Water was a good idea because she was feeling those redheaded sluts. “Thank you.”
There was a beauty in the way they all moved around, evidence that they did it often. Arissa had never had friends like these ladies were to each other, but she was happy to be included among them now. Maybe in time, she’d also be a Bell. And even with those thoughts swirling happily in her head, she couldn’t stop thinking about Hank Weathers. Tingles raced down her spine knowing how her evening would have ended if he’d actually made it to her at Moe’s.
* * *
Hank slid onto the stool and Moe placed a bottle of beer in front of him. They made eye contact and Hank didn’t need to ask when Moe offered, “Went to Hya’s.”
Hank nodded before he took a pull from the bottle. He put it down onto the battered wood top and started spinning it, the glass coasting along the wet ring. Someone called his name and he lifted his eyes long enough to give them a wave. Hank’s mind drifted to the first time he met Phoebe. He met her at the policeman’s ball. Her long blonde hair had caught his attention, and when she turned, he took in her smile. He thought she was breathtaking. And she was, model stunning. But what he felt when he saw Phoebe was no match to what Hank had felt now just thinking about Arissa. Her soulful brown eyes. Her pink plump lips, the way they tipped up when she smiled, revealing a small dimple on her right cheek. The curves of her body that he wanted to trace not only with his fingers but his tongue. The deep intense look she threw at him when he looked her way, and what it did to his…
“I’m out,” Hank said, as he drained the last of his beer and placed the bottle loudly on the bar.
Moe gave him a sly grin. “Wondered how long you were gonna wait.” He gave Hank a chin lift. “Have a good night, Sheriff.”
Hank returned the chin lift and said, “Plan to.” Then he started for the door, long strides bringing him there faster. He didn’t even stop to acknowledge the last of the crowd. He was on a mission.
8
The rain was coming down in buckets. Bolts of lightning that lit up the night’s sky were followed by cracks of thunder. Hank drove with intent. Maneuvering the streets of Summerville like the back of his hand. He pulled up to the gate and came to a screeching halt.
“For fucks sake, hurry the fuck up,” he shouted to the old iron gates slowly creaking open, as if they would listen.
Once he had enough room, he stepped on the gas and within seconds came to another abrupt halt. Throwing the SUV in park, Hank jumped out. Rain pelted down on him as he jogged around the house toward the back. Going straight to the door that led to Hya’s kitchen. He knew she never kept it locked. Where she lived, she had no reason to. He flung the door open; the women were around Hya’s wood table, their heads jerking to him with varying degrees of surprise. For the rowdy group they were, the only sound was the music coming from the other room.
His eyes zeroed in on one woman sitting at the table. When they did, he pointed to her. “You, come with me.”
Arissa didn’t move at first, captivated by the sight of a soaking wet Hank Weathers, the way the cotton of his tee clung to his chest and arms. The rain beading on his skin, his hair drenched. God, he looked edible. Slowly his order penetrated, right around the time the look in his eyes hit her, stirring an ache between her legs. The realization that he had followed her, barged into Hya’s house…all for her, before her brain gave it permission, her body stood and moved to him like she was caught in his web. And if she was being honest, she so totally was.
“I just came,” Millie said in a husky whisper.
Maureen raised her hand, her eyes closed. “I’m coming right now.”
“I already did,” Jo offered her two cents.
“Shhh,” Hya shushed them in a low voice. “I’m feeling another one coming on.”
When Arissa was close enough to Hank, he reached for her hand, her fingers linking with his. He then addressed the room. “Night, ladies.”
He was answered by only soft sighs of longing. Hank shut the door behind him and Arissa. They stood on the top step of the small porch under an equally small awning.
He looked down at her, his gaze moving over her face. She was staring up at him with glazed eyes. “You ready?” he asked her right before a crash of thunder rumbled through the air.
Arissa was yanked from the spell that was Hank Weathers by the sharp crack of thunder. She jerked, and moved closer to him. Fear of the storm was eclipsed, though, feeling the heat from his body, and his hand tightly holding hers. When she answered him, it was with a simple but very enthusiastic, “Yes.”
He squeezed her hand. “Once we move off these steps, there’s no turning back,” he stated and watched her eyes for a beat. Needed to know that once they stepped off the porch, they were both in this together. He wasn’t exactly sure what had her pulling back but seeing her in the bar, the way she watched him, he figured it was nerves.
This man. She had been hesitant, but Hank being the straight shooter that he was, this was his way of addressing that hiccup. There was a part of her that thought she should share about Catherine, but seeing for herself that he felt it too, she put everything out of her head but him…them.
In answer, she was the first one to step off the porch. Hank smiled, and jumped down the
