His gaze softened. “She’ll be back after lunch. If you’re not in a hurry, you could wait.”
I shuffled my feet. “I can’t stay long. I wouldn’t want to make anything awkward.”
“Just what is so awkward about a fella waiting for his girl? No one will care.”
My ears were starting to burn like firecrackers. “I’m not… exactly… you see, she’s not my g…” I couldn’t help clearing my throat again. “She’s kind of seeing Luke, so I wouldn’t want to… you know.”
Jed Thompkins squinted, tilted his head like he wasn’t sure his ears were working, and then he started laughing.
I backed away. “I’m sorry if I wasn’t supposed to say that. I thought you knew.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and replaced his glasses. “What, er, gives you that idea, son?”
“Well, they went out. And Luke implied…” I gestured helplessly, wondering at the blank look on his face. “I guess he didn’t really imply. That is, we don’t talk about women. Like, ever. It’s the rule.”
“Ah.” Thompkins sighed, then gently shook his head. “I don’t know what Luke did or didn’t say, but Jess is definitely not seeing him. She told me they parted over a handshake, and that was that.”
My heart picked up rhythm. “She said that?”
“She did. And then she said she wanted to find a new hobby, so she’d never be bored enough to accept if he ever asked again.”
I laughed weakly at his joke, but my mind had already leaped miles ahead. It was like music swelling in my ears, all the possibilities opening up before me again. My feet might have even left the ground.
“Dusty? Hey! You alright, son?”
I snapped back to focus. “Yeah. Yes! I’m good—great! She’s really not dating anyone?”
“Oh, well, I couldn’t say that for sure. I know she’s not dating Luke, but I assumed you two had something of an understanding. Isn’t that why you came over the other day?”
“Not exactly. I just…” I sighed and confessed. “It sounds really bad when I say it out loud, but I guess I wanted to try to be next in line.”
He chuckled. “The early bird, huh? Well, you just stay here and wait if you like. I’m running out to do some estimates shortly, but she’ll be back in about forty-five minutes.”
Forty-five minutes?I checked my watch, and my heart sank. There was no way I could justify sitting in town that long. I had work to finish, and I’d promised Austen I’d help him, too. Besides, I’d look like the chief moron, sitting there alone in the office for forty-five minutes just to pounce on her when she walked in the door. “It’s not that important,” I decided, my disappointment as keen as my joy had been a moment ago. “I’ll just have to catch her another time.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself. You could leave her a note if you want, and I’ll see she gets it.”
A note.Of course! My hand swept to my wallet, where I’d stuffed that sentimental rambling I’d written out for her. Well, why not? If it came through her dad, she’d surely read it. And she’d know I was serious, right? A guy who just wanted a little fun wasn’t going to get friendly with a girl’s father.
“I, uh… I have something here,” I stammered and pulled the rumpled paper out. “It’s not much.”
He took it with a dubious look. Then his gaze returned to my face, and his smile warmed. “I’m sure it’s enough.”
That was all I needed to hear. I should have talked to her father years ago! Who knew her better than he did? And he seemed to like me, too, or at least, he hadn’t tried to run me off. Maybe he would encourage her to give me a chance.
Anyway, if she wasn’t interested, it would save us both the embarrassment of a rejection. I just didn’t think I could bear it, gazing into her sea-blue eyes and hoping for hope, then only finding disappointment. And I didn’t think she would enjoy saying it, either. Yes, it was definitely better this way.
I tipped my hat to Jed Thompkins as I went out. “Thank you again, sir.”
“You’re welcome. Best of luck to you, son.”
Jess
“Well, big guy, you look pretty good.” Doc Burns ruffled the top of Dakota’s head. “You can let him down off the table now, Jess.”
I picked him up and set him on the floor, and Dakota, who had been frozen in terror on the stainless steel examination table, suddenly came back to life with his usual happy squirms.
“I wouldn’t worry about his teeth. Just watch his weight. Looks to me like he hasn’t been running enough lately.”