Shoe Strings

cookies.”
    “Cookies, huh?”   Jesse imagined Angelita baking wearing nothing but a white apron.   He figured she had lots of hidden
talents up her sleeve.   He intended
to find out most of them over the weekend.   He still hadn’t told her they were staying overnight and wondered just
how pissed she’d be when she figured it out.   “What kind?”
    “Chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin.”    Ty continued to cast, jerking the
boat every so often when he’d get a little too eager.   “You like her a lot.   I can tell.”
    More than he’d anticipated and much more than he should,
considering the number of times they’d been together.   But logic didn’t seem to factor into the
equation with Angelita.   He could
only chalk it up to fate.   She intrigued
him, aroused him, and confused him like no other woman ever had.   It was too heady a combination not to
explore.   “Yeah, I do.   You okay with me dating?   Haven’t done a whole lot of that in
awhile.”
    “As long as it’s not one of my teachers.   That thing with Ms. Ferguson was just
weird.”
    “ Jenny ,” Jesse sighed to annoy
Ty.   “I haven’t thought of her in
years.   How is she?”
    “Married, so don’t even go there.”
    Jesse laughed.   The sun dipped below the tree line and he knew they only had a half hour
or so before they’d have to head back.   “I’ve better places to go.”   He thought of Angelita.   He
had to wonder, was she thinking of him?

 

 
    Chapter 15
    Kerri Ann had called and very simply thanked Bryce for the
date.   Her deliberate use of the
word had pleased him, but not as much as the dinner invitation she’d quietly,
shyly issued.   He’d felt his
shoulder and neck muscles relax as the conversation proceeded.   It was like being frozen and then dipped
into a vat of hot wax.   They’d be
alone, in her house, for an entire evening.   Ty wouldn’t be joining them, she’d
pointed out, as he’d planned to spend the night with Jesse.  
    A man couldn’t hear talk like that and not assume she’d left
the door open for…anything.   Please,
God, he silently prayed as he shut down his computer and readied to leave the
office.   She hadn’t given him much
notice and he wanted to catch a quick shower and get a nice bottle of
wine.   But it wasn’t just the shower
he needed, it was Kerri Ann.   He’d
thought of nothing but her for nearly twenty-four hours and the sultry kiss
they’d shared.  
    He’d damn near gulped her whole and was hungry for
more.   But this time he’d take it
slow, painfully, seductively slow.   He’d have to because, if the sound of her voice were any indication,
she’d be a bundle of nerves an hour from now.   She’d cooked for him many times, mostly
at the restaurant, sometimes at home when he and Ty had been working on some
project or another.   It would relax
her, keep those nervous hands busy while he plied her with wine.   It’d be a damn wonder if he didn’t just
jump her when she answered the door.   Dinner seemed like a positive step, one that would hopefully lead him
straight to her heart and her bed.  
    He headed out of town toward the small bungalow he’d called
home since his mother died and he’d decided to live there instead of some
run-down apartment.   It was as good
a place as any to hang his hat at night.   Of course, when he’d first come back to town, he’d expected to make some
headway with Kerri Ann and buy them a place where they could raise Ty and the
other children he planned to have with her.   Maybe, just maybe, his dream of sharing
a life with her had a chance.   That’s
all he’d ever wanted--a fair chance.
    Just around the bend in the road, he passed Jesse and Ty in
the Scout.   He slowed down and
pulled off onto the shoulder when he saw Jesse brake and swing the car
around.   Bryce let the window down
and shut his eyes for a moment as the crisp air touched his face.
    “Bryce,” Jesse said as he pulled up next to the sedan.  
    “Hey, guys.”   They’d been fishing; Bryce could smell the faint odor and see that Ty’s
shirt was wet.   “Catch anything?”
    “I caught one, but the old man here didn’t even get a
nibble.”   Ty spoke with the easy
confidence of a teen with his whole life ahead of him.   Bryce knew he’d inherited the
competitive gene from both his parents.
    Jesse turned down the country station and looked back at
Bryce.   “You headed to see Kerri