by Kaitlyn Rice
And…interest?
She wanted to see interest. She wanted Joe to feel the same need for connection that she did.
But then he closed his eyes to speak, as if he couldn’t deal with seeing Josie while speaking of the circumstances surrounding her conception. “Ella Blume never noticed me before that day. In her eyes, I was just some screw-up handyman, I could tell.”
He harrumphed again, then coughed. That cough turned into a series that scared Josie, and when he finally caught his breath, he looked at Gabe again. “That day she was different. Looked at me as if she liked what she saw.”
Joe returned his gaze to her. “But she never told me about you. When she had another baby, I had questions. She never spoke to me after that day, and I suppose I let myself assume a few things.” He went into another fit of coughs.
Josie came half out of her seat to help him, but then he calmed and peered at her. “I don’t know why you came here, girl.” He lifted a pair of stocky, work-worn palms and glanced around the room. “If you need something, you see I have very little.”
She glanced behind her at Gabe, wondering if he was catching all the similarities. The physical things—eyes, build. Joe’s directness. He even lived alone.
Gabe gave her a wink, and she was glad, again, that he’d come. She might not feel the same courage without him.
“I didn’t come to ask for anything,” she said to Joe. “Only this—I recently discovered that I wasn’t Rick Blume’s daughter. I felt that I had to meet you.”
He nodded, and the moment grew long.
Then Joe chortled, a loud, rattling noise that went on and on and seemed to surprise him. “Guess Ella got the last laugh on the whole town for yakking around about her,” he finally said.
Josie snickered. “She was sly, that’s for sure.”
Joe’s chuckles turning to coughs, and his thick chest heaved so deeply he bent forward in the chair. When he calmed, those hollows beneath his eyes appeared to have deepened. He blinked, as if very tired. Confused.
And done.
Josie glanced backward at Gabe, and he gave her a nod and slid off the arm of the chair.
“We should go,” he said as he and Josie stood together in that tiny living room. “Josie would like to contact you again. You okay with that?”
Did Joe’s face soften as he faced her? Did his eyes brighten by some minuscule degree? “Can’t hurt to talk,” he said, and gifted her with the faintest grin that charmed her completely.
“It can’t hurt,” she repeated.
“Okay.” Joe walked them the three paces to the door, still fondling that dang cigarette.
After a goodbye, Gabe guided Josie out, down the steps and across the lawn. When she turned to look, Joe’s door was closed. Once more, the wreath had gone crooked.
“You handled that well,” Gabe said when they reached her truck.
She located her key and opened the driver’s side door, then stood just inside it while Gabe paused on the grass next to the vehicles. “Thanks. I was scared out of my gourd.”
“You headed home?”
“God, yes. I’m set on some recuperation time. I’ll catch up with work next week. Surely that paint will arrive by Monday morning.”
“I can call the crew and ask about that delivery.”
“That’d be great.”
“Okay, then,” he said.
Josie thought he’d leave, but he didn’t. After a couple of beats, he asked. “Want company? Now, I mean?”
God, yes.
But then Gabe might decide they should talk about things now, and it was all so strange. She felt wired. Weird. She didn’t feel strong in her resistance.
The opposite, in fact. She looked at Gabe and wished he didn’t mean so much to her.
“We’d better not, Gabe.”
“Not even if it’s normal for us?”
“Not even.”
“You’re still happy with this choice, Josie? This is what you want?” He spoke the words softly, personally, as if he was physically closer to her than he really was.
“Yes. I’m happy with it. And you get on with things, okay? Find one of those paper scraps. Call some woman and go out tonight. Forget this idea of you and me. I just…don’t…have it in me.”
He turned to start for his car. Looked back. “I had to try.”
“I know.”
Chapter Ten
“That one’s a hunk, Josie. See if you can get him to buy you a drink.”
Moving her gaze to the man whose attention her table mate had just drawn with her giggled comment, Josie nodded at the handsome stranger two tables down, then averted her gaze.
The man was too old. Too conservative. Too handsome in a blond, all-American, Gabriel-Thomas way.
Instead of returning to her work site or sitting home in a tizzy tonight, Josie had summoned the chutzpah to come to Mary’s alone. She’d figured she could hook up with some of her female acquaintances.
Which she had.
She shouldn’t be in a blue mood at all. She’d found her dad this afternoon, and in doing so had met a goal. She’d learned that she was shorter and darker than her sisters because she took after her father. She had reason to believe she’d learn a lot of other things in the future.
But she had to survive tonight first.
She didn’t want to be here at Mary’s. She hadn’t wanted to stay at home. This thing with Gabe confused her, and she couldn’t talk about it because no one knew except Gabe and her.
She knew she’d been right to stop that mess.
A wham-bam thing would never work between her and Gabe. They knew each other too well. That left commitment, and she’d never been the type to hang on after the fun of newness wore off.
What’s more, now she had evidence that her mother’s questionable mental health was only half of an unlucky gene pool. Her father had some nasty habits.
God. No wonder she preferred beer and parties to cola and books. She took after her dad.
So she’d come out alone tonight. She’d arrived at Mary’s a little late, approached these women she saw here often, and asked if she could join them. She was in the mood to party hard and long, she’d claimed.
They’d introduced themselves again, but Josie had already forgotten most of the names. The redhead was Kendra. That name had stuck because the tall dental assistant had gone out with Gabe a time or two.
Now Josie sat with a soft drink, analyzing the crop of guys and hoping that something—anything—would happen to snag her notice and make the night pass.
Anything except that.
Gabe had just walked in with a honey-eyed blonde. How could Josie miss them? The woman wore sparkles. Purple, shimmering dress, jewel-bedecked hair. And Gabe was sublime in his olive Corbin suit. They must be on their way to or from somewhere classier than Mary’s.
Within seconds, Kendra, too, had spotted them. “Josie, isn’t that your Gabe?”
“He’s not my Gabe,” Josie corrected her. She hunched down on her seat, but she recognized that her effort to hide was futile. Mary’s wasn’t nearly crowded enough.
“Hey, Gabe!” Kendra hollered, waving wildly. “Josie’s over here.”
Oh, crud.
She should have warned these gals that she was avoiding him. She’d never have thought he’d show up with a woman tonight, even if she’d suggested it.
As Gabe and the blonde approached the table, he held Josie’s gaze until he stood in front of her. “I didn’t except to see you here tonight,” he said after he’d stopped across from her.
“I didn’t know I’d see you, either,” she countered.
Sparkles moved closer to him.
Gabe faced the group of women. “You haven’t met Shelby, ladies. Shelby Roberts, this is, uh…” He paused as he studied the brunette in the far left seat.
Josie stifled a laugh. If she couldn’t remember her table mates’ names, Gabe certainly couldn’t.
“Well, the woman in blue there is DeeAnn
. Then there’s Kendra and next to her is D.W. Josie’s the one at the wall. She’s the one I told you about.”
None of the woman corrected him. He must have paid more attention to names than she had. Perhaps he’d dated each of them, at various times.
The thought was stupid.
Besides Kendra, he hadn’t gone out with any of them. The two Dees were too old for him, and one of them wore a wedding band. It shouldn’t matter if he’d dated every woman in the group at once.
Apparently, he and this Shelby were on a date now.
Josie should be glad. She had no reason to detest the woman on sight.
“Would you care to join us?” Kendra asked.
The other ladies hopped off their stools and scooted them nearer to Josie, who was already crammed in next to the wall.
She stared at her soft drink and refused to look at Gabe. She wouldn’t give him permission to join them, silently or otherwise. After abandoning her efforts to transform her 7Up into the beer she’d thirsted for anyway, Josie looked up to see that Gabe had borrowed two chairs from a nearby table. He and the sparkly Shelby sat shoulder-to-shoulder next to the aisle.
“Thanks for the invitation,” Shelby said. “Gabe really bailed me out tonight and escorted me to my cousin’s holiday party. I hate going to those things alone, especially when everyone else is coupled up.” She lowered her voice and leaned forward. “My cousin thinks I’m an old maid, and I’m only twenty-nine! Can you believe it?”
Okay, so Shelby was not only tall and blond, like all Gabe’s dates, she was also nice. Like all his dates.
He definitely had a type, and it wasn’t short-haired, short-legged brunette party girls.
Aw, jeez. This was not thinking about him?
When the waitress arrived to get Gabe’s and Shelby’s orders, Josie asked her to take the 7Up and return with a beer. Then she listened to the conversation about Shelby’s cousin’s dinner.
She surveyed the bar, too. When she saw a curly-headed guy standing with his back to her, she kept her eye on him. Perhaps the rest of him was as cute as his butt.
Gabe had brought a date here. Maybe she could take one home.
Josie heard Shelby say her name, and focused on the conversation she hadn’t quite been able to tune out. “And I’m so glad he invited me here now,” Shelby was saying. “He told me about your day, Josie. Must have been tough.”
The waitress brought their orders before Josie had had time to bark out a laugh or a question or an objection.
But her face must have registered surprise.
“Meeting your father that way is what I meant,” Shelby said.
Gabe had told this…this stranger? About a day she’d never forget? It was no big secret, but it was her business.
She glanced at Gabe, then away.
She was tempted to ask Shelby if he’d kissed her with tongue yet, so they could compare notes. Instead, she faked cool. “My day was fine,” she said. “Excuse me, ladies. I see someone I know.”
Everyone at the table stood up or scooted forward or sideways or however. Josie grabbed her beer and squeezed out. She made a beeline toward the pool room. She’d seen the curly-haired man go in there, but any man would do.
When she realized that her curly-haired man was actually the Juco student she’d met before Halloween, she felt a small disappointment.
She yanked on his sleeve anyway. “Wisconsin! That is you, isn’t it?”
The guy turned to eye her. “Huh?”
“Wanna dance?”
He scowled. “Don’t you have a boyfriend?”
“No, I do not. Mind if I put my beer on your table?”
“You don’t?” He eyed her warily, then shrugged. “This isn’t my table. Uh…” He scrunched up his brow, as if trying to figure out if he’d answered all her questions.
“We dancing?” she repeated.
“Uh…okay.”
Josie set her bottle on the empty table and attached her palm to the middle of Wisconsin’s chest. He was promoting the Georgia Bulldogs tonight. After gathering the sweatshirt material into her fist, she pulled him toward the tiny area near the deejay station, where couples occasionally danced.
In her rush to leave the table, Josie had forgotten to grab her keys. She couldn’t leave Mary’s. She couldn’t return to the table and admit she’d run off in a huff because of Gabe’s big mouth.
As she danced a two-step with Wisconsin, Josie flirted outrageously—something she hadn’t done in ages. She was using the poor guy and she felt badly about that, but Gabe could be watching her.
The Juco student asked twice more if she had a boyfriend, and she assured him that she was completely un-encumbered. His expression registered doubt until a slow song started and Josie kept dancing with him.
A moment later, Gabe and Shelby came out to the dance floor, too.
Josie could leave now. She could go to the table, grab her keys and head home.
But if Gabe noticed that she’d left soon after his arrival, he might wonder if his presence had affected her.
Which it had.
She’d never admit that to him.
So she stayed out there for a second song. Wisconsin grew so confident he thought he could explore her derriere with his hands. Josie promptly moved them to a more appropriate place, but made sure to chuckle about it.
And when he tried to kiss her neck, she pulled his chin up and gave him a stern look. “No kissing on the first slow dance set,” she said. “I’m not that kind of girl.”
“But you are crazy,” he said, grinning widely. “What’s your name?”
She slid a glance past his shoulder and wished she hadn’t. Shelby had her eyes closed.
“Sarah,” Josie half fibbed.
“You live here in Augusta, Sarah?”
“I live up in Woodbine,” she lied again.
And promised herself she’d behave for two weeks. No beer, even at home on weekends.
“Can we get together?” Wisconsin asked. “Maybe we could meet here sometime when it isn’t so crowded.” He leaned back to study her. “Or we could go out somewhere. Your call.”
“I don’t know,” Josie said. “I don’t get down to Augusta often. Really.”
Okay. She wouldn’t eat chocolate for those two weeks she was off beer and on good behavior, and she’d write personal letters to put in her Christmas cards. Heck. She’d send the Christmas cards out before Valentine’s day this year.
“You were here before though, right? With a boyfriend?” Wisconsin peered toward Gabe, then shook his head. “That was you, right?”
“Could have been my sister. Er…Sadie. She and I are practically twins. She comes down here, too. Just…not at the same time I do.”
So she’d shop for Christmas presents early, try to beat all her work deadlines and eat nothing but fruits, veggies and fish for two weeks.
Three.
And she would never lie to this poor kid again.
“Are you lying to me?” A corner of Wisconsin’s mouth turned up, as if he was proud of himself for catching on.
“Maybe.” She sighed. “Yes. I just needed a guy to dance with really quick. I had no time to investigate whom I was grabbing. Listen, if you find yourself in a pinch, I’m your gal, okay?”
Wisconsin nodded. “I get it.”
“You get what?”
“That tall guy with the blond babe broke your heart, so now you’re trying to make him jealous.”
Well, not exactly. But almost.
“Want me to help you make the show really good?” Wisconsin dropped his gaze to her lips. “We could kiss. I’d act as though I was really into it. We could even leave together.”
Even if Josie had been tempted, she’d gotten herself into trouble kissing a man she shouldn’t. She wouldn’t repeat that mistake tonight. It was time for this game to end. “Wisconsin, you’re not a bad guy, if a little too fast. You should spend time with that beautiful kid of yours.”
“You’ve seen my l
ittle boy?”
“No, I haven’t. But he’s a child and he’s yours. If he’s not beautiful to you, then you don’t know him.”
“Oh.”
“That’s my biggest rule. I don’t go out with guys who abandon their children.” She lowered her voice. “It’s a personal thing with me.”
“Okay.”
“Thank you for the offer. I’m leaving alone.”
Now that she’d said the words, Josie realized she could do so. Gabe and his date were on the dance floor. An acceptable period of time had passed. She could grab her keys and escape. “See you around,” she told Wisconsin, standing on tiptoe to peck him on the cheek.
Josie started toward the table, which had been abandoned except for the collection of drinks, change and keys. The other women must have made a restroom trip. She should be able to sneak out.
Avoiding the briefest glance at the dance floor, she sat down long enough to summon the waitress and pay her bill. But when she grabbed her keys and got up to leave, Kendra appeared in front of her, blocking her way.
“Josie, where you going?” she asked. “Gabe ordered a round of drinks. The bottle at your spot is full.”
“You drink it,” Josie said, pushing it over. “I’m giving up beer for a couple of weeks. Good night.”
Now Gabe approached the table. “You’re leaving?” He checked his watch. “But it’s ten-fifteen.”
“My God! It’s past ten? No wonder I’m so exhausted.”
Shelby appeared behind him, possessively laying a hand on his bicep. Then the other women, all taller than Josie, crowded around to ask what was happening.
“Josie’s leaving,” Kendra murmured.
“I thought she said she was in the mood to party all night?” someone said.
Josie felt trapped by the well-intentioned acquaintances surrounding her. She searched for an escape.
“She did say she was here to party. Something must have happened,” someone else whispered, way too loudly.
“Was that Georgia guy mean to her?”
“I don’t know, but I think she and Gabe are mad at each other.”
Josie couldn’t tell who had made the last comment, but it was enough. She poked the set of ribs in front of her, causing that person to squeal and jump backward.