Chapter 67
An hour later, we were pulling into the Parkers' driveway. Lawton was behind the wheel of a slick black SUV that had miraculously shown up in visitor's parking.
"I still can't believe you just walked out of there," I said.
He pulled up just behind my car and shifted the vehicle into park. "Wanna know what I can't believe?" he said.
"What?"
"That we've got another chance." He turned sideways in the driver's seat to face me. "And I swear to you, this time I'm not gonna screw it up."
I shook my head. "It wasn't just you. It was me too."
I looked toward the Parkers' house, dark and stately in the quiet neighborhood. I'd wanted so badly to belong here that I'd made excuse after excuse for not being honest. But I was done making excuses, to me, and to Lawton.
"I should've told you," I said.
"You should've told me what?"
I gave a small laugh. "Where to begin?" I said. "About house-sitting, Grandma, Josh, my job." I heard a soft sigh escape my lips. "You know, Lawton. I never meant to lie to you." I looked down at my lap. "But I guess, if I'm being honest, it was nice to feel like I belonged somewhere for once."
"Hey," he said, his voice quiet in the darkened car. "I know exactly where you belong."
"Where?"
"Wherever you want to be." He grinned. "As long as it's with me."
I returned his smile. "While I’m apologizing," I said, "I guess I should apologize for flipping out on you."
He laughed. "Which time?"
"Hey!" I said, giving him a playful swat on the arm. "I meant about the whole hooker thing. But I've gotta tell you, I was pretty mad."
"Were you? I couldn't tell."
I laughed. "You are so not making this easy."
His voice grew serious. "Baby, whatever you said, I deserved it and then some. I should've known what you meant." He shook his head. "But thinking of you with other guys, it made me so crazy I wasn't thinking straight."
"So you're pleading insanity?"
"And stupidity. Because I should've known that's not you. So, if anyone's sorry, it's me."
"Speaking of sorry," I said, "why didn't you tell me that Shaggy was the guy behind that sex tape?"
"Who's Shaggy?"
"Oh crap. I mean that Chester guy."
"Who?"
"The guy with that camera phone? You know, the one whose girlfriend pelted him with shrimp?"
Lawton shook his head. "He didn't have anything to do with that tape."
"He didn't?"
"Nah. Was a totally different guy. Remember the guy they caught screwing a pumpkin?"
"At the Tiger's game?" I did remember. A few years earlier, the guy had been the punch-line of countless late-night jokes, especially after he claimed the whole thing was a setup.
"That's the one," Lawton said.
"Wow, talk about karma, huh?"
"How so?"
"I mean, look, he set things up to violate your privacy, and then his um, sex act was just as infamous. And talk about embarrassing. Funny how that works, isn't it?"
"Yup." He glanced toward the house. "Want me to come in with you?"
He'd never been inside the Parkers' house before. Well, not by invitation anyway. The Parkers definitely wouldn’t like it. It would violate my agreement and cause all kinds of grief if they found out.
I smiled. "Yeah, come on in," I said.
When Chucky saw Lawton, he went berserk, diving for his legs so ferociously that it would've toppled a lesser man. Lawton crouched down to ruffle his fur, and Chucky bounded up on him so fast and so frantically that this time, Lawton did let himself get toppled over. And before I knew it, they were wrestling with each other across the hardwood floor.
I rolled my eyes. "Boys will be boys." I set my purse on the kitchen counter and called out to Lawton. "Could you take Chucky on a little yard walk while I grab some stuff?"
"How little?" he asked.
"Five minutes."
When he left, I dashed upstairs to grab a few essentials – my toothbrush and makeup, along with a small overnight bag with a change of clothes.
I looked around the guest room. If the situation with the Parkers continued to slide, I wouldn't be able to stay here much longer. But leaving Chucky wasn't an option. The plants, well, they were on their own.
I felt grubby after those hours in the hospital, or maybe it was from spending time at Loretta's. But either way, I needed a shower. When I heard the front door open and shut, I felt myself smile. I didn't plan on showering here, and I sure as heck didn’t plan on doing it alone.
I tossed my keys into the overnight bag and practically flew downstairs, where I grabbed Chucky, and dragged Lawton out the front door, locking it behind me.
Lawton made a show of looking around. "So, uh, is the house on fire?"
"Nope," I said. "But I am."