7. Embarrassed Over My Actions
EMBARRASSED OVER MY ACTIONS
C ome hell or high water Abe was making contact with Daphne today.
He just had to figure out how to make that happen when nothing seemed to be going his way for the past two days.
But by the end of the day on Tuesday, Abe was the last one at the McGill site with Mac. He’d been running around most of yesterday and today checking on jobs and giving quotes, fielding questions and calls.
Yep, he was right. This job was going to put him in demand even more.
He just had to decide how much he wanted his business to grow. Taking risks had never been high on his list of to-dos, but maybe it was time for a change.
“Did you ever dream of this?” Mac asked when they were standing by their trucks.
“Shit no,” Abe said. “Crazy, isn’t it?”
“People don’t care what their wait time might be next year?” Mac asked.
“The project I was talking to someone about today, they didn’t seem to mind. Guess they are friends of Reese’s or know Reese. Maybe they said that. No clue. I told them I could break some of it up into stages and try to fit it in toward the end of the year. They were agreeable to that even more.”
These big massive projects were moneymakers, bringing in large consistent streams of income. The best thing any business could have.
“If we don’t get behind with a rainy season,” Mac said.
“Don’t jinx it,” he said. “And we can work in the rain and have before. It was just a downpour last week. Of course, there are some things we can’t do at that point or it makes it worse.”
“You don’t need to tell me,” Mac said. “But I love playing in the mud. My wife, not so much when I come home.”
He laughed. “My mother used to say the same thing.”
“And speaking of my wife,” Mac said. “I’m going home now and stuffing my face full of whatever yummy dinner she has waiting for me.”
“Sounds like you’re one lucky man,” he said. “I’m going to drive down to the cabin quickly and make sure our markers are still in place after the rains. We’ve got time, but I’d rather know now.”
Mac nodded, climbed into a Cooke Landscaping truck that he let his most loyal employee use and pulled away. He had several trucks and most were returned to the site at the end of the day, but Mac drove his back and forth daily. Just a perk in his eyes.
Abe climbed into another truck and did what he said he was going to do. Drove toward the cabin.
He’d had his eyes out for when Daphne might walk back to her home. He’d seen her in the distance yesterday when he was working. Today she wasn’t out that he could find and he thought for sure he’d lost the opportunity to talk to her again.
Until he came up with the plan to check out the markings at her cabin and hope she’d come out to see what was going on.
Luck was on his side though that she might have been working late.
He backed out of Reese’s driveway and then went to the main part of the estate and took a right to go in the direction of the cabin.
He parked and got out just as he saw Daphne coming toward him.
She was in tan shorts, a navy T-shirt, and sneakers on her feet.
Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail again. From a distance, she looked more like a teenager than the woman he’d been dreaming about for weeks now.
The one that was shy but just as aggressive as him in bed.
They hadn’t talked much and he’d had plans to do it the next morning.
Until she pulled her Casper routine on him.
He walked over to look at the markers. He was here to do that and was still going to.
“Hi,” she said, glancing at him.
She didn’t recognize him again and he was trying not to be offended.
He had sunglasses and a hat on his head. He realized now it would be hard when the last time they’d seen each other was in a dimly lit casino, then a hotel room where they didn’t take the time to turn on a ton of lights.
“Hi, Daphne,” he said.
She stopped in her tracks, a little stunned that he might know her name. He took his glasses off and put them on top of his hat. Then after a second thought took his hat off.
Her jaw dropped. “Abe?”
“That’s me,” he said. “You took off before I could find out more about you.”
Her eyes were dashing everywhere as if she was nervous. He didn’t like that and hoped she wasn’t frightened of him.
“That night was a mistake.”
Her head was swiveling more and he wasn’t about to acknowledge the sucker punch he felt in his gut over those words. He’d felt like she wasn’t someone to have a one-night stand before and now he was positive that was the case. At least that was what he was trying to convince himself of.
“Are you afraid of me?” he asked, taking a step back. He didn’t want her skittish, just wanted to talk.
“What?” she asked. “No. I don’t know if anyone is around.”
He nodded. “Meaning your bosses? You don’t want them to see us talking?”
She took a few deep breaths and let them out. Her eyes closed and opened again. He saw the worry in them.
“I’m sorry. Man, what a small world. I’m so embarrassed over my actions.”
“Don’t be,” he said. “It happened. I don’t regret it, but don’t make a habit of it myself.”
“I’ve never done that,” she said in a rush. She waved her hand. “My reasons are my own and stupid.”
“Maybe we can talk about them over dinner,” he said.
“Huh?” she asked.
“I’m asking if you want to go out to dinner,” he said. “A date. Unless you’ve got someone else in your life, but I’m thinking you don’t.” At least he hoped not.
He’d never been a cheater and sure the hell didn’t want to play a part in someone cheating on a partner either.
“No,” she said. “I’m single. It’s just, my life has kind of been thrown around lately and this is a new job and town for me.”
It was now he was picking up the soft twang to her words. “Where are you from?”
“Are we doing this? Like you’re almost flirting. No, not flirting. But asking me out?”
“I might be a little rusty, but that is what I’m doing,” he said, smiling. “Unless it’s my job that bothers you.”
Her neck shrank back, her face squished in a look that reminded him of someone who just had a nasty stench appear in front of her.
Maybe the wind picked up and she was downdraft of him on a hot day.
“What does that mean?”
“It means unless you don’t like a guy that does what I do for a living,” he said. He’d gotten to the point in his life he put it out there right away.
Burn him once, never again.
He couldn’t take the pain and wasn’t going to even subject himself to it.
She looked him up and down. A nice slow appraisal.
There was no fear in her eyes now. He hoped it was arousal that he saw because he sure the hell felt it with the way she was checking him out.
“There isn’t a damn thing wrong with what you do for a living and I’m not sure why you’d think that.”
He let out a forced laugh. “Long story,” he said. “So embarrassment aside, let’s forget what happened if you want. I mean it about dinner.” He put his hands up. “Friendly and all. Starting over if you’d like.”
She seemed to hesitate. “I’m not sure. I feel like I put up a roadblock with my actions.”
To him, that meant she would have considered it if he hadn’t already seen her naked. How the hell was he going to get around this?
“How is that?”
“I don’t want you to think badly of me.”
“Oh, I don’t,” he said, smirking.
She sighed. “Abe. You don’t know me. You might think I’m lying to you. Maybe I’ve done this before back in Texas. You’d never know.”
“That’s where the twang is coming from,” he said. “It’s not strong.”
“I’m trying to not have it be strong so no one thinks I’m a hick,” she said.
“I don’t think it,” he said. “I’m positive your employers don’t either. But I’m not going to pressure you...now. I’ll be here for close to a month. Or my crew will be. I’ve got time to work on you.”
“Work on me?” she asked, crossing her arms.
She had a fiery side to her.
He liked it a lot!
“Persuade you to give me a chance. Maybe we were only good for one thing, but I’d like to figure that out myself. Unless you’re afraid?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not afraid.”
“Just embarrassed?” he asked.
“Extremely.”
“And you don’t want me to think that is all there is to you. Or to want from you.”
“Exactly,” she said.
He snapped his fingers in front of his face a few times as if a drag queen was making her point. “Gone from my mind. That whole night. Even losing money.”
She laughed over his antics. That was promising. “I’m not sure it works that way. If it did I would have forgotten and can’t seem to.”
Her hand went to her mouth as if she wished she hadn’t let that tidbit slip.
He grinned and knew he could have her.
In time.
He was a patient man, thankfully.
“Then I’ll see you again soon,” he said. “It’s a promise. Take some time to think it over. Ask your employers about me. Or ask Poppy. I’m known in the area. Grew up here too and went to school with Poppy. She’ll vouch I’m not a dick.”
“I don’t think you are,” she said.
“Good to know,” he said. “You have a nice night.”
He knew when to fold his cards and walk away.
He’d take this as a win and returned to his truck, started it up, and drove away. He glanced in the review mirror and saw Daphne still standing in front of her cabin watching him leave.
When his eyes hit the road ahead of him, he saw Poppy walking and pushing a stroller with the kids in it.
She was smirking as he got closer. He slowed down and hit the button to lower his window. “Nice night for a walk.”
“And to chat up a pretty girl,” Poppy said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Which meant Poppy saw the two of them talking. “Friendly conversation,” he said. No way he was going to let on the history he and Daphne had.
“I told Daphne I could try to hook you two up,” Poppy said. “I think you’d be perfect together.”
Well now, that was an interesting piece of information.
But he could tell that Daphne hadn’t known Abe Cooke Landscaping was the same Abe that she’d slept with. She didn’t even know his last name that night.
Shit, he still didn’t know hers.
“Why is that?” he asked, smiling.
“Because she’s new to the area. Friendly and outgoing even though she’s shy.
She wants to get out and do things but is almost afraid to.
She’s a hometown girl with good values and that is who you are too.
Maybe you both have a touch of an old soul in you.
She’s looking for the right things in a guy and you’ve been looking for the wrong things in a woman. ”
He all but crossed his eyes. “Geez, Poppy. I hadn’t realized you knew so much about my life.”
He was almost appalled to have it summed up like that. Even if it was spot on. Best to make a joke out of it.
“Come on now, Abe. We go way back. You were always after the pretty mean girls who just wanted a cute guy on their arm.”
“I went after you,” he said. “You were the hottest thing in my class. I knew you were way out of my league and you sure the hell weren’t mean.”
Poppy flung her hair over her shoulder. “I’m too prissy for you and you know it. We’d never work for anything more than a good time.”
He laughed. She was always honest.
“You’re probably right. But you just said Daphne is new to the area. How can you know her so well?”
“I’m a good judge of character,” Poppy said. “So, you want me to put in a good word for you?”
“I’d like to try on my own, but I’d appreciate any help I can get,” he said.
“Leave it to me,” Poppy said, rubbing her hands together. “Starting now. Daphne left her sunglasses at the house and it was a good excuse to get some exercise in.”
He nodded his head and saluted her as he drove away.
Today worked out much better than he could have hoped for.