Chapter 28
Dot laced up her sneakers and put on a slim puffy vest in hot pink over her white long sleeve running shirt.
She grabbed a royal-blue For the Win baseball cap and pulled her blond ponytail through the back opening.
After patting down her pockets to make sure she had her lip balm, phone, credit card, and an emergency twenty-dollar bill, she looked in the hallway mirror and thought, “Feet, don’t fail me now.
” She was due to meet Danny Dawson at Reader Falls in twenty minutes.
She hadn’t been running as much as she had in New York. Her schedule at the FTW offices plus the weather had kept her from getting out. And running on the treadmill at the house wasn’t the same. She hoped she could keep up with Danny and not die on the first hill.
When Dot arrived, Danny was already inside the bookshop chatting with the Jankowskis.
She observed them from outside the door for a moment.
Danny towered over Ted and Jeanie. Jeanie held her husband’s hand and had her other hand on Danny’s forearm.
He wore medium-length running shorts and a white T-shirt under a red University of Wisconsin hoodie.
On his head he wore a green “Dawson Construction” cap, and his black hair curled up under it. “Wow, he’s so cute,” she thought.
“There she is,” Ted said when the bell rang, announcing her arrival.
“Don’t you look darling, Dot!” Jeanie said. “Isn’t she darling, Danny?”
His cheeks reddened at his older friend’s obvious attempt to push him toward his running date.
“Right as always, Jeanie.” He smiled shyly at Dot, knowing full well what was up.
“Love your shoes,” Dot said, pointing to his New Balance 9060s, feeling awkward with the heavy-handed hints by Jeanie.
“It seems we both have good taste,” he said, pointing to her sneakers. They wore the same brand.
“Great minds think alike.” She smiled and casually leaned toward the “New Release” table to rest her hip against it but misjudged the distance and nearly fell over. Danny reached out and caught her.
Embarrassed, she looked up at him through her top lashes and said, “Thanks. I promise I run better than I walk.”
His hands were strong and warm, and he held her a few seconds longer than necessary to ensure she was secure on her own two feet.
“I’ll be there in case you need me,” he said. “Besides, it’s good to test my reflexes.”
“Looks like you’ve not lost a beat,” she said.
“Oh, you’ve still got it, Danny,” Ted said. “I’m the one that’s losing my grip! I can barely unscrew the pickle jar anymore.”
Danny casually put an arm around Ted’s shoulders and turned to Dot.
“So, just before you arrived, these two were telling me about a polka competition they’re going to in a few weeks down in Monroe,” he said.
“Polka competition? That will be amazing. Next stop, Dancing with the Stars!”
“More like dancing to the oldies,” Jeanie said, laughing. “The only thing is that we can’t close the store during tourist season.”
Dot didn’t hesitate. “I could cover for you. I’m sure Harper would pitch in as well. You wouldn’t have to worry about anything—we’d just need to learn how to ring up the sales.”
“We couldn’t ask a young woman like you to do that. You have a life to live. And parties to go to,” Ted said.
“You overestimate my social life, Ted. I love this store. It reminds me of my grandmother. Plus, I could meet more people in the area, which would be good for me and For the Win. Please just say yes.”
“I think you should take her up on it,” Danny said.
Jeanie ran a hand over her hair to smooth it. “Well, Ted. What do you say? One more polka before they put us out to pasture?”
“It’s very kind of you, Dot. I’m inclined to say yes,” Ted said.
“Great! I’ll stop by this week after Harper’s reading hour and go over the details. I’m excited. This will be so fun.” She hugged the Jankowskis with enthusiasm.
“All right, you kids go get some exercise. Run an extra quarter mile for me, okay? It’s about all I could ever manage.” Jeanie ushered them to the door.
Out on the sidewalk, Dot adjusted her hat and pulled her ponytail tighter. She stretched her quads but tried not to make a big show of it. She was trying to be super casual and wasn’t sure she was pulling it off.
“I THOUGHT WE’D go this way, up to the covered bridge. It’s one of the last left around here and has a historic designation,” Danny said. “It’ll be around a four-mile loop.”
“Perfect. Lead the way.”
“Let me carry that for you,” he said, reaching for her water bottle. She almost refused but let him have it. Their fingers brushed each other. And a shiver of electricity bolted up her arm.
They set out running. Danny kept the pace slow, and Dot pushed a little in front, showing him that it was okay to go faster.
Danny’s route took them to the opposite side of Main Street and onto a trail that followed the river. Along the way, he pointed out the elementary school he and the Taylor boys had attended.
“I bet you three were so cute together.”
“I’m not sure about that. We caused Mrs. Taylor a lot of headaches and she ended up doing more than her fair share of laundry. But I’m also not sure what my mom and I would have done without them. With my mom’s hours as a nurse at the hospital, I ended up at their place a lot.”
“Grace told me she loved it and that you were never a burden.”
“She’s an amazing woman,” he said. “She’s been like a second mom to me.”
They jogged past the original wool mill, next to the firehouse, and down from there to the beautiful City Hall, which had just been refurbished. Small businesses of all kinds were tucked alongside the historic stone buildings—sewing shops, chocolatiers, and clothing boutiques.
Lavender, deep purple, and royal-blue wildflowers covered the riverbank.
As they settled into a rhythm together, Dot asked him about his construction business. He mainly helped families remodeling their historic homes.
“I like helping people stay in town instead of seeing them move to one of those cookie-cutter subdivisions nearer Milwaukee. Cedar Falls is such a unique place. I want to keep it that way.”
“It’s so nice to know where you want to be.” She pumped her arms to keep up while they talked. “Have you ever been to New York?”
“Never had the chance. Maybe one day I’ll get there. The news makes it sound pretty rough.”
“Certain areas are. But I’d love to show you the good parts. It’s such a great city. I think you’d love running in Central Park.”
“Running from what exactly?” he teased.
“Ha! It’s not as bad as that.” She waited a few paces. “Usually.”
They ran in silence for a while.
“How often do you run?” she asked.
“Enough to clear my head. So, most days I put in a few miles. Helps keep me sane.”
“Same for me. If I don’t run, I don’t know how to burn off my nervous energy.”
“You don’t seem like a nervous person to me.”
“Looks can be deceiving. I’m like a duck gliding across the pond.”
“You have webbed feet?”
“No, you just can’t see me furiously paddling below.”
“You’re a pretty cute duckling, though,” he said.
She smiled at the surprising flirtation. He thought she was cute. She felt she could run a few more miles after that.
They turned right toward the river.
“That’s the bridge ahead,” Danny said. “It was built in the late eighteen hundreds. When I was a kid, you could still drive on it. Now it’s only for pedestrians.” They slowed to a walk as they came to the historic site.
“It’s gorgeous,” she said. “Like out of The Notebook.” The stream ran into a lake and all the trees were budding with new spring leaves in light green. A few families with young children were there with fishing poles and picnic baskets.
“Here, let me take your picture for you,” Danny offered. “Something you can send to your friends back home.”
“Oh, okay. Sure.” Dot stood in front of the bridge, hands on her hips, feeling a little awkward.
Danny snapped a few photos from different angles, like he knew how to be a good Instagram boyfriend.
“All for the ’gram,” Dot joked, taking back her phone and texting the shot to the family chat.
“I wouldn’t know. I don’t have any social media.”
“You don’t?” she asked, surprised and impressed.
“Nah. I tried it for a while. I just never got anything out of it. And I just really don’t like comparing myself to others. I’ve got enough pressure without trying to keep up.”
Dot took that in. She thought about what Jeanie told her. How Danny had suffered such heartbreak when his fiancé and unborn baby girl were killed in that accident.
“You’re right. That’s the awful part. ‘Compare and despair,’ my grandmother would say. But I use it for work a lot. And I send my sister tons of funny dog videos.”
“I’ve seen some of those. If there was only dog content on the Internet, we’d all be better off.”
“Agree.” They smiled at each other and held each other’s gaze, lingering past the point of casual.
“Thanks for bringing me here. It’s beautiful,” Dot said, forcing her eyes to look around.
“You bet. I figured if you’re only going to be here a short while, you should see the sights.”
Dot did the math quickly in her head. She only had six months left in Cedar Falls. Suddenly, that didn’t feel like enough time.