Shoe Strings

“If you really want to do
something for me, you can design some men’s shoes.”
    She laughed, grabbed her glass, and headed back out to the
porch.   “That’s exactly what Bryce
said.”
    They took their places in the chairs they’d sat in earlier,
minus the cats.   She looked
beautiful in the soft glow from the moon and Cal’s discretely placed landscape
lighting.   She seemed relaxed and
happy and she had to ruin Jesse’s mood by bringing up Jenson.   “Bryce, huh?   You like him?”
    “Bryce?”   She
sipped her wine, threw her hair behind her shoulder revealing the long line of
her bronzed neck.   “What’s not to
like?   He’s such a southern
gentleman.”
    “Yeah, that’s Bryce for you.”
    “You don’t like him?”
    Jesse leaned back in his chair, studied the cocky look on
her face.   “I like him.   I just think you’re barking up the wrong
tree.”
    “What does that mean?”
    Jesse knew he’d made Bryce sound gay and he felt a twinge of
guilt.   But, hey, if it kept Bryce
out of the picture, it had to be done.   “He’s not interested in you, Angelita.   Nothing personal, he’s just…not.”
    “You mean because he’s in love with Kerri Ann?”   Her cocky grin changed into a full-blown
smile.  
    “Figured that out, did you?”
    “Hard to miss.”   She shifted in her chair, crossed her ankles.   “How do you feel about that?”
    Guilty, remorseful, if he were honest.   “Bryce’s had a thing for Kerri Ann for,”
he blew out a breath, “going on twenty years now.   He’s one very patient man.”
    “She’s in love with him too.”
    “Still?”    There was a time, years ago, when he thought she was.   She hadn’t had a chance to tell Bryce
before they found out about the baby.   He hadn’t considered Kerri Ann’s feelings for Bryce in a long time.   “You think so?”
    “Oh yes.”
    He sat up in his chair.   For a newcomer, she sure made her way around the town gossip.   “How can you be so sure?”
    “I’m a woman and I’m very familiar with the signs.”   As if to emphasize her femininity, she
shook her hair behind her shoulders and ran her long fingers around the hoops
at her ears.   “I heard them arguing
the other day.   My business partner,
Sophie, she denied her attraction to her husband for months.   He was bothering her, she didn’t like
the way he wore his hair or the way he dressed.   There was always something wrong with
him.   Classic signs.”   She groaned when the cats jumped on the
deck and the gray and brown began rubbing her ankles.   “You didn’t realize she loved him?”
    “I guess I’m not as adept at reading the signs.”   She’d certainly described Kerri Ann’s
reaction to Bryce lately, and to him.   Truth be told, he hadn’t given much thought to Kerri Ann’s personal life
in the last few years.   They tiptoed
around each other’s private lives.   “You’d think they’d have found a way to get together after all this time
if what you say is true.”
    Angelita let out a whoop when the cat jumped on her
lap.   “Oh, these cats are starved
for attention.”   She gently patted
the cat’s head like someone would a dog.   “Their hair gets everywhere.”
    It was like watching a mermaid adjust to life outside the
water.   Jesse couldn’t figure why
her behavior was so appealing, especially when he’d spent three years in
Atlanta with a flock of good-looking women.   But, from their earlier conversation, he
now knew she was more than just a pretty face.   “You’ve never had pets?”
    “I was enough of a problem for my father without adding a
real pet to the mix.”   She shooed
the cat off her lap.   “How about
dessert?”
    Jesse groaned.   “Is it small?”
    She chuckled as she stood and grabbed his hand, urging him
up.   “It’s ice cream.   You can’t say no to ice cream.”
    Jesse indulged in a double-decker sundae, while Angelita had
a modest scoop.   With a decidedly
full belly and much regret, he rinsed off their dishes and leaned against the
counter.   “Well, as much as I hate
to, I’d better head home.   I’ve got
a group coming up for a day trip tomorrow.”
    “Rafting?   In
this weather?”
    “You can raft in any weather.   Should be nice, maybe a little chilly in
the morning.   We have wet suits if
it’s too cold.”
    Angelita leaned against the counter next to him.   They were so close her arm brushed his
and he could smell the coconut