“There are several boxes of flowers over there near the side door. Will you bring a few of them over so I can sort through the ones that need to go out now?” She moved the vase over to the ribbon section and pulled out a bright blue one, measuring it against her arm.
Grateful to be of use, Colton jumped into action and grabbed the boxes, setting them next to the table. Becca had disappeared with the vase but was back on his next return with a box, already cutting into the one he’d brought over.
Sensing her need to concentrate, he stayed quiet and did the best he could to help, wondering if he was hindering more than anything. Over an hour later, Becca came in, tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ears, and sat down in one of the chairs.
“Are we all done for the night?” Colton asked, wondering about the ten other boxes he’d pulled over.
She gave him a weak smile. “I wish. Thank you for your help. That rush was a doozy. You can head out if you need to. I know you probably have something fun to do.”
Colton laughed out loud, and Becca narrowed her eyes at him. “I do. I’d say working with flowers is fun.”
“I think so, but I’m not so sure about you.” Becca’s grin brightened her already attractive features, and he had to pull his gaze away from her.
“If you still have work to do, I’m here to help. I’m sure it will go faster with one pair of competent hands and a gopher, right?” He twisted his lips to the side, and she laughed louder than he’d heard since he got to town.
“This isn’t some ploy to get me to agree to the subdivision, is it?” Becca’s smile faded, and she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, as if sizing up his true intentions.
Hands raised, Colton said, “Not at all. My mother taught me to help those in need, and I’d say you’re in need right now.”
“Well, then I’ll have to thank your mom. Let’s get started.”
Chapter 12
Becca was surprised at how fast Colton learned. He might not be the best at tying a bow around a bouquet or a box, but he’d already memorized several of the flowers they’d worked with over the past hour and had definitely cut the time it would take to get everything ready in half.
The panic she’d felt as the hours ticked by while waiting for the truck had slowly ebbed away as she worked next to him, catching the musky scent of his cologne every once in a while. He was funny and quick-witted, his quips causing her to laugh more than once. She appreciated the company, even if she was still a bit leery of his intentions. If he was trying to persuade her to vote for the subdivision, he was going all out for it.
With all the flowers arranged or prepped for the next morning, Becca blew out a long breath.
“I can’t thank you enough for your help tonight,” she said, smiling at Colton.
“No problem. I feel more useful than if I’d gone back to the hotel and watched TV for the duration of the evening.” He grinned, and she saw the scar on his chin again.
She reached up and touched the spot but pulled her hand back as she realized he was watching her, the corner of his mouth turned up. His eyes stared into hers, making her knees buckle. At least she was already next to the table.
“Sorry. I just noticed you had a scar there. What happened?”
“When I was a kid, I loved climbing trees. My mother got to the point that when she was looking for me, she’d go outside and look in every tree in our yard. One time I was trying to climb up too fast and didn’t see a broken branch. It sliced pretty deep, but we didn’t have good insurance, so my mom put a bandage over it.”
“No stitches, huh?”
Colton shook his head. “No, she watched it, though. She’d clean it out every day with hydrogen peroxide and bandage it up. I got a lot of scrapes over the years, and she probably saved us quite a bit by being an at-home nurse.”
Something about his words caused Becca’s heart to swell. Her parents had always been middle class, and she’d never truly wanted for any of the necessities. But she’d never really thought of things like insurance as being something to go without. A doctor visit in town was just a normal thing, but then again, she hadn’t really needed to get checked out in the past few years, even though Danielle kept pestering her about therapy.
“How about a milkshake? The diner is open late on Fridays, and I owe you for staying so long to help me.” She patted the table with her hand as she waited for his response.
“Sounds good, but I’ll buy.”
Shaking her head and her pointer finger in front of him, she said, “I don’t think so, Mr. Builder. Like I said, I owe you.”
Becca grabbed her purse and turned off the lights before moving out the side door. The diner wasn’t too far, but the sky distracted her. Its blue-black shone against the large nearly-full moon and the spattering of stars. She’d been back here for several years, but she hadn’t taken much time to enjoy it all since she’d come back after graduation, like she’d put herself into a tunnel of the places she had to go and never glanced at the rest of it. She’d never been able to see the sky as clearly when she’d gone to college. This view was just one of the many reasons she didn’t want to leave this small town.
“Last night you said your mother wouldn’t leave Boulder. Did you grow up in the Denver area?” Becca asked, breaking the comfortable silence between them.
“On the outskirts. We moved to a couple of suburbs throughout the years, but I moved into the city once I graduated high school. Work was more consistent there, and with my mom’s health, we needed something more steady. She wouldn’t come, though. Said the dirty city air would only make her symptoms worse.”
Becca thought about that and then asked, “And your father?”
“Gone by the time I was three. He was a pilot, so it wasn’t like I noticed a whole lot when he was finally gone. He’d leave for two or three weeks at a time and then only be home for a couple of days before taking off again. Then one time, he just didn’t come back. My mom never really said much about it until I asked her in high school. He’d found a new life somewhere else, and we weren’t a part of it.”
Feeling like she’d just been punched in the gut, Becca reached over, touching his arm lightly. “I’m so sorry, Colton. I can’t even imagine.”
He shrugged. “It was a long time ago. There are a lot of things I would have liked to ask him, but then again, I made it this far. My mom worked at one of the local restaurants for years until she couldn’t hold up the trays anymore. At that point, I was already working wherever I could.”
Becca let out a nervous laugh. “I feel somewhat guilty now. My parents let me do what I wanted as long as I wasn’t causing trouble. I didn’t have to think about a job, even in college.” For some reason, even mentioning college didn’t have the same bite it had before he’d come to town. “But I’ve found that working has a way of soothing some of the times when I could go crazy. So you graduated high school and started working for Dream Homes?”
He bobbed his head back and forth, looking indecisive. “Kind of, yeah. Dream Homes is a smaller company under Summers Construction. They primarily built commercial buildings, but my old boss wanted to get into the residential sector, thinking it would be a good way to diversify. His son, my new boss, Adam, just took over for his dad a few months ago with this section, and as much as I want this deal to work out, he’s more cutthroat than I am.”
“What do you mean by that?” A pit formed in her stomach as her nerves reacted to his comments.
“I mean that he doesn’t look at the overall situation. It’s the dollar signs he’s worried about and how fast we can make them. His father is a lot different, someone I always felt I could confide in and be straight with. Adam is kind of a stereotypical spoiled rich kid who has the job he has because of his family.”
Becca nodded. She’d met several of those kinds of people in school. It hadn’t taken long for her to learn who the influential families of Salt Lake were, especially when those students were in her classes. Not all were
privileged and snotty, but there were more than she’d imagined.
“So, you’re not completely convinced about this subdivision, then?” She heard the hope in her voice and wished she could rephrase it without looking like an idiot.
He chuckled as he opened the door to the diner. “No, the subdivision is something I think this town needs. Not all apartments bring the bad sort; believe me. Sometimes people just need the chance to get back on their feet with affordable housing while not feeling like they’ve been put out with the trash.”
Becca thought about his words, wondering if they struck home more than she expected. But seeing it from that perspective made her realize how much she’d truly been given.
As they took a seat at the bar, Velda wiggled her eyebrows at Becca as Colton settled in. The older woman turned to Colton. “We didn’t run you out of town yet, huh?”
“No, ma’am. Not yet.” He smiled wide at her. “I figured I’d stick around and see what the small-town life is like.”
“And how’s that working out for you?”
Becca shifted in her seat, turning to face him as she waited for his response.
He nodded a few times, glancing at Becca once before looking in Velda’s direction again. “I’m a fan of this town. Everyone I’ve met has been really accommodating.”
Velda turned and pointed to Becca. “Are you sure she’s been that way?”
Colton looked in Becca’s direction and smiled, his teeth shining through. It made his whole face light up, and Becca averted her eyes, feeling a little self-conscious.
“She’s gone above and beyond to make me feel at home here.”
Becca’s head shot up, eyes wide at his statement. She hadn’t been the most congenial person when he’d come to town, and she’d even run away from him after he tried to console her.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Velda said, winking at Becca once again.
Needing to get this conversation on another track, Becca said, “Can I get the usual?” before pushing her menu back to the woman. She was more hungry than she’d expected, realizing she hadn’t stopped for lunch or dinner.
“Are you still cold, honey? I can switch the hot chocolate for a soda or something. You know it’s almost summertime, right?”
“There’s just something about hot chocolate that makes me—” She stopped, seeing Colton’s eyes searching her face. What she wanted to say was that hot chocolate reminded her of her parents and the many times they’d sat around the dinner table, sipping from their mugs and chatting about anything under the sun, the easy stuff and the deeper, tougher issues. But after the nearly carefree day she’d had, she didn’t want to spoil it with tears.
An idea popped into her head, the design of Velda’s hair clip inspiring her. She pulled out a pen from her purse and started drawing on the napkin in front of her.
“That’s a cool design. Do you draw when you’re bored?” he asked, leaning over a few inches.
Her eyes went wide, and both her hands flew to the page, covering the swirls. After a minute, she sighed and removed her hands. “Sometimes I get inspiration in the weirdest places. I have to hurry and sketch it out or else I forget about it. This is going to be a pendant.”
“Do you create a lot of jewelry?”
She shrugged. “I guess it depends. I just like to make sure I use the flowers that don’t get sold, and there are a lot of possibilities with all the different colors. I use the petals for different sections and then use wire for the rest.”
“Sorry, I’m having a hard time picturing the petals not wilting.”
“I use resin to cover them, keeping the bright colors from fading or turning brown.” She finished off the small design with a few more strokes. “I have a small table at the front of my shop where I display them.”
Colton rested his hand in his palm, his body turned to her directly. “What inspired you this time?”
“I do believe that is a very personal question, Colton Maxfield.” She raised her chin and gave him a hint of a smile. “Maybe I can share that stuff with you when we’ve known each other longer than two days.”
Colton raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re hoping to know me longer than that?” He gave her a cockeyed grin.
She scowled. “That’s not what I meant. I’m just saying we’ve known each other for a couple of days. I’m not usually an open book.” She went back to sketching, making sure to get it as close to the picture in her mind as she could.
Velda came over with a soda for Colton and Becca’s hot chocolate. “Don’t let her kid you, Colton. She can talk your ear off when she wants to.”
“Good to know.” Colton’s mischievous smile disappeared as he took a sip of his beverage out of the straw.
Becca flashed Velda a grimace, but the woman winked, her smile signaling she was up to something. Becca could only imagine.
She and Colton chatted about easy things as they ate their food. Once it was gone, Becca ordered them both a milkshake, making sure the woman knew the tab would go to her. It was the least she could do to repay the man after all his help. Plus, she felt like it was less like a date if she paid. At least, that’s what she was telling herself.
The more time they spent together, the more comfortable she was with him. If she let things continue, she’d end up with a broken heart one way or another. He’d either leave town or realize the same thing Peter had before he broke off their engagement. Becca wasn’t worth loving.
Chapter 13
After the milkshake, Colton managed to get Velda to charge the food to his card without Becca knowing, which he counted as a win.
He and Becca walked out the door, and Colton wasn’t ready to head back to the hotel. “Is there a place you like to go to think?”
Becca turned and looked at him, the glassiness of her eyes under the moonlight only heightening the attraction he’d felt building throughout the day.
She nodded, and they walked in silence toward Town Hall, stopping in front of the large water fountain. The water flew up out of the top and spilled over the edges of the different tiers, the lighting on each making the whole thing dance before him.
“So, what’s the story with this spot? Why do you like to come here?”
She sat on the bench and stared at the fountain in a trance. “My father started the fundraiser to get it put in after the deaths of the students. He used to bring us here all the time, me and my brother. We would play with the birds that hung around, and he’d give us coins to throw into the fountain for a wish.”
“Did any of those wishes come true?” His question stopped her short, and she glanced up at him, her eyes unfocused like she didn’t really see him.
“I’m not sure. I can’t remember any of them.”
Colton leaned forward and reached into his pants pocket to pull out two coins. He moved to sit on the bench with Becca, handing her a coin. “Throw it in. Even though we’re not kids anymore, we can still dream.” He could feel her eyes on him as he closed his own, searching his heart for his wish. His first thought was to know what it was like to kiss Becca Taylor. He opened his eyes and tossed the coin into the fountain, smiling as he did so.
He turned and stared at her, seeing the indecision in her face. “Just play along. Sometimes we give up on our dreams as adults when what we should be doing is going out and getting them.”
She raised one eyebrow and seemed to be trying not to smile. “So, you’re chasing all your dreams?”
Colton shifted back against the bench, turning his focus back to the fountain. He bit the inside of his mouth as he debated what to tell her. “Not all, but a few. What about you?”
She paused a moment. “No, I guess not.”
Making her wish, she kissed the coin and tossed it into the fountain. If only he could have been the coin right then.
“Does kissing it help the wish come true?” Colton asked, his stomach flipping when she beamed.
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out.”
Sitting there on the bench, it wasn’t long before a chill wind came around, probably from the pond up the trail from them. He glanced over and saw Becca’s lower lip quiver, and her teeth chattered together as she rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms.
Taking a chance, he scooted closer and draped his arm around her. “It’s colder here than Denver. I should have thought to bring a jacket.”
Becca’s body was stiff for several seconds, and Colton almost let go, but then she relaxed against him. “I’m the one who should know better. The wind coming down from the canyon can be brutal.” She turned her head slightly, but not enough to completely face him. The corner of her mouth moved up a fraction of an inch, and then it was gone, her focus back on the fountain in front of them.
Colton glanced up at the stars, breathing out deeply. He’d never imagined he’d have feelings for someone like the ones that were snowballing out of control inside him for the girl at his side. Long ago, he’d told himself that if he couldn’t be at home for longer than a couple of weeks at a time, it wasn’t worth trying to settle down. He didn’t want to abandon his mother like his dad had done, didn’t want to have that guilt when he came through the door that his kids would barely know him.
And up until now, he’d been happy. He had a good job and was able to support his mother, all the while living like a bachelor in the city. But in just a few days, he’d been shown that there was a significant piece of his life he was missing out on. Maybe there was a chance here.
Just as quickly as the flicker of hope entered his chest, he shook it off.
“So, what else do you like to do around here?” Colton asked, breaking through his thoughts. If things with the city council passed, he’d be the source of hurt for Becca, taking away some of the stability she’d come to lean on over the years since her parents’ accident.
Love Under Construction: A Sage Creek Small Town Novel Page 8