Chapter Thirty-One
Kaylee
The Holiday Fest was a staple during Christmastime, with hundreds of tents filling the square. Crafters, bakers, and artists across Idaho came to sell their wares to the masses.
The first band was already playing onstage, and many of the people who had been shopping earlier in the day were crowded around, listening.
Kaylee missed Holiday Fest last year, and it was hard to enjoy it now when her gaze kept snapping around every time she saw tousled hair or a leather jacket.
From Josie’s window, she’d seen Rick show up and leave something on her front step this afternoon.
After he drove away, she went over and found a basket of goodies.
Positioned prettily inside was some zebra popcorn, the two books she’d ordered and hadn’t picked up from Colin, the traitor, and some other assorted snacks.
A red envelope with her name neatly printed caught her eye, and she opened it.
Kaylee, I’m really sorry, and I miss you. Please talk to me.
The urge to head over to the inn and see him pricked at her, but she held on to her resolve.
He’d come here and pretended that he was just acting under orders, when in actuality, he was pursuing a personal vendetta.
He hated her so much for what happened in that motel room that he’d been willing to manipulate her into bending to his will.
Not to mention she’d slept with the jerk!
Although she hated to admit that not having Rick around bothered her, no matter how mad she might be at him, she missed him, too.
Getting to spend some time with him over the last few days made her regret how she’d treated him the first time they’d met.
She’d wanted to trust him, to believe that he would slay her dragons and be there for her.
Instead, he’d betrayed her, and Kaylee hated him for taking away the first true happiness she’d had in a long time.
She wanted to forget him, to stop feeling anything for him at all.
Kaylee just wanted to get out of her funk so she could have fun.
“Hey, look, there’s a bunch of bookish stuff. We should check it out for our book club Secret Santa,” Josie said, taking her arm and already steering her toward the booth.
“Sure.” Kaylee let Josie lead her over to a white tent with tables and racks of items that would have usually made her giddy with excitement.
T-shirts that read just one more chapter and the homemade car air fresheners shaped into a stack of books were adorable, but, to put it in the cringiest way, she had the holiday blues.
Kaylee couldn’t seem to dredge up any Christmas cheer after Rick had left her house.
Kaylee got a phone call from the inn that he had booked a room there until New Year’s Day.
Although she’d been frustrated that he was staying in town, she ignored it, avoiding the area, going straight from work to home, and ordering in every night just so she didn’t accidentally bump into him.
“Oh, look at this,” Josie said, holding up a bag that read i like big books and i cannot lie. “This is perfect for Kendra ’cause she can take it into the bookstore and Colin won’t yell at her for needing a bag to take her books home.”
“It’s cute,” Kaylee said mildly.
Josie hung the bag back up on the hook before putting her hands on her hips. “What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing!”
“You are so full of it. Is it about Rick?”
Kaylee held her finger up in front of her mouth. “I don’t want to have this discussion, especially not here.”
“Too bad,” Josie said, a flash of determination clouding her eyes. “You’re ruining my shopping with your mopey, Grinchy attitude, and we’re gonna talk about it.”
Josie hadn’t ever spoken to her so harshly, and it reminded Kaylee so much of Elasia that she sucked in a breath before asking, “What exactly do you want me to say?”
“I want you to explain why you’re allowing someone whom you swear you do not have any feelings toward to ruin your holiday.”
“It’s not about having feelings for him.” It’s totally about having feelings for him. “It’s about the fact that I slept with him and he’d been lying to me and manipulating me the whole time.”
“So, he’s a jerk. Forget about him and move on.”
Kaylee didn’t say it, but that was the issue because she was having a hard time forgetting about him.
Forgetting about the way he mocked her guinea pig, or how he didn’t hesitate to help her check off an item on her list. He cared about how she might feel about them being together, and when she called him out on it, he admitted he wanted her.
He didn’t regret sleeping with her, even though it could jeopardize his job, and he didn’t feel bad about lying to her and telling her how he was going to drag her back, kicking and screaming, whether she wanted to or not.
It sucked to be so totally betrayed by someone she’d started to care for, but Josie had a point.
Rick Diaz shouldn’t have the power to destroy their evening.
Kaylee did a little shimmy, flipping her hair, and smiled brightly at Josie. “There you go. I shook off the doldrums, and I am ready to shop.”
“That’s my girl.” Josie said with a grin. “Now, who did you get for Secret Santa?”
“The reverend’s wife.”
“You know what I saw?” Josie walked back to the table in the bookish booth and held up a dark rectangle.
“A book sleeve that has a cross on it. We can totally get that for her, and then she can hide her naughty book from her husband. Although as much as they like to pretend that he doesn’t know what she reads, I’m pretty sure he benefits from it. ”
Kaylee covered her chest, her face fixed in a horrified expression. “I’m sorry, are you trying to insinuate that the reverend and his wife get freaky to monster smut?”
Josie waggled her brows. “I’m trying not to say it out loud, but you just did.”
Kaylee looked around and laughed since there was no one else in the booth but them. “Covertness is not your strong suit.”
“Maybe not, but surprisingly, pondering the sexual practices of our man of the cloth made me feel better.” Josie looked to her right, did a double take, and then swung her wide eyed gaze back to meet Kaylee’s. “Don’t look now, but I think I see your boy talking to Colin.”
“Colin from the bookstore? I thought they didn’t get along?” It took everything in her not to sneak a glance, but she was afraid he’d notice her.
“They look pretty friendly to me.”
“He’s not looking over here, is he?”
“No, you’re safe. He is standing at an angle, so his back is to us. We can scoot out of here and escape without him noticing.” Josie picked up the tote again and held it in front of her. “After I buy this tote.”
“Grab the book sleeve, too, and I’ll Venmo you, but hurry. We gotta get out of here.”
Josie approached the woman behind the small table, taking a picture of her Venmo while Kaylee hid behind a rack of T-shirts.
She poked her head up, spotting Rick immediately.
He was wearing his leather jacket, which was ridiculous given that it was thirty degrees outside, and he had to be freezing.
His hair was tousled and shiny, catching the sheen of the twinkling lights strewn across the booths.
He looked delicious, and Kaylee hated that she’d been thinking about sex with him all week.
Not just in her dreams, but also just lying in bed with her vibrator, using it as a way to tire herself out so that she could fall asleep.
Instead, it made it worse because it wasn’t as good as the real thing.
He’d completely and utterly ruined her, which made her even more stabby toward him.
Josie finished up and asked, “Do you wanna go to the adults-only section? We could try some huckleberry moonshine.”
Getting a little buzz on to relax? “That actually sounds like a plan.”
Kaylee stayed on the far side of Josie as they passed Rick and Colin, heading for the roped-off area and the separate set of tents where the twenty-one-and-over booths were.
There was wine and moonshine and beer, along with sexual enhancers in gummy and drink form.
A booth of holiday costumes was set up to their left, and Kaylee couldn’t help eyeing a green, silk nightie with a bit of lace trim on the neck and hem.
She’d never bought lingerie before, but the cute negligee was appealing.
“See, now, this is a distraction,” Kaylee sang, her spirits already lifting. They went up to the booth that sold the moonshine, and the bearded man behind the table smiled at them. Behind him were several rows of bottles with homemade labels and a sign that read shiny sal’s liquor.
“I’ll get the first round,” Josie said, handing him two fives. “Can we get two shots?
“What flavor?”
“Huckleberry,” they answered in unison.
The bearded man, who looked as though he should’ve been living in the mountains, poured each of them a shot in a plastic cup and handed it to them.
They tapped their glasses and tipped them back, the liquor sweet at first, but the fiery afterburn blazed down Kaylee’s throat, warming her stomach and spreading outward through her limbs.
“Two more, please,” Kaylee said, taking a picture of his Venmo and sending him the total plus a small tip.
“Thanks very much, ladies.”
“Are you trying to get me blitzed?” Josie teased, picking up her shot.
“No, I just want to have a good time and get in a better mood. I figured a couple of huckleberry shots might help.”
“I love that for us.” They clinked their plastic cups together again and downed the alcohol. Josie took Kaylee’s glass and threw them both away in the trash can at the corner of the booth. “Come on, let’s check out the naughty booth before we get too happy.”
They crossed to the sexual enhancer booth, and she looked over the glass jars of gummies.
A man in a tight black Henley hovered on the other side of the table, holding a few black bags in his hands.
He smiled broadly at them. “Hello, ladies. Use the tongs to place gummies into the bags, and when you’re finished, I take Venmo, cash, or card. ”
One orange one, labeled solo play, caught her eye, and she followed the Venmo link. She sent him the money for the gummy, then used tongs to pull one out and place it in a plastic bag.
The booth vendor held out a black bag to her when she showed him her phone screen, which proved that her payment had gone through.
“You know you can get five for the price of three?” he asked as she slipped her single gummy inside.
“I only need one, thanks.”
He leaned forward, setting one hand on the table and giving her what could only be described as a smolder. “That’s a shame. A pretty girl like you ought to try a few different ones with a partner. Unless you don’t have someone in your life right now.”
Maybe it was the shots that had loosened her up, or his smarmy come-on gave her the ick, but Kaylee said brightly, “Actually, I am blissfully unattached after my last partner left me with a painful reminder of why you can never trust men or condoms. Thank you for your concern, though.”
The guy took off so fast, a cloud of dust hovered in the air for a moment, and Josie laughed. “Damn, girl, what has gotten into you?”
“A strong dislike of predatory men,” Kaylee muttered.
They left the booth, and Josie swung her black bag at her. “You make me feel a little slutty.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I bought five of them and you only bought one.”
Kaylee shrugged. “I just wanted to give it a try. I’m sure I can always order more if I like it. Besides, I don’t need to worry about anyone else’s reaction to my performance. It will just be me and my blue best friend. Why did you get so many, if you aren’t seeing anyone?”
“You don’t have to be dating a guy to enjoy naughty gummies. I tried them last year and loved them.”
“You did? I didn’t know that.”
Josie hip-checked Kaylee playfully. “That’s because I thought you needed to experience the adults-only section for yourself.”
“Yeah, well, I’m thinking I may need a few more shots tonight before I go home alone. What other flavored gummies did you get?”
Josie peeked into her bag, picking up each plastic bag. “I got a Playtime, which I think is blue raspberry, a Pink Pussycat, which is strawberry, a Love Bite, which is cinnamon, a lemony one called Sun Kissed, and a Hard to Please, which I think is licorice.”
“Gross,” Kaylee said, making a face and picking up the plastic bag holding her single orange gummy. “I hope this one’s not licorice.”
“Smell it. You should be able to get a sense of what it is.”
Kaylee held the bag up to her face, a waft of citrus tickling her nose. “Smells like oranges.”
“Yum. I should’ve gotten that one, but I’m hoping to not go solo.”
Kayle couldn’t help searching the area, but Rick and Colin were out of sight. It was for the best, especially considering how her emotions had been fluctuating this week. “You got somebody in mind? Maybe Curtis?”
“No,” Josie protested. “No, thank you, he is definitely not in the realm of possibilities.”
“Why not?”
“I told him exactly what I do for a living and he practically recoiled. I mean, talk about small-dick energy.”
Kaylee grimaced. “Poor Curtis. He’s a nice guy, and he makes the best bread in town.”
“Yeah, but I don’t need a guy who’s gonna be so insecure, worrying about what I’m doing or who I’m with, or anything like that. I need a man who is secure in who he is and how he pleases me in order for us to work out.”
“I hear ya,” she said, Rick’s pleading, dark eyes flashing through her mind. “If you don’t have trust, you have nothing.”
Kaylee’s tone must have given her thoughts away because Josie gave her a hug. “I’m sorry, girl. Should we get more shots?”
“Definitely more shots.”