Shit Kickers & Stilettos (Heiresses In Aprons) (11 page)

A couple of hours after Rosie left Dade was feeling a little better, well his body was. The aches and pains were dull reminders that he’d made a careless mistake. One he’d like to say he would ever make again, but he wasn’t going to lie to himself. Just like he wasn’t going to lie to himself and pretend everything was going to be okay with Rosie. He’d messed up and knew better than to expect her to forgive him right away.

She was right to feel like he’d broken her trust. He could’ve, and should have been honest with her right from the start. His excuse was lame. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t wanted to add any more pressure to what she was already under. Rosie might not have let things go the way they had if she’d had all the information he did. Or maybe she would have. Hell she might’ve taken it even further. There was no way to know what might have been. It didn’t matter because Dade couldn’t change things. All he could do now was try and make up for it somehow.

On the positive side everything he’d told her about himself and everything else was one hundred percent true. Whether or not she believed it would be up to her. And he hadn’t
lied, he’d just left out something. Something that possibly could’ve been inconsequential if it hadn’t come out the way it did. Dade had to wonder if Grest hadn’t told her that Dade had known about Teddy’s plot would she have told him. Of course she would. The real question was how long would it have taken.

The phone rang and Dade groaned a little as he stretched to pick it up off the coffee table. “Hello.”

“Hey,” Nick said. “How are you feeling?”

“Like a jackass.
Actually more like I’ve been kicked around by a couple.” He laughed, mostly because it was true.

“Well, I have some good news that should make you feel better.” Nick’s cheerfulness sure in hell didn’t.

“I’ll take any I can get.” With the way his luck was going Dade wasn’t kidding.

“The pups passed their physicals. They’re in perfect shape and have had their first set of shots.”

“Great.” Dade hadn’t really been worried, but it was still good to know they were healthy.

“Yeah, the thing is I was hoping you could wait to pick them up until Monday. Maybe while the boys are at school. You know give them the weekend to say goodbye and not be here when they leave.”

Dade totally understood where his buddy was coming from. “You sure you’re not just feeling sorry for me and giving me the weekend to recuperate?”

“Well, there is that, but no this is for the boys. Still dude you took a really hard hit. You kind of bounced as you rolled.” Nick’s concern was sort of negated by his laughter.

“That explains how I got bruises on both sides of my ass.” Dade joked not wanting Nick to start worrying about him later.

“You’re damn lucky all you got was bruises.”

“I know.” Dade had been thinking that since he’d flipped the ATV and Nick and Lyle had helped him to his feet.

“Good thing you’ve finally got a woman to take care of you.” His buddy would pick now to bring her up.

“Nah, she’s out of town for the night.” Unless she decided not to come back at all, which after the way she tore out of there she just might.

“Too bad, but I’m guessing it’s no big loss.” Nick couldn’t
know how wrong he was, and Dade wasn’t going to tell him. “I mean it’s not like you’re up for anything more than lounging around tonight.”

“True. Hopefully by the time she gets home tomorrow I’ll be ready for something more.”
Like groveling at her feet.

If she was still mad he’d be taking a risk of her stabbing him with the heel of her shoe. He’d get a better feel for the situation when he talked to her tonight.

“Good luck.” Nick laughed.

“Thanks.” Dade knew he was going to need it, and he hoped his luck would change before tomorrow. “I’ll give you a call Monday before I head over.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Dade finished the call and tossed the phone beside him on the couch. His gaze landed on the damn letter Teddy had left him. He was going to have to read it sooner or later. He wasn’t ready yet. It was only seven o’clock, which was too early to call Rosie, so he picked up the remote looking for a distraction. After going through over a hundred channels three times he pressed the button shutting the entire system off.

As he got to his feet he snatched the letter off the table. He stuck it in his back pocket as he headed for the kitchen. Maybe a snack would get his mind of Rosie for at least a couple of minutes.

The cookie jar on the counter was full of a variety of Rosie’s homemade cookies. There was a strawberry crème cake under the glass dome cake holder right beside it. Dade went for the fridge instead. He scanned the shelves and this time his groan had nothing to do with his accident. Each shelf was loaded with plastic containers full of leftovers, or things Rosie had prepared in advance to be tossed in the oven at any moment. Everything had labels that were facing front. Did she have to be so damned organized? It made him feel like a slacker.

He grabbed a beer and slammed the door. Rosie was everywhere in the house even when she wasn’t there. He went back to the living room, but paused in the archway. The small plush pillows and the comfy blanket on the couch were new additions thanks to her. He turned for the stairs planning on hiding in the solace of his room. Yet when he reached the top of
the steps he turned to her bedroom.

The door was open so he walked in. He wasn’t sure he wouldn’t have gone in if the door had been closed. Again he was taken by her space. He’d expected pinks, ruffles, and lots of frills. Instead she had used cream and rust colors through the room. Her bed wasn’t made, but he knew that was her way. Right before she went to bed she would make it. It might be quirky, but she had said she couldn’t get comfortable if the sheets weren’t straight.

Dade walked over and picked up a picture of her and her friends. He sat on the edge of the bed and took a sip of his beer staring at the photo. The four of them were wearing similar red dresses that ended at their knees, which was as far as the picture went. Dade didn’t need it to go any lower to know Rosie was wearing a pair of those fucking shoes.

It was the only way she could be almost as tall as her friends. They were each holding some kind of award. Dade didn’t know what they were for, but after seeing how hard they had worked over the past few months he had no doubt that they had earned them. He took another sip from the bottle and dropped the frame on the bed beside him. This room like the rest of the house screamed Rosie was here.

Dade decided in that moment that if they didn’t end up together he would leave and let her have the house. Even if she only used it as a vacation home she belonged in it. He wasn’t going to live there and be reminded of her every moment of the
day. He glanced over at the slightly open door of her closet. It was like a beacon calling to him. Unable to resist he put his bottle on the nightstand and walked over to it. He nudged the door open wider with his foot.

He knew it was big, but it turned out to be huge. He walked in and stood in the middle. He turned in a slow circle taking a long look at her stuff. Like the fridge and study it was completely organized. Everything had
its place, including her shoes, all seventeen pairs of them. He ran his finger along the upper shelf that had dozens of boxes lined up on it. Dade was tempted to pull one down and peek inside. It would be an invasion of her privacy and he was in enough trouble as it was. So Dade did the right thing and got the hell out of there.

He stopped by the bed and pick up the picture and his beer. Dade put the frame back the dresser instead of leaving as he planned he reached for a much smaller frame. He guessed it was three by five inches, and the other was at least eight by ten inches. He hadn’t noticed this one earlier. It was a picture of him and Rosie, a recent one maybe two weeks ago. He didn’t remember her snapping the picture, but he remembered what they been doing as if it just happened.

They were sitting on the couch watching a movie. She was texting with Sophia and kept laughing. He asked why and she wouldn’t tell him, so he tried to take the phone. They ended up in
a wrestling match for it, which turned into something else all together. Sometime during their playful struggle she must have snapped the picture. At least she’d have a memento of their time together, if she didn’t throw it away.

He took the photograph with him to his office. Careful not to damage it in any way he took it from the frame and put
it in his scanner. He dug through the drawer beside it and found a sheet of photo paper. A few minutes later he had the picture printed and tucked in his top desk drawer. He went back down the hall to her room and put the original back in its spot on her dresser. Not caring anymore what time it was he dialed her cell phone number and waited for her to answer.

“Hello.” The voice on the other end was unfamiliar, and he supposed he was lucky it was female.

“Hi, is Rosie there?”

“Is that whose phone this is?” The person laughed and shouted, “Rosie there’s a really hot sounding guy on the phone asking for you.”

Dade heard lots of laughter. And it seemed like her phone was passed from person to person before it finally reached her.

“Hello.” She sounded breathless, but cheery.

“It’s me.” He waited to see if she’d recognize his voice, and if she’d hang up on him.

“Hi.” She giggled then in a soft tone close to a whisper she said, “I wasn’t expecting you to call until later.”

“I figured that. I know you probably can’t talk right now, but I wanted to hear your voice.” Not knowing what to say next he took a deep breath. “The house is empty without you.”

“You’re sitting around the house alone on a Friday night?” She sounded surprised.

She wouldn’t be if he told her what happened, but he wasn’t doing that. Playing on her sympathy wasn’t the way he wanted to get her back. She’d find out soon enough. Besides even if he wasn’t hurt he wouldn’t have gone out tonight.

“After the way you left I didn’t feel like going out.” It was true.

“Dade.” He didn’t like the tone of her voice when she said his name like that.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to make you mad again. I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I’ve thought about what you said and you were
right I should’ve told you what Teddy was up to. I’ll let you get back to your friends.”

“I accept your apology,” It sucked that he couldn’t see her face to see if she really did, because if Dade had to go by her tone of voice he wasn’t sure he believed her. “But I still think we need to think about what’s been going on and where it’s going.”

He didn’t want to discuss that over the phone. “Have you decided when you’re coming back?”

“Not yet,” she said.

“Okay, I’ll call you later to check in and see if you firmed up your plans.” He hung up without saying goodbye, because it seemed too final, and he didn’t want her to start thinking that way if she already wasn’t.

Dade dropped the phone to the bed, and pulled the letter out of his pocket. He couldn’t think of a reason to put it off any longer. Hopefully Teddy was smart enough to realize Dade might be in trouble and bestow him with some final insight on how to deal with Rosie. He unfolded the paper and his gaze misted a little when he spotted Teddy’s familiar scrawl.

The soft-hearted fool hadn’t typed out the letter, or had it dictated. He’d hand written it. The deep creases probably meant no one else had seen it, unless Rosie had read it. That could be one explanation for why she had wanted him to read it in front of her, but another could have been she just wanted to know what it said. Dade was torn between wanting to know and wanting to send it through the shredder.

‘Dade,

    Since you or Rosie found these letters I’m guessing something went wrong with my plan. Damn, it wasn’t very good, but that’s because I couldn’t bring my ace in the hole in on it. So without you helping me find a way to get you two to spend time together this was the only thing I could think of. So let me start by saying I’m sorry. You know I would never have done this if I had any other options. I apologize for putting you in the position I did, but that I truly believe that it was the best thing for both of you. Not just personally, but for the business too.

Over the years I have watched you grow from a sad, hurt, and angry kid who’d just lost his parents into a fine man. I couldn’t be any prouder. You’ve earned everything you’ve gotten, don’t ever forget that, or let anyone try to tell you differently.

Now I’m going to tell you my hopes for your future. All I really want is for you to find a woman who deserves what you have to offer her and settle down, even if it turns out not to be Rosie. Though it would be wonderful if you two managed to fall in love. Start the family that you’ve always wanted. Fill your house and heart with love, and children.

And if you wouldn’t mind do me a favor. Check in on Rosie from time to time. She acts like her independence is really important to her, but I think she’s just waiting for the right man to come along and capture her heart. Help her find someone who won’t try to take her independence away, but be there to support her. My Baby Girl deserves that, and I want her to get it.

I’m sorry I won’t be there to see you find the love of your life, but never give up on the knowledge that she is out there somewhere.