by C. C. Wood
"No, it needed to be done. I can't keep up with everything. I just...wasn't ready until you showed up and I realized I have no time to spend with my best friend because I'm constantly working. That probably also explains why I have no other friends and I haven't been on a date in longer than I'd care to admit."
"Okay, then I'll go take a little nap and I'll bring food to the shop around noon."
Cam nodded. "Sounds good. I'm going to finish getting ready and go run some errands before I go in."
She went to her room and I picked up my mess from the table, along with my now-empty coffee cup. Once everything was clean, I collapsed on my bed and passed out.
Three hours later, I was a little bit better rested, showered, dressed, and semi-coherent as I waited at the diner for the lunches I'd ordered. Rachel, the woman behind the counter, sat a to-go cup of Dr. Pepper in front of me. Even though I'd forgotten to order it.
"Bless you, Rachel. May all your dreams come true."
She grinned at me. "You always order one, so I made it up out of habit."
"I've trained you well, young padawan."
Rachel laughed and drifted away. I sipped my Dr. Pepper and scrolled through news articles on my phone. I barely had time to read the news when I was working my day job, much less working with Cam, so now was my chance to catch up.
I was so engrossed in an article on the upcoming elections that I didn't notice when two women sat on stools next to me. It wasn't until I heard Ben Murphy's name that I tuned into their voices and realized they were the two women who'd been gossiping about Ben at The Red Boot the first night I'd gone home with him.
Crap, what were their names? The blonde was something with a J or a G. Jill, Jenna. No, Gina. Her name was Gina. And the other one was a B word. No, not a bitch. Her name started with a B.
"I heard he's banging some chick from Greenville."
As soon as she said it, I remember. Barbara. Good ole Barb. With a tongue that matched her name. It was barbed as well.
Jesus, didn't these women have anything better to talk about? Like politics or religion or something a helluva lot more important to the state of the world. And why in the hell did they only sit next to me when they were gossiping about Ben?
"Ben Murphy will never settle down. He might get married eventually, but he'll never be a one-woman man."
I bit back a scoff. The man worked so much he barely had time to date and they thought he had time to deal with two or three women at a time? Idiots.
"I know," Barb sighed. "But he's so pretty."
"He is. And he does a good job of treating the women he's with like they're the only ones. Mary Anne said that when they dated, he was great. He cooked her dinner, listened to everything she had to say like he actually gave a shit, and never got skittish when they talked about what they wanted out of their futures. She thought he was going to propose to her then, boom, dumped. Broke her heart."
"I wouldn't have to get attached to him. Just enjoy the attention and maybe a few gifts," the other one said.
I nearly snarled at her words. I felt gross just sitting next to these two.
"If you think you could keep your heart from getting broken, go for it."
It took every ounce of my will not to twist around on my stool and tell these bitches what assholes they were being. But this was Farley, Texas. An outburst in the middle of the busy downtown diner would be shared all over the county within an hour. And it wouldn't take long for people to connect the crazy, loud chick with bright red hair with Cameron McClane.
I knew Cam hated being at the center of gossip because she didn't want it to affect her business, so I literally bit my tongue. Okay, not literally because I didn't want to hurt myself. But I did lock my jaw up tightly.
I was saved from making a huge mistake by Rachel coming over to me with a paper bag in her hand.
"Here's your lunch," she said as she sat it down in front of me.
"Thanks, Rachel," I said.
"See you later." She waved at me and moved in front of Barb and Gina with a notepad in her hand. "What'll y'all have?" she asked.
Based on their behavior at The Boot a few weeks ago, I knew the women next to me wouldn't leave one, so I tossed a ten on the counter as a tip for Rachel and grabbed the paper bag.
Though it was cooler than usual for July, I'd walked to the diner from the parking area behind Crave. Now, I was glad for the relief in the heat because I needed something to chill my anger.
When I walked in the back door of Crave, Cam was the first person I saw. I let the door swing shut behind me with a satisfying bang and she gave me a sharp glare.
"Whoa, what happened to you?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You look..." She paused as though she thought better of her word choice, and then continued, "Aggravated."
I put the bag and our drinks on the stainless steel island that stood between us. "Oh, I'm pissed. What's with all the gossip here? I always thought the TV shows exaggerated the gossip mill in small towns, but now I'm beginning to think they're sugarcoating it."
"What did you hear?" she asked.
"These two women sat down next to me at the diner and they talked non-stop about Ben like he was a piece of fucking meat. Or a walking bank account instead of a human being with a heart and soul. It was disgusting."
"Ben who? Ben Murphy?"
I nodded.
She sighed and shook her head. "It's been like that since Ben and Brody were in high school and older. Well, at least until Brody got married. They're the sons of the richest man in town and they're good-looking. Everyone in Farley is interested in what they're doing or who they're dating."
"It was more than that. It was malicious and just nasty. They were speculating that Ben might get married but he'd never settle down. That his wife would just have to get used to him sleeping with lots of other women because that's the way he is."
Cam scowled. "But that's not Ben at all."
"I know!" I cried. Shit, I shouldn't be yelling about this. I told her Ben was my friend and I was overreacting.
"Let me guess? Gina Farrell and Barb Cowan, right?" Cam asked.
"I only know their first names, but yeah, that matches up."
"They are the cattiest pair in town, but you can't judge the rest of the people here by them. Sure, people talk a little, but most of them just want to see Brody and Ben settled and happy. They're good guys now that they're both grown up and most of the people here are proud of that."
I blew out a long breath. "It made me so mad though because I know Ben and he doesn't deserve to have people talking about him like that. God, no wonder he doesn't date anyone from here."
Cam laughed. "That's part of it. The rest is the fact that most of the women here don't want Ben for his charm or looks. They know how much the Murphy family is worth and they want a piece of the pie. There are a few that don't care, but I don't blame him for being cautious."
So that's what he meant when he said most of the women he'd dated had an agenda. I made a face, which made her laugh again.
"Yeah, that's how I feel about it, too. Though it surprises me that you care so much. I thought Ben was just a friend."
I opened the paper bag and removed two white containers. All this anger had made me hungry.
"I'd be just as angry if they were talking about you," I answered.
Her expression was skeptical. Which I understood. I didn't make friends easily. Cam was the exception rather than the rule. And it seemed Ben was as well.
"Don't look at me like that," I said with a shrug. "You know him better than I do and you even said it was bullshit. Is it a surprise that I would get upset about it because I care about him?"
"Okay, so I'm not surprised about you being mad," she said. "But I am surprised you're willing to admit that you care about him to anyone besides yourself."
"You know I like him, Cam. I've already said that."
"I know."
"Is all the gossip the rea
son why you don't date anyone local either?" I asked, neatly changing the subject.
Cam considered my question. "Yeah. And that's why Brody and I are taking things slow. I don't want to get the gossips started."
"Makes sense. What are you gonna do when things get serious?"
Cam froze and stared at me with wide eyes.
"What? Oh, God. Is there a spider on me?" I asked, looking down in a panic.
"No, no," Cam said. "You just took me by surprise again, that's all."
My heart rate slowed. "Don't scare me like that! I thought I was going to get bitten by a black widow or brown recluse or something."
Cam laughed, and then snorted. Then laughed some more.
"Yeah, yeah. Yuk it up at my expense. I'm used to it."
"I'm sorry," she finally said, her voice hoarse as she tried to restrain her laughter. "I didn't mean to scare you."
I opened one container. It was her salad. Ugh. Why did she eat salad for lunch? I slid it across the island to her, along with her tea.
"So what are you gonna do when things get serious?" I repeated.
She took the plastic cutlery I held out to her and shrugged one shoulder. "Sierra, I'm not sure things will get serious between Brody and I."
"You said something along those lines when you told me the two of you were just friends and look what happened there," I pointed out.
Cam sighed. "Yeah, but this is different. He's got his daughter to think about. Jacks is so young. If she's uncomfortable with me in their life, we won't get very far in a relationship."
"Jacks loves you," I pointed out. "She thinks you're awesome."
"Yeah, right now. But if she feels like I'm competing for Brody's attention? She might change her mind."
"I could see that. Still, don't be so negative."
"I won't if you won't," she said.
"Fine," I said. I sighed and opened my patty melt and curly fries. I'd ordered extra fries because I knew what was about to happen.
Cam poured her dressing on her salad, mixed it up, and took a bite. Then she eyeballed my curly fries with obvious longing. I made a show of rolling my eyes before I put a small pile in the lid of her to-go container.
She smiled and finished her bite. "Thanks."
"Yeah, no problem," I said. I didn't want her to think that I'd ordered them to share with her or something.
As we ate our lunch together, I realized that I'd been missing this for a long, long time. Seeing my best friend. Having lunch together. The camaraderie and the sense of belonging.
It was going to be so hard to leave.
If I did.
The more I thought about what I'd blurted out to her the other night, the more I considered staying. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would definitely be doable. I hadn't looked for a house to rent like I'd mentioned to her, but I still had time.
If I did this, I could see my best friend almost daily. We could have lunch together like this or meet up for dinner or movies. Or girls' night in. So many things that we hadn't done much of since college.
Then, maybe things with Ben would work out...
I shut down that line of thinking. I'd told Ben that the sex was no-strings and then we'd agreed to just be friends. I wasn't going to change the rules on him now.
Ben would be my buddy. My hot, sexy buddy who made me laugh and want to kiss him every time I talked to him.
I was a grown-up. I would deal with it.
I always did.
14
I managed to avoid seeing Ben alone again for two weeks. After we hired Lee, she needed to be trained and I stayed in the shop to help as much as I could so that Cam could see Brody now that they were dating.
And surprise of surprises, I really liked it. Once I got used to being on my feet for hours at a time, I wasn't so exhausted when I got off work. Cam was great to work with and Lee turned out to be worth her weight in gold.
She put together a marketing plan for the shop that was both smart and affordable. She learned quickly, asked intelligent questions, and when she offered a suggestion it was always well-thought-out and useful.
I guess Cam and I really did owe Natalie Phelps a bouquet of flowers for recommending Lee. And the comment I'd made about Lee being our boss, well, she probably should have been. The woman was organized beyond belief and she seemed so much more mature than me, even though she was three years younger.
Today was my first day away from the shop pretty much since I'd arrived. I slept in, drank coffee, and fiddled with the website for Crave.
I'd also sent an email to my boss. I hadn't heard from him since the last time I'd had dinner with Ben, two weeks ago. My vacation was rapidly coming to an end and I wasn't ready. I asked Mr. Barnes to extend my time off by another two weeks, which would give me eight weeks total, with the promise that I would work remotely should any projects arise that needed my attention.
To my complete and utter shock, he'd agreed to those terms. In a cordial email that included the words "thank you."
For a split second, I worried that the alien robot invasion that Ben joked about was actually happening.
Still, I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. I wanted the extra two weeks and I got it.
I'd also started a half-hearted search for a house or apartment in the area but, with Farley being such a small town, there wasn't much to choose from. When I mentioned this to Cam, all she said was that I should take my time and I was always welcome in her home.
I didn't cry, but it was a near thing.
Speaking of Cam, even though she was still going into Crave on a regular basis, I knew she’d be comfortable taking more days off as soon as Lee was finished with her training in the day-to-day essentials of running the shop. Honestly, I felt like Lee had a better grasp than I did, but Cam wanted to give her a little more time, a week, maybe two, before she was the only manager on duty at the shop.
But none of that mattered tonight because I had plans with Ben. Just the two of us at his place. He was making me dinner and we were going to watch a new movie. He'd offered to take me out, but I didn't want the townsfolk staring at me like a bug under a microscope. Or gossiping about the two of us because it would definitely get back to Colette.
I was relieved that I'd come clean about my friendship with Ben with Cam. Well, partially clean.
I ran into an issue when I was getting ready to leave though. I found myself reaching for a vee neck shirt that showed off my boobs.
Nope, nope, nope. Not gonna do that.
Instead, I grabbed a girl-fit Captain Marvel tee, a pair of worn Levi's that were as comfortable as my leggings, and a pair of slip-on sneakers. In other words, I looked like my usual self but in slightly less baggy clothes.
What? I didn't want to torture him...much. But I also didn't want to look like a complete slob around him now either. I didn't have a lot of female friends, but I was fairly certain this was normal even amongst women. Right?
Okay, so even if I wasn't planning on sleeping with him again, I still wanted him to think I was hot. I could admit it. To myself at least.
So, when I knocked on his door at six-thirty, I smelled good, wore a cuter version of my usual outfit, and carried a four-pack of my favorite hard cider that happened to be produced in Austin, Texas. Ben was more of a beer guy, but I'd been bugging him to try it. When I saw it in the grocery store today, it seemed like fate.
When he opened the door, I nearly threw the cans of cider on the ground so I could leap on him like a horny monkey.
He wore a pair of jeans and a few drops of water and that was it.
"Hey, sorry, I'm running behind. Come on in while I grab a shirt."
He shut the door behind me and walked by, using a towel to dry off his damp hair. "Client was late picking up her car and I definitely needed a shower before I ate. I think I had grease in my ears. I'll be right back."
I couldn't bring myself to say anything because I doubted I could form complete sentences. I watched as a droplet
of water slithered down the furrow of his spine and disappeared into the waistband of his jeans.
Why me? Why did I have to show up right as he got out of the shower? I bit the knuckle of my index finger and forced myself to turn my back to the sight of him walking away.
I carried the hard cider to the fridge and put the cans inside, minus one. I needed it to cool myself off before Ben came back out.
The oven was on, so I wandered over to it while I sipped my hard cider. I peeked inside and the scent of meat and spices drifted out. Mmmm, barbeque.
"I picked up some brisket at the local joint. Late client ruined my plans to cook."
I straightened and turned to face Ben. Though he was wearing a shirt now, his hair was still damp and messy, and he was barefoot.
He looked edible.
He also smelled better than the barbeque because my mouth immediately watered when his scent hit me.
I managed to speak without drooling. "As long as I don't have to fix whatever I eat, I'm happy. Even if it's a fried bologna sandwich."
Ben grimaced, which made me laugh.
"Not a fan of fried bologna?" I asked.
"Ate way too many of them when I was learning to cook. If dinner turned out too burnt to eat, that's what I would have."
"Must have happened a lot," I murmured.
"You have no idea."
He moved to the fridge and pulled out a couple of white containers and a hard cider. "Thanks for bringing drinks."
I nearly teased him about those being mine, but said instead, "Hope you like it."
Ben cracked the tab on the can and sipped as he took the lids off the containers to reveal potato salad and coleslaw that looked fresh and delicious.
"Can I help?" I asked, desperately needing something to do besides watching him move around the kitchen looking like sex on a stick in that snug tee.
"Sure. Can you grab some plates and silverware? I'll need some big spoons for the sides. Four, I think."
He'd fed me often enough in this kitchen that I already knew where everything was. I got out two plates and forks, along with forks and spoons for the meat and side dishes. I also grabbed a couple of paper towels. Eating barbeque would be messy.