“I wasn’t sure how much it would take, and Hank kept cutting and I kept loading.”
“I think Hank was having you on. You’re a little out of your depth with this kind of work, aren’t you?” She added quickly, “That’s not a criticism. Merely an observation.”
Call saw no point objecting when what she said was so obviously true. He wiggled his uninjured thumb. “I’m learning.”
She grinned. “And so quickly, too.”
It was the grin that decided him. Call thought that sassy smile required some kind of answer and his response was swift and certain. He kissed her full on that mocking mouth. It was not a kiss meant to linger. He thought of it more as punctuation, like an exclamation point at the end of a particularly good retort. Call had no idea if she would view it in that light.
He lifted his head and met her startled gaze with calm. Her gloved hands remained at her sides. Mildly curious, he asked, “You aren’t going to slap me?”
The question grounded Laurel. “I’m still deciding.”
He nodded. “I understand.”
“Why did you do it?”
“I doubt explaining will be helpful.”
“Let me decide that.”
“All right. In the moment, it simply seemed that I should.”
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
“I told you I doubted it would be helpful.”
Laurel said, “You can do better.”
“You were giving me a smile full of sass. I thought you should answer for it.”
“So, just to be clear, kissing me was retaliation.”
“It was a response, not retaliation.”
“Hmm.” Her cheeks puffed slightly as she released a breath. “We should get going.” She left him staring after her and went to mount her horse. “You can probably get the buckboard within fifty yards of the last entrance. We’ll have to carry the wood from there.”
It turned out that Laurel’s estimation of their walking distance was off by another fifty yards. They had to find the entrance first on foot and then return to the wagon for the lumber. Call was prepared to take two planks on his shoulder, but Laurel decided they should share the burden and walk in tandem, each of them supporting an end. They boarded the entrance quickly and neither of them paused to comment on their work. Travel back passed silently until the station was in sight and the path widened so they were able to ride side by side.
“Do you want me to apologize?” asked Call.
“Do you think you should?”
“No. I’ll apologize if you like, but you should know I’m not sorry.”
“I didn’t think you were. Perhaps you should save it for something you truly regret.”
“All right. In case you’re wondering, I’m not going to seize the moment every time you flash a sassy grin my way.” He paused then added, “No matter how much it’s called for.”
“Yes,” she said dryly. “That was uppermost in my mind.”
“See? You can’t help yourself. One would think you wanted to be kissed again.”
“I wasn’t grinning.”
“I’m not sure that entirely matters. It’s more of an attitude, I’m thinking now.”
“An attitude,” she repeated. “In that case, I hope you can restrain yourself because I surely cannot.”
