Part 5 (1/2)

”No problem. If I'd have known you were out of milk,” Danny was looking at Robbie now and talking in a silly voice, ”I'd have brought you a cow!”

”Moo!” Robbie shouted.

”He's a sharp kid.” Danny tousled the boy's hair and then ran out to get the fans.

She watched him muscle his equipment out of the back of his truck with no little envy. Even in air so thick and close, he was such a hard worker for other people. Heather may have been able to get pregnant at the drop of a hat, but Jen Strohacker was the lucky one.

5:55 p.m.

Yielding to Isuzu's innate fas.h.i.+on sense, Abigail ran upstairs and changed into some business-like slacks and a blouse before she left to meet the guy who was building the food cart. Just for kicks-and because she had a little time to kill-she also restyled her hair and touched up her lipstick. It would be intimidating enough if this guy was even half as good-looking as everyone claimed. Since she'd been such a shrew on the phone, she really wanted to look her best when she groveled and begged his forgiveness. She even grabbed an umbrella on her way out the door, but she'd never admit that to Isuzu. Zuzu was bossy enough.

Danny's hardware and lumberyard was over a mile east of Old Town so Abigail opted not to walk. A Quick In Go convenience store at the strip mall across the street from Danny's had a parking spot right in front. Perfect. The grocery list she'd written that morning was tucked into her purse so after her meeting, she could just pop into the QIG and pick up a package of batteries and some milk for breakfast tomorrow.

As she got out of the car, the bl.u.s.tery weather grabbed her carefully styled hair and used it to give her face a good slapping. Oh, she was having some fun now. A glance at her watch told her she was late. Her sigh of frustration felt as if it had been sucked out of her lungs by the stiff breezes. So much for the good impression she'd intended. As she trotted across Homestead Avenue, another gust of wind whipped her umbrella inside out and nearly tugged her off her feet. Why had she brought this useless umbrella? The wind was nearly strong enough to turn her into Mary Poppins.

”From now on, I'm ignoring you, Zuzu,” she muttered under her breath, as she trudged down the sidewalk, across Danny's parking lot and to the entrance of the hardware store. Once there, she struggled to get her umbrella turned right-side out and closed so that she could pa.s.s through the front doors. Maybe the predictions about a storm being on the way were right for once, she thought as she was blown inside.

Abigail was grateful for the sudden sense of calm the store afforded as she adjusted her clothes. A quick glance around told her that there was n.o.body behind the desk. He had said six, hadn't he? She checked her watch. Surely he'd wait five minutes for her?

”h.e.l.lo?” she called out. She knew Danny was taking Jen to get an ultrasound and that Handsome-guy . . . wait . . . she dug his business card out of her purse . . . Justin Girard was manning the desk for him. She sighed and dropped her umbrella on the counter. Behind her, a display of lady's tools with flowers on them caught her eye. Might as well kill some time shopping while she waited. Oh, how cute! Didn't she need a tiny hammer with flowers on it? She was comparing all the color options when she heard someone come into the store from the lumberyard.

”Wheew,” a masculine voice muttered from the door that led out to the lumber area. ”That is some seriously fierce wind.”

Her heart went into a freefall as she looked up, then glanced quickly away and spun around. Oh, good grief! It was him! The guy she'd danced with last night! And her hair! Tiny hammer still in hand, Abigail reached up to finger comb some of the damage the wind had done. Ducking behind a tall display of carpet samples, she fished her compact out of her purse and checked her lipstick. It was mostly still there.

”Can I help you?”

Abigail spun around again, startled. Suddenly he was standing right behind her.

His expression slowly morphed from business to surprise to pleasure. ”Well, hi there! Hey, I didn't think I'd . . . you know . . . see you so soon.”

”Yeah, I know! Me neither!” Her heart pulled out of its nosedive and soared. He was every bit as handsome as she'd remembered. And then some. In this light, his eyes were even bluer than they'd seemed last night.

”You're looking for a hammer?” Arms over his chest, legs spread wide, he tilted his head and grinned at her.

”A hammer? Oh!” She glanced at the silly tool she still clutched. ”No! No. I was just . . . you know . . . looking.”

”Ah. Because you know, we have a matching screwdriver. And a tape measure. I could get you outfitted with a tool belt, too, if you want?” He had perfect teeth and the best creases at the corners of his mouth.

Abigail laughed, her cheeks growing as pink as the brilliant clouds that streaked the horizon. ”No, really, that's sweet but I'm not all that . . . handy.”

Propping his elbow on a stack of boxes, he settled in for a conversation. ”So how come you're not out line dancing on a Sat.u.r.day night?”

”Me? Oh, that was just a one-time thing.”

”Really?” There was approval in the question.

”It was a bachelorette party. I don't-” some nervous twitters augmented her babblings, ”-you know, generally hang out at bars . . . and stuff, like a lot of single people do.” It felt as if fire ants were racing up her neck. ”Not that I'm saying you do! I mean, because I guess you do . . . Sometimes? For burgers with friends? Not that that's b-bad or anything, I . . . should shut up now.”

”No! I . . . no. Don't. I . . .” He palmed the back of his neck and seemed to be searching the ceiling for words. ”I gotta be honest with you. I wasn't going to go back to dance with you on Friday.”

”Oh.” Lips stretched into a bright smile she chirped, ”me neither.” Oh, she wanted to curl up and die. The tips of her ears flamed and her stomach lurched.

His smile was relieved. ”Really? Because I-”

”No, no.” She laughed breezily. ”No need to explain. I get it. Trust me. I get it.” What? What did she get? She didn't get it. Not at all. Change the subject! Change it now. ”So! You work here?”

”No, not really. But listen, I just want to explain about the other night-”

”You don't work here?” She did not want to hear about the other night. She was in no mood to be dumped by a guy she'd never even dated.

His brows furrowed at her abrupt change of subject. ”I, uh . . . I have an office in the back. Danny and I work together on a lot of small building projects and handyman gigs locally.” He shrugged, ”But, right now, I'm meeting some uptight booster club member about some awnings for a food cart charity deal. You?”

Abigail's jaw sagged. Him? He was the guy she'd chewed out on the phone? Ack! No! ”I'm-” she winced and her eyes slid closed, ”-your uptight booster.” Could this day get any worse?

”Oh?” Confusion further diminished his smile as he processed. ”You? You're the one I talked to on the phone?” She nodded guiltily. Off in the distance a storm siren began to wail. She wanted to join in. His gaze flitted from her face and out the window.

”Doesn't that sound mean we need to run for cover now? Last time it went off, Danny had us go across the street to the strip mall to get his wife . . .” his voice trailed off as he peered up into a sky that was beginning to look seriously angry.

”Actually, no. We get those all spring in Rawston. If you ran for cover every time one went off you'd be hiding in your bathtub for three solid months. Trust me. They'll turn it off. They always do.” She didn't want to be distracted by the stupid siren. She needed to make amends and then get out of here and never lay eyes on him again. No problem. She had a job offer in LA. She'd just go home and pack. Tonight.

”Yeah, but I heard the weatherman talking about a storm warning and they said-”

”I know. They say that every day.” The need to correct his bad impression of her was as urgent as the siren's shrill howl. ”Anyway, before we get started on this awning business, I really feel like I need to apologize. For the phone thing. And, you know, explain. It's just that I've never been good with bureaucracy. I guess I just had to jump through too many hoops to get my puny little hair salon off the ground,” she said and smiled at him. Gracious. Tall, dark, and handsome. ”Anyway, city hall wanted a new storefront. Then they wanted a cutesy porch. The chamber of commerce wanted flowers and special paint and all this charm and who got to pay for it?”

”You?”

Abigail could tell he was only listening with half an ear. The blasted, confounded, cursed siren was ruining everything. Unflappable, she told herself and took a deep breath. Project an att.i.tude of being unflapped. Normal. ”Yeah. Me.” Though she only had his partial attention, she plunged ahead. ”So, when they go and slap this ridiculous permit thing on us,” she shot him a chummy glance, ”and you know it's going to cost a fortune in fees . . . I just freaked. Do you think you can forgive me?”

”Sure, sure,” he said, clearly agitated by the debris now blowing by and hitting the cars and trees. A recycling bin had tipped over and a blizzard of cans was tumbling and sc.r.a.ping across the parking lot. Newspapers blew past and lodged for a moment in trees and bushes before they broke free.

The siren had totally distracted him. ”Sounds like you're under a lot of pressure,” he muttered. ”You're sure we shouldn't head to a shelter somewhere or something?”

The sound of a second siren joined the first, frustrating Abigail to no end. It was time to cut her losses and leave him with the impression that she was just the uptight booster he thought she was. ”You know, you're right. I really should get going. I'll see you later, okay?” She tried to sound breezy. Unperturbed.

”No, wait.” He swung to look at her, his jaw muscles jumping. ”I don't feel good about you going out there. The sky is really looking like it's getting ready to hurl some cats and dogs at the very least. Why don't you wait here?”

”Oh, that's really thoughtful and everything, but I've got to run. We can finish this up another time, when it's not so . . . loud.” Or never.

Justin transferred his gaze back out the window, his expression pensive.

She jumped as a ma.s.sive flash of lightning illuminated his profile. The entire room lit up and the building vibrated from the ensuing crash of thunder.

”Just another day here in paradise?” Justin turned and quirked a brow at her as it began to rain. Big, fat plops spattering the ground.

”Okay.” Abigail licked her lips and turned to look out the window with him. The sky had grown unnaturally dark. ”That was a little radical. Yeah. I need to head home.”