Shoe Strings

offered?”
    Her lips pursed as she considered.   “No, but I wasn’t expecting a simple
apology.”
    “When I’m wrong, I like to admit it and move on.   And since I keep running into you, I
figure we ought to make up so I can stop looking out for knives thrown at my
back.”
    “Okay, I’ll admit my reaction to you was a little
harsh.   I apologize too.”   She put her napkin on the table and
reached for her purse.  
    “So, truce then.”   He tried to think of how to get her to linger.  
    “Truce.”   She
held out her hand and they shook over the table.   He felt something when he took her small
hand in his, something like a spark or a connection.   She must have felt it too because her
expression turned serious.   “May I
have my hand back, please?”
    Jesse slowly disengaged her hand from his.   “Sure, Angelita.   I’ll see you around.”
    ***
    Kerri Ann was manning the cash register when Lita got up to
leave.   The woman practically ran
the restaurant single-handedly.   Lita knew Bryce had paid the check, as promised.   She also knew that Kerri Ann was
swimming in a giant pool of jealousy from the hundreds of daggers she’d shot
their way while they ate.   If only
Kerri Ann knew that Bryce had spent half of the time talking about her and how
hard she’d worked to keep the business running while raising her son.  
    Lita grabbed a mint from the jar by the register and painted
on her most genuine smile.   “That
was the best pizza I’ve had in ages.   You’re truly gifted.”
    Kerri Ann’s expression softened.   “Thanks,” she said in what Lita assumed
was her real voice.   “Come on back.”
    “I will.”   She
unwrapped the mint and popped it in her mouth.   She glanced back where Jesse sat at her
abandoned table, all gorgeous and rumpled in his grunge-wear.   She was still reeling from their brief
contact and the look she’d seen in his eyes.   Since her feelings were slightly
off-kilter, she figured she might as well prod at whatever was going on between
Bryce and Kerri Ann.   “You know that
man I was dining with, Bryce?”
    “Sure.”   Kerri
Ann nodded.   “Everybody knows
Bryce.”
    “That was very nice of him, don’t you think?   Paying my bill like that for an
accident.   That would never happen
back home.”
    “Home?”
    “Oh, sorry.   Atlanta.   I’m just here
visiting.”   She leaned on the
counter to the clear annoyance of Kerri Ann.   “So, what’s his story?”
    “Who?”
    “Bryce.”   Like
she didn’t know.   “He’s very
attractive, he’s got great manners, and that accent…”
    Kerri Ann’s shoulders flew back and she swung the hair from
her face with a flick of her head.   “He’s…the best.”   Did she know,
Lita wondered, that her whole face took on a dreamy look when she said it?   What the hell was keeping them apart?
    ***
    Jesse approached the register as Angelita walked through the
screen door. “You’re not going to have many customers if you give them all the
evil eye like that.”
    “You think she’s pretty?” Kerri Ann asked.   “All that hair and those ridiculous
clothes?”
    Jesse laughed.   “Yeah, but so are you, darlin’.”
    Kerri Ann snorted.   “Oh, please.   I’m not
sleeping with you again, Jesse, so don’t even bother.”
    “You women are crazy.”   He grabbed her chin with his hand and gave it a shake.   He could see all her old insecurities
float to the surface.   It was one of
the things that kept her in his heart after all the harsh words they’d shared
over the years.   “The beautiful
thing about women is that they come in lots of varieties.   And your variety has always been cute,
despite your nasty attitude.”   He
turned to walk out through the back.  
    “Jess?” Kerri Ann called.
    “Yeah?”
    She smiled when he turned around and she saw the exasperated
look on his face.   “Thanks.”

 

 
    Chapter 6
    The air smelled ripe with spring’s bounty.   Cal had heard the first call of the
Kentucky warbler echoing through the woods early in the morning as he pulled
rakes for him and Ty out of the storage shed.   The mountains had emerged from a
particularly frosty winter, prompting him to clean up the property and get the
grounds in top form.   He’d felt a
little embarrassed that Lita had seen Bloodworth Cabins looking less than
perfect, but he could only hope she was too much of a city girl to care.  
    Cal looked forward to spending the day