Chapter 15
It was hot and sweaty work standing out under the sun and trying to put the pipes together. They laid out each wall first, then placed the pipes into the floor plank that was drilled to hold them. Some went in easily, but others Rusty had to sand the hole here and there to get them to fit. Eventually the pipes took the shape of a wall, then another wall, and then a third wall. And finally the wall with the door, which was a little trickier, but nothing a screwdriver couldn’t fix.
Kristy worked alongside him like a trouper. Handing him the tools he needed, working with him to center the pipes. Much like she had done parking cars. A woman like Kristy would make some lucky man a good partner.
When it was finally built, they shimmied it into the storage unit via the garage-type door. Since it was mostly plastic pipes, it wasn’t too heavy, just unwieldy.
“I think I should buy you dinner,” he said as he surveyed their accomplishment. He figured he had nothing to lose by asking. The thought of leaving her and going home was not appealing.
She wrinkled her nose and looked down at her body, which looked mighty fine to him. “I’m feel like I’ve been through a sauna.”
“If we go to Smokey’s, no one will pay us any mind. It’s a working-person’s joint. They come in smelling like manure sometimes. You’ll fit right in.”
Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened to say something.
“Not that you smell anything but sweet,” he hastened to add. “I just mean that no one will notice or care. I’m betting you’re hungry. It’s close to dinnertime.”
Her shoulders slumped. “I’m starved. And so grateful that you were able to assemble this for us. With no printed words, I’m not sure Ariel and I could have done it as easily.”
He came to her, lifted up her chin with his finger. “You know I’m happy to do it. Anytime.”
She stood on her tippy-toes and gave him a light kiss on the lips. “Thank you. And yes, Smokey’s sounds like a plan. And you said they have good burgers.”
“The best.” Score one for him.
***
Smokey’s was much more crowded than it had been that Friday night after the wedding reception, even though it was during the week. And Rusty had been correct. People were dressed in work outfits of jeans, tees, and boots. Some adapted to the warmer temperatures with shorts, but those were mostly the ladies. She blended right in. Only a few tables were open, and Rusty headed for one of the booths. She followed and slid onto the seat across from him, her sweaty limbs sticking to the faux leather. Gratefully, the air-conditioner was running and menus waited on the table. The noise level was high as people settled in for dinner.
She would have liked to have taken a shower, but that would have prolonged things well into the evening, and she needed to get back to her spreadsheets and lists to get organized for the next day. Time was running out to get all the t’s crossed and i’s dotted. She was a stickler for details, and with Marcia on leave, she felt even more pressure to get everything right.
She breathed in the smoky scent of meat and potatoes as she checked the menu selections. Lots of different burger combinations, one more artery clogging than the next. A small section for chicken sandwiches. A small section for traditional sandwiches, like BLTs, grilled cheese, roast beef, and steak. The obligatory salad or two. And then a selection of other beef fare, like pot roast, meatloaf, ribeye, and such. Beef was clearly the menu winner.
The waitress from the other night hustled over to take their order. “Good to see you, Rusty.”
“Glad to be here, Charlene.” He hadn’t even looked at the menu yet. “The Smokey burger is the house special.” Rusty directed the remark to Kristy.
Of course it was. She scanned the list of ingredients. Bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and BBQ sauce. Sounded yummy, if unhealthy.
“Good for me.” She closed the plastic-coated menu.
“Me too.” Rusty nodded.
“And to drink? Chardonnay for the lady?”
Kristy was flattered the waitress remembered. “Not tonight. Just water. Have to get up early tomorrow.” She would have loved a glass of wine, but she feared that in her exhausted state, she’d fall asleep right there in the booth.
Charlene looked at Rusty, her pencil poised over her pad.
“I’ll have a beer. On tap,” Rusty said.
As Charlene sped to the next table, Rusty leaned forward. “Other than the jail, how are things in general going? And I’m asking as your boyfriend, not a committee member.”
Boyfriend. Well, she guessed that was appropriate, though she still wasn’t used to thinking of them as a couple. More like good friends, though she’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit her attraction to him. He was a nice guy. A decent man. At least what she knew of him. And not hard on the eyes.
She stared into his blue eyes, which were staring right back at her, assessing her. Yeah, she’d like to get to know him better. Intimately, in fact.
“Pretty good. We could use a few more females to sign up for the bail-out-of-jail event, but we have enough men to make a go of it. And Greta is definitely a score. We haven’t found a chuck wagon that we can afford yet, but…”
Rusty whipped out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. “I know a guy…”
There he was again fixing things for her. “Rusty, please…”
Rusty looked up. “I might be able to get one for you.”
“Ariel has come up with a solution that won’t cost much and will save us some hassle with the setup.”
“Oh.” He looked disappointed.
“Would you like to hear what it is?”
“Sure.” He shrugged.
“Because I’d like your opinion, but just your opinion.”
He frowned but nodded.
“We are going to take a portable bar and add some wagon wheels to the front, and she has a canopy she can hang over the top so it’ll look like a chuck wagon. The wheels were in the storage unit. You might have seen them.” She whipped out her phone from her pocketbook, scrolled through some pictures of the convention space, and found the one she was looking for. She flashed her phone before him. “What do you think?”
Kristy thought it was ingenious and just like Ariel.
***
Rusty took a minute before he answered. He certainly didn’t want to overstep whatever boundaries she was trying to set. Agreement seemed the best course. “Looks good. Most people will think it’s a chuck wagon.” It was likely more important to have the impression of a chuck wagon rather than the real thing. But he could have gotten her the real thing. He did know a guy.
“And it will be much easier to get into the convention center.”
“Guess you don’t need my help then.” Was that the message she was trying to send? That she didn’t need him?
“I know you like to be the one to come up with the solution, but actually, that’s my job. And Ariel’s. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate your help. But when you rush in to solve the problem when I’m just thinking out loud, it makes me feel…” She hesitated.
“What?”
“Like you don’t think I’m capable enough to solve the problem myself. Putting the jail together notwithstanding.”
“So you don’t want my help?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. Because today I definitely needed your help today. But maybe just wait until I ask for it.”
“I don’t mean to make you feel incapable. I think you’re plenty capable. Guess I’m a problem solver at heart.” Like he had been trained to do.
“And you’re good at it. It’s just that I have a father who steps in and tries to solve things when there isn’t even a problem. He’s so sure I’ll fail if he doesn’t do that.”
“I don’t think you’ll fail. I just want to help you not fail.” He felt his face flush. “I see what you mean.” Maybe he had been thinking she’d fail without his help.
“Sometimes I just want a sympathetic ear.”
Hadn’t Junie said something to that effect?
Charlene set a glass of water and a mug of beer on the table. “Food will be up in a few.” She strode away.
Kristy took several gulps.
He took a swig of beer before weighing in. “In the military, you always have to have a plan. You’re trained to be a problem solver. And it’s always on you to solve the problem. No one else.”
“Didn’t you work as a team though?”
“Yeah, but everyone had their area of specialty. There are munitions guys, sharp shooters, explosive experts.”
“And your area of expertise?”
“Extraction. I had to figure out how to get them out of wherever it was they were, which was often where they shouldn’t be.”
“Sounds like very serious business.”
Like life or death. “It was.”
“Did an extraction ever go wrong?”
Too often. And he’d had nightmares about it for weeks, months afterward. Usually, a good experience drove out the bad, but he could go stretches where the demons just took over. That was one of the reasons he’d gotten out. And why he was leery of getting in too deep with anyone. Except she was the first woman who made him yearn for something more. For a real relationship. But what would she think the first time he had a nightmare?
“There were a lot of variables that were out of anyone’s control. At least that’s what I had to tell myself.”
“That must have been rough.”
“It was.” And still was.
“Is that why you left?”
Yes. But that was not something he was ready to admit to someone who wouldn’t understand. “My record was actually one of the better ones. I left because they wanted me to train rather than do.” Which was partly true. But the reason why they wanted him to go into training was as much about age as burnout. His commanders knew the toll pararescue took on a person. “I’m thirty. The average age in my unit was twenty-four, including me. They wanted younger guys, and they wanted me to train them.”
“And you didn’t want to train them?”
“Happy to train them in the field. But I wasn’t interested in a desk job and only a desk job.” He was so wrapped up in the missions that it wasn’t until he got out that he’d understood why they were pushing the training spot. Because it wasn’t until then that it hit him. Crashed into him like a high-speed train. “At the time it felt like they were putting me out to pasture.”
“No one to rescue.”
He nodded. Because what else was he good for? “Thirty is still pretty young for most jobs. Hell, Tom Brady didn’t retire until his mid-forties.”
“Didn’t he retire twice?”
“And I totally understand why he didn’t want to give up the action for an announcing job. Once I get into the police force, I intend to volunteer for mountain search and rescue. I’m damn good at it.” And maybe the inevitable setbacks wouldn’t haunt him. Maybe.
“Of that I have no doubt. But, Rusty, I don’t need to be rescued. At least until I tell you I need rescuing.”
His heart dropped into his stomach. If she didn’t need him to rescue her, then she didn’t need him at all. Maybe that was for the best. No complications. No hurt feelings.
“I really didn’t mean to imply you were incompetent.” He shifted in his chair. “I think just the opposite. Are we good?” Because he wanted to keep seeing her… even if she didn’t need rescuing.
She reached over, touched his hand, and then leaned in to kiss his cheek.
Was she going for a just-friends relationship? Friends with benefits? Whatever she wanted, he was willing. “By the way, there’s a ranch rodeo this coming weekend. I’m competing. Thought you might want to come. From what Mel tells me, Ariel is planning on going. It’s Sunday. Starts at one o’clock.”
She blinked at him as if seeing him for the first time. “I don’t know. I’ve got a lot going on. But you say Ariel is going?” She bit her lip.
“Yup. It will be fun. I promise. And you can see what real cowboys do. And you don’t have to stay long.” But I’d love it if you were in the stands, cheering me on.
“It’s different from a regular rodeo?”
“You’ve never been? It’s a lot different. Come for an hour or two. The event I’m competing in is cattle penning, and it’s in the beginning. They’re holding it at the complex, so no hassle to get to.”
She took a bite of burger and swallowed before answering. “I’ll think about it.”
That was a pretty noncommittal response.
“Well, I do declare—it’s Rusty,” called a familiar voice from across the room.