St. Helena Vineyard Series: Sneaking Up on Love (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Stephanie St. Klaire

  “Wha…what are you doing?” Seth asked in surprise, trying to keep his eyes on the road and finding it quite hard.

  “Taking off my clothes – getting rid of the evidence!” She scrambled, grabbing at her clothes.

  She looked at him and finished, “The text was from Chichi.She tried calling too. Nora was a no-show at the meeting. Wonder where she was heading this late again that was so important she would miss a Garden Society meeting.”

  He swerved slightly, mouth agape as he caught himself staring at her rather than the road. She pulled her black sweatshirt off, followed by her black pants, revealing a second set of clothes underneath much to his relief and disappointment. Relived, he could now keep his eyes on the road rather than having something to gawk at but was disappointed that he had nothing to gawk at other than the road.

  She reached for her large purse and pulled out a wheat colored oversized cardigan sweater that went over the white V-neck t-shirt and rich wine color leggings she still adorned.

  “WOW! You came prepared!” He said, impressed by her quick transformation from toilet papering night ninja to just out on the town with this guy outfit. “You really thought this thing out!

  “I was so afraid of getting caught!” she admitted. “Hide the evidence. Saw it on a show once and remembered it from a book! You really should ditch the jacket! I see a white t-shirt peeking out the top.”

  He tossed his head back and laughed. She was something special.

  ***

  Seth walked into the fire station bright and early the next morning for his next 48 hour shift. His mind had been on Molly since dropping her off the night before, post toilet paper apocalypse. It seemed he learned something new about her every time they were together. She had an edgy side, one full of mischief that dabbled in danger. Messing with Nora screamed danger.

  Molly was fun and playful, lived in the moment. With every turn she captured a little bit more of his heart, and he was pretty sure she’d finally captured every last piece. Seth was quickly rattled from his thoughts when Adam called his name and asked him to join him in the office. This couldn’t be good. Nerves burning, he walked in to see Sherriff Jonah seated as well.

  “Hey Spangler, what have you been up to man?” Jonah asked, his question full of accusation and suspicion.

  Seth caught on to the tone and intention of this question quickly and immediately told himself to play it cool. “Not much, you?”

  “How about last night, kid,” Adam jumped in getting straight to the point with an added smirk for shits and giggles, “anything…fun?”

  Not playing into his hand, Seth replied full of cool and calm, “Sure, went for a drive with Molly. Had a bite to eat.” Two could play at this game.

  “Didn’t happen to see any vandals out did ya?” Jonah prodded, “Maybe some obnoxious kids?” emphasis on obnoxious.

  “Can’t say that I did, but then, I wasn’t really lookin’,” Poker face intact, Seth continued, “Is there a problem Sherriff? Am I missing something here?”

  “Nope, just Nora Kinkaid seemed to have been nailed with a shit load of toilet paper last night, pun intended.” Jonah retorted.

  “Oh…um, wow, didn’t know kids were still doing that.” Seth replied nonchalantly with a relaxed shrug.

  Jonah stood to leave, giving Seth a hard laced stare before walking out of the office, “Hmmm, neither did I. Have a good one, gentlemen.”

  Seth let out a deep sigh of relief when Jonah left the room and cleared the building. He wasn’t sure what the recourse was for toilet papering a crusty old ladies house, but he knew it wouldn’t be pleasant. At the very least, Nora would have his name next to ‘criminal’ and ‘vandal’ on her Facebook page in a hot second for the whole town to see.

  “I figured it was you.” Adam dropped on Seth.

  “Wha…what are you talking about?” Seth resumed his poker face with little success, the jig was up.

  “Please, if it wasn’t already obvious, the fact you started breathing again the minute my brother left gave it away.” Adam laughed.

  “Adam, I don’t know what you’re…”

  Adam cut Seth off showing all of his cards. He knew, “So did all the extra toilet paper in the supply closet.”

  “Why would you think I had anything to do with that?” Seth defended, pulling off a pretty decent offended presence.

  “Because I watched you unload all of it.” Boom, Adam had him.

  “Oh…”

  “Yeah, ‘oh.’, Grab the crew and load up, we’re doing community service today.”

  Seth stopped in his tracks as he felt the all too familiar sensation of defeat begin to build. Reading him like a book, Adam patted him on the back and grew an ornery smile.

  “We’re helping an old crank clean up some toilet paper in her yard today. I hear whoever did it, did a kickass job…T.P. everywhere! Make sure you load the right truck. We need the hook and ladder.”

  Nora one, Seth and Molly another fucking zero.

  ***

  Seth stood in the street staring at Nora’s house, watching the guys hoist the hook and ladder to the highest point of the large tree centered in her yard. They used push brooms to undo the tangled handy work of Seth and Molly. They did a damn good job, That white shit was everywhere; it looked like it snowed toilet paper - blizzard style.

  He was not only angry that Nora prevailed once again, but now he felt guilty because his crew was out here pissing and moaning while undoing his handy work. He hadn’t missed the amusement that seemed to hover over Adam who was leaning against the fire engine, arms crossed, cracking jokes with his brother the Sherriff. Nice of Jonah to stop by - asshole.

  Seth tied off his full garbage bag and walked to the end of the truck to deposit it and grab a new bag when Jonah chimed in, “Hope she’s worth it, man.”

  Seth drew his fist and launched his middle finger in a one man salute as his response earning another round of laughs at his expense. As if the day couldn’t get any worse, he turned just in time to catch Nora snapping a picture just as he flipped the bird; he knew that would make its way to Facebook in mere minutes. Nora scored again – and then it began to rain.

  ***

  Sitting at a table in Reading Grounds, Molly was surrounded by her book group girlfriends.

  “Oh no!” Harper blurted out.

  Emerson quickly replied with concern, “What is it; what happened?’

  “Oh no, no, no, no, no! This is awful!” Molly panicked, a certain rage flowing through her, “That nasty old woman! Rrrgh!”

  Shay snickered, “Looks like someone got Nora good! Awesome!”

  Molly looked to Chichi and her bitty brigade, tears welling and ready to fall.

  “Are you going to fucking cry?” Frankie questioned with a disgusted look on her face.

  Sharp angry eyes were pinned on Frankie, and Molly said, “Maybe! You got a problem with that?!”

  “Whoa! Did I miss something? What’s going on, Molly?” Harper asked.

  “Seth, he has to clean up the mess! That old Facebook happy battle axe should be cleaning it herself!” Molly proclaimed, as if all of her emotion came down to Seth doing a good deed, and everyone should just get the underlying problem.

  Chichi patted her hand, as the rest of the gray haired mafia offered a deep sigh and sympathetic looks in support.

  “Wait a minute.” Frankie said, scanning the ladies before looking between Molly and the picture, searching for the final piece to the puzzle, “You did this, you and your fire boy there! Oh my God!”

  Laughter wasn’t the word to describe the fit and sounds coming from Frankie when the realization finally hit. She pointed her finger and directed it in a scanning motion to the elder ladies as more laughter unleashed, “And you! You had something to do with it! You helped them!”

  Shays mouth fell open as the shocking allegation flew through them, “You have got to be kidding me! You guys did this?” Her laughter crept through her words before finally falling
on everyone’s ears in the form of hysterics.

  “We did no such thing!” An offended Pricilla chided, “I’m shocked you would think such a thing! The likes of us, tossing toilet paper around someone’s yard in the middle of the night!”

  Hand to chest equally offended at the accusation, “We were merely their supplier, hardly the same thing! Hmmff!”

  “We gave them supplies and a plan, nothing less, nothing more.” The nonchalant demeanor in which Chichi maintained the delivery of her defense set the group into more fits, earning a shrug from the ring leader.

  “No…it was all Seth and me!” Molly said taking full responsibility, smiling before she finished, “We did a really good job too!”

  Frankie shook her head at the shenanigans and each of their roles in the event, “Why are you so bent on trying to win a round with her? Nora never loses!”

  “I don’t know!” Molly admitted, searching for a reason, any reason, “She just…irritates me! She’s mean and awful and needs to have a taste of her own medicine! We’re going to catch her! She goes somewhere almost every night, late; we just can’t quite catch her and figure it out!”

  Chichi looked at Molly and gave her the clue she would have loved to have had ages ago, “She’s at Stan’s.”

  “Stan’s?” Molly questioned.

  “That’s what I said dear. Maybe start there.” She said before sipping on her coffee.

  “If you want to spend time with hose boy, why don’t you just, I don’t know, date him?” Frankie voiced though everyone was thinking it.

  “Oh it isn’t like that, we’re…” Molly paused to think about what it was they were.

  “Isn’t it though? ‘Like that?’ C’mon, we all see it, you two are,” Emerson waved her arms in an odd gesture of flailing arms and awkward kissy faces, “all over each other.”

  Molly took a moment and thought about the conversation being exchanged and considered what the other ladies were saying. Was it really that obvious? Sure she liked him, but was it more than that? Realization stung her like an angry hornet. She did like him; she more than ‘liked’ him.

  He was her first and last thought of every day. He consumed her days as much as he did her nights in her dreams. Good Lord Almighty, she was head over heels for her hunky firefighter. The upset Nora could cause in Molly with her current picture post was starting to make sense.

  “I guess it is…”

  CHAPTER 10

  The door to Reading Grounds flew open. A change in the air could be felt through the place as Molly’s six foot, day old scruff, long haired, leather clad past of rolling muscles blew in – Dane Sharp. Dane was a first-class loser dead beat and one hundred percent bad boy. Once upon a time she thought he was the one, but time revealed he was just the one that liked living in her trailer for free where he entertained anything with boobs while Molly worked three jobs.

  She thought she loved Dane, but she really just loved the idea of him. Loved the idea of having someone, someone like Seth, she thought. Seth was the kind of guy that gave as much as or more than he received. He was kind, compassionate, genuine…someone you could love and love easily.

  Dane had her attention when he pulled her into a tight awkward embrace, planting a kiss right on her lips.

  “Missed you, Kitten…” he said in that all too familiar timbre.

  “Missed me? You mean you missed my free food, free phone, the free roof over your head. Did Candy kick you out? Is that why you’re here?” she fired back.

  He tossed his head back, amused by her obvious crossness, “C’mon, you’re not still mad about that little bump in the road are ya? I already told ya, I just missed you so much, you were always working…”

  “Ha! You missed me? Miss the free ride is more like it. What about that box of trophy panties I found when I put your crap on the lawn. You must’ve missed me a lot!” she pushed his hands from her shoulders and took a step back.

  An annoyed sigh fell from his lips. He took a step closer returning to the suave he was trying to charm her with. “C’mon Kitten…”

  “Stop calling me that! I’ve always hated it, and you know it!”

  “I heard you were doing real well up here.” He took a slow look around, letting out a slow high pitch whistle, taking in all that there was to see in her thriving business. “Looks like I heard right. This is a nice set up you have here, honey.”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “Don’t play so hard to get, Kitten!” he said in a smug tone, grabbing her by the waist again.

  She pushed him away with little success, locked in his brash and smarmy embrace. “Are you working, Dane? I’m guessing no…”

  “I’m…in between gigs.” He chided

  “I thought so…get out. Now.” She seethed, trying to release herself from his sordid brutish grip unsuccessfully.

  “Hey! Everything okay here? Thought I heard the lady say let her go and leave, friend.” Marc, Lexi’s husband, had a tone that implored, “Do what I say” and a presence that said, “Or I’ll kick your ass.” He had several bakery boxes in hand, indicating to Molly, he was Lexi’s delivery guy for the day; praise God for that.

  Dane paused, taking in the tall dark man that largely filled out the expensive suit that didn’t sway the intimidating vibe in the least. Marc Deluca was a class act but carried an Italian bad boy swagger that commanded attention. He stepped between Molly and Dane, providing a buffer between them, forcing Dane several steps backward.

  Dane scanned back and forth between the two, obviously assessing the situation and who they possibly were to each other. “Oh, I see what’s going on here. You got a new friend”

  Marc dropped a grin full of mischief and machismo and said, “Something like that. Door’s that way, friend,” and he nodded toward the door at the front of the store.

  Without much choice in the matter, Dane puffed out his chest in a final alpha attempt, pacing backward toward the door, not ready to turn his back on the enemy in such close proximity. “I’ll be back. We need to talk this out…” he finished, swinging his arm between himself and Molly, indicating that they were this. And then he was gone.

  Marc turned to Molly giving her his charming wink and smile. “Lexi asked me to drop these by.”

  “I’ll have to remember to thank her for sending you when she did!”

  “You might want to mention that guy to Jonah – looks like trouble. He almost forced my hand and ruined these pastries!”

  “Blasphemy!” she laughed. “Flattened pastries would be worth a mention to the Sherriff, but Dane is all bark, no bite.”

  “He seemed pretty determined to me…I don’t like how the asshole just roles off of him,” Marc added.

  “I can handle him. When there is no money and no place to stay, he’ll leave…but thank you. I do appreciate you helping me.” She gave him a quick hug in thanks, valuing her friends and their big beefy husbands just that much more.

  “Okay, call if you need anything, kid.”

  Molly appreciated Marc’s concern, but Dane was harmless and would likely be gone by the end of the day. She hoped. For now, she was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the man she didn’t mind hanging around and invading her personal space. Seth. They had a night of sleuthing to plan.

  ***

  Seth was pissed. Getting ready for his ‘meeting’ with his partner in crime, he decided to take a quick look at Facebook to see what they were up against – if anything – today. To his surprise, and disenchantment, he found a new photo posted with a flippant caption that assaulted his heart, causing it to sink the darkest of depths, leaving it tattered amongst his chilly flood of emotions.

  ‘When you have a type, you have a type… Who is this tall dark and handsome St. Helena stranger?’

  Below the abstruse caption was a picture of Molly wrapped in the arms of some motorcycle thug, looking quite cozy, given the lip lock. His stomach turned at the sight of it. Molly and Seth were nothing more than friends, but it still made his
skin crawl none the less. They had spent time together, intimate time in an emotional sense, and he had thought perhaps they were moving in some sort of direction together.

  His one sided assumption that they were engaged in some kind of unspoken relationship, given their time spent together, just slapped him square in the face. He thought the attraction between them was a given, the chemistry awe inspiring, and the undeniable compatibility, absolutely earth quaking. He was wrong.

  He sat in the fire station kitchen, lost in thought, staring at that picture, torturing himself, comparing and stacking himself up against the thug. He should be at Reading Grounds, meeting with his object of affection to plot their next expedition in the anti-Nora campaign, but instead, he would sit and wallow in his own misery…he lost the girl before he even had her.

  ***

  Molly took a break and made her way to the Fire Station to check on Seth. It wasn’t like him to not show up without a call or text. He was on shift earlier that day but should have been long since done unless he was on a call. He never missed their afternoon spy ninja meetings, so naturally her mind went a million ways, wondering what happened to him…his job was one full of risk, and her heart hurt to think that was what kept him.

  Those thoughts provoked emotions she didn’t realize she had where he was concerned. Sure, her feelings for Seth were becoming more than those of friendship, but somewhere along the line she missed the transition to where they stood now…wherever that was. She cared for him, deeply – everything about him.

  She turned the corner, now facing the Fire Station and her jaw dropped at the wide open doors and all of the half-naked firefighters standing around. Holy hell, this must be what heaven looked like, she thought. The photographer and random animals surrounding brightly colored prop fire hydrants and extinguishers tuned her in to what was going on, the annual Fire House calendar. She was interrupting their shoot, and didn’t feel an ounce of remorse for doing so, hello handsomes; handsomes, as in plural.