Small-Town Sweetheart (The Spring Grove Series Book 2) Read online

  “We should go.”

  “Yeah,” I agree, but before either of us can move, water starts spurting out of the jets of the tub.

  She screams, and I stand quickly. “Oh shit,” I mutter, and I pick her up, trying to keep her from getting wet. My pants are drenched and so is the back of my shirt, but as long as she isn’t wet, we’re fine. I want to inspect her, but I don’t want anyone to catch us. I go to move, but my shoes are soaked, making it hard for me to take a step.

  And then the curtain opens.

  First, we’re met with gasping, and then the laughter roars.

  I look out at the congregation and press my lips together. My mom’s jaw is on the ground, and Mawmaw, well, she’s cracking up like the rest of them. My brothers have their phones out, and oh look, so does the rest of the congregation.

  Bet they’ll put that in the Facebook group.

  Fuckers.

  I look down at Delaney, guilt racking me. Her gaze is only on mine, and I swear I see tears in her eyes. I want to kill them all. I try to smile, but her eyes keep me from doing so. It’s obvious she is wishing to be hiding in a hole that is covered by a rock. I don’t know if I’ll be invited into that hole with her either.

  “Can you let go of my skirt so I can cover my ass?”

  Well, hell.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Delaney

  Even though I’m in my thirties, I feel like hiding under a blanket on the couch is a perfectly good way to handle the pure humiliation that is racing through me at this moment. I haven’t cried yet, but maybe it will help. I didn’t cry the last time I was mortified like this. Well, I did after the fact, but when Larry slept with Annalee and everyone knew before I did, I lost it. I thought Larry was the one. I thought I was going to marry him and have his children. Nope, he’d been fucking Annalee behind my back for six whole months. I feel like I should have known, and I think that’s why I was so upset. I had been betrayed, and the whole town knew it.

  Which lead to the sympathy. The “Poor, sweet Delaney,” or “She’ll never find a man,” and let’s not forget my favorite, “She’ll be just like Pearl.” It was suffocating. For the first time in my whole life, I wanted to leave Spring Grove. This time, though, not only is my love life on full display since I was caught in Reed’s arms, but the whole church saw my ass. My whole ass. Not just a peek or even one cheek—nope, my whole ass. The way Reed was holding me, it put me on full display, which led to Tommy May putting a picture on Facebook.

  Fantastic.

  I squeeze my eyes shut. Dammit, this sucks. I can get over my ass being on display; it is what it is. Not the first time in my life I’ve been laughed at. I mean, hell, I was huge. People used to make fun of me every day. I was easy fodder, the token fat girl who ran with a bunch of boys. I didn’t get my first kiss until I was sixteen, and it was in front of the church youth group when we played spin the bottle. I had told my friend Millie that it was my first kiss, and of course, she told everyone. Billy, the giver of my first kiss, said it was awful and all he tasted was stale donuts. It was so awesome.

  So really, I shouldn’t be hiding. But with what happened today, I don’t know if I can get over it. Especially the repercussions. While I wasn’t convinced I could be the mayor of this town, I’m pretty sure being caught in the arms of a guy in a baptismal tub with my ass hanging out means I won’t be getting anyone’s vote anytime soon. We are hard-core Baptists here in Spring Grove. You don’t get caught with your ass on display in the middle of a tub where you’re supposed to get right with the Lord. I wasn’t too into the idea of getting it on there with Reed. But then, it’s hard not to hump him every chance I have.

  Which brings me the other problem. Reed doesn’t want people to be in our business. At all. He’s said it over and over again, and then he even said, “When people ask, we’ll say we’re dating.” He doesn’t want it on display, I get it. He’s private, always has been. He was just starting to find his footing here. Or at least, I assumed so. He loves it at the clinic—well, minus when ducks come in—and I even saw him smile at Mrs. Rancid at church. I’m not saying he’s moving back home, but I sort of feel like he no longer hated this town as much as he used to. After everything that was put on Facebook and the way people laughed their asses off when they saw us, I’m pretty sure I might not be dating Reed McElroy anymore.

  I don’t know, though. He put me on my feet, muttered an apology, and left. I was kind of hurt he did that. I’m not saying he had to stand there with me, but it would have been nice if we could have stayed together, a united front and all that jazz. Since he left, I did. I came straight home with my tail between my legs to hide from the stares and the disappointed glances. I can still see Mrs. McElroy’s face. She was so embarrassed. So am I, which is why I’m hiding.

  Pathetic? Probably.

  But in this plaid home I’ve made, no one can see me or laugh at me. And I definitely can’t see the urge to run in Reed’s eyes.

  When a quick rap of knuckles sounds on the screen door, I try to see who it is through the blanket, but I can’t. I yank off my fort, looking toward the door, but something red is blocking it. I throw my legs off the couch. “Hello?”

  No answer. Weird. I make my way through the living room, and when I reach the door, I can see that the red thing is actually roses. I raise my brows as I push the door open, and Reed pops his head out from behind the huge bouquet. My heart jumps into my throat as our gazes meet. Guilt is swimming in his green depths, and I’m confused by this turn of events.

  “Reed?”

  “Hey,” he says softly, and when I can see him bring the inside of his cheek in between his teeth, my heart catches in my chest. “Can I come in?”

  “Yeah.” I lean back into the door as he comes in, the screen door slamming behind him.

  He turns and exhales heavily before handing me the big vase of roses. “These are for you.”

  “Wow.” I take them from him. Red roses. Whoa, okay, I know what red roses mean, but I don’t think Reed does. “Thank you. I love them. How’d you get them on a Sunday?”

  “I drove to Hamby and hit up the Kroger.”

  “When?” I ask since, glancing at the clock, I see church isn’t even out yet.

  “When I left.”

  “I assumed you went to change.”

  He shakes his head. “Nope, my shoes are still soaked.”

  He moves his toes, and I can hear the squish from his wet socks.

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah.”

  A silence settles between us, and it’s painfully awkward. Unable to handle it, I start for the kitchen table. When I reach it, I set the vase on it as a smile pulls at my lips. I admire the silky petals, running my finger along them before my smile takes up my whole face. He went out of his way to get these for me. He didn’t have to, but he did, and it’s incredibly sweet. When I turn, he’s right there, not allowing me to go anywhere. His gaze moves from my mouth to my eyes, and Lord, his eyes are so dark.

  He cups my face in his hands, brushing his thumbs along my cheeks as he gazes into my eyes. “I’m really sorry.”

  I try to look away, though it’s hard, as I shrug. “It’s no big deal.”

  “No, it is. I shouldn’t have tried to seduce you in church—”

  “I didn’t put up much of a fight,” I say, meeting his gaze. “I wanted you too.”

  “But still, I shouldn’t have done it. And then I was so worried about you getting wet, I didn’t think of trying to cover your ass.”

  “It was all a shitshow.”

  “It was, but whatever.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” I say, but really, what the hell does that mean? “No, it’s not whatever.”

  He tilts his head to the side in confusion. “Huh?”

  “What does it all mean for us? Are you calling this off?” He blinks. I can tell he’s utterly bewildered. “Were the roses just an apology for showing the church my—”

  “Yes, but also to make you smile.