Page 59 of Ocotillo Kisses
They weren’t exactly discreet, leaving together, and she didn’t exactly care, and when he pulled her into his arms next to his truck, which he’d parked by her car, she didn’t care either, just gave into her longing, into his kisses, his touches, until she was out of breath and, surprisingly, back to her senses.
“I should go home,” she said, leaning against his chest and stroking the line of his t-shirt over his muscular shoulder.
“Me, too,” he said, not releasing her, just bringing her close for another kiss.
This time, though, she heard steps on the gravel, and she felt more self-conscious, stepping back now, trailing a reluctant hand down his chest.
“Good night, Con. I’ll see you soon.”
And she hurried to her car, to turn the AC on full-blast.
By Saturday, the walkway over the hardware store was completed, and Con itched to get to the one over the sidewalk in front of the grocery store, but Saturday was the store’s busiest day. So he satisfied himself with staining the new wood, and watching Sofia, Poppy and Ginny operate the pressure washer they’d rented. They started with the sidewalk in front of the movie theater, and then the facade. Honestly, Con worried they’d blast all the paint off the place, because who knew how old that paint was.
But he was pretty impressed with how the women handled the machine. He and Beck had wanted them to do the staining, and he and Beck could run the pressure washer, but they had insisted. Sofia had the idea, so she wanted to operate it.
He hadn’t talked to Poppy since the night at Britt’s, and he didn’t really want to talk to her in front of all their friends. She was polite, but not friendly, and she seemed determined to keep her distance from him. Probably just as well. He noticed all their friends were keeping an eye on the two of them, as if worried they would start fighting or something. That was not in either of their personalities, which, Con hated to think, was another reason they should never be a couple.
*****
WHEN LACEY WALKED OVERto let the men know they were ready to take a lunch break, provided by Ginny in the park, she was glistening with water droplets, and her t-shirt hugged her skin. Her husband greeted her with a kiss that was just a little too long, and she danced back with bright eyes.
“You want to trade places after lunch?” he teased.
“We are doing Austin’s building next,” she said.
“How are you going to get to the second story?” Austin asked. “It might look weird if you power wash the bottom but not the top.
“We’re going to try it to see what it looks like. If it doesn’t look good, we won’t complete it. Fortunately since that building was fixed up before Austin moved in, it won’t take a lot of sprucing.” The group of them started toward the park, where Sofia and Poppy were already setting out the sandwiches fixings.
“Hey, I have some good news,” Beck announced as he built his sandwich. “I talked to Riley Foster and he said he’d be happy to come by during Founders Day.”
“Wow, that’s great!’ Sofia exclaimed.
“Riley Foster?” Caleb asked, eyebrows raised.
“Yeah, the race car driver,” Sofia said. “Beck used to work for him.”
“He said he’d be happy to talk to the crowd, do autographs and selfies if he thinks that will help draw people here,” Beck continued.
“That’s really great!” Sofia said. “I think that can bring a lot of people.”
“Yeah, that was the idea,” Beck said, smiling at her.
“Thank you, Beck.”
“Sure, least I can do. And you know, he hasn’t met Lacey yet, so he wanted to see what had me giving up my life on the road.” The smile he turned to his wife was different, softer. “Best decision I ever made, and he doesn’t believe me. But he will.”
They decided Monday night would be the best night to meet up and to strip the floors of the grocery store. After the store closed, Con and Austin helped to move the promotional stands to the storage room, under Mrs. Lopez’s watchful eye. Usually the woman couldn’t get out of the store fast enough at the end of the day, but today she lingered while Sofia swept, Hailey mopped, and Caleb tested the wax stripping machine they’d borrowed from the elementary school.
They started in the back corner of the store, and the noise of the stripper’s motor made conversation impossible.
The machine barely fit down the narrow aisles, and Sofia struggled to follow along with her squeegee. The men took turns running the machine because, hey, machine, and when Con chugged his way down the cereal and baking aisle, he looked up to see Britt standing uneasily at the front of the store.
His heart gave a jolt that he wouldn’t attribute to anything other than surprise.
He blinked and shut off the machine so he could hear her. Even then, his ears were ringing a little.
“What are you doing here?”
