Page 51 of What it Takes
“As sure as it’s possible to be.” He handed her a brownie, which she took even though she’d just eaten more deviled eggs than she cared to think about. “That has walnuts in it, so if you have a nut allergy, don’t eat it. Dave and Ben are both out in the woods somewhere.”
She laughed. “No allergies. And thanks.”
“No problem. I need to get this one to Katie. She’s having a chocolate craving.”
Once he’d walked away, Laney ate her brownie and tried not to think about Ben. It had been two days since she’d dropped him off at the fire station. He’d texted her later that evening so she’d have his number, and they’d exchanged a few text messages since, but she hadn’t really talked to him since she’d left his bed. And the longer it went, the more she worried about seeing him again.
Once the brownie was gone, she realized she’d need a drink, so she went to the long folding table that held three big drink dispensers. Two of them had lemonade and the other was iced tea. After considering the amount of sugar she’d just consumed, she opted for the iced tea.
“The only way you could keep up with me on the trails is if you were on the end of a tow strap hooked to my back bumper,” she heard Stephanie say.
When she turned, Laney saw that she was talking to Bobby, Mike and Lisa’s youngest son. He was getting ready to turn fourteen soon, according to his mother. Brian, who was sixteen, was just watching them while eating from a pile of potato chips in his hand.
“I could drive in Reverse and go faster than you,” Bobby told his cousin.
“Any time you want to race, brat. But have a tissue in your pocket for when you cry in the losers circle.”
“Like I’m going to get beat by a girl.”
“Hey! The only thing a man can do that a woman can’t do is piss in his own face.”
“Stephanie!”
The young woman rolled her eyes at her mother’s tone. “Language. Sorry. But it’s true.”
Laney couldn’t hold back her smile, so she turned a little, hoping Terry wouldn’t see it. But she couldn’t help admiring the girl’s attitude. Maybe her statement wasn’texactlytrue, but she was willing to bet Stephanie would never stay too long in a bad relationship because it seemed easier than being on her own.
“That’s enough with you two,” Terry said. “You’re not racing, so there’s no sense in bickering with each other all day.”
Laney’s phone vibrated in her pocket and she felt her pulse quicken. She pulled it out and read the text message from Ben.
I’ll be there in about an hour. I hope there’s food left.
She’d see him again in about an hour. That meant she had less than an hour to worry about how that first face-to-face was going to go.They just fired the grills, so you’ll be just in time.
Awesome. See you then.
She slipped the phone back in her pocket and blew out a breath. Then she topped off her iced tea and went in search of her cousin.
Nola was talking to some people Laney didn’t know, but she said something and then separated from them when she saw her coming. “Are you having a good time?”
“Yeah.” Laney looked at all the people milling around and jerked her head toward the front of the camper. “Want to go have some quiet for a few minutes?”
Nobody stopped them as they walked to Laney’s camper. Once they were seated in the pink chairs, Nola looked at her and frowned. “What’s going on?”
“So, I slept with Ben.”
“Huh. I really thought you’d look happier about that.”
Laney laughed. “I wasveryhappy, trust me. But I haven’t seen him since then and he’ll be here in an hour and I don’t know how I feel about it.”
“Wait, since when? I saw you two days ago and you wanted nothing to do with a conversation about sex with him.”
“I wanted nothing to do with that conversationin the diner, which is basically the home base of gossip in every small town.”
“That’s actually the market in Whitford because Fran’s so dedicated to it, but the diner would be second, I guess.”
“Okay, fine. I didn’t want to have that conversation in the gossip central runner-up. But it was after that. After lunch, when I was walking back to the market and he was outside the fire station.”
