I miss her.
He looked at the old landline phone on George’s desk and thought about the cell phone in his pocket. If he called her, would she answer? Was she still upset with him about the kiss, and about telling Heather they were together? He’d never gotten a chance to explain.
Shaking his head, he went back to surfing the coffee supply site again. He had a lot of explaining to do on Wednesday, and after the meeting he could talk to her about what had happened with Heather. Then once everything was smoothed over, he’d ask her to be his assistant manager. That would make up for Heather. He was sure of it.
***
“Well, I can’t tell you what’s wrong with it. Not yet, anyway.”
Anita frowned as Rusty stuck his head back under the hood. She’d finally called him about the car this morning, and he had come right over. She’d hoped the problem would be simple, but if Rusty, who had practically been born with a wrench in his hand, couldn’t figure it out right away, she was afraid it would be expensive.
He stood back up and shut the hood. “I’m plain bumfuzzled, Anita,” he said in his good-old-boy southern drawl. “I reckon I’ll have to take the engine apart.”
She rubbed her index finger with her thumb. “Will that be expensive?”
“Won’t know till I get in there.” He gave her an encouraging smile. “I’ll tow her for free, if that’ll help ya out.”
“Thank you, it will. Good thing you brought your tow truck with you.” She glanced at the huge truck withRusty’s Garagepainted on the side of it parked behind her car.
“Always do. Never know when someone needs a tow. I’ll get her hitched up and out of here quicker’n a cat on a tin roof in June.”
His words made her realize she hadn’t seen Peanut this morning. She glanced up at the roof, although she was sure he wasn’t there since he wasn’t meowing for her to come get him. Actually, he hadn’t been up there since Tanner had rescued her. She’d learned her lesson about getting on the roof when she was alone. Maybe Peanut finally had too.
“Can I get you some coffee or water?” she asked Rusty as he walked over to the tow truck.
“Coffee would be nice.”
As she went inside to fix him a cup—two sugars, nocream, like he always ordered at Sunshine—she thought about Tanner. She hadn’t seen or talked to him since Wednesday, and for the first time she hadexpectedhim to contact her instead of justwishinghe would. He’d said he would explain why he had told Heather they were dating, but so far he hadn’t. That irritated her, along with his staunch insistence that Jasper not say anything about seeing them kiss. She didn’t want to be the talk of the town either, but he made it sound like it would be the worst thing in the world for him.
Then there was the way he’d kissed her. She still couldn’t get that out of her mind, even as she eagerly waited for Harper to get the paperwork ready for her to sign. She’d never kissed anyone except Tanner, and maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal for him. Maybe every girl he’d gone out with had been swept off her feet by his kiss.
Lucky girls.
She heard Rusty’s truck start up, and she hurried out with his coffee. He wasn’t kidding about being fast. He was already climbing into the truck when she walked out of the house, and she hurried to him as he shut the door.
“Much obliged,” he said, taking the mug out of her hand.
She couldn’t help but smile. Rusty was three years younger than her, and his accent was thicker than any of her classmates’ had been. He was the definition of a country boy.
He held up the mug. “I’ll get this back to you ASAP.”
“No hurry. I’ve got plenty of them.”
Rusty tipped his baseball hat, a bright-red one with the Rusty’s Garage logo on the front. “I’ll give ya a call when I figure out her problem. Thanks for the business.”
She waved as he left, then went inside. Today was her day off, and she needed to get her mind off Tanner. If he hadn’t gotten in touch with her by now, he wasn’t going to, and she guessed he was eager to put the kiss and Heather behind him. She should do that too.
The midmorning was warm, and she decided to spend some time reading on her patio. Armed withBeginner Business, a cup of coffee, and sunscreen, she went outside and sat on one of the two plastic chairs she had purchased shortly after moving in, then propped her feet on the other one.
Meow.
Smiling, she glanced at the ground next to her. Peanut was on his hind legs and batting at her with his paw. She picked him up and sat him in her lap. She’d take an allergy pill later.
By lunchtime she had made it through one chapter of the book while Peanut napped in her lap. She glanced at her white legs, hoping she had gotten a slight tan. Her stomach growled, and she went inside for lunch and fixed herself a PB&J, heavy on the grapeJ.
Gloria Gaynor’s voice rang out.
She grabbed her cell off the counter and took a bite of the sandwich, frowning slightly at the unfamiliar number. She considered sending the call to voice mail. If it was important, they would leave a message. But now that she was a soon-to-be business owner, she couldn’t easily dismiss calls anymore. She slid her finger across the screen. “Hello?”
