Sweet Darling

Chapter Ten

It had been two weeks since the night me and Atlas had talked at the football game. 

Two weeks since I'd heard about his mother falling down the stairs at her home.  

I had learned from Principal Reed that Mrs. Jericho had taken a turn for the worse. Although she was a sweet woman, I thought it was a little odd for the entire family to go completely silent, but Alyssa, my personal guide to all things Jericho/Cresten family related, was able to shed some light on the situation.

"After their father passed, Mrs. Jericho got really sick. She was born on a reservation, and they didn't really trust western doctors or medication, but eventually she went and found out she had lung cancer. It was hard on everyone, Seraphina especially. They'd gotten her mother to agree to get chemo, but since Ember and Silas were taking care of the farm and Jericho is the town Sheriff, Sera was in charge of making sure her mother got to her sessions. After a while, they noticed she wasn't getting any better. Ember called the doctor to ask what was going on, but come to find out, Sera hadn't been taking her to her sessions. Naturally they were madder than bull in a tutu! They confronted her and found out she'd been taking Mrs. Jericho to the shaman on the local reservation."

"But why wouldn't she take her to the chemo sessions? Didn't she want her mom to get better?"

Alyssa gave me a sad smile. "Seraphina had spent a lot of time with her mother's side of the family. They made her distrusting of western medicine. So, after they found out about that, they kicked her off the farm. She moved to the reservation, and nobody has really heard from her since."

"Wow." I sat back on the couch, letting the information soak in. "I guess it makes sense why Sheriff Jericho is so moody all the time." 

"Contrary to what you've seen, Atlas really used to be a lot of fun. But between his father passing, his mother's cancer, and Seraphina's betrayal, he's had it rough the past few years." She explained. 

I'm not sure if it was the history lesson or the desire to see Atlas and finally clear the air that made me swallow my nerves and make my way back to the Jericho farmland. 

So here I was, knocking on the door, waiting patiently for someone to answer. After a few minutes, a short older woman answered the door.

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Um, hi! I'm here to see Ember?" I cringed internally at my unsure tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry they're not here. They're up at the main house. If you keep traveling up the road you won't miss it."

"What are you doing here?"

I yelped and rushed to turned around, frightened by the voice behind me. 

Standing before me, was a topless Atlas. I never thought I'd be into chest hair, but somehow, he made it look undeniably sexy. His chiseled six pack glistened with sweat as he reached up to push his unruly hair out of his face.

Gulping in some air, I take a minute before answering.

"I-I just wanted to drop off some homework for Theo. And I heard about y-your mom, so I figured I'd bring over some dinner as well." It took every ounce of willpower to not look back at his impressive upper body. 

 Atlas looked down at my hands before gesturing for the woman to take it away from me. She smiled sweetly and took the bag inside, leaving us alone. 

He motioned for me to follow him as we descended down the steps and toward our vehicles. He grabbed a shirt that was laying across the back of his pickup and quickly threw it on. 

"You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to." I insisted, rubbing my sweaty palms against my pants. 

Why was I always so nervous around him?!

" Mighty kind of you Ms. Decker. I'm sure Ma would like to thank you in person."

" Oh no I couldn't impose! I hope she's doing okay though."

"Wouldn't have offered if I felt you'd impose. Plus, she'd love the company. Hasn't stopped talking about your pies or your pretty smile." 

Blushing, I looked away from him, suddenly interested in the horses trotting around in the arena.

"You ever rode before?" He gestured to the horses. 

"Never." I shook my head. "Listen, I didn't want to take up too much of your time, but I must be going. Please let me know if Theo needs any help with the homework. I'd be happy to tutor him after class if necessary."

I'm sure he could sense my desire to get away from him as soon as possible, but he wasn't letting me off that easily. I gave him a polite smile and made my way over to the car. I heard the crunch of boots against the ground, but I paid it no mind. 

"Why the rush? You got a hot date or somethin'?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, because I want this entire town to think of me as nothing more than a Jezebel. I'm sure they already think lowly of me, no thanks to you." 

"I said I was sor-"

"I know I know, I'm sorry. I didn't come here to argue with you. However, it seems like a recurring theme with us." 

He took a few steps closer. "Stay. I meant what I said, Ma would really like to see you. And..."

"And?"

"Listen, I'd like for us to move past all this. I know I shouldn't have treated you that way after the dinner. Frankly word of the incident has made it back to Ma and that's the worst tongue licking I had in a while. I'm hoping you'll accept my apology, and we can be cordial with one another.  If you're willing to I mean." Atlas rushed out. 

I offered him a small smile. "I'd like that very much Sheriff."

He returned mine with one of his own rare smiles. 

"Call me Atlas, darling."