Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  “Ouch. Oh, crap.” As my knee hit the ground, I let go of Jake’s hand.

  “Misty, are you okay?” He squatted down next to me, lost his balance, and ended up flat on his ass.

  His eyebrows crunched together. “Oh, shit.”

  Even though pain sliced through my ankle, I couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction. He didn’t have nearly as much padding on his backside as I did. He’d be feeling that for days.

  Jake jerked the skates off. In stockinged feet, he reached down and pulled me up. “I’ve got you.”

  I half-limped, half-skated toward the edge of the rink. My fake fall wasn’t supposed to result in an actual injury.

  “You okay?” He helped me ease onto the bench.

  “Yeah, just lost my footing there for a minute.” I bent to undo my skates but Jake beat me to it. He knelt in front of me, his attention on undoing the buckle on the side.

  “It looked a little fake to me.” He glanced up, meeting my eyes briefly before he moved on to my other foot.

  “Are you accusing me of throwing the challenge?” I asked.

  He grinned. “I’ll admit, that doesn’t seem like something you’d do.”

  “Never. Remember the time we got in trouble for breaking curfew when I wouldn’t give up at the batting cages?”

  He ran a hand over his chin. “Yeah. I bet you still can’t hit a ball.”

  “Hey, I connected with one.”

  “One out of how many? I think I spent close to a hundred bucks that night for you to get one measly hit and prove your point.” He wrapped a hand around my calf and eased my foot out of my skate. His touch sent chills up my leg, causing a shiver to roll through me.

  I slid my other foot in front of him so he could remove that skate as well. The easiness between us returned. I’d missed this so much: the way his hands felt on my skin, how my body immediately responded to his. We’d always been this good together.

  His hand connected with my leg and he looked up. “So I really got the win tonight?”

  “Yep. Dinner at Sal’s on me. How about tomorrow?”

  “Saturday night? That’s date night.”

  “So?”

  Jake shook his head. “You go out with someone on a Saturday night around here and people assume things.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” As far as I was concerned, letting people assume Jake and I were back together would only work in my favor. I was all for assumptions.

  “It’s true. You know it as well as I do. How about Sunday?” He got up from his knees to sit on the bench next to me.

  “My mama’s got Sunday dinner all planned out. You’d be welcome to come over for pot roast and potatoes instead.” I only offered because I knew he’d turn me down.

  “Monday, then?” He pulled out his phone and opened up his calendar. “Oh wait, Monday’s no good. We have practice.”

  I wrapped my hand around his arm. “Are you afraid of Saturday night?”

  “Of course not. But it’s not a date.”

  “Fine.” I shrugged. “Not a date.”

  “It’s not,” he insisted. “We made a bet and you lost. That’s all it is.”

  “All it is,” I echoed.

  His forehead creased. “You don’t look like you’re taking me seriously.”

  I squeezed his arm. “Oh, I know you mean it. Just dinner. Fulfillment of a bet.” That’s what I said. But what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. In fact, I was hoping it would help him. Because I had no intention of letting the opportunity to go out on a Saturday night in Swallow Springs be lost.

  Jake

  I showed up at the church parking lot right at nine. Robbie and some of the guys were already there, running hoses from the outdoor spigots and setting up tables. I wasn’t in the mood to work a car wash all day. My mind was reeling from my time with Misty last night. I hadn’t had a chance to make heads or tails of it, and I needed to before she picked me up for dinner at Sal’s.

  “Hey, where do you need me?” I joined a group waiting for instruction from Robbie.

  “Why don’t you take a few of the guys and set up some signs on the corners,” Robbie said. “The rest of us can start on the cars that pull in. After an hour or so we’ll switch.”

  “Sounds good.” I grabbed a poster board sign some of the guys made earlier in the week.

  “Hey, you okay this morning?” Robbie asked.

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

  He moved closer so the kids couldn’t hear us. “How did things end up with you and Misty last night?”

  I shrugged. “She tripped and fell and owes me a steak dinner at Sal’s tonight. No biggie.”

  Robbie’s eyebrows shot skyward. “Y’all looked like you needed to get a room. That’s it? No biggie?”

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head as I tried to come up with a way to put everything into words. “She’s still Misty, you know? Nothing’s changed in that area. I get a hard-on just thinking about her.”

  “Whoa.” Robbie put his palm out. “No hard-ons at the car wash, please.”

  I let out a chuckle. “You know what I mean. It’s like the time apart didn’t even happen. If I wanted to, we could pick right back up where we left off.”

  “But it did happen.” Robbie planted a playful punch on my chest. “And you were a mess.”

  “Yeah, I know.” That was the reason I had to hold my ground and not give in. She’d wrecked me once, and I couldn’t let her do that to me again.

  “So dinner tonight at Sal’s?” he asked.

  “Yeah. She’s buying. I’m planning on the thirty-six ounce rib eye.”

  “That’ll teach her.” Robbie grinned. “Just be careful, okay?”

  I nodded. “Thanks.”

  “Now get on out there and drum up some business for us. We need to wash some cars.” Robbie gestured to the street corner where a few of the baseball players stood.

  “You got it, boss.” I made a move to head that way but a glimpse of red, caught my eye. My mouth fell open. Oh, hell no.

  Robbie must have wondered what I was gaping at. He turned around and caught sight of her too. Misty came around the side of the building in cut-off jean shorts and a red tank top. A tight red tank top. A low-cut, tight, red tank top.

  One of the kids on the corner whistled. I whipped around so fast my baseball cap flew off my head. Torn between decking the kid who’d whistled and rushing to Misty’s side to shoo her back to her car, I stood paralyzed.

  Robbie was the first to move. “Hey, Misty. What are you doing here this morning?”

  “I figured I’d come help with the car wash. You need an extra set of hands?” Giant black sunglasses covered her eyes so I couldn’t get a read on her expression.

  “We’re set.” I reached out and touched her shoulder, whirling her around. “Why don’t you go on home? I’m sure you need time to get ready for dinner tonight.”

  “Jake, don’t be silly.” She snagged my hand in hers and let them dangle between us. “I’ve got the whole day. Besides, as I recall, you made it very clear that dinner is just dinner. So I wasn’t planning on doing much primping.”

  “I guess we could use some help.” Robbie shrugged.

  The glare I shot him should have shut him up for days. But he shook it off.

  “Why don’t you take a sign and see if you can get some folks to pull in?” Robbie took the sign from my hands and held it out to Misty.

  “This is a team event.” I gestured around to the guys who’d stopped doing whatever they’d been doing and now stared at the throw down between me, Misty, and Rob.

  “Well, I like the team,” Misty said with a smile. “I just want to show my support.”

  “And we’re happy to have it,” Robbie said. “Now why don’t you take that corner over there?”

  “Rob?”

  “Yeah?” Robbie finally made eye contact.

  “Can I have a word?” I ground out.

  “I’ll just be over there.” Misty wiggled
her fingers in a wave before scampering over to the busy street corner.

  “What’s up?” Rob asked.

  “She can’t be here.” I felt like a two-year-old about to have a full-blown tantrum.

  “She’ll be good for business. Just look at her.” Rob nodded toward the corner where Misty stood talking to a guy in a convertible who’d stopped at the red light.

  “She’s not good for me. I can’t have her prancing around all day in that…that…hell, she barely has any clothes on.”

  “Why don’t you soap the cars? That way you won’t even have to look at her?” Robbie suggested.

  I didn’t want to soap cars. All I wanted was for today to start over. Without Misty in it.

  Robbie clamped a hand on my shoulder. “We need to raise as much as we can. If she’s willing to help, why not let her?”

  “You literally just told me to watch it around her.”

  “We need the cash, right?”

  I nodded.

  “She’ll be all the way over there. Just focus on what you need to do and pretend like she’s not even here.” He squeezed my arm then let his hand drop. “Besides, she’ll be good for business.”

  He was right, we did need all the help we could get. And as much as I hated to admit it, Misty would be a draw. I shot a glance her way where she stood directing a line of cars into the parking lot. Dammit. I stalked over to where the guys had set up a few washing stations and grabbed a hose. It was going to be a very long day.

  Misty

  Jake hadn’t said two words to me since I showed up. Coming to the car wash was a risky move, especially since we already had plans for dinner. But I was short on time. I needed to plant myself in his presence as often as I could, especially over the weekend.

  I was about to take a break and wander over to where I’d last seen him. Being on my feet had aggravated my ankle. I needed to sit down for a few minutes. Still, no matter how much pain I was in or how much my pride had been bruised, it would all be worth it in the end.

  Robbie headed my way, a bottle of water in his hands. “Need a break?”

  “That would be great. And I’d love a water.” I reached for it. Even though it wasn’t noon yet, the sun beat down, causing sweat to bead along my hairline and run down my back.

  “Want to take a turn with the hose?” Rob asked. “You can cool off a bit and let the boys take over here.”

  I shot him a grateful smile. “That sounds good. It’s getting pretty warm out.”

  “You know who’s looking a little hot under the collar?” Robbie nodded toward where Jake stood. He’d taken off his shirt and was casting worried looks our way as he soaped up a minivan while a family waited nearby.

  The sight of the hard planes of his chest made the temperature rise another ten or twenty degrees. I couldn’t help but think about running my hands over his pecs, kissing my way down those washboard abs and following that happy trail to my own personal version of paradise. Swallowing a sip of ice-cold water, I shrugged.

  “He’s putty in your hands. You do know that, right?” Rob glanced down.

  “So you’re playing the part of the concerned friend?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I guess I am. He could barely function when you left him before. I don’t want to see him go through that again.” His gaze met mine, worry in his eyes.

  My face flushed. “I know.”

  “So what’s your plan?” he asked.

  I took in a deep breath. “I miss him. When I finally got everything I thought I wanted, it wasn’t enough.”

  “You know he doesn’t want to leave Swallow Springs.”

  “I know.” He’d always been perfectly clear about that. But if I could get him to come visit me in Omaha, maybe he’d change his mind.

  “What are y’all talking about over there?” Jake shouted.

  “None of your business,” Robbie yelled back. Then he turned to me. “Just go easy on him?”

  “I promise.” Seeing Robbie’s concern made me question what the hell I was doing. I didn’t want to hurt Jake again. But we were grown up now. Older. Smarter. We could keep our hearts intact. We could get back together and things would be just like they were before. Probably even better. Omaha was only five hours away.

  I left Robbie standing on the corner and made my way over to where Jake stood rinsing off the minivan. The family waited: dad, mom, two elementary-aged kids, a toddler and a baby. That could be us. The mom handed the baby over to the dad while she dug in her diaper bag for something. One of older boys squatted down to hold out a dandelion to the toddler girl. She squealed and tried to tuck it behind her ear.

  My eyes watered as I watched the interactions between the family. As an only child, I’d never had siblings to play with. Jake and I both talked about a big family back when we thought we were old enough to make decisions about that kind of stuff. As the mom took the baby back and the dad leaned down to kiss her, my heart filled up with longing. This. This right here was what I was fighting for.

  Resolved to get Jake back whether he was ready or not, I stalked toward him. “Need some help with that?”

  He looked up in time to see me whip my tank over my head and toss it on the ground.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he asked.

  “Helping you wash cars. I don’t want to get my shirt wet.”

  He stood, moving the hose with him. The water shot out, away from the van.

  “Jake, watch it!” I yelled, but it was too late.

  The spray from the hose drenched the family I’d been admiring. The baby let out an ear-splitting shriek. Dad threw his arms out, trying to step in front of his wife. The two boys laughed and danced around while their little sister clung to her mommy’s leg.

  As Jake turned to face the family, he dropped the hose. It landed on the nozzle, sending a spray of water into the air. Icy droplets fell on my shoulders, my hair, my face, sprinkling onto my bikini top.

  The dad stalked toward us. “Hey!”

  “Sir, I’m so sorry.” Jake put his hands out. “That was an accident.”

  “Here, let me get you a towel.” I raced over to where the drying crew had a few clean, dry towels they hadn’t used on a vehicle yet, then took them over to where the mom stood trying to dry off the baby and the little girl with her skirt.

  By the time I’d passed them off and walked back to Jake, he and the dad were done talking.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  Rob joined us. “Hey, why don’t the two of you take the rest of the day off?”

  “No. I came to help.” Jake bent to pick up the hose. “I said I’d pitch in, and I want to do my part.”

  “Your part can be not pissing off any more customers.” Robbie reached for the hose.

  Jake held onto it for a long moment before giving it up. “Whatever.” Then he stalked off toward the back of the parking lot.

  I snagged my shirt from the ground and tried to catch him. “Hey, wait up.”

  He whipped around, the look on his face more resignation than anger. “What?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what? I’m the one who doused a baby with water.”

  “Yeah, well I’m the one who distracted you, I guess.” I tugged my shirt on over my head while I waited for him to say something.

  “Are you done yet?” His shoulders slumped forward.

  “Done with what?”

  “Done with the idea that we need to get back together?” His gaze drilled into me. He meant it. The flirty feel good banter we’d shared was long gone.

  “Did you see that family?”

  “Yeah. I saw them. Saw them yelling and crying and a dad who wanted to level me.”

  I reached out to take his hand. He didn’t resist but he didn’t encourage me either. “Before that. We used to talk about having a slew of kids, remember?”

  A smile teased the edge of his mouth. “Enough to play baseball. Yeah, I remember.”

  “We can still have that, you know.” For a
moment I thought I’d gone too far, pushed him too fast. But then he gripped my hand in his and squeezed.

  “I’m not sure that’s what I want any more, Misty.”

  “What do you mean?” My lungs squeezed out every last bit of air. I held my breath, waiting for him to continue.

  “Just doesn’t seem to be in the cards for me.”

  “Well we’re not going to figure that out while we’re standing here dripping wet, are we?” Trying to put a humorous spin on the conversation, I shook my head. Droplets of water flew everywhere.

  “Hold up. You’re getting me all wet.”

  “Turnabout’s fair play, wouldn’t you say?”

  He stepped back, shaking his head. “About tonight.”

  I didn’t want to give him a chance to cancel. Not now. Not when I was close to making my point. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “A bet’s a bet.” I shrugged. “I wonder if Sal still has that cheesy garlic bread.”

  “You never used to let me get that when we went there.”

  “Yeah, because it made your breath stink, and I didn’t want it to taste like I was French kissing a bulb of garlic. Lucky for you, kissing’s off the table, so you can have as much stinky bread as you want.”

  He pulled his baseball cap further down on his forehead. “You always did get your way.”

  I wanted to correct him. Tell him I do get my way, not that I did. But instead I gathered my hair into a knot at the base of my neck. “Seven o’clock.”

  “All right.” He let out a sigh as he gazed at his feet.

  “Don’t look so excited, you’ll give me a complex.”

  “Just a bet.”

  “Two old friends catching up over dinner.” That’s what I wanted him to think. That’s what I needed him to think so he wouldn’t back out.

  “Fine.”

  “Later, then. Try to stay dry.” I lifted my hand and wiggled my fingers in a wave. I might have told Jake I didn’t have much primping to do, but that hadn’t exactly been the whole truth. I’d had no intention of scooting out of the car wash early, but this way I’d have more time to prepare. Hair appointment was at two with a mani/pedi immediately following. Thankfully I’d had the foresight to have a bikini wax last week before I came home. There was no telling where things might lead tonight. Wherever they went, I would be well prepared to follow them.