Southern Seduction (3 page)

She’d practically grown up spending her summer days lounging under the sun with her feet in the water. The Wilders’ Lake sat in the center of two hundred acres of land that lay on the outskirts of her small Texas hometown. The lake wasn’t really a lake—it was the size of a pond, really—but it was always one of Daniella’s favorite spots in Cumbie. With a population estimated around eight thousand, this town wasn’t exactly the most happening place.

She had spent a lot of her youth lying on the small dock that overlooked the water and daydreaming the day away. Since her mother had rarely let her precious daughter go swimming without someone keeping an eye on her, Daniella would beg her brother Bobby and his best friend Penn to let her tag along whenever they hung out at the lake. And lucky for her, they usually conceded.

Penn Wilder. The name of the one boy who’s held Daniella Pruitt’s heart since the first time she laid eyes on him. She had been in love with her brother’s best friend since she was eight years old. He was a recurrent daydream of hers. His gorgeous blue eyes, warm smile, and the way his blondish-brunette hair hung past his eyes… Everything about that boy was permanently imprinted in her brain. She knew her love for him was a foolish kind of love, a young and naïve kind of love, but she could never help herself. He was the epitome of perfection in her young brown eyes. It was just a shame that he only saw her as Bobby’s little sister.

A painful, excruciating kind of shame.

The tires of the red pickup truck jostled in uneven movements as she drove down the long gravel road that led to the Wilders’ property.

Her thoughts began to wander towards thoughts of
him
.

“You all set?” Bobby asked as he leaned against the doorframe of Penn’s room. Bobby Pruitt and Penn Wilder had been attending the University of Houston together since their freshman year of undergrad. They’d been roommates since the first day they’d stepped on college grounds. Their current apartment was only a few minutes from campus and an easy commute to classes. It was also only thirty minutes away from their southern hometown of Cumbie, Texas. They had the perfect setup and planned to stay roommates through the rest of grad school, but life circumstances had changed their situation. Penn was getting ready to leave.

He glanced up as he applied a strip of tape to a cardboard box. “Yeah, I think I’m just about packed and ready.”

A sad smile covered Bobby’s lips. “I’m gonna miss ya around here,” his Southern drawl spoke quietly. “But I understand why you’re doing this. I think it’s the right thing.”

Penn smiled and nodded. “Me too.” He was sad to leave one of his best friends, but he knew in his heart that he was doing the right thing. He needed a change. He needed to remove himself from Texas, from the bittersweet memories of his parents.

“When are you headin’ out?” Bobby questioned as his fingers fiddled with an empty cardboard box sitting on the deserted dresser.

“I’m hoping to get on the road before ten in the morning.” He answered and then finally realized that Bobby was dressed nicer than normal. Dress slacks and a collared shirt—it was apparent his best friend was getting ready to go out.

“What are you all dressed up for?” he asked. He stood up from his kneeling position on the hardwood floor and looked towards his friend inquisitively.

“I got a date,” Bobby responded with a smirk as he slid his hands into his pockets.

Penn’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “
A date?
With who?”

“
Kate.”

“Wow. I’m shocked she’s gonna slum it with one of the Pruitt brothers,” Penn cajoled with a huge grin.

Bobby had been doing everything possible to get Kate Matthews to go on a date with him and it looked like his persistence had finally paid off. Five years’ worth of persistence to be exact.

“Shut up, dick,” he chuckled.

Penn finished packing up all of his belongings while Bobby proceeded to tell him his big plans for the evening, which included his master strategy of wining and dining the woman of his dreams. After a day’s worth of packing, he was ready to head to California tomorrow. He was finally going to start focusing on becoming the man he’d lost after his parents’ deaths.

They died tragically three months prior from a devastating car accident. Both were killed upon impact when a drunk driver veered into the wrong lane on Highway 50. Pierson and Lonnie Wilder were two of the kindest, sweetest people in Cumbie. Mr. Wilder had been a renowned businessman who had invested his money well, and Mrs. Wilder had donated nearly all of her time to various charity and church functions within the small Southern community. Their deaths had devastated the entire town; two wonderful people had been taken far too soon.

They’d left their only son with enough inheritance to never work a day in his life, but they’d also left him
alone
. Besides their close friends in Cumbie, Pierson and Lonnie Wilder were the only family Penn had. Needless to say, the past three months had been a tragic, heartbreaking road for him.

After his parents’ deaths, Penn had stopped regularly attending classes. He was lost, adrift, and searching for comfort in all the wrong places. One-night stands, alcohol binges, and an occasional dabble into other mind-numbing substances were his current norm. He was gutted and turning into a shell of the man he used to be.

He wasn’t proud of his actions.

He was living each day in a fog, a tedious haze, and just trying to survive. It’s true that sometimes life is about pure survival, but in order to survive and live a life that is actually worth living, one must focus on finding the reasons to live. Penn knew this, but it took his best friend laying into him about his uncharacteristic behavior to get him really thinking about his future.

After that lengthy, serious conversation with Bobby a few days ago, he finally realized that his coping mechanisms weren’t healthy. Lots of booze, skipping classes, and endless parties did nothing to soothe his grief. They were only destroying him. Bobby’s concern urged Penn to save himself from beginning a downward spiral he couldn’t come back from.

He’d decided that living so close to Cumbie and all of the bittersweet memories was too much to bear. He had plans in the works. Plans that would help him properly mourn the loss of his parents while actually finding his reason to not live his life in survival mode, but in a way that gave him hope for the future. He was moving to California and planned to finish up his graduate degree at the University of Southern California. The phone calls and paperwork had already been completed and an apartment near the campus of USC was already reserved. He wasn’t sure why he’d chosen California; the appeal of distance and space from everything in Texas seemed to be the biggest factor.

And tonight, he’d chosen to spend his final night in Texas alone with his thoughts and enjoy the serenity of his favorite childhood spot. After he told Bobby goodbye and packed all of his belongings inside the bed of his Dodge pickup truck, he hopped into the driver’s seat and headed towards his hometown.

Daniella continued to think about Penn and all that he had been through after the recent, awful events and deaths of his beloved parents. Her heart broke for him. She couldn’t imagine losing her momma and daddy so suddenly. Life without them would be pure hell. They were always two of the most supportive, encouraging people in her life. Nadine and Bud Pruitt had given her a life where she wanted for nothing and never felt short of love. She considered herself more than lucky to have been raised by such caring, wonderful people. Tears filled her eyes when she started remembering the Wilders’ funeral a few months back. Such a tragic time within the Cumbie community.

She parked the truck next to the old garage filled with Lonnie Pruitt’s scrap metal and slowly slid out of the driver’s seat. She walked through the field with her flip-flops in hand; the grass felt cool between her toes. The Texas sun had long set, but the heat still remained. Daniella brushed her fingertips along the wildflowers that lined the stone path that led in the direction of the lake. The moon was aglow and shone radiantly in the dark night sky. As she got closer to the dock, she noticed someone sitting on the edge. A man’s perfect silhouette. Broad shoulders, strong jaw, and a cowboy hat adorning his head.

Penn.

The one person she never thought she’d see that night. Her strides slowed as she stepped onto the wooden dock. Her feet brushed against the worn-down surface with each movement. Normally, she’d be worried about getting splinters, but her mind was too distracted by his presence. Her young, naïve heart skipped a beat and her breath hitched when he stirred from his perch at the edge of the dock and turned in her direction.

His piercing blue eyes locked with hers.

“Danny Jo?” he asked, genuine surprised flashing across his face.

“Hey, Penn,” she greeted quietly as she moved closer to him. She carefully tucked her small, white eyelet sundress under her thighs and sat down beside him. The strands of her ponytail blew against her soft cheek when a cool breeze flowed off the lake. She ran her toes along the water’s edge, appreciating the feel of the lukewarm liquid against her skin.

She glanced over at him, taking in the perfect line of his jaw and slight hint of golden stubble on his chin and cheeks. He never failed to take her breath away. He’d always been so close yet just out of her reach, but now he sat right next to her and she couldn’t deny the excitement that resonated within her bones. She stared at his mouth, his perfect mouth with his perfect lips. Those lips would flip her inside out and turn her brain into mush if they ever came close to touching any part of her body.

“What brings you here tonight, darlin’?” His voice was smooth like chocolate on a hot fudge sundae. He turned his body to face hers and that’s when she noticed the bottle of Jack resting in his lap, his strong hands grasping the top of the bottle tightly. He never used to be a drinker, but since his parents died, his coping mechanisms hadn’t been the best. She’d noticed it, but then again, she noticed everything about him.

The light of the moon reflected off of the water and highlighted the sharp characteristics of his facial features. His demeanor used to be soft and warm, but now it was harder and harsher, and it had an undeniable pained edge. Most would say that this is to be expected when a man loses the two most important people in his life so unexpectedly, so tragically. Her heart ached in discomfort. She had the urge to hold him, soothe him, and erase the pain off his face with her fingertips.

“I just left Ella Mae’s graduation party and wanted some peace and quiet. I figured this was as good a place as any,” she explained with a shrug of her shoulders. “I’m surprised to see you here tonight. I figured you and Bobby would be out stirring up trouble.” Her lips hinted at a smile.

“Why’d you leave the party so early? It’s not even after eleven…” He paused to glance at his watch. “Aren’t your parents still enforcing their midnight curfew?”

She laughed a little at his question. “Heavens no. The Pruitt curfew has officially been lifted since I turned eighteen a few months ago.”

“Eighteen?” he questioned with surprise.

She nodded her head with two precise movements. “Yes, Penn, I’m eighteen,” she emphasized with a hint of annoyance to her voice.

When was this man going to realize she’s not a little girl anymore?

He sighed loudly. “I can’t believe I missed your birthday. I owe ya a present, sweetheart,” he announced with a warm tone to his voice.

She shrugged her shoulders. “You had a lot going on. Don’t worry about it.”

His eyes appraised her with a look she’d never seen before, almost like he was seeing her in a new light, like he was seeing her for the first time. His ocean blues were potent, glowing in the darkness of night. He was having a hard time wrapping his drunken brain around the fact that this beautiful woman sitting next to him was Bobby’s little sister. The girl who used to run around in knee socks and pigtails and the woman sitting next to him with gorgeous brown eyes were worlds apart.

His eyes started to peer down at her long legs, and he immediately shook his head as he pulled his focus back to the water, trying like hell to not let his thoughts wander to inappropriate territory. He chuckled lightly to himself before taking a swig from his prized bottle of Jack.