His Southern Sweetheart

The lower extremities of his body thumped with lust. Nate swallowed down his desire. “Temptress.”

“So you’re telling me no?”

“I’ve got to get back to the house.” Nate reached over and stroked her neck. “It’s my turn to cook.”

Amelia shrugged off his touch and reached for the silver handle. For a moment his feelings were hurt from the rejection until she flashed a smile. “Are the girls on punishment or something?”

“You got jokes?”

Before Amelia got a chance to come back with a smart-alecky remark, a flock of startled birds flew from behind the barn. The sun hadn’t made its way over the treetops but the near moon hovered along the horizon. An animal larger than Helen’s pet howled.

“Stay in the car,” he ordered Amelia. “I mean it.”

“And if there is a wolf or coyote behind the barn—” Amelia’s eyes widened with fear “—what are you going to do? It might even be a bear.”

“How often do bears come around here?” Nate jogged to the front of the car and then darted off to the trees to snag a branch. Satisfied with the weight, he stalked toward the screen door. Whatever made the noise was still back in the barn, not outside. Coyotes, wolves or bears could not open doors. Nate wedged himself through the screen door enough before the hinges squeaked and hiked the branch like a bat over his shoulder. Prepared to swing like Derek Jeter, Nate said a silent prayer bears hadn’t learned how to open doors.

“Whoever’s in there,” he said, making his voice deeper, “I’m coming in swinging.”

The light above the doors back into the house switched on. For a moment he thought the blinding beam came on as a motion detec

tor, but Helen Marlow banged on the glass, her pinched face frowning.

“What the hell are you doing back at my house?” Helen snarled through the glass.

“Evening, Miss Helen.” Nate brought the bat back down to his side. “I did not mean to startle you.” He figured telling her an animal prowled somewhere in her backyard or possibly barn would only startle her further.

“You still did not answer me.”

“Grandmamma,” Amelia called out from the passenger’s seat.

“I was bringing Amelia home, Miss Helen,” said Nate.

The brass doorknob turned and the door opened. Helen poked her head out. A blue cast wedged through the crack. “Why is she in the car?”

Nate cleared his throat, not sure how to answer—still not wanting to frighten her. “I wanted to make...”

“You wanted to get a peep at an old lady, didn’t you?” Helen raised one brow and frowned before eventually breaking out a hacking cough as she laughed. “Boy, I’m just messing with you. Y’all stop playing around out here and get inside.”

Relieved she wasn’t upset, Nate set the makeshift bat down and signaled for Amelia to come on inside.

“You like my granddaughter, don’t you?” Helen asked.

“Yes, ma’am, I do.”

“Well, then, I don’t understand what you two are doing here,” Helen said under her breath. “I would have figured the two of you young folks would be rolling around in a bed somewhere.” Choking on air, Nate began to cough. “Don’t be shocked, darling, I was young once, too.”

“Grandmamma,” Amelia said, arriving at the screen door of the breezeway. “What are you doing out of bed?”

Helen Marlow cocked her hand on her hip and studied her granddaughter. “You’d like for this old woman to be bedridden, wouldn’t you?”

Beside him, Amelia huffed out a sigh and rolled her eyes. “Of course not, Grandmamma. I want to make sure you’re getting enough rest so your broken leg will heal properly so you don’t have to go back to the hospital and disturb those nice people.”

Matching her granddaughter’s sigh and eye roll, Helen turned around and waltzed back into the house, leaving the two of them alone. Whatever might have been in the barn must have been scared off. The threats coming from both sides now were gone.

“Well, I better leave, as well,” he said.

“Are you sure?” Amelia asked.