“Desperation.” He ran a hand through his hair and CiCi stared at him, unhappy and not sure what to believe. “Why are you so angry?” he asked and put his cane on a nearby table.
“Walker, the way she looks at you, there’s just no doubt that she still has serious feelings for you.”
“Oh, come on, CiCi. We’ve had this conversation.”
“Yeah, but we had that talk before you invited her over and before I saw her today at your house.”
“I didn’t exactly invite her over for tea,” he said. “My mother and sister were on my case to get some help.”
“By the way, where’s your dad?”
“He didn’t come because he has a bad knee.” He didn’t look at her as he said it.
Walker was holding back. Was it about Jana? Or his dad? Or both? Whatever the problem, CiCi sensed it, knew it was there, and felt it putting distance between them.
She stood. “You’re not telling me something.”
“He really does have a bad knee, CiCi,” Walker claimed.
“Then why did you get all uptight back at your house when Jana mentioned his name and the possibility of him coming here for a tour?”
And it was at this inauspicious moment that Jana elected to return from the gift shop.
“Well, I’ll be going,” Jana announced.
To CiCi’s shock, Jana gave her a hug and then offered Walker her hand to shake, which he did as he thanked her for her help. Jana then left, and CiCi and Walker remained silent until Jana was out the front door.
“CiCi, I don’t get it. The woman just hugged you and only shook my hand. Why is she suddenly bothering you so much?”
She briefly considered telling him how Jana had been leaning over him, about to stroke his face as he slept, when she’d arrived with Evelyn and Nina. But if he didn’t believe her, as she felt was likely, she didn’t want to have to resort to asking his mother or sister for confirmation of the awkward scene. Better to leave family out of the dispute, which meant not bringing up what she’d witnessed.
So CiCi decided to be more pointed in her complaint.
“Because she’s your ex-wife who’s still in love with you, Walker. She left this busy distillery to come and help you and all for what? A handshake at the end of the day? I don’t think so.”
“That’s bullshit,” he said. “And you know what? I’ve had a shitty day, so if you want to bitch and moan about some imaginary problem, leave me out of it.”
“It is not in my imagination,” CiCi said through clenched teeth. “Don’t tell me I’m not seeing what I’m seeing. And you’re not the only one who’s had a shitty day, if we’re keeping score, which apparently we are. It’s not bullshit, Walker. I saw it. And you like it.”
“What the hell does that mean?” He tried to get up off the couch, but the moment he tried to stand, he winced and fell backward.
CiCi was superbly unsympathetic and did not offer him help or kind words. She did sit back down on the couch, but as far away as she could sit and still be considered to be using the same piece of furniture. “Two women fawning over you? That’s what you like. And Jana’s certainly getting off in being around you and trying to compete with me for you.”
“You’re delusional!”
“Not likely, and—”
Their argument was interrupted when they heard the door at the end of the hall open. Hannah, Evelyn, and Nina all returned in a cloud of giggles.
“We had a lovely time,” Evelyn cooed.
“I do hope to see you again soon, and maybe Walker’s father can join you.” CiCi glanced at Walker when Hannah mentioned his dad but saw no reaction this time. “And autumn is the perfect time to visit, although I hope we see you before then. So how’s that ankle—” she began to ask, but her phone rang. With apologies, Hannah slipped it from her jeans pocket and answered. “Hi, Bo. I’m here with Walker and friends and—” Hannah stopped talking, listened, and sucked in a very long, excited breath. “That’s wonderful!” After a few more exchanges between brother and sister, Hannah ended the call. “Friends, I am pleased to announce that you are presently in the Kentucky Distillery of the Year! Bo just got the call from our state organization! It’s us! It’s Old Garnet!”
After shouts of excitement, CiCi was there first with the big hug.
“You all have worked so hard,” she said in Hannah’s ear. “You deserve this so much!”
CiCi released Hannah, who then embraced the other women. Walker stood and wobbled on his cane toward Hannah, who did not offer a hug but instead put fists on hips and scowled at him.
“And you!” she exclaimed. “How did you manage all this?”
“Manage what?” he asked, clearly puzzled.
“Well, obviously this has to be a complete setup by you, Walker,” Hannah insisted. “Get your family here on this day of all days.”
“All I did was move,” he said.
“As if,” Hannah said. “You can’t fool me. So when were you going to tell us that you’d been named Master Distiller of the Year?”
CiCi and Nina let out simultaneous, long, and very high-pitched squees which echoed through the building while Hannah threw her arms around Walker’s neck.
“Me?” Walker said. “But I didn’t know—”
“Bo and I nominated you, of course.” Hannah released him for hugs from mother, sister, and girlfriend, in that order. “Bo said the state organization was trying to get in touch with you today to tell you personally, but you didn’t answer your phone.”
“So that’s what those calls were,” marveled Walker, laughing.
“I’d normally say all this good news calls for a celebration,” Hannah said, glancing at Walker’s cane and leg, “but you’re not in the best of conditions for a big night out. Besides, we get to have a celebration in July at the banquet where they present the awards.” Hannah explained that there was a banquet set for July 1 in downtown Louisville. “We can get as many tickets as we need, no worries there. But, um, Walker,” Hannah said, looking worried, “there is one problem.”
“What’s that?”
CiCi was now at his side with her arm around his waist, and his around hers.
“You’re expected to bring a date, so you’d better start working on that, considering how long it took you to ask that woman out,” Hannah said and pointed to CiCi.
Walker looked at CiCi, whose demeanor had changed from royally pissed to infinitely proud. He kissed her.
“Is that an invitation?” she asked.
He bent to whisper in her ear. “Yes, but not only to that banquet.” His hand slid along her waist.
CiCi swallowed when she saw that look in his eye—the same intense look he’d had every time right before they made love. A look no man had ever given her—until him.
She pondered his limitations when it came to that damned ankle. Excitement fluttered in her chest about the possibility of being with Walker that night in the way she really, really wanted to be with him. Or, rather, under him.
Evelyn announced that she wanted to get home and grab something to eat on the way, considering Walker’s condition and the lateness of the hour. The group made its way out to the parking lot, and Hannah brought up the rear, locking the doors of the visitors’ center behind her.
Hannah caught up to CiCi while Walker limped out the building and said his good-byes to Evelyn and Nina. “You know what this good news means?”
“What?” CiCi asked, her mind a blank.
“Shopping,” Hannah insisted. “We’ll need to go get dresses and a few other things for the banquet. It’s not every day that Old Garnet gets an honor like this. We gotta dress up.”
“Other things?” CiCi asked. “Like what?”
“Lingerie. We have a favorite place in Lexington.”
“Oh, Lila likes it too, huh?” CiCi said, smiling and watching Walker with his family.
“No, I’ve not taken Lila there yet, although she might want to shop for her honeymoon.” Hannah leaned close t
o CiCi. “Kyle has waited outside this particular store for me for two hours without complaint. One time he actually sent me back inside to buy more things.”
“That good?”
Hannah nodded slowly and smiled. “You’re going to love it,” she said, her eyes moving away from CiCi toward Walker. “And so will he.”
Chapter 25
After they said farewell to Evelyn and Nina, CiCi helped Walker into the passenger seat of his car and was pleased to note he was doing better on his cane. Following some continued excited talk about the honors for Old Garnet and himself, their conversation ebbed as they neared town, and CiCi knew she needed to apologize.
“I’m sorry I got angry, Walker.”
“I’m sorry, too, but I don’t understand,” he said, leaning his head back on the headrest. “I don’t see what you’re seeing.”
CiCi could sense no disingenuousness in him and realized she’d been unfair to accuse him of liking the attention. That was her fear coming out. The fact was that he just didn’t see the signs Jana still loved him. And that was a good thing.
Because it meant he wasn’t looking for them. He didn’t care anymore.
But he did care about something else: his father. Walker’s reaction to his father’s name had told CiCi that simple truth.
After another round of apologies by both, they decided to drop the subject, and she unsuccessfully tried to cajole him into going to the small walk-in medical clinic at the grocery store. He rejected the idea and reasoned they’d only wrap his ankle, tell him to elevate it and take over-the-counter pain relievers.
“All which I already know and can do myself.”
“Including wrapping that thing?” CiCi asked. “Might need some help in that department.”
“You offering?”
“Maybe,” she said, glancing at him as she tried to keep her eyes on the road.
“Want to go get something to eat first?” Walker asked.
“I don’t think so,” she sighed. “It’s been a long day, we’re both tired, and you’re hurt. You need all the rest you can get.”
He slumped a little in his seat. “Guess you’re right.”
“Well, I guess we could order pizza,” she offered in light of his obvious disappointment. He immediately brightened and asked whether she could help him unpack a few boxes. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow? I can come over tomorrow and help, you know.”
“Well, I need to get into some of my kitchen items and my sheets, blankets and pillows. I need to make my bed.”
“Walker…,” she said wearily and a little warningly.
“I’m not trying to seduce you, okay? I gotta have a place to sleep, don’t I?”
CiCi actually felt a little sad when he claimed he wasn’t trying to get in her pants even though she suspected his injury was a natural impediment to getting frisky that evening.
As they came to the first few stoplights outside town, CiCi slowed the car and put her window down. It would’ve been the perfect time of day for a walk. The temperature had fallen to a more comfortable level, and there was a light breeze. She’d noticed the gently encroaching evening coolness when they’d been at the distillery, although the temperature change there was probably due to their proximity to Old Crow Creek. Back in town, it was likely to be a little bit warmer but still comfortable. So even though it was still humid, the evening was soft and quiet. If they’d been able to amble through the neighborhood—their neighborhood—they would have been able to catch whiffs of the wonderful scents of the season: freshly mown grass, a charcoal grill, honeysuckle, and the magnificently sweet and lemony aroma of the magnolia blossoms.
There was a large magnolia tree in CiCi’s neighbor’s back yard, and this was the time of year when the aroma from the giant tree’s blossoms was always the most intense. Sometimes CiCi would go out on her back deck in the evenings with a glass of Old Garnet just so she could sit and luxuriate in the delicate, evocative scents of warm weather in the South. She couldn’t wait to share these experiences with Walker now that he would be living so close.
Once in Walker’s home, CiCi set to work on opening some of the boxes while Walker ordered the pizza seated at his kitchen table.
“Please tell me you have some beer,” she said when she returned to the kitchen and living room area after opening some boxes in his bedroom. She opened the fridge and scanned the interior; no beer.
“No beer, but you know I’ve got bourbon.” Walker rose, walked without his cane to the cabinets, and pulled out a bottle of Old Garnet.
“Bourbon and pizza?” CiCi asked and closed the fridge door. “Not so sure they go together quite like beer and pizza.”
“Ever tried the combination?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Then you don’t know what you’re talking about,” he declared, placing the bottle of Garnet on the counter.
Walker removed the wooden-and-cork stopper and smelled it. He’d lapsed into professional master distiller mode, and CiCi realized he probably didn’t even know it.
“I made your bed,” she said in a deliberate effort to distract him from the lure of the bourbon. “All nice and tidy.”
He turned his head to her with the stopper still under his nose. “Wanna make it untidy?”
“I thought you weren’t going to try to seduce me.”
“I think I’ve changed my mind.”
“And what does your ankle have to say about that?”
Walker moved toward her until he had her pinned against the counter with his body, his hands out to each side on the counter.
“This is pleasantly familiar,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. CiCi pulled him closer, trying not to upset his balance, considering his injured ankle. She felt his incipient erection against her leg and began to realize he was going to find a way that night to make love to her, his stupid ankle be damned.
He kissed her gently and slowly, cradling her face in his hands, his thumbs stroking her cheeks.
“Master Distiller of the Year,” she said admiringly after they broke the long kiss. “I’m so happy for you. So proud of you.”
“I’m really surprised,” Walker said. “I never thought I’d get such an honor, and especially after being with Old Garnet only a short period of time.”
“So much has changed for Bo and Hannah lately—and you, too,” CiCi mused and saddened. “It’s too bad Emma Davenport didn’t get to see this.”
“That’s the one bittersweet thing for Bo and Hannah,” Walker said. “Not having their parents here to see this happen.”
She had the perfect opening to ask about his dad, but at that moment the doorbell rang.
CiCi went to the door to retrieve the pizza while Walker cleared away newspapers and trash from the kitchen table where items had been unpacked. While CiCi put the pizza on the table, Walker poured the bourbon.
“Can I make it strong?” he asked. She turned to see he’d put ice in those two glasses he’d taken to their picnic by the creek, the ones with the KEEP CALM AND DRINK BOURBON logos. “It’s not like you have to drive home.”
“True, but I do have to walk, and that takes some degree of sobriety.”
“Don’t worry. You can always sleep it off here.”
“Maybe I’d better pour.”
“Stay put and I’ll pour you a reasonable amount. I’ll behave.”
“Yeah, I know how you behave sometimes, Mr. Cain.”
CiCi took the bottle of Old Garnet from Walker and poured herself a bit of bourbon over ice, the same as Walker was drinking, but then went to the fridge dispenser and added a splash of water. Bringing the glass to her nose, she closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and inhaled. With her eyes still closed, she took a sip and savored the sensations as the sweetness hit the front of her tongue and tingled all the way down her throat. Her chest warmed, and she smiled and opened her eyes.
“There’s my Kentucky Hug,” she cooed, referring to the bloom of warmth that spread throughout one’s c
hest like captured sunshine after drinking Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.
Walker nodded, raised his glass to her, and sipped. CiCi licked her lips in appreciation and wondered whether Walker had any of that center cut around. If he was going to get her tipsy on whiskey for his own frisky purposes, she might as well demand the really good stuff.
“Hey, that banquet,” she said, distracted by a sudden brainstorm, “Hannah said it was July 1?” Walker confirmed the date. “That’s your birthday.”
“How’d you know that? Did I tell you?” he asked as he leaned against the counter and took a sip of his drink.
“No,” she said with a guilty smile. “I saw it on your juror information sheet. And as I recall, it’s kind of a big birthday.”
“Yeah, I’ll be forty.” He took another drink.
“I’ll have to throw a party for you.”
“The banquet and the honor will be more than enough celebration for me, thanks.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of a private party.” CiCi moved to him, put her drink down on the counter, and smiled. If he wanted to have some fun tonight, she was more than willing to cooperate, provided he could get his ankle to do the same. She was feeling warm and happy; the bourbon had tasted quite nice and on a nearly empty stomach it was working its effects on her mind and body rather quickly.
“I think I can arrange a venue,” he said. “How does the best room at the hotel sound?”
He put his hand on her hip and pulled her closer so that their thighs and groin areas were finally touching.
“I’m not sure I actually heard you invite me to that banquet, Walker.” She bit her lip, trying not to laugh. She knew where this banter was going to lead them. Right out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. So much for that hot pizza.
“The kiss didn’t get my message across?”
“It got a message across, but not sure it was an invitation to that banquet. Maybe I need some more persuading.”
Walker took CiCi’s face in his hands again, but this time his touch was more forceful. He searched her face, smiling, eager, and—she was surprised to feel—trembling.
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