Page 32 of One Small Spark
She coos as if somebody smuggled a dog in here. “They’re so cute and ugly.”
Leo raises his glass. “To cute and ugly.”
Rhett slides his elbow closer to mine on the table. “I’m in town for a few more days. Maybe you can show me what else there is to do in Sunshine tomorrow night? Other than visit this illustrious bar and indulge in granny crafts, I mean.”
His giant smile momentarily disarms me, but before I can answer, someone else does.
“I thought you had plans tomorrow night, Krause,” Callahan says.
I blink at him. “Plans?”
His mouth tips up. “With someone from your book group.”
Is that a dig about my pathetic social life? I’m so inept, myonly options are Fran and the romance club ladies? Granny crafts with my granny friends. I told him that out of loneliness and desperation. I should have known he’d throw it back in my face.
I shoot him a scowl and turn to Rhett. “I’d love to show you around Sunshine tomorrow.”
He beams like he’s on his way to pick up his prize for Best Smile. “Can’t wait.”
I glance at Callahan because yes, that did just happen, but my triumph crumples like wadded-up paper. He doesn’t look sour, like I one-upped him in one of our verbal battles. He lookshurt. Two deep lines cut between his dark eyebrows, his mouth thin and flat beneath his beard. Something like betrayal darkens his eyes until I have to look away.
My cider tastes bitter the rest of the evening. I make half-hearted attempts to keep conversation going, even if Griffin, Grant, and Rhett mostly discuss hikes and lakes and altitude sickness. Lila talks about her idea for a summer concert series in a local park. Leo praises some high school grunge band he heard playing downtown. Hope shares about other granny crafts taking off in her store right now.
Callahan doesn’t say a word.
I can’t look his way again. My stomach churns with guilt and regret like a demented cement mixer. I don’t kiss one guy and make plans with another a few hours later. Even if the first guy has me so confused I don’t know which way’s up.
But what else was I supposed to do? Say “Oh, no thank you, Rhett. I’m currently hung up on the guy who kissed my face off this afternoon and then had the audacity to make fun of my lack of a social life this evening.”
When our group finally breaks up for the night, Rhett and I exchange numbers. He leaves with Grant and Lila, lobbing one last Baby Adonis smile my way before they takeoff down the street. Leo says loud goodbyes to everyone, only to look around and realize Callahan already disappeared.
I refuse to think aboutwhyhe slunk away without a word.
Hope and I hug on the sidewalk while Griffin waits by his truck.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she whispers in my ear.
Truly, I do not.
TEN
SHEPHERD
When I was a kid,before we lived there, too, my family would often visit my grandparents at the lodge. No matter what we originally came for, I’d eventually make my way to one of the garages to tinker on an ATV or dirt bike. Grandpa would find me wrist-deep in something mechanical, covered in grease, happily shut away from the people coming and going on the property.
He used to tease me that I liked machines better than people.
I don’t dislike people. I just don’t understand them sometimes.
I replace the brake pads on a Specialized Rockhopper, trying to lose myself in the routine task. Shunning customer service, I’ve taken on all the repair duties today. I’ve had my hands on one bike after another, but it’s not enough to clear my head. Nothing ever is when it comes to Wren.
I’ve enjoyed the bite in our exchanges over the years, but I never felt we were out to draw blood before. Never looked down and realized I was the one bleeding. Never had the sinking sensation that maybe I’d had her wrong from the beginning.
No. Not from the beginning. When I first got to know Wren, our banter was purely teasing. Flirtatious, even. We sometimes ate lunch together at the picnic table in the alley, gradually opening up to each other on a more personal level.
I admire her drive in her family’s bakery. I appreciate how she refuses to take crap from anyone. And I adore her sharp intelligence. Six months of lunches together and conversations over pie orders, and I was lost.
I’m not a fast mover, romantically. Occasionally, I’ve accepted date invitations from women I don’t know well, but typically, I prefer to take my time getting to know someone first. I don’t like casual dating—I want to be sure we’re on the same wavelength before I ask them out.
