Page 6 of Hit the Ground
If he didn’t look at me, he wouldn’t see what everyone else did: my big, enduring, unrequited crush on Caleb Kelly.
I cleared my throat, hoping to get through this without my voice cracking. “Hey, guys.”
Remington Town offered me an eye-crinkling smile and a friendly greeting. He was always kind. That was his way. Remi enjoyed being around people, talking to them and asking questions.
His wife, Hannah, was just as kind, but where he was the calm, she was the storm. And from what I’d heard, their little boy, Silas, was just like his mom.
Deacon Slater was more reticent. He lifted his chin, offering a quiet, “Hello,” but he too, was unfailingly kind and always polite. Deke was Joy’s nephew, and though she’d never say it, it was clear to anyone who observed them Deke was the apple of her eye.
Deke had become part of the Kelly family when he married Phoebe last year. If I were to choose the Kelly I thought I’d get along with most, it would have been her. She was quiet and soft but not shy. She paid attention to people and truly cared. Phoebe owned Sugar Rush, a cute little bakery café on the opposite end of Main Street.
Then there was Caleb. He finally looked up, but I didn’t quite meet his eyes—I couldn’t. Every time his warm, chocolaty gaze landed on me, I became a butterfly pinned to velvet, exposed and unmovable.
“Hey, Alice,” he said. Just my name. Nothing fancy. Nothing flirty. But it still landed somewhere deep in my chest like a stone dropping into a smooth, calm lake.
“Hey.” I gripped my notepad and clicked my pen, trying to keep things professional. “What can I get for you?”
They ordered beers to start, and I scurried away from their table as fast as I could. I wished I didn’t scurry. I wished I was a smooth strider. But that wasn’t me. Not when he was around. Probably not ever.
When I came back with their drinks, the three of them were speaking quietly.
“You look ready to spit nails,” Remi remarked.
Caleb shrugged his massive shoulder. By rights, it should have caused the air to tremble, but the only thing trembling was me.
Internally.
Hopefully.
“Shel dropped by the ranch. Pissed me off,” Caleb grumbled as I slid his beer in front of him. “Not worth getting into.”
Deke nodded toward his glass. “Drink up. Get your mind off it.”
Caleb picked up his glass, and it looked miniature in his grip. “I intend to.” Then he raised his brows, his gaze landing square on me. “Are you ready to take our orders?”
“Yes.” I rubbed my lips together and scrambled for my notepad. “If you’re ready to give them.”
I didn’t need the notepad, not even for my largest parties. Our menu was small, and my memory was rock solid. But it was easier to focus on the paper in my hand than the faces of the people placing their orders.
Especiallyhisface.
The first time I saw him, I drank him in in hulking, greedy gulps. It was all I could do to pull my eyes away from the stunning breadth of his shoulders. His overgrown hair. Thickbeard. Legs so long they barely fit under the table. The span of his hands. The freckles dusting the bridge of his nose…Caleb Kelly was unlike any man I’d ever seen. And for a short time, I gorged on everything about him.
And like most overindulgences, I’d hurt myself by taking in too much, too fast, too often. My stomach ached when he barely looked at me. When his smiles were friendly and polite for me, but his laughter was raucous and untethered for his friends. When, on rare occasions, he gave his attention to one of the many women vying for it. That never lasted long, but it stung the most.
Yet, in all these years, I hadn’t been able to kick the crushing pressure he caused in my chest every time he walked into Joy’s. I’d gotten better at handling it, though.
I only allowed myself sips.
A glance at his brow.
A quick peek to make sure his eyes were the same shade of chocolate I remembered—they always were.
A short wander down the slope of his chest to his center, where his strength and vastness gave way to the one part that convinced me he was human: a soft stomach beneath impenetrable granite that only made him more attractive.
Remi’s voice brought me back to the task at hand. He ordered a cheeseburger, extra pickles. Deke went next, asking for the chicken-fried steak and onion rings.
I peered up from my pad, picking a spot near Caleb’s ear to focus on. “Burger with tomato, lettuce, mayo, and grilled onions, right?”
