Page 25 of Under the Lights
“I’ve been on this ladder for an hour, Officer. I’m innocent.”
She waved her hand in a gesture that made him look down at himself. Okay, so he was a bit of a mess. He’d taken his T-shirt off a while back and tossed it to the ground. And, because he didn’t have his tool belt, the hammer and various other tools hooked on his pockets were dragging his jeans down a little. He swiped at the sweat coating his chest and looked back at Kelly.
Just in time to see the way she was looking at him before she put her cop face back on. Understanding dawned and he grinned.
“Mrs. Clark wasn’t watching where she was going, huh?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t get yourself too puffed up. She’s seventy if she’s a day.”
Chase had intended to try to get another screw or two into the dunk tank sign, but it was good enough. Since the battery drill he’d borrowed from Coach had run out of juice, he’d been using a regular screwdriver, and he’d had about enough of that. He climbed down the ladder and stood in front of Kelly. “How does it look?”
“Old. Are you sure it’s safe?”
“It might look a little shabby, but structurally she’s still good to go. I just need to turn on the hose and fill it up while I grab a quick bite to eat. Have you had lunch?”
The amusement on her face changed to uncertainty. “I’m on duty.”
“Which I assume includes meal breaks, since you need to keep your strength up if you’re going to chase down criminals.” He didn’t think it had anything to do with being on duty and everything to do with their kiss in the kitchen. “I wasn’t asking you out on a date. I planned to grab a couple of steamed hot dogs at the gas station and sit on the picnic table while I watch for leaks in the tank.”
Her expression cleared. “I could go for a dog right about now. How about I go get the hot dogs and a couple of sodas whileyouput your damn shirt back on so the women in this town can get back to what they’re supposed to be doing instead of watching you.”
He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
As he watched her walk away, appreciating that extra sway in the hips, he wondered if Officer McDonnell had been one of the women watching him instead of doing whatshewas supposed to be doing.
Snatching his T-shirt off the ground, he walked over to the spigot. Before attaching the hose, though, he turned the water on and stuck his head under the flow to cool himself off. Then he splashed some of the frigid water across his chest before turning it off.
When he pushed his arms through his T-shirt sleeves and tucked his thumbs into the neck hole to pull it over his head, he caught a glimpse of Kelly, who had stopped at the curb and was looking back at him. He grinned and pulled the shirt on, and by the time he could see again, she’d turned away.
—
Kelly paid for the hot dogs and sodas, calling herself every variation ofidiotshe could think of the entire time. After their kiss in her parents’ kitchen, she should be avoiding Chase, not having a picnic lunch with him.
Avoiding him was easier said than done, though. Besides the fact that he was an honored Eagles Fest guest and was staying with her dad, he was in the town square. Not crossing paths with him would be harder than simply pretending the other night had never happened.
For instance, just a few minutes before when she’d started across the square before spotting him, and he’d seen her first. Turning around would have been obvious, and she refused to give him the satisfaction of her running away. Of course he had to be shirtless and glistening with sweat at the time, because that was just her luck.
“Kelly?”
She jerked her attention back to the change being offered to her, embarrassed to have been caught staring out the window, lost in thought. “Sorry. I was just running my to-do list through my head.”
The lie made her face feel hot as she realized she’d mixed Chase withto-do list. She was not doing Chase. Period.
By the time she made the long walk back to the picnic table where Chase was waiting for her—thankfully fully clothed—Kelly had herself back under control. He was a volunteer, working to make Eagles Fest a success alongside everybody else, and she was bringing him a steamed hot dog. No big deal. She’d do the same for anybody.
She sat on the picnic table bench across from him, but a little offset so they wouldn’t find themselves in an accidental game of footsie under the table, and set the two bags in the middle of the table. “I got packets of everything, since I forgot to ask what you like on them.”
She pulled the cold sodas out of one bag while he unpacked the hot dogs and made quick work of drowning his in ketchup, mustard and relish. “I would have grabbed extra napkins if I’d known you were going to useallof the condiments. You’re going to be a mess.”
He looked at the hot dog and then grinned. “You’re right. Maybe I should take my shirt off while I eat so I don’t get mustard stains on it.”
“And maybe I should write you up for running that stop sign, after all.” He was flirting with her and she had no idea how to handle that. Not while she was still having to make a deliberate effortnotto think about his kiss and his hand on her neck and how he wanted to take her up against the wall.
“The statute of limitations on something like that is probably about five minutes.” He took a bite of the hot dog and then swiped at a dot of mixed condiments on his lip. “I haven’t had a steamed dog in ages. I forgot how good they are. So, should we talk about the other night?”
The abrupt change in subject startled her. “No.”
“Okay.”
