The girl’s blush was precious.
“Do you need help carrying any of this?” Josie glanced in the backseat at the bags of lights Dara had brought to decorate the float.
“I can make a couple of trips if you need to get back,” Dara said.
“The bakery’s closed. Between Dad and Lola, I think they’ve got things under control.” She smiled at the girl and turned the car off. “I didn’t want to be the third wheel.” She was very pleased to see her father kiss Lola on the cheek this morning, in front of half of Stonewall Crossing. She figured the other half knew all about it by now. “Besides, the weather’s too pretty to miss.” For the first time in three days, the sun was warm and the breeze wasn’t frigid. She climbed out of the car and popped the trunk, revealing more lights and some green plastic garland.
If she was completely honest with herself, she wanted to stay. This was where her story was coming from. The parade, the holiday, the float. Something about those lights in the park, all warm and brilliant, like the colors of Christmas wrap and holiday dresses, had started her off. Then the float, the kids, all stacking up to be a wonderful holiday story of small-town Texas life—what she wrote and illustrated best.
The fact that they were putting together the float at Boone Ranch was another perk.
She’d fallen asleep with the searing memory of Hunter’s kiss still hot on her lips. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been kissed plenty of times—she had. But this was more than a kiss. And, since she was admitting things to herself, she might as well face the fact that she was falling in love all over again. She just didn’t know what to do about it.
“Hey, Josie.” Fisher joined them. “Looks like you got here just in time.”
“Oh?” she asked, looking up at him.
“We were about to head into town, for more of these.” He reached into the trunk and pulled out the garland. “Eli, Tyler, Rogan!” he called, waving them over to her car. “You staying to help?”
“If you need it,” she said, risking a glance at the boys hurrying to the trunk.
“More help is always needed,” Fisher said. “Come on.”
“Man, Dara, you buy the place out?” Eli was all smiles for the girl.
Dara was playing it cool. “We got what was on our list,” she said, handing out bags. “Hope it’s enough.”
Fisher nodded. “Should be. If not, we can get Hunter to stop off on the way home to pick up anything missing.”
So Hunter wasn’t here to run interference between her and Eli. But that didn’t matter. No interference was necessary. She could be charming. She could show Eli she wasn’t really an evil homewrecker. Well, she could try. She winked at Dara, grabbed the last shopping bag of lights and her art case, and headed toward the trailer.
She worked for two hours. Every time Eli walked by she’d smile or say something funny, but he’d just nod and keep going. Dara joined in, making Eli wander by more often, but still no luck. While she was doing everything in her power to draw Eli out, Dara seemed just as determined to shut the boy down. She hoped Dara wasn’t still holding his moodiness against him. She tried to observe the two of them, unobtrusively. Eli was polite, asking to help or to bring the girl a drink. Dara was equally polite, but there was no denying her disinterest. They were too young for this, weren’t they?
Preteen romantic drama aside, she and Dara worked hard. They wrapped garland tightly around the four-foot wire frame that would eventually be a topiary rabbit. Once it was suitably green and fluffy looking, they started to unroll lights.
“Looks good.” Hunter’s voice startled her.
“Well, hello there, stranger.” And just like that she was happy. “How was work?” She stood, stretching her back after being hunched over for so long. “How are the puppies?”
“Pups are getting fat, like pups do.” He stepped forward, close enough to touch her if he wanted to. And, from the look on his face, he was thinking about more than touching her.
She stepped back, glancing around. She may want him to touch her, but this wasn’t the place for it. Eli wasn’t glowering at her...yet. “And Mars?” she asked, dropping back to her position beside the lights.
Hunter sat beside her. “She’s good. Some movement today.”
His nearness complicated her breathing, so she stared at the tangle of lights in her lap.
His voice was low. “You don’t want me to kiss you.”
She glanced his way, then back at the mess of lights. “No.”
He cleared his throat before asking, “No, never again or no, not right now?”
She heard the hesitancy in his voice and met his gaze. “Not right now,” she managed to whisper. She wasn’t ready to make a public statement with him.
He gave her a quick grin, then asked, “Need help?”
“You should take a break, Miss Stephens,” Dara said, taking the lights from her. “I got this. We get volunteer hours.”