Cherishing Mrs. Right Read online

  the desire Cody was feeling was even stronger—if

  that was possible.

  Cody reached out and pulled Darla closer. They

  stared into each other’s eyes. Then in one swift

  move, Cody leaned in and planted the kiss on her

  mouth that he’d been thinking about since she

  crawled into his bed. She took her hands and placed

  them behind his head, running her fingers through his

  hair. Shivers ran up and down his spine. He swept his

  tongue just inside her mouth, finding her sweet spot

  and causing her to let out a gasp. He moved closer,

  and he was just about to make his move and mount

  her pretty little body when sounds of vibration went

  off on the bedside table. Cody started to break off the

  kiss, but Darla was holding on for dear life. With one

  eye open and half of his mouth off of hers, he tried to

  squeeze out a plea. “I need to answer that. It might be

  Gabe.”

  Darla released her grasp and flung herself onto

  her back and on the pillow. Her head was reeling

  with desire.

  “It better be someone really important,” she said,

  feeling her pulse racing a mile a minute.

  Cody answered his phone. Darla listened as Cody

  conversed with the individual on the other end. He

  sat on the edge of the bed talking softly. Darla looked

  over and saw his lean back. He’d grabbed a portion

  of the sheets to cover his backside, but Darla got a

  glimpse and something sparked inside of her. He

  slept in the buff!

  After a few minutes, Cody put the phone back

  down on the table. “It was Marcus.”

  Darla propped herself up on the headboard,

  fluffing up the pillow for softness. “The restaurant?

  Is everything all right?”

  Cody lowered his head. “Nope, it’s not. They had

  a fire. It’s been destroyed.”

  Darla reached her arms out to Cody. “I’m sorry,

  Cody. I know the restaurant meant the world to you.

  Can’t you rebuild?”

  “Right now I can’t think. I’m stuck in a strange

  town, my truck is in another strange town, and …”

  He trailed off.

  Darla lowered her head. She knew what he was

  thinking. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t suggested, you

  take me to see Bryan none of this would have

  happened.”

  Cody shook his head. “Don’t say that. I willingly

  came, and you had no control of the events that

  transpired. It is what it is.”

  Darla pursed her lips. “So now what?”

  “I told him I’d contact the insurance company

  and go from there. If you still want to go see Bryan

  then we need to stay on the course,” he said, looking

  at her for her answer.

  A tear dribbled down her face. Cody reached

  over and wiped it away. “Don’t cry.” He leaned over

  and kissed her on the forehead, then her cheek,

  finally arriving at her mouth. He softly kissed her,

  feeling her softness once again. He took her into his

  arms and then gently laid her down. He scanned her

  face and then her body. She pulled him to her. “No

  interruptions. Let’s finish what we started,” she

  whispered. Darla felt the heat coming from his body

  as he moved on top of her. She stared longingly at

  his face, his eyes dark and filled with desire. She

  welcomed him with open arms. This would be a

  night neither of them would soon forget.

  Chapter Twelve

  

  Darla looked over at Cody. He was sleeping so

  soundly. She gently pushed back the covers and

  slipped one leg then the other out from under the

  covers. She sat upright and scooted to the edge of the

  bed. Darla could hear Cody stir slightly. She quickly

  stopped and looked back at him. His eyes were still

  tightly closed. She stood up and quietly moved away

  from the bed, tiptoeing out of the bedroom.

  She headed to what was to be her bedroom for

  the duration of their stay and grabbed some clothes

  and then hit the shower. The warm water rushed over

  her body. Her mind traveled to just a few hours

  before when she and Cody laid in each other’s arms.

  Still unsure exactly what they were doing, Darla

  knew one thing for sure. She didn’t want to get hurt.

  She’d been down that road before.

  * * *

  “Good morning,” Darla hollered as she got down

  a cup from the cabinet.

  Cody stumbled into the kitchen and sat down.

  “Good morning. What time is it?” He scrunched up

  his face and tried to focus on a clock that was

  hanging on the wall.

  “Don’t you worry about what time it is,” she said,

  setting a hot cup of coffee in front of him.

  “I have a lot of calls to make this morning,” he

  said, picking up the cup and blowing on it.

  “I know you do. First things first,” she said

  coming near him. She sat on his lap and put her arms

  around his neck.

  Cody smiled. She leaned down and dropped a

  kiss on his mouth. She started to pull away, and he

  held her in place. She gently pushed him away.

  “Cody Richardson!” She scurried over to her cup

  and took a long draw of her coffee.

  Cody cleared his throat. “After I finish this great

  cup of coffee I’ll jump in the shower. Then I’ll make

  some calls.” He took another drink.

  Darla nodded. “Okay. While you are doing that, I

  thought I’d scout out the area. I can tell from the

  windows we’re in a beautiful place. The water is

  right across the street.”

  “This is the Charleston Battery. It’s a beautiful

  place, for sure,” he said getting up from his chair.

  “Care to join me?” he asked, pointing to upstairs.

  “I already had my shower. Maybe next time,” she

  said winking.

  Cody shuffled his feet and moved slowly toward

  the rest of the house. Darla finished her coffee and

  then put the cups in the sink. She grabbed her purse

  and headed out to explore.

  The heat was scorching, and it was only ten

  o’clock. Darla could feel the humidity and instantly

  she began to perspire. She reached into her purse and

  retrieved a rubber band. She quickly pulled her hair

  into a ponytail and set off to see the town.

  She walked all around the Battery. The view was

  awesome. The historical houses that lined the streets

  were breathtaking. Many of the sidewalks were

  cobblestone or brick, and she stopped to read the

  plaques that were on many of the gates. She gasped

  when she read how old some of the houses were.

  The heat was pretty intense for so early in the

  day. It was July though, and it was only after she saw

  people putting up banners of red, white, and blue that

  she realized that the Fourth of July was nearing.

  Darla stopped and watched as two men attached a

  huge bunting to the front porch of a very elegant

  home. She put up
her hand and gave a small wave.

  The older man smiled back and nodded.

  “Warm day,” Darla shouted.

  The man stepped down from the ladder and

  walked toward her. He was wiping the sweat from

  his brow with a white handkerchief.

  “Are you in town for the celebration?” he asked.

  A slow grin quirked her mouth. She’d totally

  spaced out the Fourth of July. She didn’t want him to

  think badly of her.

  “What kind of events are planned?” she asked,

  trying to cover up her ignorance of the soon

  approaching holiday.

  “Fireworks over the river, music and food down

  at the Waterfront Park, and well, just lots of good

  old-fashioned celebration.”

  “I’m not familiar with the Waterfront Park. How

  far is it from here?”

  The man creased his brows as he thought about

  her question. “It’s a long walk from here. But if you

  don’t have a car, a rickshaw can pick you up.” His

  eyes twinkled.

  Darla had seen some while on her walk. She’d

  wondered what they were all about. “Well, you’ve

  been kind answering my questions. I better let you

  get back to hanging your decorations.”

  The man smiled. “Welcome to Charleston.”

  Darla took a few steps. She looked back and

  smiled. “Thank you. I like it here. Seems like a nice

  place to live.”

  Darla walked another couple of blocks before

  heading back to the house. She wanted Cody to

  finish exploring the city with her.

  * * *

  “Oh, my. It’s so warm out,” Darla said, reaching

  inside the freezer and pulling out ice cubes.

  Cody watched as she wet a paper towel and

  wrapped the ice cubes in it. She then proceeded to

  rub it all over her face and the back of her neck.

  “Did you get your calls made?” she asked.

  Cody frowned.

  “I take that as a no,” she said, pulling out a chair

  and sitting down.

  “I got hold of the insurance adjuster. He will

  make it out to the restaurant by the end of the week.”

  “That sounds promising,” she said.

  “I called Gabe. He and Cooper and the girls are

  going to come out. They said they would take the

  next flight out. We’ll all be together for the Fourth,”

  he said.

  “That’s what I was going to tell you. I’ve been

  walking around and noticed all the festive banners

  going up. Apparently, there will be fireworks over

  the bay, food, and music,” she said.

  “Good. By the way, Gabe is sending a transport

  truck to pick up my truck from the Bates Garage.”

  Cody let out a chuckle.

  Darla arched her brows.

  “We can continue with our trip after we unwind a

  bit and enjoy Charleston,” he said.

  Darla nodded. “Let’s go exploring now. I hear

  there is a cool outdoor market, and I’m famished,”

  she said.

  Cody slid his chair back and stood up. He held

  out his arms to her. “First—come here.”

  Darla flounced over to him. Cody watched as her

  body moved forward, her hips rotating in an

  easygoing movement, her ponytail swinging back

  and forth, and her smile wide showing almost all her

  teeth. She moved into his arms and snuggled her face

  into the crook of his neck. As she closed her eyes,

  she took in a deep whiff of the woodsy scent of the

  bath soap he’d used for his shower.

  He placed his hands on her shoulders, one on

  each side and gently guided her backward. She

  looked up at him and smiled. He leaned forward and

  dropped a kiss on her forehead. She relaxed her smile

  and focused on his eyes. “We need to talk about last

  night,” he said, dropping his hands from her

  shoulders.

  Darla lowered her head. She knew exactly what

  he was talking about.

  “I thought I was ready to take the relationship to

  the next step. I guess I wasn’t. I hope you don’t think

  I’m a big tease.” She searched his face for answers.

  “Of course not. I don’t want you to think I was

  forcing myself on you.”

  Darla shook her head. Her face softened. “I don’t

  think that for one minute.”

  Cody nodded. He reached out and took her hands

  into his. “Can I ask you a personal question? It might

  be more of a statement really. But you don’t strike

  me as a shy woman. I know you’ve been with men

  before. Heck, you’ve been flirting with me from

  almost the first day. Why didn’t you want to make

  love?”

  Darla squeezed his hands. “Because it’s different

  this time. I can’t take back all those other times, but I

  can make sure this time will be the right time and the

  last time. I’m done with putting my feelings out on

  my sleeve only for them to be shredded later. I want

  to make sure you’ll be the guy that sees me through

  all of my days—good and bad. I have to be sure.”

  She paused briefly. “I think I’m sure, now. But it’s

  happening so fast that it’s hard for me to believe it.

  Do you know what I mean?” She held onto his

  hands.

  Cody nodded. He leaned in and kissed her lightly

  on the lips. He leaned back and licked his lips just

  once. A slow grin quirked his mouth. “Cherry?”

  Darla smiled. “Yes.”

  “I wanted to take it slow, anyway, but you did

  crawl into my bed,” he said, laughing as he pulled

  her in close.

  “I know. I did. Guilty as charged. But then this

  little voice spoke to me.”

  “The voice of Buddha?” he asked.

  “You could say that,” she said.

  Cody widened his grin. “How much weirder can

  this be? A former Marine, now a rancher and

  businessman, hooking up with a hippie who prays to

  Buddha.” Cody shook his head and laughed.

  Darla put her arms around his waist and hugged

  him tightly. Cody let out a noise like she was hurting

  him with her bear hug. He reached back and

  unclasped her hands.

  “Come on. Let’s go exploring.”

  Darla placed her hand in his and smiled. “Okay,

  cowboy Cody. Let’s do this,” she said, giving him a

  watery smile.

  * * *

  Cody and Darla flagged down one of the

  rickshaw drivers and soon were headed downtown.

  The city was bustling with tourists. The driver let

  them out near the marketplace. As Cody paid him,

  Darla peeked inside the covered bazaar. Rows and

  rows of tables were set with the most interesting

  items. She couldn’t wait to go farther inside.

  After she had purchased a few items unique to

  Charleston, the two headed for ice cream.

  “This basket is so beautiful,” she said admiring

  her purchase.

  “Sweetgrass,” Cody said, gently touching the

  handle of the basket.

  Darla nodded. “I like this town.”

&n
bsp; Cody stopped in front of the ice cream shop. He

  opened the door so she could enter first. The air-

  conditioning was on full blast, and it felt good to get

  out of the heat. Darla eyed all the cartons, finally

  settling on peach and coconut. Cody chose his

  favorite, rocky road. They found a bistro table by the

  window and licked away as they watched passersby

  enjoying their day out in one of which they decided

  was the most beautiful town they’d been in.

  Cody looked at his watch. “Gabe and his crew

  should be landing soon. Ready to head back?”

  Cody and Darla made their way down the

  cobblestone sidewalks admiring all the old buildings.

  Soon they were in front of a huge pineapple looking

  fountain. “This is Waterfront Park,” Cody said.

  “Let’s walk on the pier,” Darla said, pulling him

  as she walked.

  After they had walked the pier, they headed

  through the park. The sidewalks were lined with

  huge shade trees and Darla was happy for them on

  this hot day, particularly. After they’d walked a few

  minutes, Cody spotted an open bench. He gently

  tugged at Darla’s arm to let her know to follow him.

  “This view is so awesome. I mean, where else in

  the world can you be and your mind be so free?”

  Cody dropped his head and gave a chuckle.

  “What? Are you laughing at me, again?” she said

  chewing on her bottom lip.

  Cody gently tapped her shoulder with his. Then

  he dropped a wet kiss right on her mouth. “No. I’m

  not making fun of you. I love your quirky little self. I

  told you that. You see everything so simple, though.”

  “Simple? Simple as in dumb, uneducated?” she

  said, feeling her anger rise to her cheeks.

  Cody frowned. “No. Not at all. You just have a

  way of seeing things positively all the time.”

  “It takes way more energy to be mad and

  negative. I’d much rather fill my head and my heart

  with love.”

  Cody reached over and took her hand in his.

  “That’s okay, but—you must know the world is not