Blue Smoke

don’t watch me,” he said to Reena. “You’re making me nervous. I’ll clutch. Go on over and sit with Mandy and Brad.” He gestured.
    “Sure.” She grabbed a soda, moved over to join them.
    “Hey! You made it. Reena, this is Brad. Brad, Reena. I met Reena during one of my more embarrassing moments.”
    “Then I’ll be dignified and counterbalance. Nice to meet you—in the flesh after all these years of hearing about Dream Girl.”
    “You, too.” She sipped, smiled at Mandy. “When I was fifteen, I dropped my notebook rushing to class. It fell open and this guy—tall, nice shoulders, streaky blond hair, big blue eyes—named Chuck picked it up for me, before I could dive after it. Inside I’d filled pages with “Reena” and “Chuck,” and hearts with our initials in them, or just his name over and over the way you do.”

    “Oh God, he saw it?”
    “Hard to miss.”
    “That was embarrassing.”
    “I think my face went back to its normal color in about a month. So, now we’re even.”

26
    She’d been right, Reena decided. The evening at Sirico’s had been exactly what she’d needed. Her mind had calmed down, her stomach had smoothed out.
    It had been interesting and educational to spend an hour in the company of Bo’s closest friends.
    Family, she thought. Those two were his family as much as her own brother and sisters were hers.
    “I like your friends,” she told him as she unlocked her front door.
    “Good, because if you didn’t, you and I would’ve been history.” He patted her butt when they walked inside. “No, seriously, I’m glad you all hit it off. They’re important to me.”
    “And to each other.”
    “Did you get that before or after they started slurping on each other?”
    “Before.” She stretched her back. “When I walked in. Lust vibes.”
    “I’m having a tough time getting around that.”
    “That’s just because you’re used to seeing them as family, or you have since you and Mandy stopped hitting the sheets. But the fact that they’re now hitting them with each other doesn’t make them less yours.”
    “I think I need to block the image of the sheets, at least for the time being.” He put his hands on her arms, rubbed them up and down. “Tired?”

    “Not as much as I was. Got a fresh charge.” She clamped her hands on his hips. “Got something in mind as to what I should do with the energy?”
    “Might. Come on out back. I’ve got something I want to show you.”
    “You want to show it to me outside?” She laughed as he pulled her along. “What are you now, Nature Boy?”
    “Sex, sex, sex, that’s all the woman thinks of. Thank you, Jesus.” He pulled her out the back door.
    There was a nice half-moon shedding sharp white light. Flowers she’d managed to grab and plant on the run were spilling out of her patio pots.
    The air was warm, a little close, and heavily scented with the green smell of summer.
    And there, under a leafy maple, was a glider.
    “A glider! You got me a glider for the yard?”
    “Got? Heresy. Guess I should’ve strapped on my tool belt.”
    “You made it.” Her eyes misted, and now it was Reena dragging him. “You made me a glider? Oh my God, when? It’s beautiful. Oh, feel how smooth.” She ran her fingers over the wood. “It’s like silk.”
    “Finished it up today, kept my mind off things. Want to try it out?”
    “Are you kidding?” She sat, stretched her arms over the back and set it in motion. “It’s great, it’s wonderful. Another ten pounds of stress just fell off my shoulders. Bo.” She reached her hand out for his. “You sweetie.”
    He sat beside her. “I was hoping it’d be a hit.”
    “Major league.” She dropped her head on his shoulder. “This is fabulous. My own house, my own yard on a warm June night. And a sexy guy sitting with me on a glider he made with his own two hands. It makes everything that happened last night seem unreal.”
    “I guess we both needed to box that away for a few hours.”
    “And you spent yours building me this.”
    “If you love what you do, it’s not really work.”
    She nodded. “It’s satisfaction.”

    “That’s the one. And hell, it looks like I’m going to score a new truck tomorrow.” His fingers toyed with the curling tips of her hair. “Your mom’s coming along. Her cousin’s a Dodge dealer.”
    “My advice? Give her her head.” Something she’d planted smelled strong and sweet. Like a splash of vanilla on the warm air.