D is for Deacon (Men of ALPHAbet Mountain)

I was still trying to wrap my head around all that was happening as we followed the woman to a table near the back. I’d settled into my crush on Deacon as just that and nothing more. I figured I would just be content thinking of him like the girls who have posters of actors or musicians hanging up in their rooms think of those icons. He was nice to look at and fun to fantasize about, but it wasn’t going to go anywhere other than that.

But now, there I was, on an actual date with him. I couldn’t help but still feel a little nervous when we sat down at the table. This was the first time he and I were alone together. Maybe it wouldn’t work.

But soon we fell into an easy conversation, and throughout dinner, we were able to talk like good friends. The date was going smoothly, but when the waitress came up to ask if we wanted to see the dessert menu, Deacon told her no and asked that she just bring him the check.

My heart sank a little, but I didn’t let it show on my face.

“Not much of a sweet tooth?” I asked.

That didn’t make much sense to me because I’d seen Deacon spending a good amount of time hovering around the desserts at every cookout and bonfire I’d attended. I was just trying to keep the situation light, even though it seemed like Deacon had decided to cut the night short.

He slipped several folded bills into the leather check portfolio, set it on the table, and reached for my hand.

“I had something else in mind,” he said.

We left the restaurant and kept driving further out. I didn’t have any idea where we were going. Usually that would make me uncomfortable, if not outright afraid. But I didn’t feel that way when I was with Deacon. I trusted him and felt truly at ease.

After several minutes of driving, we pulled up to a tiny old-fashioned ice cream shop nestled among trees at the side of the road. We stepped up to the window and ordered our ice cream, and then he led me around to the back. A little creek burbled along behind the shop, giving us a beautiful backdrop to walk along as we ate. It was all so sweet, and I could feel my heart attach already.

If this was it between us, it was really going to hurt.

At the same time, it would be worth it.

When the night wound to a close, he brought me back to my house and walked me to the door.

“Good night,” Deacon said and leaned down to brush a soft kiss across my lips.

Definitely worth it.

11

DEACON

I was a little behind the times, I knew that. I tended to prefer to call people and talk rather than text, and my idea of social media was to put together a phone tree. I wasn’t stupid, and I wasn’t completely unfamiliar with it all, but I just didn’t care to keep up with it.

That said, the number of texts I was getting from Rebecca was a little overwhelming.

I was used to one or two texts a day, usually from Everett or Carter asking a question about work or lunch that wasn’t time sensitive. But Rebecca was texting multiple times a day, oftentimes with pictures of some of the incredible artwork she was doing. It wasn’t upsetting me. In fact, it was wildly exciting every time my phone made a beeping sound at me. Still, it was a little overwhelming, nonetheless.

After our date, we had started texting and calling each other regularly. Our conversations would last as long as they could before I was called away for work or she was. Each time we spoke, it was like the conversation from the last time had never ended, just paused, and we picked right back up in excitement again.

At some point, we had mutually started planning to see each other over the weekend. The promise of not just seeing her once but multiple times over a couple of days was enough to give me motivation to get through the work I had that week. It was impressive, considering that the work I had to do was mostly fighting with government employees and angry landowners.

“Rebecca again?” Everett said as he came into the office and caught me looking at my phone.

“Maybe,” I said. “Maybe it’s Carter. You don’t know.”

“I think Lauren would be awfully upset if you looked at texts coming in from Carter the way you were looking at that one,” he said, laughing. “That big-ass goofy grin is reserved solely for a crush.”

“How would you know?” I laughed back at him. “I haven’t been dating anybody since we met.”

“I recognize that grin from when Lauren used to text Carter. Hell, he still gets that look when she texts him.”