“I care.” Kreed smiled as if he'd read her mind. “But I'm not here about that, though I should thank you. Chase and I had a bet.”
“Nice.” Her friends knew her better than she liked to admit at times. “Who won?”
“Let’s just say I owe you a beer and a round of pool when you have some free time.” He grabbed a stool from the corner of the room where she'd shoved them out of her way and sat down. “I knew he wasn't your type, and I didn't hold out a whole lot of hope for his dating skills. I know the ladies think he's good looking and all, but it takes more than looks to hold your interest.”
“A fact Chase should know as well as you.”
“Oh, he does. The bet wasn’t on whether there would be a second date, it was purely based on what Bo's plans would be.” Kreed shook his head. “I’m surprised you don’t remember, but he was always a fast food and make-out kind of guy in high school. Some of the women around here apparently still go for that.”
“Maybe I held on to a little hope he’d grown up. How women could swoon over such a date escapes me. It's not endearing.” She closed the laptop and tucked it on the shelf under the table. “I failed to tell Dakota and Kelsea about my barefoot trek through the cow pasture.”
“Gross.”
“Yeah tell me about it.” She sighed. “Think I'll burn my jeans just to be sure I'm not contaminating my washer with anything I might have unknowingly walked through in that field.”
“Maybe I should break out my old wrestling moves and choke Bo out on your behalf.” Kreed made a big production of pretending to put someone in a choke hold and almost fell off the stool in the process. “Although I'm surprised you didn't pull one of your sparring moves on him. According to Merrick, you have quite the roundhouse kick.”
Justice shook her head and laughed. “Yeah. I was a little rough on him. He got the brunt of my post-horrible-date-wrath. I'm just chalking up the Bo incident as a lesson learned. No more allowing friends to play matchmaker, going on arranged or blind dates, or using internet and dating services. Tapping out on the dating scene.”
“Probably safer for Merrick if you do. Can’t have you taking out our favorite fireman.” Kreed eyed her. “You know you may have fractured his ribs?”
“What? He didn't mention anything.” She sparred to relieve stress and to know if she ever needed to protect herself, she could. An unlikely possibility in their quiet little town. The most action they’d seen had come in the form of a young arsonist…and he stuck to the areas outside of town.
“What man wants to admit a woman cracked his ribs?” Kreed leaned forward on the workbench. “I wouldn’t, and my man card isn't even in the same category as Merrick's. He is like at the top. I mean he oozes more testosterone than any guy I’ve ever known.”
“I'm sure you’re in the same category…or at least close to it.” Justice felt guilty about the whole fractured rib thing. They’d instituted their own set of rules for sparring to ensure neither one of them walked away with serious injury.
“Was it just the date driving you or was there something else?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary.” She didn’t elaborate. Kreed, like most of the town, knew her father tended to hit the bottle hard. Justice, being his only family, was often left to clean up the mess. After a crappy date, having to go pick up her father from the bar was just icing on the cake. “Just another day in my glamorous life. What can I do for you?”
Kreed rose from the stool. “Well, you're the brave soul who’ll be kissing half of Serendipity. Probably all the out-of-towners. I figure you need a booth with some style. If you will follow me, little lady.”
He held out his hand, and Justice took it. When they pushed through the doors and stepped into the parking lot, they stopped by his truck where a flatbed trailer was hitched up to the back. Safely secured in the trailer bed was a booth made from wood planks, each stained an alternating shade. The header was painted black with intricate chalk lettering. It was a lot of detail for a fair booth.
“Wow.”
“It's not finished. Dakota helped me put the finishing touches on it with the lettering. There is a pricing sign and some fabric she’ll install once we get the booth in place.”
She hopped up on the trailer and took a closer look at the craftsmanship. For something that would likely only be used once, he'd put a lot of work into the booth. “This is nice. Why go to all the trouble for something so...temporary?”
“Because it was for you. I called the mayor and told her I would take over the construction job on your booth. With the amount of construction Hunter Kelley is dealing with right now, he was more than happy to turn the project over to me.”
“I still don't understand.”
Kreed shook his head. “Look, everyone knows you don't want to do this. But since you’re willingly sacrificing your comfort for the sake of the town, we don’t want you feeling like anything less than a princess kissing frogs while you're stuck in this gig.”
“Sweet of you to say.” She ran her hand over the smooth wood. “Ever stop to think maybe I'm the frog?”
“Impossible. I’ve known you a long time, Justice. You could never be a frog, not even if you tried.”
Justice laughed. “You’d be surprised.”
“Well you'd be the most dangerous butt-kicking frog out there then.”
A familiar black sedan pulled up and Kaitlyn climbed out of the back seat, phone pressed to her ear. Justice wondered how the woman didn't end the day with a massive headache after having that thing ringing constantly. Justice hated hearing hers ring at all. She’d go mad if it went off as often as her godmother’s did. Kaitlyn finished her phone conversation, handed the phone to her assistant, and retrieved her brief case. Justice noticed she was dressed down today. Her hair, still pulled up in a bun, was a mess, but it worked with the blue jeans and t-shirt she wore. As Kaitlyn approached, her eyes focused in on the booth. “Wow, Kreed. I must admit, you have quite a future in this woodworking business you're trying to get off the ground. Very impressive.”
“Thanks, Mayor.”
“I'm glad my timing allowed me to see it before tomorrow. You put in a lot of detail for Justice. It will be the hottest booth at the fair. Great way to showcase what you’re capable of.” She spun toward Justice. Balancing the brief case on the edge of the trailer, she popped it open and retrieved a file. “I have the list of bachelors for Saturday night. Also, I will need you to go to Kelsea's shop for a dress fitting tomorrow morning.”
“A what? I have dresses. At least twenty of them. All formal. Surely something in my closet will do.” Horrified at the idea of adding to her obscene collection of once-worn items in her closet, she tried to think of something that would work.
“Nonsense. This is a big night. The dress is already paid for. It's a done deal.” She handed a small list over and spun back toward the car.
“Who paid for the dress?” There was no way she could accept the dress if it came out of the city budget. The city money was better spent serving the people of Serendipity. Not to improve her wardrobe.
“Anonymous.” Kaitlyn peered over her shoulder. “I will see you at Kelsea's at nine sharp. Then we will drive over to the fairgrounds together.”
“Would you tell me if it came out of the town budget?”
“Not even if you tortured me, but if it makes you feel better no, it did not come from the town budget.”
Kaitlyn had no kids of her own and took great pride and responsibility in her role as Justice’s godmother. She knew fighting with Kaitlyn over something as trivial as a dress would not be in her best interest.
“Fine.” Justice ran through the schedule in her head and remembered the truckload of fresh-cut flowers scheduled for delivery. They were for a couple of the booths and to finish off the garland for the outdoor dance floor. If she was stuck running around with Kaitlyn in the morning, the flowers wouldn't make it in time. “What about the flowers?”
Kaitlyn stopped and placed he
r hands on her hips. “Oh. I forgot. Maybe your father could bring them?”
“Are you willing to put that kind of responsibility on him?” Justice knew her father would likely be sleeping off a hangover, and if he managed to wake up on time, they’d be lucky if he remembered what needed to be done. Or if he would care to show up.
“I could get Jackson to swing by—”
“Don’t bother Jackson. Look, after I drop the booth off, I can run back here and grab the flowers real quick.” Kreed offered.
Justice wanted to punch him. His eyes begged her forgiveness.
“Fantastic! You are such a huge help.”
“Careful, she might start recruiting you for other tasks.”
“Cute, darling.” Kaitlyn opened the door of the car and tossed her briefcase on the back seat. “I will see you at nine tomorrow, Justice. Would you like me to send a car for you?”
“No. Kelsea can pick me up on her way.” Nothing would be easy about this and it was best she resigned herself to rolling with the punches and trying to make the best of it. After all, it was only for the next two days. Surely she could put her anxiety in check for something so important and deal.
The sleek sedan pulled away from the curb as Kaitlyn waved out the window.
Justice gave Kreed a hard stare. “Fat lot of help you were there.”
“One way or another, Kaitlyn DeLuca is going to get her way. I would blame it on the fact that she is the mayor, but you and I both know you would never tell her no.”
“Doesn't mean I have to like it.”
Kreed laughed. “No. You don’t. And I have a feeling you will let everyone know how much you detest this every step of the way.”
“I can't change who I am.”
“And we wouldn’t want you to change, darlin’.”
Slowly, she unclenched the death grip she had on the papers and studied the wrinkled list. “You've got to be kidding me.”
“What?” Kreed peered over her shoulder. “I see Bo's put his name on the list.”
“Half of the guys I've gone on so-called dates with are on this list.”
“Small town. Kind of hard to avoid them.” Kreed snorted as he tried to hold in his laughter. “Maybe they didn't get the memo you're now running the show.”
“I hope someone's giving me cue cards or this could be a disaster. Could you imagine? I open my mouth and out comes…’our next bachelor up for auction is Bo Flannigan. He loves fast food, make-out sessions in his daddy's pasture, fixing cars, and loose women’.” Justice cringed. If she didn't have help, goddaughter or not, Kaitlyn might run her out of town.
“Well it would be truth in advertising. No one would blame you.” He continued to look the list over with her. “Look. There's at least one name on the list you haven't dated yet. So, you shouldn't have anything bad to say about him.”
“Auctioning Merrick off is going to be easy. Put a fireman on stage and you don't even need to say anything. In fact, it's probably best if I just have him stand up there looking all tough and Merrick-like. Maybe I could have him suit up…you know, like they do for those calendars? Looking like they were in the middle of a workout session when they were called to the scene? All sweaty and bare-chested.”
“Not my cup of tea.”
“I know. You’re happily married. Besides, you’re not exactly the target audience. But you have to admit, having him up there…money would practically rain down on the stage and I wouldn’t have to worry about losing my cool in front of the majority of the town”
“Cute. Somehow, I don’t think Merrick would go for it.” Kreed grabbed the sheet of paper and surveyed the list. “After seeing this list though, I have to agree he might be your easiest auction all night. Just do us all a favor and remember you volunteered for this, so behave.”
“Well in my defense, I didn’t know what I was committing myself to.”
“Doesn’t matter. Best behavior.”
She sighed. “Do I have to?”
“Dakota and I don’t have bail money. It might be frowned upon if I tried to break you out of prison…and you know I would. We can’t afford to have you hitting your head on a podium if you can’t keep it together and go down for the count.” Kreed laughed as he got into the driver's side of the truck. “Best behavior. No argument.”
Merrick stood in the walk-in freezer of the restaurant, looking at his inventory. “How can we be out of cheese? Ninety-nine percent of people who order a pizza expect it to have cheese.”
“Calm down boss. It's a non-issue,” Kyle called from the doorway.
“Non-issue?” A weekend he used to look forward to suddenly felt like it was taking a very sharp slide into quicksand. “A lack of cheese in a pizzeria is not a non-issue!”
Kyle shrugged. “It wasn't on the truck this morning. Seriously, take a chill pill, boss. It’s been handled. They got your order mixed up with Leo's over at Verona. He's bringing it over as we speak.”
“Next time, do me a favor and lead with that.” Merrick pushed past him and slammed down his clipboard on the prep table.
“What has you on edge? You do this every year.”
“This isn’t like other years.” All because he’d agreed to do more than just host a booth. A bachelor auction wasn’t his idea of fun, and from the moment he’d signed the paper the commitment weighed on him. What had he been thinking? With one stroke of a pen he’d agreed to be on display for all the women he'd turned down or didn't call back after one date. For a man who liked to keep things uncomplicated, he sure was complicating his life every chance he got. This auction was bound to be anything but simple. One more mistake to add to the ever-growing list he’d accumulated over his lifetime.
His phone vibrated in his jeans pocket, and he pulled it out, answering without even looking at the caller I.D. “Speak.”
“Wow. That's how you answer your phone?” Bella Marcone’s voice sent a chill over his body. “I mean, people might question your upbringing. And you and I both know how you feel about your past being brought up.”
“What do you want, Bella?”
“I saw the article about your little pizza shop. You and Quinn are trying to do something there. I’m impressed.”
“Didn’t think I had it in me, huh?”
“Let’s be honest. Living a life of danger was all you were ever good at. Running a pizza place? Far too much work. It’s too…normal.”
“Why are you calling me?”
She sighed. “Look, I made a mistake. I think you should give me another shot.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You left me standing at the altar. No explanation. No Dear John letter. Nothing. To be honest, it was for the best. I’m happy now. So whatever idea you have cooked up. Forget it…It’s. Not. Happening.” He gritted his teeth, pain radiating through his jaw. It was such a bad habit, but it was a distraction from pounding his fist into the wall. “You're a selfish, spoiled brat, who manipulates people. We were a mistake.”
“How can you say such hurtful things after all we’ve been through? Besides, I said I was sorry.”
“Yeah, you did. But it’s too little too late. I should thank you.”
“Thank me?” Bella’s tone held a note of confusion.
“Yeah. You did me a favor when you left me at the altar. The only person who can change my past is me. I’m doing that a little bit every day, and I’m not going back.” He disconnected the call and stared at the phone, tempted to throw it against the wall. Would probably be smarter to just change the number.
“Everything alright, boss?” Kyle glanced up from the prep table, where he was boxing up all the pizza dough to run over to the fair.
“Bloody fantastic.” A part of his past suddenly showed up and threatened to undo all he’d worked so hard for.
“I don't know why you let her get to you.” Quinn stood in the doorway of the kitchen, a box of cheese in her arms.
“Um, you do remember who she is?”
“Yeah. The biggest mistake
you ever made...and that’s saying a lot because you've made quite a few in your life.” Quinn slid the box onto the counter.
“Thanks, little sis. Great pep talk.”
“I'm just saying you weren't a matched set. The woman was poison to you. She wanted you to be something other than who you were.” Quinn rested a hand against his arm. “Bella didn’t believe in you. Didn’t have the guts or perseverance to stand by you.”
“Very few people did.”
“Look, she was a drug. And when you were around her, you bought into all her degrading talk about how you would never amount to anything. It was like suddenly you forgot all you’d accomplished. You bought into her belief that you would never be more than the street kid from the wrong side of the tracks.”
“Regardless of what you or I want to believe, I’m always going to be that kid.” And he’d made it a point to never forget. People tended to try and forget their roots. His were firmly planted in a past of violence and wrongdoing. Remembering kept him fighting to be a better man than he was in his youth.
“Well that is an argument which will probably span our lifetime. It doesn’t change the facts. You knew better. No matter how you want to look at it, you knew who Bella was…what she wanted out of life. And a man with a past like yours, doing what you were doing back then…wasn’t good enough for her. Mr. Marcone didn’t believe you were good enough. And deep down, she agreed.”
“You’re right.” As much as he hated to admit it, back then, the ugliness in the world was always easier for him to fall in line with. It was what he knew. It was how he’d survived, and every day of his life was a testament to what he’d overcome. Living a life within the parameters of normal and having a moral compass was a whole lot harder. But he was doing it. On his terms.
“Just stay away from Bella Marcone.” Quinn fixed him with a hard stare. “Please?”
“Promise.” No way would he sacrifice what he’d accomplished over the four years he’d been in Serendipity. In the short time he’d known Bella Marcone, he’d discovered she was good at getting whatever she wanted. A socialite snob who was loved for what she could do for people and feared because she no longer had use for you if you outlived your purpose.
What If It's Love: A Small Town Romance (Serendipity Series Book 2) Page 3