Shoe Strings

and nails.   “No, no, she didn’t.   But I
hope she’s not leaving soon.   I like
having her around.”   He ushered
Jesse out the door after turning off the light.   “She’s even made friends with Kerri
Ann.   I saw the two of them
yesterday all gussied up and heading for Beaumont’s.   Kind of an odd pairing, if you ask me.”
    “Her and Kerri Ann?”   Jesse thought of the way Kerri Ann had shot nasty looks at Angelita last
week at the Pizza Den.   “Are you
sure?”
    “Talked to them as they were heading that way.   Good for both of them, I say.   I don’t know for sure, but I think all
Lita’s done since she’s been here is work and God knows Kerri Ann could use a
girlfriend.   When was the last time
you saw her do anything just for herself?”
    “I don’t know.”   Jesse followed Cal back over the bridge and watched as he carefully
replaced his work boots with knee-high waders and slipped into the water.   If he was going to do water work, there
was plenty to be done at the raft shop.   “I guess I’ll catch her later.”
    “You going to pick up Ty on Wednesday?” Cal asked over his
shoulder.
    “Yeah.”
    “Bring him out here after school, would ya?   Tell him those tadpoles we fished out of
the brook are getting bigger.”
    Jesse shook his head.   “He’s fourteen, Dad, not four.”
    “You just ask him and see what he says.”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”  
    He’d just backed up the Scout from the garage when
Angelita’s SUV came shooting up the drive.  
    ***
    It wasn’t the steepness of the slope that had Lita’s stomach
knotting as she approached the cabin.   Jesse was there, poised to leave as she pulled up from her trip to the
grocery store.   She stopped next to
his truck and rolled the window down to speak to him, hoping to make her voice
sound casual, like she hadn’t been thrown for a loop by his unexpected
appearance.   He was always throwing
her for a loop.
    “Hi,” she said.   “You come to see Cal?”
    “You, actually.”   Could he see her pulse jump at his words?   What could those hazel eyes see behind
the lenses of his sporty glasses?   “I was going to mount your spare.”
    “Oh…”   She could
feel her face burn at his use of the word mount.   “I’d forgotten all about it.   Are you in a hurry or can you put it in
now?”
    He looked at his watch and grinned.   “I think I can spare a few
minutes.”    
    She pulled her SUV next to Cal’s car and Jesse parked behind
her.   He was wearing his usual cargo
shorts and faded t-shirt and his hair looked like he’d let the wind blow it dry
after his morning shower.   Her
throat was suddenly dry.   She looked
down at her yoga pants, workout top, and tennis shoes.   When she couldn’t care less what he
thought of her, she was dressed to the nines, and now that she did, he’d caught
her in exercise clothes and without a shower.   Perfect.
    “I’ll just unload these bags while you get to it then.”   She tried to sidestep him at the hatch
and breeze past before he could get a good look at her.   A few minutes in the bathroom wouldn’t
hurt.  
    He grabbed her arm as she tried to pass.   “I’ll get these.”   He plucked the bags from her hand and
left her straggling after him.  
    “You don’t have to.”  
    “It’s no problem.”   She opened the door for him and followed him inside.  
    “Can I get you some coffee?   A muffin?” She pointed to the basket Cal
had brought over the day before.
    “Coffee would be good.”   He stood where he was in the kitchen, watching her as she filled the
carafe and added the grinds.
    “It’ll be just a minute.   How do you take it?”
    “Black’s fine.”
    “Okay.”   She felt
uncomfortable under his stare.   He
was probably wondering what he ever found attractive about her in the first
place.   “I’ll bring it out to you
when it’s ready.”   She really wanted
to dash into the bathroom and survey her appearance.   She didn’t have on a lick of makeup and
could have died from embarrassment.
    He stood where he was and cocked his head to the side.   “How tall are you?”  
    He stepped to within an inch of her and measured the top of
her head against his formidable chest.   She was face to face with his collarbone.   “Five-three.   And a half,” she added when he kept
looking down at her.   She could feel
his breath on her face and smell the citrus on his skin.   She had to fight the urge to