There Is No Knight in Shining Armor

"Sounds great, thanks, I'd love to," he said following me into the kitchen. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

We worked in a familiar and comforting silence while he chopped vegetables and I readied the chicken. I pulled a couple of longnecks out of the refrigerator and handed him one.

"You got it covered," he laughed.

"But of course," I said, inclining my head. "We have a few while the chicken marinates. How about a porch sit?"

We both laughed at the quip my Mom used to make. She was always ready for a porch sit.

The boxes were gone, picked up by the thrift. We settled into the old sturdy wicker furniture that we had ever since I could remember. It was freshly painted and had new cushions, and ready for a bit of sittin'.

"So, Doctor, how goes it with you?"

"Well, my business took right off when I graduated. But the fact I'm the only veterinarian around might have had something to do with that." He laughed. "I have two vet techs that are my right arms, and we can handle a pretty good load."

"I can so see you as a vet. You were always so gentle," I smiled fondly at the memories. "Do you ever get bored? In this town, I mean. Ever want to go to a big city somewhere?"

He thought for a moment. "Not really no. With Mom here I wouldn't go anywhere anyhow, but even if I could... I'm not sure I would. I'm happy here."

I nodded, understanding. "I planned on coming back after—"

"After you and Rex graduated," he finished.

I nodded. "But it worked out okay. I got a job with a Fortune 500 company in a very small department. They pay no attention to us because we always knock it out of the park." I laughed. "It's a good, challenging, but quiet job. I have an assistant that's perfect and running the show for me now. Although I can always work remotely, which I probably will have to if I stay any longer," I chuckled.

"Sounds like you have a good life, Eydie. Anyone special in your life?"

"Not really, I date a few but mostly busy with work."

He nodded. "Same here."

We sat in silence for a while, lost in our thoughts.

"Say, that chicken should be ready. Are you ready to learn how to stir fry?"

"Ready!"

Grady helped me clean up afterwards and left to go check on some animals at his clinic.

I showered and snuggled into bed. Even though it was a tough day, but that Grady was here changed everything. He was my best friend in childhood, and it seems as though we hadn't lost those years in between.

.

.

The next morning, I went into town and went by the clinic. I slowed to read the sign, Grady Slocum, DVM. I felt a swell of pride and oddly enough happiness.

Before I could dwell on that, I stopped at the county to check on Mom's house where they told me that she had paid the taxes to cover the following year. Nothing was owed.

"Oh Mom, you thought of everything. I know you want me to stay, but my life and job are in New York City now. I know you're reminding me about Grady now and I will admit I didn't realize how big a hole I had in my life until he filled it in."

I drove on for a while.

"Mom, you know how easy it would be for me to fall in love with him, but I got hurt in this town before, and not sure I want to set myself up for it again. What if I fall in love with him, and he doesn't return it? Then I return to New York with a broken heart not only from you not being here but from losing him."

But he has to be mine to even lose, I thought.

When I got home, I picked a bouquet from the garden and went over to tap on Mrs. Slocum's door.

"Why honey it's wonderful to see you. C'mon in! I'm just bakin' some cookies for Grady, but I don't think he'd mind sharin' some with you," she smiled conspiratorially.

"Mmm, it smells wonderful in here. Chocolate chip?" She nodded. "My favorite too. I'll just put these in a vase for you."

She filled the percolator with coffee and soon the kitchen smelled of fresh coffee and chocolate, and it almost made me teary.

"Have you had a chance to visit with Grady?" she asked, sitting down after pouring two mugs of coffee and placing a big plate of warm cookies on the table.

"I have yes. He was over for dinner last night actually. Well, he happened to be there, so it worked perfectly. I taught him to stir fry."

She laughed heartily and slapped her hand on the table. "I bet that was a sight!"

"He did very well, other than the burnt bits." And we both laughed.

"I was pickin' up my mail and noticed Rex over there," she frowned.

I looked down at my mug and twirled it on the worn Formica table.

"Yeah, that was quite a surprise. One that I hope doesn't happen again."

She nodded. "I'm sure.

"You know he never made much of himself. Not goin' off to college with you was a big mistake. He ended up strapped with those kids and one dead-end job after another. They barely make ends meet, but you see Janice down there at the Tog Shop buying up everythin' in sight."

"That's too bad really," I said, actually feeling some sympathy. "But you're right, he should have gone after some education, even if it wasn't college. Plenty of technical schools to learn just about whatever your interest."

I nibbled on a cookie and sipped my coffee while Mrs. Slocum caught me up on the town gossip. So many people passed on, so many young people leaving. The town was growing smaller. I was sad to hear that.

I helped her clean up her baking dishes and headed back over to the house. I looked around, knowing I should be going through things and boxing them up, but I just wasn't ready. I pulled a book out and went out to Mom's glittering patio.

I must have dozed because I jerked awake to a soft rose petal stroking my cheek.

"Oh! It's you," I said, inelegantly.

"Yeah, back like a bad penny," Grady said.

I laughed. "That isn't exactly the way I meant it. Not at all in fact." I looked at him. "Really glad you're here."

He was leaning over the chair, his head shading my face from the sun. I looked at him in anticipation. I did want him to kiss me, and he knew it. He brushed his lips on mine before pressing in.

I touched his cheek with my fingertips hoping it was enough to hold him. He tilted his head, and we increased the depth of the kiss. We were still tentative. Learning each other. Not rushing.

He backed off an inch. "Mmm, well that was a surprise. A very nice one."

"Yesss, it was," I said, slowly sliding my fingers over his daily stubble.

He turned and lowered himself into the chair next to me.

"We need an umbrella out here," he commented.

"Yes, that's exactly what we need. The sun is getting brutal."

I smiled to myself thinking we sounded like an old married couple.

"Oh, I brought you something." He handed me a big white bakery box.

"Uh oh, this is going to be something really good, I just know it!" I peeked in to see a big red strawberry pie piled high with whipped cream. "Oh myyyyyyy," I moaned.

"Well, you made dinner for me last night and I was impolite enough to not bring dessert."

"Ahhh, so now we have dessert but no dinner," I tried to hide my smile.

"Yeah, seems so."

"So maybe we can rustle something up in the kitchen."

"Thought you'd never ask!" He looked in the refrigerator. "Hey, there's more vegetables and chicken, and since I did such a stellar job stir-frying last night, how about a repeat? Unless two of the same in a row is bad."

"Are you joking?! I can stir fry every night if I could."

"This time, I want to do it all. See if I've improved."

I chopped this time and he cooked, and it was perfect.

We found a movie and he stayed late to watch. I walked him to his truck.

"I had fun, Eydie. Just like old times."

"Well maybe not just like, but pretty darn close."

"No?" he asked quizzically.

I cupped my hand around the back of his neck, went on tiptoe, and kissed him.

"No, we never did this," I whispered, my lips brushing his.

He gathered me in his arms, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, and we locked in for a long passionate kiss.

He moaned and broke away, but not before I felt his hardness pressed against me.

"I better go before I stay."

One last look and he turned, jumped in his truck, and was gone.

.

.

The next morning my phone rang. Chandra.

"Long time no hear," she said, getting right to the point.

"Yeah, clearing the house is taking longer than I expect," I lied. "How's it going there? It's the slow season so no problem. Just checking in to see if you're alright. That's got to be tough cleaning out your Mom's things."

"It is. I've had help from old friends, which makes it better."

She filled me in on business happenings and we hung up.

.

.

I wandered the house still loathe to start packing. I oddly thought of how nice the kitchen would be with a remodel.

I decided to go up and clear my room. Which was easy. Most went in one box because it was associated with Rex. I did keep a few things. The dried corsage Grady got me for the dance. A few other things. The rest went in the trash.

The room was gloomy once everything was off the walls.

I grabbed my keys and jumped in the Mustang.

I heard Grady call my name. "I'm upstairs. Come on up!"

He walked in and looked around. "You're painting?"

"Yeah, I packed my stuff, and the room was yuck."

"Ah. Okay then." He crossed in arms in front of him and watched me for a moment. "Would you like some help?"

"Hellyeah!"

We had it painted in no time.

"It is brighter," he said.

"Yep," I said with a feeling of accomplishment.

"But I guess I'm not sure why. You're not going to sell the house now?"

"I might... Yeah, probably will... Sometime."

"Alrighty then. Go get cleaned up, I'm taking you to dinner and it won't be stir fry," he laughed.

"Boo," I said, pouting.

He gave me a light kiss, slapped me on the ass, and said, "Get going!"

We drove a ways towards the coast to a seemingly empty parking lot. But for the big food truck with people lined up waiting for their serving of smoked barbecue.

"Oh my gosh, I love barbecue!" I nearly bounced in my seat.

"And this is the best!"

I found a picnic table under a shady tree. He set three white foam containers down in the middle of the table and sat next to me.

"Okay, what we have here is smoked brisket, and this here is pulled pork, and this here is chicken."

"Whoa," said breathing in the wonderful smell.

He had a bag full of napkins, extra sauce, greasy French fries, and two plastic tubs of coleslaw.

We didn't eat half of the food and it was decided the leftovers would reside in my refrigerator until tomorrow night for leftovers.

I liked knowing that he'd be over again tomorrow night.

"Hey, you got a bit of sauce right here," he said, leaning over and sucking my lower lip before pressing in for a kiss.

"Mmm, you taste good."

"You do too, babe." He looked at me and tucked my hair behind my ear. "Guess we should go and free up this table for others."

He helped me up into his truck.

"Do you mind if we make a quick stop? I need to check on a horse."

"No, not at all!"

Large cattle and horse ranches went for miles in these parts. I'd often look back at those long lanes wondering what was at the end. What the ranch house looked like. If I was lucky, we would go through when a cowboy would be out. Daddy told me that he could be checking his fence line, looking at the small wells they used for watering the cattle or checking on the outer pastures. That we had cowboys here in Florida was exciting to me at that age.

Grady turned back one of those long lanes and we rode for a while before the building came into sight. Ranches here could be hundreds and even thousands of acres, so a house and a few outbuildings could get lost.

"Wow, they're gorgeous," I breathed.

"Arabians. This is one of the top breeders of Arabian horses. They're worth a small fortune." We pulled up by a barn. "C'mon, you can get out if you want."

I nearly fell out of the truck in my excitement. Oh, if my coworkers could see me now, the usually serious and sedate Eydie, excited like a child about horses.

As soon as my feet hit the ground, one of the horses trotted right over to the fence. I ran my hand over the sleek chestnut coat. He snuffled my hand, then hung his head over to snuffle my neck.

I quietly talked to him, telling him that he shouldn't do that to ladies he doesn't know. How ungentlemanly it was. He looked at me, snorted, and dipped his head and I laughed.

"You made a friend," Grady said, coming out of the barn.

"I was teaching him some manners," I said seriously.

"Oh boy, I'm glad I wasn't on the receiving end of that!"

I elbowed him. "Yes, you are!"

We got back to the house, and he walked me to the door.

"I can't stay, I have early surgery tomorrow morning."

He cupped the side of my face. "Too bad, but I understand."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed him. He pulled me close, and our kisses deepened. Our tongues searching and tasting. He pulled back, growled, and rested his forehead against mine.

"It's getting hard to leave you, Eydie," he admitted, and I nodded.

"Me too, but you need your sleep so you don't cut something off you shouldn't."

He laughed hard. "Thanks for looking out for me!"

I winked. "Anytime!"

I went upstairs and surveyed my bedroom. Now that the paint was dried, it was a beautiful buttery yellow. Much brighter than the purple I had in high school, I thought, laughing to myself.

I had been staying in the third bedroom, which was part storage. I slept in a single bed which was fine for me, especially since it was only temporary.

I poured a cup of coffee and called Chandra.

"Aren't you the early bird," she answered. "How's it going?"

"Great. I decided to do a little painting."

"That's wonderful! They say that helps resale value. Fresh paint."

"Exactly."

After we ended our call, I jumped in the rental car and headed to the big box store that sat some ways out of town.

At the usual time, Grady was calling me from the front door.

"I'm upstairs!"

He came into Mom's bedroom. "You're painting again?"

"Yeah, they say it's good for resale."

He looked around, then at me for a moment. "Uh. Huh." He turned and walked out the door. "I brought you something. You need to come downstairs."

He pointed to the box, and I opened the flaps. Two tiny fluffy black kittens looked up at me with their bright blue eyes. Both mouths opened at the same time with the tiniest mews I'd ever heard.

"Oh my god, Grady! They're so freaking cute!" I picked them up and held them against my chest and they both began to purr. "They're so small! Should I feed them? I don't have any cat food. I don't have a litter box or litter!"

He held his hand up. "First, they're not eating food yet. They drink kitten formula out of a bottle. And they don't need a litter box just yet. I'll show you about that," he grinned.

I was already deeply, totally in love with the two tiny warm bodies that had nuzzled into my neck. "But I can't keep them," I said, nearly in tears.

"I know I know. I thought you might like to foster them while you're here. All you have to do is feed them and have a warm box to keep them in. They're tiny and not mobile."

"How did you get them? Where's Mama?"

"Sadly, their mama got hit and killed. They were born in a shed back side of someone's house. Instead of trapping mama and babies and bringing them to us, they left them, and this happened," he said angrily. "Some people just can't do the responsible thing."

They had both gone to sleep at my neck. "Of course, I'll do what I can. As long as you teach me."

"Oh baby, I'll teach you alright," he leered.

I laughed. "You're so bad."

He went out to his truck and brought in everything I'd need, then proceeded to show me how to do it. It really was quite easy, and as he said, I was saving two lives by doing this.

That was quite a feeling once I thought about what I was doing. They would have died if people wouldn't have stepped up to the plate and done the right thing. Finally.

After they had settled in, he helped me finish painting.

"So, you're doing all this for resale value, eh?" He eyed the gallons of paint stacked in the hall.

"Well yeah, they say that's what you should do."

"They say, huh."

"It is a lot brighter in here. I understand why Mom wouldn't have gone to all that trouble just for herself."

"Hey, if we do pizza tonight that'll give us enough time to start another room."

"Deal!"

He looked in the attached bath. "Small and needs upgrades but this would be nice when it's done."

"Do you think I should plan to do that?" I asked earnestly.

"Depends babe. On what your plans are. If you're just going to paint to sell, then I'd say no. Paint is enough investment. Now if you were staying, that would be another consideration."

I crossed my arms and looked around. "Hmm."

"What is really needed?"

"What?"

"A kiss. I really need a kiss. If you have time that is."

"Well since you said you'd help me paint, that's the least I could do."

We stood in the hall; he pressed me against the wall and the kiss quickly fired up. I ran my leg up his and he moaned. He cupped my ass and pulled me against his hardness. When we pulled away, we were both panting.

My mound was pressing against his hardness, and I shuddered. He had buried his face in my neck and groaned when I moved. I held the back of his head, and he flexed his fingers into my ass. His heart pounded with mine.

"We better start painting now, or we won't get to it," he murmured against my neck.

"Mmm," I agreed, not moving.

He finally pulled away and walked downstairs.

My cheeks were flaming hot, my panties were wet and steamy, and I wanted to jump his body. But there was something that held me back. It wasn't as though I didn't know him. I've known him longer than almost anyone.

I sat in a sheet-covered chair in the bedroom. Was it because I would be leaving soon? The last thing I wanted to do was leave with unfinished business. Again.

Was it his heart or mine I didn't want to break?

.

.

Those adorable silky black balls of fluff were a responsibility, but because they did nothing but eat and sleep at that age, took little time. If I had to go somewhere and it was going to be feeding time, it was easy enough to take a bottle and put them in an extra purse I found around here. They were happy to cuddle and snooze.

I would sometimes give people a peek in the bag and laugh at their excitement when they saw what was in there.

I decided to stop at Grady's clinic on the off chance he might not be busy. I didn't expect that but thought I'd try.

The building was as utilitarian as I'd expected. The front desk and waiting area were comfortable.

"Hi, I was wondering if Dr. Slocum was available for a moment?"

A severe-looking young brunette frowned at me. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Well, no, I just stopped by—"

"You really need an appointment. The Doctor is busy."

"Yes, I understand, no problem," I murmured, turning away before she bared her teeth to me.

"Eydie!"

Grady was just coming down the hall. He motioned me back and I felt the glare of the rabid brunette as I passed by.

He pulled me into an examination room, closed the door behind me, backed me up against it, and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he pulled me into him. I moaned. I swear if that examination table was larger, I'd have thrown him on it and had my way.

I pulled back a bit. "I just stopped by to say hello," I smiled, breathless.

"Mmm, I love your kind of hellos," he murmured.

The intercom crackled in the room. "Doctor Slocum your next patient is waiting room three."

"Go!" I said, my hand on his chest. "I'll see you later?"