Rumor Going ‘Round Read online

  Tuck: I’m sure you did. I was with you when you left the bar last night. I know who you took with you.

  Lee: The night did not disappoint.

  Tuck: At least one of us got some action last night

  Lee: If you’d grow a pair, you could have gotten laid last night

  Tuck: Whatever, man, enough about the lack of pussy in my life at the moment. I woke up with an idea this morning.

  Lee: And what was that?

  Tuck: The big football game is next weekend, we’re both off that day, so why don’t we pull together a big party. We can have a bonfire afterward out back.

  Lee: I’m game.

  Tuck: Figured you would be. We can start spreading the word, tell everyone to BYOB and a dish to share. I’ll fire up the grill, and I’m sure I can convince my mom to make up a few sides.

  Lee: I’m sure Mama Wild will be all over that.

  Tuck: You know it.

  Tuck: What you got going on today? Allison still at your place?

  Lee: She left about ten minutes ago. I don’t have anything going on; when are you picking P up?

  I look at the time, and I’ve got about two hours until I’m supposed to be over at Lilly’s to pick her up.

  Tuck: A couple of hours. I need to go grab some groceries first. Want to come over later? We can grill up some steaks or something.

  Lee: Sure, I’ll head that way at some point. Let you have some father-daughter time before I crash and take over as P’s favorite person.

  He loves giving me shit that my daughter loves him the most. He can keep dreaming on that one. No one will ever knock me out of that spot. Not my dad, and definitely not my best friend. Whoever my daughter grows up to fall in love with better be one hell of a man if he wants the spot. I won’t hand it over quickly.

  Tuck: See you later fucker.

  I drop my phone on the bed next to me and force myself to get up and moving. I need to get some shit done before going to the store and to pick up Paisley.

  Once dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, I make my way out to the living room, where I flip on the TV before making my way into my kitchen. The open floor plan of my house allows me to see everything. I cook up an easy breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast.

  Once fed, I start my list of things to get done around here. I try my best to keep a clean house; that way, nothing takes me long when it is time to clean. I scrub down the counters before running the steam mop over all the hardwood floors in the house, consisting of the kitchen, living room, hall to the front door, and the hall down towards the bedrooms. With things clean, I head for the grocery store.

  I’m walking down the aisles, going through the mental checklist of what I need for the next few days, knowing what Paisley prefers to eat and making sure I’ve got everything she’ll want. We’re pretty lucky that she isn’t a super picky eater. She easily eats all her fruits and veggies, which not many four-year-olds do.

  “Hey, Tuck.” I hear the sweetest voice call my name from a few feet away. I look up from the stand of apples I’m in front of and see Lindsay standing, filling her own bag of apples.

  “Mornin’ Linds,” I greet her, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. She’s an angel on legs and just about takes my breath away in her leggings and flannel shirt. “Did you get to sleep in like you’d hoped to?” I ask, remembering what she told me just last night.

  “I did!” she confirms. “It was glorious. I can’t remember the last time I slept in so late.”

  “That’s good; glad your plans worked out.”

  “No Paisley this morning?” she asks.

  “I’m headed to get her when I leave here,” I tell her.

  “Do you have any fun plans?” she inquires.

  “Not really, just hang out. Lee is coming over later.”

  “I’m sure that will turn into trouble.” She smirks.

  “He can be just that. Have you talked to Allison this morning?” I question.

  “No! I sent her a text but haven’t heard anything. Have you talked to Lee?”

  “I was texting with him earlier. Sounds like they had a fun night. She was at least there until after nine,” I tell her.

  “That little hussy,” she mutters, and I cannot help but laugh.

  “Hey, I’m putting together a football party slash fall bonfire party next Saturday. Would you be interested in coming? Allison is welcome to come with you. Lee will be there.” I toss out the invitation. “Just a casual, fun event. BYOB and a dish to share kind of thing, plus, I’ll have the grill going.”

  “Maybe; I’m not sure what’s going on next weekend just yet. I might have to cover a shift for someone, but if I don’t, then it sounds fun.”

  “Would love to see you there.”

  “I’ll text you later in the week. Does that work?” she asks as she places her fruit in her cart.

  “Perfect,” I tell her.

  “Good seeing you this morning, have a good time with Paisley,” she says before pushing her cart down the row. I watch as she goes, her ass wrapped tight in her leggings is causing my dick to spring to life in my shorts.

  I grab a few more kinds of fruit and make my way to the checkout. Seventy-five bucks later, and I’m headed out to my truck. With my groceries loaded, I hop in the driver’s seat and head to pick up my girl.

  * * *

  “Daddy,” Paisley singsongs my name from the back seat.

  “What’s up, buttercup?” I ask as I turn the radio down so that I can hear her better.

  “Can you get me a puppy for my birthday?” she asks, and I groan a little inside. What did I get myself into?

  “I don’t know, baby. I need to think about it some more,” I tell her honestly.

  “Plllllllllllllease????” she asks, dragging out the word.

  “You drive a hard bargain, you know that?”

  “Daddy, I’s wants a puppy, though,” she reiterates.

  “I know you do, and I said I’ll think about it.”

  “But my birthday is soon, so you have to think fast,” she tells me, that sass coming out again.

  “You’ve got me there,” I tell her, laughing at how she just called me out.

  “I still need to talk to Nona and Papa to see if—and I mean if–I get you a dog, that they’ll be able to help with it when I’m at work. Someone would have to be able to let it go outside and feed it when I’m working, and you’re at your mom’s,” I explain to Paisley.

  “Nona will help me,” she says matter-of-factly.

  “You sound pretty confident about that.” I laugh.

  “She always tells me she’d do anything I need,” she states.

  “I guess she does, doesn’t she?” I give my daughter that one. Mom does always tell her that she’ll always be there to help her with anything she needs. And to an almost five-year-old, apparently, that translates into taking care of her dog when she’s at her mom’s house, and Dad is on shift.

  We make it back to my house; I carry the groceries into the house, following Paisley in. She beelines it for her room, dropping her backpack off that she likes to bring between our homes. While we both keep all the necessities like toothbrushes and toothpaste, a hairbrush, and her hair products along with clothes, she has a special lovie that she’s slept with since she was a baby, along with whatever toys are her favorite that day.

  I make quick work of getting all the food put away before I get the steaks for tonight marinating so they’ll be ready whenever Lee shows up, and we’re ready to grill.

  “Paisley,” I call down the hall, “are you ready for some lunch?”

  “Yes, Daddy,” she answers as she comes out. Once she reaches the kitchen, she climbs up on one of the bar stools at the counter.

  “What would you like today?” I ask as I lean on the counter facing her. I can’t believe just how big she’s gotten lately. She’s turned from a toddler into a big girl practically in the blink of an eye, and I don’t know if I’m okay with it. I can’t believe that at this
time next year, she’ll be in kindergarten.

  I watch as she makes a funny scrunched up face, obviously thinking hard about what she wants. “PB and J,” she finally states.

  “Now, that, I can do,” I tell her, pulling the bread out of the cabinet along with the peanut butter. “Strawberry or grape?” I ask, walking over to the fridge to grab the jelly.

  “Strawberry!” she exclaims, wiggling on the stool.

  I grab the jelly and make my way back to the counter. I pull out enough bread to make three sandwiches, one for her and two for me.

  “Alexa, play country music,” I call out, and music turns on from my smart speaker. We love listening to music while Paisley watches me cook. We’ll often stop to have dance parties when a good song comes on. I start to shake my butt as I spread the peanut butter when a Luke Bryan song comes on, and Paisley falls into a fit of giggles as she watches me. “What’s so funny, baby girl?” I ask as I push a plate across the counter to her. I placed the sandwich, along with half of a banana, on her plate and a glass of milk in front of her. I’ve got this dad shit down to a science some days.

  “You’s funny.” She giggles some more. I don’t stop shaking my butt until Luke’s song comes to an end.

  “Just trying to keep a smile on your face,” I tell her as I take the stool next to her. We both dig in to the best damn PB and Js out there.

  We finish up our lunches, then head outside to play. I’ve got a decent amount of land, with my own pond and trails that we take the quad out on, which Paisley loves doing.

  4

  Lindsay

  “You’ve got some dishing to do.” I smirk at my best friend as she walks through my door. All I got was a text saying she was coming over and bringing wine.

  “Food and wine, and then I’ll dish,” Allison says, taking the bags she’s carrying straight to my kitchen. She sets everything down and starts pulling things out. I help her get things assembled; she’s got all the fixings for a charcuterie board. I pull my board out, and I start assembling the meat, cheese, and crackers on it while Allison pulls my wine opener out and cracks the bottle open, pouring both of us a healthy glass.

  “Okay, so,” she finally breaks her silence as we make our way into the living room. I carry the board, and she carries our glasses and two plates. I set the board down on my coffee table and take one of the plates and glasses from her hands. “It was a crazy night. I lost count of how many times we did it,” she finally tells me, her cheeks pinking up just a bit.

  “So, it was good, then?” I ask, smirking at her.

  “Um, yeah. That boy, I mean, man knows how to work it. He was, ahem, very talented, to say the least.”

  “Good for you. Way to work it.” Knowing they’ve been circling each other for years, I suspected things were going to be explosive when they finally got together. “So, was it a one-night kind of hook-up, or are y’all going to do it again?” I ask, pun totally intended.

  “We didn’t define anything, just left it kind of open-ended,” she tells me, shrugging her shoulders slightly. We both fill our plates and sit back on the couch, turned so we’re facing one another. I pull my legs up so I’m cross-legged, and Allison sits with hers tucked to the side.

  “Did you get any sleep?” I prod before taking a sip of my wine.

  “Nope,” she says, popping the p. “Well, not until I went home. I shit you not, we probably had sex ten times, and he fucking came every time and made me come. As I said, that man is fucking talented in the bedroom.”

  “Sounds like a fun night.” I bounce my eyebrows at her. “Glad it was mutually satisfying.”

  “I’ll be thinking about it for a long time, that’s for sure. I also don’t know how I’m walking today,” she says, laughing.

  I sigh, thinking about what it would be like to be sore because a man fucked me all night. My mind immediately roams to Tucker. The T-shirt that he had on this morning hid absolutely nothing of the muscles that make up his arms and torso. The way his abs rippled under his shirt had my mouth watering as I stood across from him, placing apples haphazardly in my bag. Those damn muscles are the reason I ended up with enough apples to last me a few weeks. I might just have to make a pie or something with some of them so they don’t go bad before I can eat all of them.

  “Oh, before I forget, I ran into Tucker at the grocery store today, and he invited both of us to a football and bonfire party next Saturday. I told him that I wasn’t sure if I could make it since I told Betty I’d cover her shift if she needed me to.”

  “Sounds like fun,” she says.

  “Tucker said Lee will be there,” I add.

  “I figured that.” She laughs. “Those boys don’t do much without one another. Kinda like us,” she quips.

  “Yep,” I agree with her before we fall into a fit of giggles. I love our comfortable, carefree nights that we have like this. Nothing pressing. Just good food, good wine, and most of all, my best friend to talk about anything and everything that life throws at us. We’ve been having nights like this since we were kids. Obviously, our drinks of choice have changed over the years, as have our topics of discussion, but at the end of the day, I know that I’ll always have this girl in my life, just as she knows I’ll always be right here in her corner cheering her on.

  * * *

  Lindsay: Hey Tuck, just wanted to let you know that I can make it tomorrow night if the invite is still open! I don’t have to cover the shift tomorrow night, after all.

  I shoot off the text quickly, wanting to make sure that things are still going for tomorrow night. I haven’t heard from him since I ran into him at the store last Saturday, and Allison hasn’t talked to Lee, either, so we’re both in the dark about tomorrow night.

  “I texted Tucker about tomorrow,” I tell Allison as I plop down on a chair across from her in the cafeteria at the hospital. We’re both on our lunch break. Thankfully, the ER is on the slow side today, so we actually get a break today to scarf down some food.

  “Oh good, what are you thinking of bringing?” she asks as she crunches on some carrots and ranch.

  “I was going to bake an apple pie with all those damn apples, and maybe a pan of those bacon-wrapped smokies that everyone goes crazy over.”

  “Yes, I love those stupid things.” She approves my ideas. “I figured I’d make up a batch of cookies or brownies. Can’t go wrong with chocolate.”

  “I like the way you think,” I tell her as I bite into my sandwich. “Are you nervous to see Lee again?” I ask between bites.

  “No, but I am interested to see what he’s like tomorrow. Part of me thinks that he’s going to be all up in my business, but part of me thinks that he got what he wanted, and now he’s moved on to another conquest.”

  “What do you want it to be?” I question. I already know that, deep down, she’d like for there to be something more with him. She’s only crushed on him since we were in high school.

  Allison shrugs her shoulders, giving me a look. One that says so many things, yet nothing at all. “I just hope he doesn’t act like nothing happened, but I also don’t want the cold shoulder. You know how easy it is to get hurt, and I’m not looking for that to happen,” she admits.

  “If he hurts you, I’ll knee him in the balls,” I tell her.

  Allison laughs, and my job here is done. “I fucking love you,” she tells me as she wipes off the table in front of her with her napkin now that she’s finished her lunch. “I always know you’ve got my back.”

  “Damn straight. But I also know it goes both ways.”

  “Absolutely,” she says, just as both of our phones start buzzing. We carry special phones that each nurse is issued. We both look down at our screens and see the page that we’ve got multiple MVA patients on their way in to us.

  “Looks like it is go time,” I say as I toss my trash, and we both take off for the ER.

  “We’ve got a husband and wife on their way in; information from the EMTs is that a car turned right in front of them,”
Betty tells us as we reach the nurses' station. Allison and I both pull-on protective gowns and gloves, along with face shields, just as we hear the sirens pull in. I meet the ambulance in the first bay, along with Dr. Knight.

  “Female, fifty-five, pain in the left foot and abdomen. No loss of consciousness, all vitals have been stable,” the EMT tells us as we make our way into the treatment area.

  “Transfer on my count, one, two, three,” Dr. Knight calls out as we all lift the sheet that is under the patient.

  “Ma’am, can you tell me your name?” I ask the patient as I check the IV the EMTs placed in her arm.

  “Julie, Julie Smith. Is my husband okay?” she asks, trying to move her head to look for him.

  “I’m not sure, ma’am,” I tell her. “I’ll see what I can find out for you, but for now, are you in any pain?”

  “My foot and belly hurt,” she says. Her foot appears to be fractured, and the belly pain could be from the seatbelt locking on impact.

  “Mrs. Smith,” Dr. Knight addresses her. “Does it hurt when I press here?” he asks, palpating her abdomen. We get the answer when she wails in pain. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” he apologizes. “Administer two milligrams morphine, IV push. We’re going to need ultrasound down here ASAP after x-ray,” he tells me, and I do just as he asks.

  I work fast to get Mrs. Smith’s pain under control. When the x-ray tech shows up a few moments later, we all step back while they take the images that Dr. Knight has ordered. I take a moment to step over a few treatment bays to see if I can get any information on Mr. Smith. I catch Allison’s attention, and she nods her head quickly. That is my one clue that while he might be in bad shape, it doesn’t appear to be life-threatening.