Cursed (2 page)

Please Universe, let me keep him. I’ve been a good girl.
She watched him peruse the store. Her hungry gaze followed him, and by the time he picked up a bar of sandalwood soap and came to the register, her breasts were heavy and her hormones were out of control.

“Excellent choice. This is one of my favorites,” she said.

He smiled, revealing a dimple in his left cheek.
Lord, give me strength. I just got here; it’s too early to be making a fool of
myself.
She focused on ringing him up, quoting the price, and running his credit card.

“We support our local businesses here in Baxter, and Sandalwood is about as fragrant as I’ll go when it comes to my soap.”

She placed the aromatic square in a tiny plastic bag and handed it to him across the counter.

“I certainly appreciate your patronage.” Her voice dropped ever so slightly, and she flashed him a sassy wink.

“Since you’re new to town, how about I show you around one day?” he asked.

Yes!
“I’d like that,” she replied.

“How does this Friday around two sound?”

“Perfect.”

“I’ll see you here then?”

“Absolutely.”

A sigh left her lips as he flashed her one last dazzling smile, accompanied by a brief wave, before he walked out of the store. Maybe Gran and her mother were right. Baxter, Mississippi was the place they needed to be right now.

***

The minute Avalyn had stepped into the room, all the blood had rushed to Colton’s cock, and his heart had begun to beat double time. She was gorgeous. Her large, wide-set black eyes sparkled with mysteries he wanted to uncover. Her oval face was rounded out by a button nose and a pair of luscious pink lips. Then she spoke, and the angelic voice had him hanging on every word she uttered. The scent of honeysuckle surrounded her, tickling his nose and making his mouth water. It made him wonder if her hazelnut-colored skin would taste as sweet. By the time he’d left the store, he wanted to know everything about the woman.
Not good.
His grandpa’s words echoed in his ears.
As long as you keep your pecker in your pants, you’ll do fine.

For the first time since his teens, Colton was going to go against his advice.

A woman had never affected him this way. It figured that it’d take a Voiles to elicit such a response. If Viola looked anything like Avalyn, his great-great-great-grandfather had been even more of a fool than Colton originally imagined him to be. The swindling con had met a gruesome end when he’d pulled one over on the wrong man and got a belly full of lead. The thought of the curse brought his romantic musings to a screeching halt. What the hell was he thinking? He had to keep things platonic. His family’s future happiness was at stake. Colton sighed and turned his truck down the gravel lane that led to his father’s house. He owed his grandfather a story.

He had barely stepped foot in the door when his grandfather’s voice greeted him. “Well, spit it out, boy. How’d it go?”

“Pa, he just stepped inside,” his father said.

Colton laughed as he shook his head. It was a wonder women didn’t run from them the minute they came to a family event. The Edgeworths were an eccentric bunch with a unique way of doing things.

“I met her, and she seems nice enough.” Colton plopped down on the couch beside his father.

“And,” Grandpa coaxed, gesturing for him to continue with an impatient wave of his hand.

“And I offered to show her around town Friday. She agreed.”

“Show her around? That’ll take all of ten minutes, “Willie grumbled. He crossed his arms over his chest and slumped down in the comfortable dark brown lazy boy he’d claimed as his own

“I figure we’ll have a late lunch afterward.” Colton struggled to hide his amusement as his grandpa rolled his eyes. “You sprung this on me yesterday, and I already have a date set up. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

His grandpa snorted. Colton exchanged an amused glance with his father, who shook his head. They all lived to get the old man’s goat up because his responses were often hilarious.

“Wait a minute. Did you say date?” Grandpa asked.

Shit.
“What else would you call it?”

“Mission, engagement, appointment, anything but date.” He leaned forward in his chair, his gaze narrowed. “Awwh, hell!

The Voiles got another Edgeworth under their spell! You like her, don’t you, boy?”

“She’s attractive, but I don’t even know—”

“That’s all I need to hear.” He and rose from his seat.

“Grandpa, where are you going?”

“To pray. I get the feeling this family is going to need it.”

Colton turned to face his father as his grandpa disappeared down the hallway. “What do you think I should do?”

“Normally, I’d say ride it out. However, in this case, you need to handle her with kid gloves, and whatever you do, don’t piss her off.”

“What if I make a mess of things?”

“You’d be hard-pressed to make it any worse than it all ready is. Besides, I learned the hard way. Things like that have a way of spilling over, whether you want them to or not.”

“I feel like there’s a story there.”

His father smiled and nodded. “I didn’t want to love your mother, not after what I saw happen to your grandpa. I was six when mom died. That was old enough to see how forlorn and lost Pa was for a long time afterward. I never wanted to experience that personally. But then Kelsey came along, and no matter how I tried to keep my feelings in check, I fell more in love. In the end, I came to the conclusion that even a day with her would be better than watching her from afar and pretending being friends was enough. With her peaches-and-cream skin, sweet voice, and sassy attitude, she always had boys after her.

Watching her go out with them was pure torture. So I manned up and decided to let the chips fall where they may. I never regretted marrying your mother, even though I knew it would probably end badly.”

“Did you always believe in the curse?”

“Not at first, but you know once you get old enough to date, there’s a restlessness that sets in and makes it impossible to deny after a while. Plus, a family can only have so much misfortune. It seems like the curse allows us to be with a woman just long enough to procreate before everything goes to shit.”

“I’m going to change all that.”

“I believe you will, my boy.”

Colton pushed himself up to his feet. “I just came by to fill in grandpa in. It’s been a long day, and I’m ready to head home and crash.”

He co-owned a local contract company with Randy and Hunter. It was a decent living, and he liked the mixture of hands-on and dealing with people. Occasionally, there were high traffic times that left them all exhausted. Right now was one of them. It seemed like everyone and their father was using the good weather as an excuse to do repairs on their homes. They were busy nonstop and had to hire extra men just to keep on schedule. Of course, with the economy the way it was, he was grateful for the steady income.

“Go get some rest. You boys have been working yourselves to the bone for the past few months.”

“I’m anticipating a nice, long vacation when the weather cools off and business slows.”

Hopefully with Avalyn.
He couldn’t help but smile at his optimistic thinking. He’d be lucky if a woman like that was interested in him. She’d probably agreed to let him show her around town to be nice. That was the kind of thing the curse did to his family.

Avalyn smiled at the smartly dressed elderly woman who patted her hand. She was tiny, no more than five-foot, three with white hair and a face that age had been very kind to. She was probably about seventy, but didn’t look a day over fifty-five. Her dark denim jeans were paired with a crisp white T-shirt and casual pair of zebra-print ballet flats. Avalyn hoped she had this much spunk and sass when she was that age.

“Thanks for the tea, honey. It’s been too long since this town could get homemade remedies for what ails you.”

“Thank you for coming in, Ms. Johnson. This should help clear that head cold up.”

“Good thing too. There’s nothing more miserable than having a cold in the summertime when you want to get out and enjoy the nice weather.”

“I totally agree.”

She walked the woman to the door and gave a final tiny wave as the jingle of the bell above the door settled. This day had eked by, and the reason had nothing to do with the amount of traffic in the store. The urge to check her watch set in, and she refused to respond.
I will not count down the minutes until Colton gets here like a teenager.
She forced herself away from the door and focused on straightening the already immaculate shelves. The bell chimed, and she glanced over her shoulder in what she trusted was a casual manner. The sight of the auburn-haired man filling the doorframe made her grin. “Hi, Colton.”

“Afternoon, Avalyn. How was your day?”

“Wonderful. We had a decent number of customers.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

He placed his hands in his pockets. The almost bashful action made her heart swell. Maybe he’d be different from the other men she’d met over the years. She had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach that said he was special.

“How was your day?”

“Not too bad. I was in the office doing paperwork, which was tedious, but a welcome break from the field.”

The field?
“I’m sorry, what do you do?” she asked.

“I own a contractor company with my two brothers. We do work on houses, office buildings, whatever needs fixing or remodeling around Baxter.”

“Nice.”

“Most days I enjoy it, but when you work with family, it can get tense from time to time.”

“Tell me about it. I co-own the shop with my mother, and my gran pitches in too.”

He nodded and chuckled.

“So I’m preaching to the choir then. Are you ready to leave, or did you need to tell someone?”

“No, I close the shop down for lunch, and my mother will be coming in around three, so I can stay out as long as I want.

I’ve been tending the shop alone for the most part this week, so they can get things settled at the house.”

“Sounds good. Shall we go?” He gestured toward the door.

“Yes, just let me grab my purse.”

She walked back behind the counter, grabbed her black shoulder bag, and returned to his side. Her opinion of him rose when he opened the door for her.

“Just let me lock up, and I’m all yours.” The words made her want to pound her head against the wooden door she was locking.

“I wish it was that easy.”

His lighthearted words put her at ease, and she glanced up at him and winked.

“Stick around, and we’ll see.”

His eyes sparkled with humor as he offered her his arm. She slipped her arm through his.

“And they say chivalry is dead.”

“Not in the south.”

“No truer words have ever been spoken.”

“I figured we’d walk the town first, and then I’d take you to lunch at my favorite spot, if that sounds okay to you.”

“That sounds great.”

His arm was deliciously sculpted, and she had to fight not to squeeze it and test its firmness. Colton was dressed casually in a pair of faded blue jeans that hugged his juicy looking booty. It wasn’t often you found an ass like that on a man. Yet another extremity she found herself wanting to fondle. What was it about this man that sent her libido into overdrive? The AC/DC shirt was well-loved. The black had faded slightly, and if she wasn’t mistaken, the beginning of a tattoo peeked out from where the short sleeve ended.

The thought made her drool. She was a sucker for a man with well-done ink. She wondered what it was of. He had a casual, rocker vibe she was totally digging. He presented himself as is with no airs or “prettying up.” It made her think he was in line with her policy of not playing games. Life was too short, and she was too damn old. At thirty-three she was ready to meet a man she could settle down with and start contemplating a family. She’d always loved children, and after growing up as an only child, she longed to fill a house of her own with love, laughter, and kiddos.
Don’t jump the gun. You don’t know
anything about this man, and you know how disappointed you’ll be if you get your hopes up and things don’t pan out.

Sufficiently talked down from her high, she focused in on his explanation of the stores they passed and the people who ran them.

Fifteen minutes later, they were in front of
Hog Heaven.
She couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose up at the name and the apron-wearing pig with a chef’s hat that graced the giant sign in front of the tiny building. Smoke curled up from the back, and she guessed they had a smoker of some kind.

“Now don’t let the tiny building or the name fool you. This is the best barbecue you will ever taste. The meat melts right off the bone, and it’s smoked to perfection and bursting with flavor.” Excitement filled his tone, and his face looked almost reverent. “The sauces range from tangy to sweet and hot to mild, so there’s sure to be one that’s just right for you.”

“With a recommendation like that, I can’t wait to get in there.”

“I hope you don’t mind eating with your hands, because that’s the only way to do it justice.”

“I don’t have a problem with getting my hands dirty.”

“Good to know,” he said.

He led her inside, and she was amazed at the amount of people packed into the small space. The delectable scent that assaulted her nose the moment they entered took away all her doubts. Any place that smelled this good was sure to be a slice of heaven. There were brown picnic benches covered with red table cloths taking up every inch. On each table was a roll of paper towels and a metal basket filled with an array of sauces ranging from yellow to a ruby-red you couldn’t pay her to touch. She liked heat, but that looked downright deadly. Colton followed her line of sight and grinned.

“That’s the devil’s brew. I don’t recommend it unless you’re into pain.”

She laughed out loud as they entered the line of people waiting to grab a seat. It was obvious this was a popular place among the locals. “I’m gonna have to pass on that one.”