Secrets Behind Those Eyes (7 page)

When we walk outside, he
leads me over to a Polaris Ranger. “Come on, we’ll take this.” As I
sit down, he laughs. “I always wondered what it would take for you
to get my pants.”

I smack his shoulder. “Shut it. I
always thought you wanted to get in my pants.” I look around.
“Where does your Nana live?”

“Just down the road.”

I nod and sit in the passenger side.
We take off through a pasture and, within a few minutes, we are
parking in the backyard of what I’m assuming is his Nana’s
house.

I whisper. “What is your Nana going to
think? I mean, I’m in your clothes and I was obviously there when
you woke up.”

“Hell, she’ll probably be proud I let
a girl stay for breakfast.” I gasp and he laughs. “I’m just
kidding. I don’t bring girls back to my house. You’re the
first.”

I stop and look at him hard.
“Really?”

He smiles. “Yes, really. Come on. Nana
is waiting.”

When we step on the back porch, I hear
someone whistling a tune inside. He swings the screen door open and
we walk inside. “Hey, Nana.”

She pulls his cheek down to her and
kisses him. “Sweet boy. Who is this pretty young lady you have with
you?”

“This is Scarlet. She’s a friend.
Scarlet, this is my Nana Pearl.”

I give a soft wave. “Nice to meet you.
I’m sorry for barging in like this.”

She smiles. “No, honey, it’s no
problem. Call me Nana. Now, what on Earth happened to your pretty
face?”

“I was in a wreck last night. Ryder
came to pick me up from the hospital and made me stay with
him.”

“Well, that was sweet of him. Are you
sure it was Ryder?”

“Come on, Nana,” he says. “I can be
nice. Plus they asked me to wake her up every few hours to make
sure she didn’t have a concussion.”

Nana Pearl puts her hand on her hip.
“Well, come on. I got you two some grits, eggs, bacon, and biscuits
ready. Scarlet, honey, are you sure you’re okay? Do you need some
headache medicine or anything?”

“No, ma’am. Ryder gave me some this
morning.”

We sit down to the table and Ryder
automatically starts inhaling his food. Nana pops his arm. “Ryder,
act like you got some raising, boy. You don’t have to swallow your
food whole like it’s your last damn meal. There is a lady
present.”

I chuckle. “It’s okay. My brother
Gable eats the same way.”

“Damn boys.” She shakes her head,
laughing. “So, Scarlet what do you do?”

“I go to SCAD and right now, I’m
working as a waitress.”

“That’s wonderful. You know, Ryder’s
mama was an artist. That girl could sketch or paint dang near
anything. I don’t know how my bumbling son was lucky enough to turn
her head but he did. I’m glad, too, because she was a wonderful
daughter, a great mama, and she gave me this beautiful little devil
right here.”

“She sounds like a
wonderful lady.” I look over at Ryder and notice his solemn
expression on his face.

Nana smiles. “Oh, she was. So, what
kind of art do you do?”

“Well, my loves are painting,
sketching, and sculpture. I know that really doesn’t pay bills,
though, so I’m also doing some graphic design. I also do all of the
artwork for my brother’s band.”

“Wow, that’s quite some ambition
you’ve got there. So, your brother is in a band?”

“Yes, ma’am. They’re on tour right
now. Some of the people he’s met in the music business loved my
artwork and want to talk more about it with me.”

“Well that’s just wonderful. You
really do remind me of sweet Lillian.”

Once again I notice
Ryder’s solemn expression and I figure we’ve talked enough. We
finish the rest of our breakfast in silence.

“Thank you again for breakfast,
Nana.”

“It was my pleasure, honey. Now don’t
be a stranger. Bring some of your work by here for me to see. I
don’t get out as much anymore, but I love to look at pretty
things.”

I smile. “Yes ma’am.”

We head out to the Ranger after Ryder
gives her a hug and kiss.

Chapter 10

Ryder

“So it seems like you and
my Nana hit it off.”

“She’s sweet. But she gives off that
whole ‘don’t screw with me’ vibe. I love it.”

“Yeah, she’s definitely a tough old
lady.”

“Thanks again for being such a good
friend to me last night,” she says.

“It was nothing. What are you going to
do today?”

“Getting ready for
the
hot
date I’m supposed to have tonight.”

“Oh, so do I know the guy?” I
tease.

“You might. At first, I thought he was
a complete douche nozzle. But now I think he’s kinda nice. Anyway,
can you give me a ride to my house? I can call Annabelle to come
and get me if it’s easier.”

“I can give you a ride home. Let’s
just go inside and grab my keys and stuff.”

She smiles. “Okay, thanks.”

My dad’s car is in the driveway when
we get back. He must be home from his business trip. He’s standing
in the kitchen when we come in.

“Who is this pretty thing?” he
asks.

“Dad, this is Scarlet. Scarlet, this
is my dad, Greer.”

Scarlet sticks her hand out to him.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Abbott.”

“Please call me Greer. Nice to meet
you, too. What have you guys been up to?”

I fill him in on last night’s events
and our visit with Nana.

Dad laughs. “So Scarlet was lucky
enough to meet the famous Pearl Abbott?”

Scarlet smiles. “She was
very sweet.”

Dad and I both laugh. I tug her arm.
“Come on, let me get you home.”

The drive to her house is quiet. She
turns to me as we get close to her house. “Sorry we talked about
your mom so much at breakfast. I could tell it made you kinda
sad.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s just I haven’t
heard Nana talk about her in years. She really loved my mom, as if
she were her own. Nana always wanted a daughter. When my mom came
along, she fell in love with her as much as my dad did.”

We pull into her driveway.
“That’s so sweet,” she says. “Thanks again for everything. So what
time do I need to be ready?”

“I really want you to
rest. How
about I pick you up at six?”

“Sounds great.” She steps out of the
car. “Oh, how should I dress?”

“However you want.
Comfortable.”

She smiles. “Okay.”

~*~*~

I make my way back home and find my
dad in his office. “Hey, how was your trip?” I ask.

He looks up from the paperwork he’s
staring at. “It was somewhat enlightening.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“Yes. While we are on the subject, we
need to discuss our business and your plans.”

“I really don’t want to,” I
argue.

“Son, it’s not about what you want.
This is part of growing up. I can understand if you don’t want to
live the day-to-day office life. I really can. But you need to at
least have an idea as to what’s going on. So you’ll know if your
money is being taken care of or stolen from you.”

“Why? Is something going on?” I
ask.

“Well, this last trip to Atlanta was
very interesting. Let’s just say I had to let a vice-president and
his secretary go. He was doing a great job; technically, he did
nothing wrong. His secretary, whom he was diddling on the side,
however, got ahold of his company credit card and was living a
rather lavish lifestyle on our dime.”

“Damn. Are you pressing
charges?”

“Against the secretary, yes,” he says.
“She admitted he knew nothing about it. So he was only fired for
fraternization and basically not keeping up with company funds. But
I’m sure he’d probably rather be in jail. Now he’s got a hell of a
lot of explaining to do to his wife.”

“That’s some crazy shit. Look, Dad. I
promise I’ll try to take more of an interest in this stuff with the
business.”

“That’s all I’m asking. I’m trying to
protect you, but I won’t be around forever. I know you’d rather
work with Nelson on the farms and believe me, I respect that and
I’m proud of you for it. But I would really like for you to think
about taking some classes in business and learn a little more about
this side of the farm as well. Okay?”

I know he’s right, as much as I hate
the business side of things. “Yes, sir. I gotta go help Nelson move
some of the equipment around here today. Then I have a date later,
so I have to get a move on.”

He smiles and nods. “Sure. By the way,
Scarlet seems like a lovely young lady. Where did someone with your
ugly mug find her?”

“We met when we were both doing
community service at that Habitat house. She pretty much told me to
F off within the first five minutes of meeting her.”

He barks out a laugh. “Well. Now I
know I like her. What on earth did she have community service
for?”

“Um, well, Dustin Scott is her ex and
she bashed up his car with an ax handle. I don’t know all the
details, but I know he deserved it.”

“I guess she’d have no trouble keeping
you in line. Are things serious?”

“Dad, it’s just a
date.”
Of which I hope that there will be
many more of. What the hell am I thinking? Why in the hell do I
want her so much? Maybe it’s just the challenge. Maybe it’s the
fact that she’s a virgin or that she never gave it up to Dustin.
Yeah, that has to be it.

“All I’m saying,” he continues, “is I
saw the way you were looking at her. Not to mention that my mother
liked her, which is… well, you know how Pearl is.”

“I know. Nana even said she reminded
her of Mom.”

My dad has a shocked look
on his face
. “Really? So
what else do you know about her? I’m intrigued now.”

I laugh and start to tell him about
Scarlet. I don’t realize until I’m done talking how much I actually
do know about her, but then how much I don’t.

“She sounds like a headstrong hellcat.
That’s good for you. You can be a pain in the ass sometimes. You
need someone who’s a challenge. Someone who will call you on your
bullshit. But now that you talk about her mother, I do remember
meeting her at the museum. Kind of a free spirit but overall, a
nice lady. ”

“Again, it’s just a date. You have us
married already.”

“I’m just saying I’ve seen that look
before,” he says. “I remember it all too well, staring me back in
the face from my mirror when I met your mother. It’s a mixture of
fear, lust, admiration, love, and adrenaline.”

Damn. Holy shit, he might
just be right.
I find myself wondering
what she’s thinking, what she’s doing. I can’t get her out of my
head and every time I think of her, my pants tighten almost
uncomfortably.

Shaking my head and trying to clear my
thoughts, I go out to the barn to help Nelson.

Chapter 11

Scarlet

Annabelle puts her hands on her hips.
“What do you mean you were in a wreck last night? You didn’t call
me.”

“I didn’t call anyone. Ryder drove up
on the accident. He tried to call my mom and Gable, but they didn’t
answer.”

“I’m just glad you weren’t hurt really
bad. What about Gable’s car?”

“They said it’s totaled.”

She chuckles because she knows my
brother all too well. “He’s gonna be pissed.”

“I talked to him this morning after I
got home. He was just glad I wasn’t really hurt. Especailly since I
was ran off the road and the person didn’t stop.”

She looks at me with fear written all
over her face. “Do you know who it was?” she asks.

“No, it was late and they turned all
their lights off so I couldn’t even really get a good description
of the car. I couldn’t see their tag, plus it all happened so
fast.”

She walks over and pulls me into a
hug. “I’m just glad you’re okay, but I really hate the thought of
you driving that far at night by yourself.” She pulls me down on
the edge of the bed. “So did you call Cade?”

“I called and talked to Daria because
I’d promised to come after the baby is born and if I don’t find a
car by then, I can’t.”

“Don’t worry about that. If you need a
way to get to Alabama to see the new kiddo, just let me know. I’ll
get you there.” She claps her hands together. “Now, let’s find you
something casual sexy to wear on your date.”

I just shake my head. At
this point, trying to argue with Annabelle would be pointless. She
likes to use me as a dress-up doll. Plus it’s her own way of coping
with what I just told her about my wreck.

I walk out of my bathroom in my
panties and bra after my shower and she takes one look at me. “Oh,
hell no, you don’t.”

I look at her I’m sure
looking confused.
“What?”