Suddenly, Jennifer Collins raced into the kitchen. “I think you should come quickly.”
“So I’ve heard. Where is Daddy?” This might be a disaster waiting to happen. Her father meeting her baby’s daddy for the first time was definitely going to be somewhere between tense and contentious. But in front of a good chunk of the church?
As much as she hated it, she had to stall Pierce.
“You two start the coffee,” Brea said to the elderly ladies, then turned to her father’s fiancée, who was already planning a June wedding. “Keep Daddy away from the door. For now. They need to meet but…”
“This isn’t the best time,” Jennifer agreed with a nod. “It’s why I came to find you. Jasper is still in his study with the ‘boys’ talking football, but that won’t last.”
“Keep them busy if you can. Thank you.”
Then Brea darted out of the kitchen and into the living room to intercept Pierce.
“Do you have a minute, dear?” Mrs. Benson stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. Her husband stood beside her with a hand to his belly. “I think Tom needs some antacids, and I’m afraid I don’t have any more in my purse.”
Of all the terrible times…
“I’ve got some.” Emma Lloyd came to her rescue, digging through her little blue clutch.
She turned to the woman and mouthed a big thank you before hustling toward the door again.
Until last night, she hadn’t dared to dream of a day Pierce would knock on her door and ask Daddy for her hand. But since telling him last night that he needed to if he wanted to marry her, he’d wasted no time.
When she reached the window, she spotted Pierce outside. Her eyes widened in shock. He was wearing an actual suit with a legitimate tie. Oh, dear goodness. Not only was he trying to win her father over by looking downright respectable, she had no doubt he was making the extra effort for her sake. For their sake.
She loved him all the more for it.
Not only that, he looked incredibly hot in a charcoal suit, a black shirt, and a pale gray tie. What were the chances everyone would give them privacy so she could strip him down, climb him, and ride him like the stud he was?
Blushing at the thought, she rushed toward the door as he mounted the first step up to her porch.
Suddenly, he stopped and yanked his phone from his pocket. “Walker here. Colonel?”
Brea could hear his clear, deep voice just outside.
Who was this colonel? What did he want?
“What can I do for you, sir?” Pierce asked as Brea pulled the door open. “Or should I just ask who I need to kill?”
She gasped. He’d just gotten home, and already someone needed his skill set again? She knew that was his job and that it would never be easy, but it was a Sunday and they hadn’t had a moment’s peace in months…
Pierce winced, looking like he’d love to curse but refrained for her sake. “Any chance it can wait an hour?”
Brea blinked. She needed more than an hour with him. Just the conversation with Daddy would probably take half the afternoon, but for her to get her fill of his company after so long apart… It wasn’t possible.
The annoyance in his expression deepened. “On my way.”
With a sigh, he ended the call and pocketed the phone as he climbed the last step onto the porch. Something somber crossed his face as she stepped outside and shut the door behind her, swallowing nervously as she cast a furtive glance through the window to see if Daddy was barreling down on them. Thankfully, Jennifer seemed to be keeping him occupied.
“Pierce,” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”
“You know what I want, pretty girl. I’m here for you. And when I come back, I won’t take no for an answer.”
She shivered at the hot determination in his tone. “All right. But can you tell me where you’re going already?”
“A meeting. In town. I don’t know how long I’ll be until I assess the situation.”
“Situation?”
“The colonel—Hunter and Logan’s father—needs me. It’s urgent. I owe him so many favors… I know this is really shi—I mean, lousy timing. But I am coming back. I’ll always come back to you.”
“Maybe tonight?” She looked over her shoulder again to see several of the older ladies staring at them out the window and fanning themselves with their hands. She tried not to laugh. “We won’t have the seniors’ Bible study here then.”
He looked up and finally seemed to comprehend the attention they were getting. “Gotcha. Tonight. I’ll, um, text first. But you know why I’m coming.”
She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. “Yes.”
“Good. That’s the answer I want to hear when I come back.” He winked. “Got a time in mind?”