Page 6 of Tied to Trouble

“No,” she replied firmly, trepidation stirring in her stomach. A few kisses don’t mean I’m ready to take my clothes off. Now, may I leave, please?”

“Of course not, I didn’t mean it that way,” he apologized quickly. “I’m sorry if I took liberties, Mandy.”

“It’s all right, I just need to get back. Grams and Mom will be worried about me if I’m late.” She was relieved when he backed out of the doorway and allowed her to shut the door.

“Tonight,” he mouthed at her through the window as she backed up and spun around.

Mandy felt uneasy as she barreled down the dusty lane once more. Sam had never touched her like that, and it bothered her. Had she given him reason to believe she was that interested in him? Beyond a few kisses, that is? Perhaps she had given off signals she wasn’t aware of just because she was thinking about the whole virginity candidate thing. Could men tune into that?

She huffed and shrugged her shoulders. She did like him; she just didn’t want him pawing her. At least he helped to pass a boring Friday night in Mockingbird Hollow.

Then she flushed with guilt at the thought. Maybe she had been leading him on. Using him to assuage her boredom at the lack of eligible men in these parts.

When she’d blurted out that stuff to Az about being the only virgin in Whippoorwill County, it had been because shehadtoyed with the idea of finding a lover. After all, everyone else was doing it, so why shouldn’t she? It just hadn’t cemented into a firm idea until Az had annoyed her with his ultimatum that she couldn’t. Her best friend, Beverly, was already living with her fiancé, while she had yet to find a steady boyfriend.

She pulled the visor down and glanced critically into the mirror while still keeping an eye on the road. There was nothing to worry about, except an occasional vehicle or two. The worst thing you had to watch out for was possums and squirrels. And deer, of course. Missouri was thick with them.

Did Az see her as anything other than a friend? She studied herself in the mirror. If not, why had he kissed her like that?

Slapping the visor back up, she sighed in exasperation as she swerved around a recent road kill on the black asphalt. “Men,” she muttered.

She waved at the sheriff’s truck as he went by, and then looked in the rearview mirror when she realized the subject of her musings was in the police truck with Sheriff Dorney.

“I wonder where they are going? It's probably something to do with the missing cattle. Especially since the only thing out that way is Genetico. Right, Mags?”

Mags just woofed in agreement—she always agreed with everything Mandy had to say.

“Why can’t men be more like dogs?” she asked. “Life would sure be a lot simpler.”

Mags woofed again as if fully understanding what Mandy was saying.

About fifteen minutes later, Mandy pulled into the driveway of her home. After putting the truck in park, she opened the door and slid out, Mags following her. As she walked around the front of the truck, perspiration beaded on her forehead from the contrast between the truck's air conditioning and the humid heat. It was shaping up to be a hot summer this year.

The cheerful, budding heads of the asters and dahlias flocked in great profusion alongside the old brick home. A row of yellow Columbines was blooming beside the detached garage. She and her mother both enjoyed gardening, and the Columbines came back every year with no effort on their part. Not all the flowers were that easy, though. She opened the side door to the house and stepped inside.

“Mandy, is that you?” Sara Merriweather looked up from her book to smile as Mandy rounded the corner of the kitchen and entered the living room.

“Yeah, Mom, it’s me,” she replied as she walked into the sunny, spacious living room and leaned down to kiss her mother’s cheek. “Did you have a good day?” she asked before flopping on the sofa.

Mags leaped up to settle beside her on the brightly colored couch cover. It sported yellow Black-Eyed Susans, one of Mandy’s favorite flowers. They grew wild along the highways and gravel roads of Mockingbird Hollow. She propped her sock feet up on the footstool, covered in the same material.

Sara gazed fondly at her. “I had a lovely day, thank you.”

Mandy watched as her mother skillfully wheeled her chair over to her and away from her beloved computer. The computer was her link to the world, and she kept records of the market accounts on it.

“How about you, honey?” Sara asked curiously, parking her chair beside Mandy.

“It was all right, nothing special.” Mandy fingered Mags’s silky ear, her thoughts on Az once again.

Her mother interrupted her reverie. “Are you going out tonight?”

“Probably.”

“Are you going out with Az?”

Mandy wrinkled her nose. “No. Why would I?”

Her mother tapped her fingers on the arm of the wheelchair. “I do like Az Newcomb. I think you and he would be good together.”

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