Carolina Moon

anymore. Seems that Coach Heister used to come out there at night, too, in his Chevy sedan in the company of another man’s wife. I won’t mention who, as the lady remains married and is the proud grandmother of three now. Hold this end for me, sugar.”
    Fascinated, Tory took the end of the measuring tape as Dwight walked backward to span the projected counter area.
    “Now, it so happened that on one of our mutual visits to the Progress High School track, I got an eyeful of the coach and the future grandmother of three. It was, you can imagine, a rather awkward moment for all parties involved.”
    “To say the least.”
    “And the least said, the better, which is what Coach suggested to me as he clamped his hands around my throat. I had to agree. However, being a fair man, or perhaps just a suspicious one, he offered me a token in return. If I continued to train, and could take off another ten pounds, he’d give me a place on the track team come spring. This was our tacit agreement, that I would forget the incident and that he would refrain from killing me and burying my body in a shallow grave.”
    “Seemed to work for everyone.”
    “Sure worked for me. I took off the weight, and shocked everyone, including myself, by not only making the team but blowing the competition to hell in the fifty- and hundred-yard dashes. I was a hell of a sprinter, it turned out. I won the All Star trophy three years running, and the love of pretty Lissy Harlowe.”
    She warmed to him, one outsider to another. “That’s a nice story.”
    “Happy endings. I think I can help you get your own here in your shop. Why don’t I buy you lunch and we’ll talk about it.”
    “I don’t—” She broke off as the door opened behind her.
    “Don’t tell me you’re hiring this two-bit hustler.” Wade strolled in, swung an arm around Tory’s shoulder. “Thank God I got here in time.”
    “This puppy doctor here doesn’t know a damn thing about building. Go give a poodle an enema, Wade. I’m about to take your pretty cousin, and my potential client, to lunch.”
    “Then I’ll just have to come along and protect her interests.”
    “I need shelves more than I need a sandwich.”
    “I’ll see you get both.” Dwight winked at her. “Come on, sugar, and bring this dead weight along with you.”
    She took thirty minutes, and enjoyed herself more than she’d expected. It was a pleasure to see the adult friendship between Dwight and Wade that had its roots in the boys she remembered.
    It made her miss Hope.
    It was easy enough for a woman who was rarely comfortable around men to relax when one was her cousin and the other tidily married. So tidily, Dwight was showing off pictures of his son before the sandwiches were served. Tory would have made the appropriate and expected noises in any case, but the truth was the little boy was seriously adorable, with Lissy’s pretty face and Dwight’s snapping eyes.
    And, she decided, as she headed off to do errands, it had been constructive as well as easy. Not only did Dwight understand what she wanted, but he improved on her basic layout, and the estimate slipped comfortably into her budget. Or did after she wheedled, refused, questioned, and pushed. And, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow, he promised the work would be done before the middle of May.
    Satisfied, she went out and bought a bed.
    She really meant to pick up just the mattress and box spring. Years of frugality had never permitted her to impulse buy. And it was rare, very rare, for her to experience the deep-seated desire to own something.
    The minute she saw it, she was hooked.
    She walked away from it twice, and back again. The price wasn’t out of line, but she didn’t need a lovely, classic iron bed with slim, smooth posts to frame both head and foot of the mattress. Yes, it was practical, but it wasn’t necessary.
    A sturdy bed frame, and a good solid mattress set, that was all she required. All she was going to do was sleep in it, for goodness sake.
    She argued with herself even as she pulled out her credit card, as she drove to the loading dock, as she drove home. Then she was too busy hauling and cursing and tugging to waste time arguing.
    Standing between rows of newly cultivated cotton, Cade watched her struggle for ten minutes. Then he did some cursing of his own, marched to his truck, and drove down to her lane.
    He didn’t slam the door after he climbed out, but he wanted to.
    “You forgot your magic