by Barbara Gee
She raised her chin. “Does it go both ways? Can I ask you direct questions too, when I have them?”
“Of course.” He grinned. “I have the same option to not answer though.”
“Okay, I can live with that.” She chewed on a corner of her lip and Vince tried not to stare. “I’ll answer your question,” she told him after a pause. “The truth is….both. I’m scared to be in charge because I have so much to learn, but it also feels right. This is where I want to be, and for now at least, it’s what I want to do. I just hope I can handle it. Grandpa is going to be a hard act to follow.”
“I can imagine, but you won’t be all alone,” Vince pointed out. “Sam and Lance seem like good guys, and they’ve been working at the Double Nickel for a long time, right? I’m sure they’ll do all they can to make sure you succeed.”
“Yeah, as long as they don’t get tired of working for someone who knows so much less than they do. I have a lot to prove to them.”
Vince saw the uncertainty in her eyes. He understood it, but he thought maybe she was underestimating both herself and the loyalty of the two men. “Maybe they won’t mind that you’re not an expert on everything,” he suggested. “If they’re good at what they do, and you’re comfortable with giving them autonomy, they’d probably prefer that to being micro-managed.”
She kept her eyes on his while she processed that, and he could almost see the wheels turning. “That’s what I’d planned on doing,” she finally said. “Giving them more responsibility and letting them be co-foremen, but I’ve still been afraid they might rather work for a big-name owner. I mean, working for Jeremiah Green was fine, but working for his twenty-four year old granddaughter could be embarrassing. But maybe you’re right. If they’re calling the shots here, while their buddies working elsewhere are merely following orders, maybe that’s more important. Maybe it gives them more status, not less.”
“That’s the way I’d look at it,” Vince replied. “Plus, they enjoy working together. If they leave here, they might have to split up.”
Her smile came then, and he forgot to breathe for a moment.
“Thank you, Vince,” she said softly. “You’ve given me a lot to think about. As soon as I get things in order here, I’m going to have a long talk with Sam and Lance. I think I can convince them we’ll be a good team. That there are advantages to staying at the Double Nickel.”
He reached across the table and covered one of her hands with his, but only for a few seconds. Not long enough to scare her off. “I have no doubt you’ll be able to convince them,” he said. “They’re already on your side. Just make sure they know you have a plan, and they’re part of it.”
“They’re a huge part of it,” she agreed. Her head tilted as she gave him a speculative look. “You’re not at all what I expected, Vince.”
He winced. “I almost hate to ask, but what did you expect?”
“I guess I thought you’d have a one-track mind. Hockey, hockey, and more hockey. But you rarely mention it.”
He chuckled. “Trust me, I can talk hockey with the best of them, just listen to Boone and me sometime. But I try to rein myself in when the other party isn’t interested.”
Her brows rose and she looked slightly alarmed. “You think I’m not interested? I love hockey.”
“Yeah, but I can’t have you thinking I’m one-dimensional. I need to ease you into the hockey part of my life.”
“I think I’ll be able to hold my own.” She gave him a cocky smile and tapped her temple. “I’ve got a wealth of hockey knowledge up here."
He had to laugh. She was adorable and witty and he loved being with her.
“I’ll test that claim sometime soon,” he promised. “And if you keep giving me riding lessons, I’ll give you inside scoop on the Wild.”
“Sounds like a good deal to me,” she said with a happy grin.
He stood up and stretched. “I’d better let you get back to work. I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”
She got up too and Vince thought maybe, just maybe, she looked a little reluctant to let him leave. Unfortunately, she didn’t try to stop him.
“Boone’s probably wondering where you are,” she said.
He nodded. “Could be. Thanks again for the lesson and breakfast.” He took his hat off its peg by the door and put it on, wiggling it a little until it was comfortable. “See you tomorrow for lesson number two.” Hopefully he’d see her before that, at church, but he’d let Jeremiah be the one to break that one her.
“I’m sure old Eddie will be glad to see you.” She leaned back against the table, her hands planted on the top beside her hips. “I hope the rest of your day is good.”
He wanted to tell her that the best part of his day had already been had, but he held back because he wasn’t sure she’d believe it, and he didn’t want her to think he was feeding her lines.
“Yours too,” he said simply. Then he tipped his hat and left, and by the time he got to his car he was already missing her.
***
Callie couldn’t help but smile when he did that gallant little tip of the hat on his way out the door. He was a natural charmer, but there appeared to be more than enough substance to go along with his charming ways.
She’d half-way hoped spending time with Vince would reveal flaws serious enough to dampen her attraction to him, which would have solved her dilemma quite nicely. Instead, it had been the opposite. He’d been nothing but sweet to her, also honest and straight-forward. Telling her about what he’d gone through last summer had taken courage, especially for a man who lived in a world that shunned any kind of weakness. She hoped it meant he trusted her.
He also hadn’t made any secret of his desire to get to know her better, yet he hadn’t been overly pushy. She appreciated that….along with the fact that he liked to cook and had given her some really awesome business advice.
Callie began to feel a little worried about how quickly her mental list of Vince Abbot “pros” was growing. She quickly reminded herself there was at least one “con” as well, and that was the fact that the man who was proving to be so amazing would be leaving in two months to rejoin his team in Minneapolis-St. Paul. While she stayed here.
It was a huge, glaring, non-negotiable con. One Callie couldn’t afford to forget.
CHAPTER 12
“Ohmigosh, Vince Abbot is here. I had no idea he’d come to church.”
Callie winced when Rose squeezed her arm hard enough to leave a mark.
“Seriously, you have to look, Callie,” the girl said. “He’s standing over there with Tanner James and Boone, and the total hotness level is almost more than I can stand. Can we go say hi?”
Callie extricated her arm from her friend’s grip and deliberately turned away from where Rose was looking. “Let’s just go in and sit down. I’m sure there are lots of people who want to talk to them. They don’t need us joining the queue.”
“But you didn’t even look. I’m telling you, Callie, he looks amazing. His shirt and slacks fit like a dream. The man is built like a god.”
“Rose, we’re in church!” Callie chided.
“What? Guys can’t look hot in church? Or am I just not supposed to admire them here?”
Callie shook her head, suppressing a grin. “Maybe at least be a little less vocal about it. I’m going to go find a seat. If you want to stay and gawk, be my guest.”
Her friend sighed. “Your loss,” she said, turning for one more look. “Oh shoot, Candace the Cougar is moving in on him. Oh, poor Vince.”
Callie couldn’t help but giggle. “Hush, Rose. Candace is nice. She’s just really aggressive in her search for a good man.”
“Too bad she only likes the young ones. Lyle Chambers follows her around like a love-sick puppy every Sunday, and she completely ignores him.”
“She doesn’t ignore him, I think they’re actually friends. She just doesn’t see him as more than that. That can happen when you’ve known someone all your life.”
“Well then we need to figure out how to make Love-sick Lyle irresistible to her, so she leaves the young guys alone. We need to make Candace see him through new eyes.”
“How about we get Brit to hit on him sometime when Candace is around. Make her think she has some competition.”
Rose gasped. “Oh my word, that’s a great idea. We need to suggest that to Brit. Tell her it’s for the good of all the single twenty-something men in and around Barlow.”
“What if it backfires and Lyle switches his affections to Brit?”
By the time they took their seats the girls were both giggling at the thought of Brittany’s reaction to their plan, trying not to be heard over the piano prelude.
Rose scooted to the center of the pew. “Leave some space on the end in case Kim and Brit show up. They’ll be thrilled to see you’re here. Can we go out for lunch after, or do you need to get back?”
“I have to get back to Grandpa. I hated leaving him by himself to come here, but he insisted.”
“Well I’m glad you’re here, and it’s good for you. Church always gets my week started off right. And I have to say, seeing Vince Abbot doesn’t hurt either.”
Callie considered telling Rose about yesterday’s riding lesson and breakfast with Vince, but in the end she stayed quiet. Rose would have too many questions she couldn’t yet answer.
The sanctuary started filling up as the time got closer to ten-thirty. Rose checked her phone then leaned over toward Callie.
“I just got a text from Brit. She says she picked Kim up but they’re running a little late. They’ll just sit in back when they get here, so don’t worry about saving them spots.”
Callie nodded and removed her Bible from the empty space beside her, so someone else could use the seats she’d been saving. Tanner and Izzy James filed into the bench directly in front of them, with Izzy greeting them warmly, as she always did. Callie didn’t know the other girl well, but she ran into her occasionally at the retreat center, and had always enjoyed her cheerful, bubbly personality.
Callie actually knew Izzy’s FBI agent husband much better, because he helped out with the horses at the retreat center on a regular basis. She and Tanner were Molly’s go-to people when Bob was gone. As Tanner walked past he smiled and gave Callie a light pat on the shoulder, then nodded to Rose before taking a seat beside his wife.
Rumor had it Tanner was an anti-terrorism expert, and Callie could believe it. He was always friendly, but there was a lot going on in those dark eyes of his.
Now he looked back over his shoulder to the aisle before scooting closer to Izzy to make room for another person. Callie groaned inwardly, somehow knowing she was going to be looking at the back of Vince Abbot’s head for the whole service.
Wrong. A moment later someone else took the spot beside Tanner, and her breath caught as Vince lowered his long, powerful body down right beside her, his smile flashing when she looked up at him in surprise. Before they could even manage a “good morning” however, they were interrupted by Candace the Cougar, who was wriggling her sleekly clad hips into the remaining space on the bench.
“Do you mind if I sit here, Vince?” she asked after she was wedged in. “It’s so full in here this morning.”
Vince smiled politely and scooted closer to Callie, his arm pressing lightly against her shoulder. When Candace leaned over to stow her massive handbag under the bench in front of them, Vince bent his head toward Callie.
“Sorry to crowd you, I didn’t know she followed me,” he murmured, his mouth close to her ear.
Callie managed an understanding smile before pulling her gaze from his scruff-covered jaw to look straight ahead, her stomach doing somersaults. Wow. The man smelled incredible, and the warmth of his arm against hers felt far more intimate than it should. It was all she could do to control the full-body shiver that threatened to give her away.
Rose leaned around Callie and smiled widely at Vince. “Good to see you again, Vince,” she whispered. “I had so much fun the other night,”
“Nice to see you too,” he said quietly.
Candace cleared her throat and squirmed a bit on the bench. Vince discreetly moved even closer to Callie, whispering “sorry” again. Now her shoulder was pressed firmly into his arm, and his thigh was angled against hers.
Callie kept staring ahead, not showing any outward reaction, although she was secretly pleased Vince seemed to prefer being smashed up against her rather than Candace.
It was going to be a real challenge to concentrate on the service, though.
***
It was annoying that Candace had forced herself into a space too small to comfortably fit another person, but Vince was grateful she’d done it. Having to squeeze up against Callie Green wasn’t exactly a hardship. Her arm and leg were warm against his, and her hair smelled amazing. He wished he could put his arm along the back of the pew behind her, but he was afraid she’d see the move as too possessive. Which was, ironically, exactly the way he felt about her…..he just couldn’t show it. Not yet.
He tried to keep his attention on what was going on up front, but it was difficult to keep from sneaking glances at Callie. She looked so good in her silky white blouse and little green skirt almost the exact color of her eyes. His senses were so full of her right now, he doubted whether any part of the service would get through. He only wished she was sitting so close to him by choice, rather than having it forced on her.
When the praise band asked the congregation to stand for the worship songs, Vince was disappointed, because he figured the ten people on their pew would adjust positions somewhat, and he’d lose his reason to stay pressed up against Callie.
He needn’t have worried. Candace and Callie both sat down in exactly the same spots once the songs were done. He didn’t care about Candace’s reasons, but he seriously hoped Callie had consciously chosen to reclaim her spot because she was enjoying the closeness as much as he was.
Although it was impossible not to be aware of the alluring Callie at his side, the sermon ended up being dynamic enough to impact Vince in spite of the distraction. Pastor Keller gave a powerful message, sharing real-life examples of people who were committed to living out their faith in their daily lives, not just on Sundays. He challenged the congregation to do the same, to always be aware of how they treated their fellow man, and the goodwill they could spread by living a godly life seven days a week.
Exactly an hour after the service had started, the benediction was said, a sending song was sung, and the noise level immediately rose as people talked and laughed with each other before making their way out of the sanctuary.
Candace immediately latched onto Vince’s arm and informed him she had a pot roast in her oven that she would absolutely love to share with him. She assured him she was a fantastic cook, and well known for her roasts.
Vince caught both Rose and Callie watching him, their eyes sparkling with humor as they waited to hear his answer. He politely informed Candace he already had plans for lunch, and to her credit, she accepted his refusal gracefully and wandered off through the crowd.
Rose sidled up beside Vince and grinned. “Candace always has a pot roast in her oven on Sundays, just in case a new single man shows up.”
Callie walked up on his other side, a slight frown creasing her forehead. “She’s a sweet woman, really. She’s just looking for new friends.”
“Preferably of the younger male variety,” Rose said, not quite as magnanimous as Callie.
“She was very, uh, welcoming,” Vince said, not wanting to say anything derogatory about a lonely woman. He smiled at Callie. “I’m glad you made it this morning. Did Jeremiah insist?”
“Of course he did. I’ve got to get back soon, though. I don’t like leaving him alone very long when Quinn isn’t there to call if he needs someone.”
Vince opened his mouth to say he hoped Jeremiah was feeling as good as he had yesterday morning, but then he looked at Rose and decided to stay quiet, in case Callie hadn’
t said anything to her about the riding lesson.
“I’ll come home with you if you want, Callie,” Rose offered. “We could pick up some lunch at the diner and take it to Jeremiah.”
Callie eyes sparkled with laughter as she looked at Vince and then Rose. “You can come over, but there’s no need to go to the diner. Believe it or not, I have a pot roast in the oven!”
“You do not!” Rose accused.
“I do, I really do!” Callie said, her musical laugh spilling out. “Grandpa’s been feeling better and has a bigger appetite, so I decided to make something special, like we used to have.”
“Then I’m definitely coming over,” Rose stated. “How about you, Vince?” she asked hopefully.
He shook his head regretfully. “Sorry, but Boone and Jolene invited me to go to Virgil and Kay’s with them, and I already said I’d go.”
“Oh goodness, don’t be sorry. It would definitely be a mistake to pass up Kay’s cooking for mine,” Callie said cheerfully. Vince thought she actually seemed a little relieved, which wasn’t good. He hoped she wasn’t pulling away again.
When Rose’s attention was caught by someone walking by, he gently put a hand on Callie’s arm and turned her to face him.
“Are we still on for this evening?” he asked, leaning in close so no one else could hear.
She nodded. “Sure, if you still want to come.”
“I do.” He grinned. “I’d hate to disappoint Edison, you know? We’ve kind of bonded.”
As he’d hoped, she smiled back. “It’s never a good idea to stand up your horse after only one date,” she said wryly. “I’ll see you at seven.”
Boone and Jolene came up to them then and they both greeted Callie warmly. Jolene asked how her grandfather was doing, and Vince enjoyed seeing the happy light in Callie’s eyes when she said he’d been doing a little better the last few days. Rose soon rejoined them, and after a little more chit chat, the two girls excused themselves to go home to Jeremiah.
Jolene watched them go, then looked up at Vince with an approving smile. “If you have to fall in love at first sight, I think maybe Callie Green is a good choice.”