Page 57 of Ocotillo Kisses
She pursed her lips. “Who is going to do all that work? And you expect me to close for it?”
“Well, you close at seven, so we planned to come in here then and work at night, then they’d be ready to go in the morning.”
“Who? You? Shouldn’t you be at home taking care of your mama?”
“She’ll be fine a couple of nights, and it would be me and some of the other of the cleaning crew, you know, Sofia, Poppy, maybe Ginny.”
“Ginny has enough to worry about with her diner.”
“That’s probably so. But I just wanted you to know it will be a group of us. You know us.”
“And Britt?”
He snapped his gaze to hers against his will, wondering just what she was asking. “Probably not. She’s not on the cleaning crew.”
“But I understand she’s been spending time with the lot of you while she’s here. While she’s supposed to be looking out for her grandmother. Isn’t that why you all came and wiped out my snack section the other night?”
He looked pointedly to the snacks currently on the belt. “We went swimming at her grandmother’s house. It was a nice way to spend the evening.”
“I’m surprised at you, Con McKay. She was awful to you when your sister died. I don’t see how you can even look at her now. And you have Poppy here, so sweet and very clearly in love with you.”
He couldn’t meet her gaze anymore. “Poppy is a nice girl but not for me.” For the first time, he spoke the truth aloud, not hedging his bets any longer.
“And why not?”
“Because she deserves someone who can love her with all his heart, and that’s not me.”
“Not because you’re pining for that Fraser girl.”
“No ma’am.” But was it? He paid for the drinks and chips. “What do you say? Is that okay with you, for us to come in here and polish the place up? It might take a couple of days, I’m not sure. I’d have to ask Sofia.”
“That Sofia. She wants this place to be something it’s not.”
“Maybe,” Con said. “But maybe it’s good to take pride in the place you come from, you know? Instead of wanting to leave and find happiness somewhere else.”
He picked up the bag of snacks and headed out the door.
Since the group planned to work on town clean-up all weekend, they decided to meet up at The Wheel House on Friday night, just to get together and plan. Con called Britt to let her know they were getting together, and he wanted her to join them.
Britt hadn’t been sure. She hadn’t seen Poppy since the night by the pool, and she knew Poppy would be there, and likely resentful.
But Britt also hadn’t seen Con since she drove away from the ranch on Monday after their San Angelo trip, so she weighed her options and decided to come. So far, everyone had been a bit cooler to her, but not harsh, and Con had not yet arrived.
“Hey, ah, can we talk?” Austin asked, sitting beside Britt on the bench at The Wheel House.
She glanced over her shoulder to look at the rest of the table, but everyone was talking amongst themselves. She turned back to Austin with a frown. “Yeah, sure, what about?”
“I, ah. You do weddings, right?”
That was not at all what she’d expected him to say, and she had to shift mental gears to respond. “Um, I have done a couple of small weddings. Why?” She knew he was with Ginny, but didn’t think they were engaged.
“I want to ask Ginny to marry me on the Fourth of July.”
Immediately, her defenses went up. She’d gotten really good at saying no, because she often got requests like this when someone heard about her line of work. “Oh, ah, Austin, I’m going to be gone by then, you know. I’m only going to stay here an extra week.” Her grandmother had convinced her to stay a little longer, and she hadn’t resisted.
“No, I know. But I was wondering if maybe you could point me in the right direction, you know.”
“Don’t you think maybe Ginny wants to have a hand in planning her wedding? And I don’t really have any contacts for anyone out here, you know?”
