to change lanes.
“It’s funny, when the boys were much younger, I kept telling myself, as soon as they’re a little older, life will slow down some.” I dig through my purse until I find my phone, and make sure it’s not on silent in case the hospital calls. “And somehow, I’m even busier now.” I shrug. “I try to savor it, though. I know there will be a day when they’re out of the house and I’m missing their chaos and messes.”
