Page 70 of When Fences Fall
“I’ll give you some tips on how to burn a few calories,” she says, nodding in my direction. “Though I doubt you’ll need them.”
With a wicked smile, Karina grabs the coffee pot and flies to the tables while Jericho’s watching her with a smirk. Then he turns to me.
“Will you help me?”
“With what?”
“With burning a few calories,” he explains, biting the inside of his cheek. His playful voice and boyish look on his face make him appear like a new person. Someone carefree and maybe even happy?
“Burning calories?” I repeat his words, without totally comprehending it.
“Yes. Burning calories.” His voice is lower than before while his eyes are trained on my face, unblinking.
Burning calories. My help with it.
Holy cow!
I feel my face quickly turning bright red to match the carnelian necklace adorning my already equally red neck. And it’s not because I’m prude and opposed to what he’s suggesting, but because I haven’t been on the receiving end of such open flirting for a really long time. It feels like everyone is watching—which is true, everyone’s eyes are on us even while they’re picking around their plates—and everyone knows. I am a grown woman and totally unsure why it bothers me so much, but it does.
“Will you?” Feels like his question drops to a low growl, loud enough for only me to hear. “Help me?”
“Jericho,” I whisper-hiss back, feeling overwhelmed but in a good way and not knowing how to respond without sounding like an idiot. I can’t even look at his face, choosing to focus on the cash register buttons. Suddenly, I find a few specks of dust between them needing my urgent intervention. So I grab a cloth and star vigorously wiping the surface, feeling his eyes on my face the whole time.
He’s waiting for an answer, which wouldn’t push me if it was anyone else. But it feels like it’s very important for him to hear me acknowledge his words. A quick glance in his direction proves my assumption—he’s starting to look almost shy, his usual confidence is dissolving into the unusually thick air of the diner.
“We can start with hunting our rooster,” I finally whisper as I glance at him from under my lashes.
His lips stretch with a lopsided smile. “Good enough for me.”
“Good,” I say, biting my lower lip.
“Good,” he repeats, letting his smile grow wider. And I let myself swim in the unwavering attention of this man foranother long moment before I return to my duties and leave him to a piece of Boston cream pie I saved for him.
The door nearly smacks into the wall when Cheryl walks in with a loud growl of a grizzly bear. “I hate blizzards.”
“Why?” Karina asks, laughing when she sees Cheryl shaking off the snow from her head.
“Everyone just goes nuts.” She walks up to the counter, taking off her uniform jacket when she places it on the empty chair next to Jericho before proceeding to the coffee machine. “And there’s always a party from the big city riding the storm in some tiny ass car and getting stuck mid-road.”
“Always?” Karina laughs louder.
“Every single time there’s snow on the radar.” Cheryl accentuates each word with a light tap of her palm on her thigh.
“Meaning every day?” The question makes sense—we live in Maine after all.
Cheryl pauses for a moment. “Pretty much. But during crazy storms like today, there’s even more people. It’s like they’re waiting around the corner to start sliding down the hill and get themselves stuck in a ditch.”
“Was someone stuck today?”
“Yes,” she moans. “Some not very smart lady. And now I can’t get to her car until all this shit clears out.”
“Wait.” I turn to her. “Did you leave her in a ditch?”
“Pretty much.” She shrugs and takes a sip of coffee. “O-o-oh, this is so good.” Another sip. “I’m frozen.”
“So is the woman in the ditch!” I nearly cry out, not believing that my sister would leave someone like that.
“Relax.” She waves me off. “She’s a mile away from Hunter’s house, so I called him to come and pick her up.”
