She chuckled. “I had a fever that day, you know.”
He felt her tire for wear and tear. He returned the grin, squinting from the sun. “Sure, you did.”
Evelyn fumbled her hands to hold her dress down and sucked in her stomach and tried to straighten up her back. But as he worked, he looked at her again and laughed once more. “You straightened up like I was your momma telling you to.” Then he stood and towered over her. Even in her full figure, she still felt small next to him. His presence was wonderful, comforting, welcoming, and inviting. She swallowed hard and looked at him again, fumbling to hold her dress and make eye contact. And she never cared to look for the ring again. Her heart was too caught up in the moment to be broken by seeing it. His dimpled smile came again.
“Your tires are bald, and they suck,” he declared with a laugh.
The blunt comment rose a laughter from her. She put a hand to her mouth and felt a girlish giggle flood her whole body.The way he kept looking at her, she felt the burning to ask him out regardless of the ring. She could play it off as a gesture of gratitude.
He glanced at her momentarily before pulling away to check the other tires. “It’s pretty windy out here. Why don’t you sit inside the car, so you don’t ruin your hair?”
She followed him around. “It’s no biggie. I have about ten pounds of lip gloss stuck in my hair anyway, and I think the wind gods have done all the damage they can.”
“Don’t say that. You’ll challenge Missouri and we’ll get a tornado.”
“Right?” she giggled. “Or given how bipolar our weather is, it could be another blizzard suddenly even though it’s sixty-five degrees.”
He laughed. He actually laughed. Evelyn kept her dress held down and said meekly, “Thank you for doing this. I didn’t even get your name last time.”
The handsome stranger finished the last tire then stood up and ran his hand through his light-brown hair. He gave her the gauge back. When she took it, he shoved his hands in his pockets and smirked. “Now if I tell you that, you gotta promise me you’re not gonna get all weird on me.”
“Why would I do that?”
“’Cause your pawpaw knew me, and so did your dad.”
Her eyes widened.
The ad. The man in the drugstore. It washim.How was she so dumb not to put the two faces together? To her credit, he was wearing a suit with a scruffy face in the ad and a flannel shirt and a smooth face at the store.
Wait a minute. How didheknow who she was? She thought to ask him.
But Evelyn decided against it. She wanted to play naïve. He was obviously nervous about the relation in some way, and so she didn’t want to jeopardize anything. “That’s what Pawpaw and Daddy knew of you. I don’t know who you are.”
He outstretched his hand and smiled. “Caleb Wright.”
She pulled her hair behind her ear in a nervous grin and extended her hand out to his. The roughness made her feminine skin drip with yearning. His large fingers curled around her plush and soft handdeliberately with a gentle squeeze. It wasn’t a rushed handshake and so she felt herself fighting the urge to look, but she had to.
There was no ring on his left ring finger.
Fight it. Don’t ask. Be respectful. Don’t be nosy. It’s none of your business.
She fought for a breath. She could have fallen into his arms then and there, and the loud thrum of the interstate would have been mute and her interview obsolete. It wasn’t just a handshake; it was healing to her.
“It’s nice to meet you, Caleb.”
“And you are?”
“Oh!” she said as she laughed nervously. “I’m sorry. I’m uh…”
He leaned closer to her. “Tomato-faced? Feverish?”
She let out the stupidest laugh she could have ever done. Immediately she tried to shut herself up, because it was a clear sign that giddiness was making her feel dumb, immature, and childish. “Oh, no, um… I’m Evie Morgan.”
“Christmas tree girl! I saw your post back in December and I see your posts all the time now. That’s how I figured out who your grandpa was. You asked the discussion page how to donate to Crest Hill Cemetery in honor of your grandpa. I thought it was super sweet. Did you ever a tree, though?”
He crossed his arms like he had no intention of leaving. She fumbled to think of a way to keep the conversation going. “I did, thanks! Did you have a good Christmas?”
His eyes rolled. “It could have been better, but maybe in hindsight it was okay.”
