makes you think I'm not serious?" He ran a hand lazily over his hard stomach. After a long pause, crinkles began to radiate from the corners of his eyes and a hint of a smirk pulled his mouth.
Meliss a’ s natural shyness turned her blush from red to purple. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to meet his eyes in a clear challenge. She was not going to leave without making herself understood in no uncertain terms.
Crow regarded her silently and slowly the self-satisfied smirk left his face and his eyes softened maybe just a little.
“Tell me what you need,” he said finally.
“Your language,” Melissa blurted out.
“My language?” Humor flashed across his face again as he raised a dark eyebrow.
“Yes. While you're here, while you're working, I'd appreciate it if you could be more careful with your word choices.” Melissa threw him a nervous glance.
“My word… what? Why the fuck would I do that? It’s my house last time I looked.” Crow glowered, reminding Melissa of the big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.
The better to eat you with.
Melissa knew exactly how the unsuspecting girl must have felt.
“Sometimes the words you use are just plai n … disgusting. And I have a little boy who doesn’t need to be hearing that every minute of the day.” Melissa forced the words out of her mouth in a long deliberate breath.
“Maybe you should teach your kid that he shouldn’t be listening to things that don’t concern him then.” Crow’s eyes bored into hers.
Really? Melissa recognized the look of arrogance from that first meeting suddenly return to Cro w’ s face.
“Nobody is eavesdropping on you for God’s sake, but we can’t help but hear you. This is a quiet area. Sound travels. And you preface everything with cuss words,” she threw back at him, her shyness now replaced with righteous indignation.
“ Cuss words ? I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” Crow reached over and grabbed a beer out of the cooler by the door.
“It’s eight o’clock in the morning.” Melissa spouted out and looked pointedly at the brew in his hands.
“Yeah, I know that. And you coming over here to bitch me out… that couldn’t wait till say …noon?” Crow raised an eyebrow.
Unbelievable this guy!
“I was hoping to catch you when you were sober.” Melissa flung back at him.
Crow snorted and popped the can open.
Melissa reached up and wiped the beer spray from her collar bone in disgust. She took a small step back then thought better of it and stepped forward. Being the daughter and granddaughter of two fairly well-known bookies, Melissa had had dealt with morning drunks before.
“Can you please just watch your language? We can live with your banging and hammering all hours of the day and night, but he's only six years old and he doesn't need to hear that kind of talk.” Melissa tried again.
Crow folded his arms and leaned back.
“You don’t swear? The kid’s never heard a swear word?”
This conversation was not going at all how she thought it would.
“Well, I try not to. I mean, I say the occasional hell or damn I guess,” she allowed.
“The last I heard the occasional hell or damn are still… cuss words .” He gave her a calculating look. “Does that kid of yours run to a corner with his hands over his ears when he hears ‘em?”
“No, of course not,” she answered.
“Then I don't see a problem. I'm going back to bed. You can either come on in and put that mouth of yours to a better use, or you can get your ass off my porch.” Crow took another hit off the beer, eyed her over the can and waited.
With effort, Melissa decided not to rise to the disgusting bait. He was deliberately trying to throw her off center. She stayed exactly where she was.
“The problem is that my son is repeating what he’s hearing,” Melissa persisted. “I got a note from the teacher yesterday saying that he’s been testing out some pretty nasty words on the
Meliss a’ s natural shyness turned her blush from red to purple. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to meet his eyes in a clear challenge. She was not going to leave without making herself understood in no uncertain terms.
Crow regarded her silently and slowly the self-satisfied smirk left his face and his eyes softened maybe just a little.
“Tell me what you need,” he said finally.
“Your language,” Melissa blurted out.
“My language?” Humor flashed across his face again as he raised a dark eyebrow.
“Yes. While you're here, while you're working, I'd appreciate it if you could be more careful with your word choices.” Melissa threw him a nervous glance.
“My word… what? Why the fuck would I do that? It’s my house last time I looked.” Crow glowered, reminding Melissa of the big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.
The better to eat you with.
Melissa knew exactly how the unsuspecting girl must have felt.
“Sometimes the words you use are just plai n … disgusting. And I have a little boy who doesn’t need to be hearing that every minute of the day.” Melissa forced the words out of her mouth in a long deliberate breath.
“Maybe you should teach your kid that he shouldn’t be listening to things that don’t concern him then.” Crow’s eyes bored into hers.
Really? Melissa recognized the look of arrogance from that first meeting suddenly return to Cro w’ s face.
“Nobody is eavesdropping on you for God’s sake, but we can’t help but hear you. This is a quiet area. Sound travels. And you preface everything with cuss words,” she threw back at him, her shyness now replaced with righteous indignation.
“ Cuss words ? I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” Crow reached over and grabbed a beer out of the cooler by the door.
“It’s eight o’clock in the morning.” Melissa spouted out and looked pointedly at the brew in his hands.
“Yeah, I know that. And you coming over here to bitch me out… that couldn’t wait till say …noon?” Crow raised an eyebrow.
Unbelievable this guy!
“I was hoping to catch you when you were sober.” Melissa flung back at him.
Crow snorted and popped the can open.
Melissa reached up and wiped the beer spray from her collar bone in disgust. She took a small step back then thought better of it and stepped forward. Being the daughter and granddaughter of two fairly well-known bookies, Melissa had had dealt with morning drunks before.
“Can you please just watch your language? We can live with your banging and hammering all hours of the day and night, but he's only six years old and he doesn't need to hear that kind of talk.” Melissa tried again.
Crow folded his arms and leaned back.
“You don’t swear? The kid’s never heard a swear word?”
This conversation was not going at all how she thought it would.
“Well, I try not to. I mean, I say the occasional hell or damn I guess,” she allowed.
“The last I heard the occasional hell or damn are still… cuss words .” He gave her a calculating look. “Does that kid of yours run to a corner with his hands over his ears when he hears ‘em?”
“No, of course not,” she answered.
“Then I don't see a problem. I'm going back to bed. You can either come on in and put that mouth of yours to a better use, or you can get your ass off my porch.” Crow took another hit off the beer, eyed her over the can and waited.
With effort, Melissa decided not to rise to the disgusting bait. He was deliberately trying to throw her off center. She stayed exactly where she was.
“The problem is that my son is repeating what he’s hearing,” Melissa persisted. “I got a note from the teacher yesterday saying that he’s been testing out some pretty nasty words on the
Similar Books
