“Daisy helped me,” I told him.
“Is that so? I think you need to check on it again,” he said with a wicked grin on his face as I stood back up.
“It needs a few more minutes,” I explained.
“I was just admiring the view.”
I let my gaze travel down his damp, barely covered body, then back up again. “I could say the same,” I told him.
Preston’s eyes went dark and smoldering instantly. “You look at me like that again, and I’ll haul you off to the bathroom and take you up against the sink.”
I took a step toward him. “Is that a threat or a promise?”
Preston reached for my waist and jerked me against him, when the bedroom door opened. Daisy came skipping out, smiling.
“Pweston,” she called out in greeting, and then a small frown touched her forehead. “Wheyah is youwah clothes?”
I covered my mouth to stifle my laugh and reached for a pot holder to get Preston’s food out of the oven.
“Well, Daisy May, I need to go get some. I just took a shower to get the nasty off me.”
“We cooked you dinnah,” she said happily, pointing to the food I was putting onto a plate for him.
“And it looks delicious. Thank you, girls, for taking care of me. I’ll go get some clothes on, then come eat.”
“Good idea,” Daisy agreed.
I watched Preston walk toward the door to his room, and the view of him in his towel was just as nice from the back. I needed a fan.
“Did you tell him about the peanut buttah pie yet?” Daisy asked in a whisper after Preston closed the door.
“Nope. I thought I’d let you surprise him with it. Since you did all the hard work on it.”
Daisy clapped her hands and did a little happy dance. There was no way she was going to be able to let him eat all his meal before she pulled that pie out of the fridge.
“Why don’t you help me fix him a drink?”
Daisy ran to the dishwasher and got out a clean glass. She handed it up to me. “He likes to dwink root beeah, I think. ’Cause Jimmy said he dwinks beeah, but I don’t think it’s the kind my momma dwinks. He don’t like it when she dwinks that stuff.”
Bless her heart. She was so little and knew so much already. I wasn’t about to be the one to tell her that Preston did in fact drink beer. But I also knew there was not going to be any root beer in this kitchen.
“How about the sweet tea I made earlier? You think he’d like that?” I hoped so, because that was what he was getting. I opened the fridge and shoved the Bud Lights to the back of the fridge and moved the orange juice in front of them before Daisy noticed.
“It’s yummy sweet tea. I think he will,” she replied.
I finished pouring his tea and fixed him a plate at the table with Daisy’s help just in time for him to come strutting out of his room in a fitted light-blue T-shirt that matched his eyes, and a pair of low-slung jeans. That look should be illegal.
His feet were bare and tanned. I hadn’t paid much attention to them before, but now I knew even his feet were sexy.
“Should I stand still until you’re done?” Preston teased. I snapped my head up and met his amused gaze. “Don’t let me stop you. I was enjoying it. Please continue.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. He’d caught me ogling him.
“You dress like that, and it’s hard not to look,” I replied, and turned away from him to unload the dishwasher.
“What’s wong with his clothes?” Daisy asked, confused.
I opened my mouth to tell her nothing, but Preston beat me to it.
“Nothing, Daisy May. I just think Manda may like the way I look in my clothes.”
My head shot up and his twinkling eyes met mine.
“If she does, then you should weah them all the time. She’s sweet and fun and pwetty, and you can bwing hewah with you when you come see us.”
The excited little voice made me want to go hug her tightly and assure her she’d see me again. She still hadn’t said a thing about her mother or even mentioned going home. That said more than any words she could have said. It broke my heart.
“That’s a good idea, Daisy May. Maybe I should wear this every day. Might get Manda to stick around a little while. She and I could come get you and the boys and take you to get a burger sometime.”
Daisy jumped up excitedly on the balls of her feet. “Yes, yes, please.” She turned back to me. “Do you like him in otha clothes, owah just those?” The sincerity of her question made me smile. She was really going to campaign to get Preston to wear that outfit every day just so she could see me again. If she hadn’t already edged her way into my heart, she’d have done so then.
“Actually, Daisy, I think he looks nice all the time. He just caught me looking this time.”
Daisy’s eyes went big, and a grin broke out on her face when she looked back at Preston. “She likes you, and she’s weally, weally pwetty and fun.”
Daisy was selling me to Preston. That might have been the sweetest thing ever.
“She smells real nice too, and I have a thing for that pretty blond hair of hers,” Preston added, leaning back in his chair and studying me.
“She does smell good,” Daisy agreed. “And hewah sweet tea is yummy.”
Preston nodded. “Yeah, she has all kinds of stuff that is yummy.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing, and leaned a hip against the counter to watch the two of them study me.
“And she can sing, too. She singed me all kinds of songs.”
Preston’s eyes went wide at Daisy’s statement. Dang it. I hadn’t meant for her to tell Preston
I’d sung to her. She’d asked me to, and I figured no one had ever sung to her before. I’d let her crawl up into my lap, and I’d sung her every song she’d asked me to.
“Really?” Preston asked with a mischievous smile on his face. “Hmm. I didn’t know that. I guess that will be the deciding factor for me. Amanda will have to sing for me before I decide if I want to keep her around.”
Daisy seemed pleased with this. “Yay! You will keep hewah. She sings weal pwetty.”
I already dreaded the moment he got me alone.
Preston’s phone rang, and he tensed up immediately. The playful look on his face was gone. Who was he expecting?
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, then let out a sigh. “I’m bringing her home in a little while. Let me eat first.”
Oh no. It was his mom. I wasn’t ready to give Daisy back to that woman.
“Thirty minutes.”
He put the phone down and looked over at Daisy. “Momma is ready for you to come home, Daisy May. Why don’t you go get your stuff together while I finish up?”
Daisy’s little face fell, but she didn’t argue. She nodded and went to the bedroom.
I watched her until she was out of sight, then looked back at Preston. “Does she have to go?” I asked in a low voice.
Preston frowned and nodded. “Yeah.” He didn’t like it either.
“You think she’ll be okay? Will your mom remember to give her the antibiotics every day? Because it is real important that she take them until they’re gone.”
“Jimmy will make sure she gets all of it. He’s good with stuff like that.”
Tears stung my eyes, and I had to walk away before I started crying and Daisy saw me. I went to the bathroom and turned on the faucet to mask my sniffling. The idea of sending Daisy back to that old, dirty trailer with a momma who didn’t care was horrible.
“Hey.” Preston opened the door to the bathroom and stepped inside. “Come here.” He pulled me into a hug and rested his chin on my head. “I know this sucks, but I promise you, she’ll be fine. I’m going to make sure you get to see her again. Heck, if you’ll stop crying, I’ll get her a phone too so you two can talk.”
I nodded. I liked that idea. “Okay.”
“Okay you want me to get her a phone?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Preston chuckled. “Done. Now stop crying. I check on them more than once a week.”
I didn’t want to make him feel like he was failing them when it was obvious he was doing everything he could to take care of them. If he had a real job, I didn’t know what it was. He had school and baseball. Over the years he’d had some side jobs, but nothing that stuck around long. Somehow he got money. I’d started to ask him about it when the bathroom door opened and Daisy stood there frowning up at us.
“What’s wong?”
I couldn’t let her know why I’d been crying. I smiled and stepped out of Preston’s arms. “Nothing. I just got something in my eye and came in here to get it out.” I reached back and turned the water off.
“Why was Pweston hugging you?”
The kid didn’t miss anything.
“I was getting it out for her,” Preston replied.
Daisy seemed to be okay with this answer, so she nodded. “I got my stuff weady to go.”
“All right, my Daisy May, let me finish eating, and then we will go.”
"But what about his supwise?" Daisy asked me looking at the refrigerator hopefully.
"I think now would be an awesome time for his surprise," I replied, and she dropped her bag and ran over to retrieve the peanut butter pie out of the fridge. Preston shot me a questioning look and I just grinned.
"I did all the hawd stuff. Just ask Manda," Daisy informed him as she held out the peanut butter pie toward him with pride.
"You made me a pie?" Preston asked with awe in his voice as he bent down to her level.
"Yep, I did. Peanut Buttah."
Preston bent over and kissed her cheek. "I bet that’s gonna be the best peanut butter pie I’ve ever had."
Daisy beamed up at him, and at that moment, Preston Drake was absolutely perfect.
Chapter Sixteen
Preston
I was restless. Amanda had left when I went to take Daisy home. She said she needed to go eat dinner with her mother. Last night she’d told her mom she was staying over at a friend’s. She said her mom would get curious if she didn’t show up tonight. The whole apartment smelled like Amanda. I hadn’t been alone with her since work today. I needed to be alone with her. The fear inside me was eating me alive. If she ever found out . . . That couldn’t happen.
My phone rang, and I stalked over to the counter and jerked it up. It was the wrong Hardy.
“Hey,” I said, trying not to be irritated that it was Marcus and not Amanda.
“Hey, what’re you up to tonight?”
Waiting by the phone for your sister to call me wasn’t exactly something I could tell him. “Nothing. Just at home.”
“Low is studying for an test, and she needs me to get out of her hair. Feel like meeting me at Live Bay? Rock will be there. Jackdown’s playing, and you know Trisha won’t miss it.”
No. I wanted to stay here and wait on Amanda. But then if she didn’t call, I might go a little crazy. I needed a distraction.
“Okay, yeah. I’ll meet you there.”
“Sounds good,” he replied, and we hung up.
I slipped on my boots and grabbed my keys. I’d go hang out with my friends until Amanda called.
The place was already crawling when I walked in. I stopped by the bar and grabbed a beer before making my way over to our table. Marcus was already here. Rock and Trisha were taking up only one stool since she was in his lap. Dewayne wasn’t around.
“There he is,” Marcus said as I pulled out the stool beside him and sat down.
“But for how long? Soon as a girl comes over here sniffing, we’ll lose him for the night,” Rock drawled.
Marcus laughed.
I tried not to tense up. They’d notice if I acted different. Then they’d all start asking questions. And there was no way in hell I was answering those questions. Marcus was like my brother, but if he tried to keep me from Amanda, there was gonna be a problem. No one was stopping this.
“I’m taking a night off,” I replied.
“Someone wear you out last night?” Rock asked.
Wasn’t going there with them either. This was hard. I’d always been able to talk about girls with them. But then, I’d never talk about Amanda the way I talked about those other girls.
“I’m just not in the mood,” I explained, and took a long swig.
A phone rang, and Marcus pulled his out. “Is she okay? . . . Yeah, I checked on her today. . . . Sorry, I’m at Live Bay. Can you hear me now? . . . If she’s sleeping fine, then you should be good if you want to leave. . . . Uh, no. Preston, Rock, and Trisha are here. You wanna come see me? . . . Ha! Sure you do. I’ll see you in a sec.”
He hung up the phone. “My mom is going to wear Amanda out. As much as I’d have missed her, I don’t like the idea of her staying here to take care of Mom. She needs a life.”
That had been Amanda. My phone vibrated in my pocket.
I pulled it out and looked down.
Amanda: Is it okay with you if I come to Live Bay? If not I’ll just go to bed and see you later.
Hell, no. I needed to see her tonight.
Me: Your brother thinks you’re coming here. Come ease his mind. Then we’ll figure out a way to leave.
“Is Preston texting?” Rock asked. “When the hell did he start texting?”
Amanda: Okay. See ya in a few.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket and looked up to see the entire table staring at me with incredulous expressions on their faces. So I didn’t text that often. What was the big deal?