Fragile Hearts (Poplar Falls #4) - Amber Kelly Page 0,49
of that, do you?”
She eyes me suspiciously. “I’m going to pretend you aren’t trying to manipulate a new mother and that all of that’s true. Now, hand me a beer out of the fridge, please.”
I set the wine bottles down and grab us both a cold one before rejoining them.
“How did you get down there?” I ask Sophie as she lies beside the baby, propped up on an elbow.
“Very carefully, and I think I live here now because I don’t believe I’m going to be able to get myself up,” she groans.
Dallas pops the top and takes a long pull. “Ahh, that’s so good,” she exclaims.
“I miss wine.” Sophie pouts.
“I bought you some sparkling grape juice, so you could pretend,” Dallas offers.
Sophie wrinkles her nose at that.
“I brought you some strawberry ice cream and churros,” Elle counters.
“Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner,” Sophie declares.
“Such a weird combination,” I muse.
“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. It will change your life!” Sophie insists.
The door opens, and Walker’s head pops in.
“Cheese on all the burgers?” he asks.
All of us nod.
He gives us a salute and shuts the door.
“Where’s Sonia?” I ask.
“She called earlier. She and Ricky got in an argument because he wanted her to go to his best friend’s house to watch the fights with him and his wife. She wanted to come here. They finally compromised and are going to swing by here on their way there. So, they’ll be here shortly,” Elle explains.
“Well, that’s progress, I guess.”
“If you say so.”
Elle obviously disagrees, but we made a pact to keep our opinions to ourselves when it comes to Ricky unless Sonia asks for them. Which she doesn’t often.
“Bye,” Dallas says as she hugs me for the fourth time.
“Bye, sis. I’ll see you tomorrow at Sunday dinner,” I remind her.
She hiccups. “Yep, we’ll be there,” she confirms.
Walker tries to squeeze by us, and she nabs him and forces a hug on him.
“Woman, you are tanked,” he accuses.
“Am not,” she argues.
“She hasn’t drunk anything in close to a year. I think the beer hit her hard,” Sophie tattles.
Dallas sticks her tongue out at her best friend. “Narc,” she accuses.
Sophie laughs and wraps her arms around Dallas’s neck. “I love you,” she says.
“I love you too,” a disgruntled Dallas returns.
She leans down and puts her lips to Sophie’s belly. “Auntie Dallas loves you too, Lily Claire.” She kisses the bump.
Myer comes up behind Dallas, snakes an arm around her waist, and pulls her into his chest.
“Everyone has to go, sweetheart. It’s getting late,” he whispers into her hair.
“I think that’s our cue,” Brandt says from behind me.
Dallas leans in and whispers, “He just wants drunken sex. The doctor gave us the thumbs-up yesterday.”
“Hell, man, why didn’t you say so? Everybody, to your vehicles and vacate the property immediately!” Walker shouts.
Myer laughs and shakes his head. “Thanks, man.”
“I always have your six, bud. Enjoy all the sloppy lovin’.”
Walker leads Elle to the driveway, and we all follow suit.
Elle eyes Brandt as we stop at his truck.
“You two have a good night,” she says before she walks off.
Walker slaps him on the back. “Yep. Have a good one, Doc. You’re one hell of a horseshoe partner.”
Braxton loads Sophie and then calls out before he gets in the truck, “We’ll be around about noon, Brandt.”
“That’s right. Noon, sir,” Walker agrees.
I look over at Brandt in question.
“They are coming to assist in stripping and sanding the floors tomorrow.” He says it like he can’t believe they would want to help him.
“That’s great. Three sets of hands are better than one.”
He opens the door and helps me inside. We are once again alone and silent. I reach and turn on the radio.
“I had fun tonight,” he mutters as I search for a station.
“Yeah, me too,” I agree.
“You want to ride around for a while?” he asks. “I mean, unless you’re tired,” he adds.
“Not ready for the night to end, Doc?”
He purses his lips together.
“Not ready for sleep,” he answers oddly.
I finally find the country station I like and turn the music up. I kick off my sandals and prop my feet on the dash.
“Then, let’s cruise some back roads,” I tell him.
He looks at me and smiles. Then, he pushes the button to lower both our windows, and the truck fills with the cool, fresh breeze.
I lay my head back against the seat and close my eyes while Granger Smith’s voice drifts through the air.
At some point, Brandt’s arm comes up to rest on the back of