Wicked Flower (17 page)

Will ducked just in time.
“Dude?
What the fuck?” he asked.

“Yeah?
What?” Stefan
waited for Will to go plug his end of the cord into the socket on the side of
Mom’s house so Stefan could start mowing. He needed something to do with his
hands before he went crazy or accidentally killed his best friend. Thank God it
wasn’t raining.

“You look like you’re about to go Chuck
Norris on your mom’s lawn. Like if I leave right now, I’m
gonna
come back to not just a mowed lawn but
fricking
no
more trees, nothing.”

That’s about how he felt. “I’m not
gonna
chop down her trees. There’s way too many.” Or else
maybe he would. Luckily Mom’s house butted up to the forest and Stefan knew he
wouldn’t make much of a dent if he went all
lumberjack
.
Knowing Dani was inside that house jacked up his pulse like it did every minute
of every day.

Will walked back up the slope of the
yard where Stefan stood, watching Dani inside at the sink. “So I’m
gonna
take off with Dani today. She bribed me with
Taggert’s
. You sure that’s cool?”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t it be?”

“Uh, because
you’re being a dick.
And I know why. Want my advice?”

Only because it
was Will.
“You’re
gonna
tell me anyway.”

“Make good on taking Dani out to
dinner.”

Stefan wished he would have said no to
Will’s advice. “I can’t. We’re being ‘just friends’.”

“Bulletin, shithead.
That’s
what friends do. They go out for
meals together. You owe her that much.”

“No, no, no. You misunderstand. Dani’s
idea of friends isn’t the same as mine. I know I sound like an asshole, but the
only place she and I can be around each other is here at the house, under Mom’s
watchful eye.” He’d nearly hurt her baby with those contractions. Thoughts of
Amanda crept in. The day she’d told him she’d lost their baby and then his
parents screaming at him that it was his fault for all the stress he’d caused
Amanda. Stefan gritted his teeth and tried to block out the yelling and the
lies. No, he’d been nothing but supportive.

Will put his hands on his hips and
looked like he’d just spent too much time with one of Jaxon’s kids. “Look, I
know I blow you off all the time when it comes to this stuff. And no way in
hell do I want you lecturing me about this shit in return. So don’t even think
about it. But you’re
gonna
be so pissed if you leave
here next week and don’t take that girl out.”

Stefan wiped sweat off his forehead,
forgetting what the sun felt like, and swore to shave his beard off when he was
done mowing. All because he knew Will was right. Could he admit as much to his
friend? “She’ll say no.” Just like his mom with the house. Just like Amanda when
he’d offered to quit school and work full time to support the baby they’d made.

“I’ll talk to her today on our date,”
said Will.

Stefan wanted to pile drive Will for
that one but didn’t because that’s just how they kept it real. “Fucking, don’t
Will
.”

“Stop being a baby. If it gets your
mopey ass off my Swayze stash, it’s worth it. You should probably take this
opportunity to talk to your mom while we’re gone. Come on, man. Do I have to
think of everything?”

Stefan knew he was just being a
smartass, but yeah, Will had done this relationship stuff before. Stefan didn’t
have a clue and for the record, he wasn’t calling this a relationship. All he
knew was he wanted to be with Dani. Dani wanted to be with him. But she’d
chosen not to let that happen and for good reason. He wouldn’t admit it out
loud right now, but Will had no idea how needed he was.

Stefan watched Dani standing there at
the kitchen sink. She was probably finishing up the breakfast dishes and
getting stuff ready for his mom like she did every day, no matter how tired her
body was, how upset her stomach might be, or how much shit she probably had on
her mind. The whole time, she’d kept a smile on her face and even cracked jokes
with Will. She’d fit in so well with the girls.
Tris
and Lily would get a real kick out of her. Jaxon and Ben would worship the
ground she walked on for Dani’s amazing ability to blow Stefan off. The fact he
was even having those thoughts … He couldn’t keep telling himself all it meant
was that he wanted her for here and now.

He did owe her a dinner. Mario’s pizza,
he remembered.
A peace offering maybe?

Stefan squeezed the electric mower’s
trigger bar until it roared and vibrated under his hands. And he’d yet to check
in on his empty house. He closed his eyes for a second and hoped like hell she
didn’t shoot him down when he asked her to join him tonight because Will was
right, if he didn’t do it, he was a pussy. He let the mower die for a second.

“How do I do just dinner with her?” he
asked Will, dropping as much of the asshole from his voice as he could.

Will stood next to him with his arms
folded over his chest, both of them staring toward Dani in the kitchen window. “You
got it bad, brother. Don’t you? The fact you’re even asking me that.”

“You have no idea. I can’t believe I
fucking let this happen.”

“Well, you can either fight it all
night, or you can accept it and let nature take its course,” Will
said
then looked at him and waited a second while he chewed
his cheek. He closed his eyes then opened them again and Stefan knew he’d been
remembering Honey. “The way you
just have
dinner
with a girl is easy, man. When it’s the right girl, you do whatever
you can not to fuck it up. If all she can give you is dinner, then that’s all
you ask her for. In that moment, it’ll be enough, if it’s the right girl.
You’re just
gonna
have to trust me on that.”

Stefan almost let Will go, aware that
had taken a lot out of his friend by the hollow look on his face.

“How can she be the right girl? We just
met.” Stefan frowned.

“I knew Honey was it within minutes,
brother.” Will
cleared
his throat. “Hey, I
gotta
go. Your girl is waiting on me for our date.”

“Fuck you.” Stefan gave him a helpful shove
toward the back porch door of the house. “Take care of our girl, or I’ll kick
your ass.”

Will just nodded his head and ducked
inside. Stefan watched him meet up with Dani by the sink. He closed his eyes
and thought about the first time he’d seen Dani at that pump.

“Oh shit.” It hadn’t taken minutes, it
had been seconds. He had to figure this shit out.

****

When Dani opened her eyes, Will was
inside, standing before her. A funny look pulled at his face.

“Hey, ready to go shopping?” he asked.

“Oh, um yeah
sure.
I thought you were about to mow and that we’d go after.” That had been an
interesting exchange to watch between the guys out back. Men interacted with
each other on a whole
nother
level she didn’t
understand. She wished she knew what had been said but their body language had
fascinated her.
Along with the flying objects and shoving.

“Nah.
Stefan’s got
it. Let’s go.”

She put the last plate in the dish
drainer to dry. “Oh, okay,” she said, trying to come back from the whiplash in
her mind. “Let’s go.”

Will just nodded and walked through the
living room to the foyer by the front door. Apparently he was in such a hurry
to
leave,
he wasn’t concerned with much else.

Dani glanced behind her, still able to
see Stefan through the large, back glass door opening to the back yard.

He yanked at a bright orange cord so
hard and fast it looked to have bit him in the ribs. Then he kicked the ground
he stood on so rigidly he sent clumps of dirt and grass flying. Was he pissed
she was going somewhere alone with Will? Hadn’t he just insisted the night
before when she’d brought it up? Men, she’d never understand them apparently.
Well, whatever. They’d gotten through one week.
Just one more
to go, she thought and squeezed fingers to her palms.

“Come on,” said Will, his hand on her
forearm. “We should go.”

Will obviously knew something was up
between them. She felt pretty damn pathetic.

Dani wasn’t sure Will knew exactly what
he’d signed up for, aside from his obvious excitement about
Taggert’s
.
Once they were in her car, she brought him up to speed.

“Hey, I hope you’re really okay going
with me today.
Taggert’s
and my kid sister’s place
probably aren’t on your bucket list so thanks.” Now that Dani was accepting her
paycheck again, she could afford to buy Daisy a new blender and toaster, as
long as they were discount store brand and not fit for a gourmet cooking show.

“Yeah, um, no
problem.
How far away are these wondrous places?” Will asked.

She smiled. “About thirty minutes.”

“Cool.
Gives us time
to talk.”

Oh boy. Will had been a man of few words
this week. What did he want to talk about? There was only one thing she could
think of and that was the disaster she liked to call throwing
herself
at Stefan twice that first day. She also wondered
now if Stefan had kept her secret. Had he told Will she was pregnant? Just by
looking, you couldn’t really tell she was four months along when she was
dressed. Naked was another story as she’d seen this morning getting dressed. Pants
were now a no-no so she’d had to switch to one of the few loose dresses she
owned. “Sure,” she said, but her stomach tossed.
 

Nervous about letting him start the
conversation, Dani blurted out, “So you’re sure you don’t mind going to my
sister’s with me? I know I roped you in with the
Taggert’s
part.” Dani shook her head, wondering how in the world Daisy survived on her
own some days but was happy her sister led the life she wanted to live. Plus
thinking about Daisy’s issues took her mind off the
Calderons
.

Will tapped his thumbs against his cargo
shorts pockets.

Dani twiddled her thumbs on top of the
steering wheel.

Thank God he answered her, and in a sort
of sweet way too that settled some of her jitters.

“Are we going to a Super
Taggert’s
?” he asked and she swore he made a very
deliberate point to look at her with an easy face when he did so.

“Super
Taggert’s
all the way,” she was able to say with a smile.

“I love those ones.”

“Hmm, you know you didn’t strike me as
one of their biggest fans.”

“What can I say? They sell this
soap,
I swear it really is magical.
Turns
an ordinary shower into a peppermint sauna.
I can never find it anywhere
else. And the dollar bin deals, I’m always finding stuff there.”

So he was a man of few words except for
when it came to soap and good deals. “The dollar bin deals rock,” she said a
little too enthusiastically. The silly talk made her like Will even more but
also left her even more curious than she’d been before. He’d been nothing but
kind since showing up with Stefan.
Although he did keep to
himself and only spoke to when spoken to first.

His next question surprised her. “So
Daisy must be your
baby
sister.” He
emphasized baby.

“Oh you can’t even imagine. How did you
ever guess?”

“Emergency
appliance
run
. Classic.”

“You sound like you speak from
experience.”

He didn’t have another quick comeback
and when he was
quiet
a few seconds too long, Dani
looked over at him to see if he was scowling or worse, hurt, by what she’d
said. “Sorry, it just sounded like you…”

He
nodded,
the
kind that wasn’t for her but like he was acknowledging something to himself.
“Baby sister-in-law,” he said quietly.
“Mother’s Day, six
years ago.
Morning of.”
He put his hand up to
the side of his head like he was on a phone call and speaking into his
outstretched, non-tattooed thumb. She noted again how Will’s tats stopped at
his wrists like crisp neat sleeves. She wondered why but was too engrossed in
this miniature revelation by Mr. Will Cordero. She smiled, encouraging him to
continue. “I get a call. ‘Will, I completely blanked about today. Need you to
pick up my mom’s gift. Honey’s not answering’.” His brows
raised
like he was unsettled at something he’d said. Then he blinked. Dani couldn’t
peel her eyes from his endearing face and the fuzzy, nearly bald sides of his
head. “She’d had the forethought to turn in her mom’s favorite pair of suede
boots to be re-soled and made like new but had totally spaced on picking them
up. I’m like, ‘okay, no problem, Heather.’ So then I ask what’s wrong with her
car. One
guess
what she tells me.”