Page 72 of Ocotillo Kisses
Chapter Twenty Five
Poppystill kept her distance from him, Con noticed as they group joined forces again the following weekend to get the town cleaned up. The school year was done, so he knew she was tired, but she was apparently still hurt by Britt’s revelation.
Well, not just Britt’s apparently. Everyone knew. He shouldn’t have been so hard on Britt, because she had been right. Poppy would have found out one way or the other.
And he was going to need to talk to her. Sooner rather than later.
She and Sofia were in front of the hardware store, ready to attack the grimy windows. They were laughing as they organized their supplies, and they looked up at the sound of his footsteps. Poppy’s expression closed instantly, and she straightened.
“I’ll get started inside.”
“Poppy, can we talk?” he asked, reaching a hand in her direction.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
“Yeah, I know.” They’d finished both covered walkways, and had stained them, but that only highlighted how shabby the buildings still looked. He didn’t think they’d ever be done, and the budget they’d gotten from the council was running low. They had been supplementing from their own pockets. “Just for a minute.”
“What’s that?” Sofia popped to her feet and looked in Caleb’s direction, though Con knew her boyfriend hadn’t called her. “I’ll be right there.”
Poppy rolled her eyes and got back to work. “I don’t need another apology, Con. Seriously, I’m not the victim here and I’m tired of people seeing me that way. I let my imagination run rampant, so there’s only myself to blame.”
“I really don’t want you to think that way,” Con said. “I bear some responsibility here. I knew how you felt and I disregarded it.”
“You aren’t responsible for my feelings,” she said with a sigh. “Can we just drop it?”
“I just feel like you’re avoiding me.”
“I am. But I’ll get over it.”
He had measured how to say these words so they would sound like the peace offering they were. “I was wondering if you still wanted to try to go to Del Rio for the planters. I can hook up the trailer to the truck and we can go out any day you want, since you’re out of school now.”
She didn’t look at him, instead put her hands on her hips and looked around the square. “Yes, okay. We need too many, and I haven’t been able to find the ones I want cheap enough.”
“Do you know if they will be in Del Rio?”
“I called and asked. Better prices in Laredo, but that’s too far, and will kind of balance out with the time and gas.”
He nodded. “Okay, well, you name the day and we’ll head over.” She had said something before about making a day of it, but he didn’t know if she wanted to do that now. So he didn’t say anything about it. Instead he stretched out a hand toward her. “Friends?”
Instead of shaking his hand as he expected, she shoved a spray bottle into it. “Coat the windows with this so we can get off as much grime as possible.”
He did as she asked, wondering if he was forgiven or not.
“I’m sorry she left,” Poppy said.
He sighed and tucked his hands in his back pockets, looking out over the rundown town that didn’t have much to offer. “I knew she was going to.”
“I know she said she was going to, but I’m sorry that she didn’t choose you.”
He looked back at her and saw real sympathy in her eyes. He appreciated that. “She has a life there now. It’s not the same as when she left before. I wasn’t going to ask her to give up her life to stay here.”
“But you wish she had.”
