Shoe Strings

do with you and Jesse?”
    Lita shook her head.   “Nothing.   Nothing I can
explain, anyway.   Regardless, I’ve
been away from work for over a week.”
    “You’ve been working.   I’ve seen your sketches.   Besides, your business isn’t a person.   It can’t love you back.”  
    She stood up abruptly.   “I’ve got to go.   I’m
thrilled for you and Bryce.   I
didn’t come here to chew your ear with my problems.”
    Kerri Ann gave Lita a quick hug.   “What are friends for?”
    ***
    Bryce shifted back and forth from the balls of his feet to
his heels.   The light from the
overhead lamps bounced over the glass cases in front of him and made him feel
like he stood in a spotlight.   He
wondered if the jeweler could hear the pounding of his heart over the elevator
music that played on a continuous loop in the most exclusive store in
Asheville.   He’d just come in to
look when he’d passed the shop on the way to lunch after a meeting with
opposing council.   How had he ended
up making a purchase and how in the hell did he plan to sit on the hot potato
until he felt sure Kerri Ann would be ready to say yes?
    “Here you are, Mr. Jenson,” the jeweler said as he returned
from the back of the store.   “A
perfect two and a half carat solitaire.   Simple, elegant, and perfectly matched with the band you brought
in.”   He put the two rings together,
his mother’s simple platinum band and the sparkling diamond he’d chosen after
much debate.  
    “I’ll take it.”   Bryce passed them back.   “Can
you box them together?”
    “Absolutely, it will be just a moment.”  
    He moved to the other end of the store and placed the rings
on a velvet swatch before arranging them in an ivory box.   Bryce had been carting his mother’s band
around for weeks, pulling it out, thinking of her and what she’d said to him on
her deathbed.   “Give it to the woman
who has your heart,” she’d said.   He’d known then the only woman he’d ever give it to was Kerri Ann.   They’d moved forward in a way he’d
imagined a million times and yet something deep inside told him baby steps were
in order.  
    As Bryce passed over his charge card and picked up the
pretty box, he wondered how he’d managed to turn baby steps into a headlong
leap into marriage.   The question
remained whether he’d be able to push Kerri Ann along to catch up.

 

 
    Chapter 24
    Lita had just come from the storage shed looking for Cal
when she heard the rumble of Jesse’s Scout.   She hurried back like a lovesick
schoolgirl, nearly tripping in her espadrilles.   She rushed to the bathroom, pulled her
hair from the ponytail she’d absently knotted it in earlier, and cringed at her
less than stellar image.   Oh well,
Jesse had seen her sopping wet and first thing in the morning.   She couldn’t be worse than that.
    He’d brought Ty and she watched as they hopped out of the
vehicle and headed toward the stairs.   She met them at the door.   “Hi.”   She stood back to let
them in.
    “I heard a rumor you made some pretty good cookies,” Jesse
said before placing a quick kiss on her forehead.   The smell of him, of the outdoors and
man, had her pulse jumping in response.  
    “I can’t imagine who told you that.”   She poked Ty in the belly.   To her utter delight, he blushed.   “Lucky for both of you, I happen to have
made some yesterday.”   She walked to
the kitchen and retrieved the plastic container from the cabinet.   “Who wants milk?”
    Both father and son raised their hands.   She filled three glasses and led them to
the porch.   As they sat, the black
cat purred and rubbed at Ty’s ankles.   “Hey there, beauty,” the boy said and scratched behind his ear.   He looked up at Lita.   “Have you seen the other cat lately?”
    “He’s around here somewhere.   I see him lurking in the woods most of
the time, but not this one.”   She
motioned with her cookie to the cat that lay cradled in Ty’s lap.   “I think he’s stalking me.”
    “With treats like this,” Jesse said, “I can see why.   Who knew you were so handy in the
kitchen?”   The look he gave her
could have baked a few cookies of their own.   “Ty, why don’t you go see if your
granddad wants a cookie?”
    “Sure.”   Ty
gently placed the cat on the porch and grabbed two more cookies.   “For the road,” he said when Jesse
scowled.
    They watched him lope toward Cal’s house.   “I