Chapter Twenty
Mama Fate was not Tina’s friend the next week.
Business was slower than a snail crawling through molasses in a snowstorm in the morning, but starting a few minutes before noon and lasting until closing time, she and Walker would be swamped.
Then in the evenings, there was always something to do at the house.
Either Lyle and Walker were building shelving inside the new greenhouse, or they were taking care of the yard work.
That left no time to satisfy her raging hormones.
Other than a daily good-night kiss and a few words of hope for the next day, Tina felt like the last weekend’s memories might be the only ones she would ever have.
She had hoped that they might get away for another trip to the desert on Saturday, but even that idea got dashed at the breakfast table.
“If you kids are going to the fireworks at the football field this evening, we’d sure like to catch a ride with you,” Mae said at the breakfast table. “Neither me nor Cleo drive too well after dark.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m perfectly able to drive anytime of the day or night,” Cleo argued.
“But if you are going, we’d like to leave in time to get there early and check out the vendors.
They’ll have a taco wagon, and the church is selling cotton candy and homemade cookies.
Not that they can outdo what I make, but sometimes it’s nice to have another person cook once in a while. ”
“And the Kiwanis Club is making hot dogs and chili—there’ll be all kinds of other bake sales to support rebuilding after the tornado,” Mae added. “And if you are slinging mud at me, Cleo, then you better remember that I cook better than you, even if you do bake a mean pie and good cookies.”
“Of course,” Walker agreed. “I never miss the fireworks show, but since the store isn’t open on holidays, Tina and I have some bookwork to catch up on this morning. What time do the gates open for the big event?”
“Five o’clock and the fireworks are around nine,” Mae answered.
“You want to be the first ones in the gates, like always?” Walker asked.
“Of course,” Cleo replied. “We’ll take our lawn chairs and set up in the shade. Do you kids want regular chairs or chaise lounges?”
“Either one is fine with me, or even a quilt on the ground as long as it’s close to y’all,” Tina answered.
“We’ll get our work done and be here to pick you up at four thirty,” Walker said.
Tina was thinking about all the paperwork still stacked up on the edge of the desk until Walker put his hand on her thigh under the table and gave it a gentle squeeze.
When she cut her eyes around at him, one of his eyes closed in a sly wink, and she understood exactly what kind of paperwork they would be doing.
Mae pushed back her chair and began to load the dishwasher. “That will be wonderful. We’ll be ready.”
Cleo got up with a groan. “Y’all better get on to the office. You should be able to catch up on a lot of stuff while you don’t have a lot of distractions. We’ll get this kitchen cleaned up. Don’t suppose you’ll take a break for lunch, will you?”
“No, ma’am,” Walker answered. “We’ve got sandwich stuff in the fridge, so we’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to a hot dog this evening, and maybe I’ll test some of those cookies just to see if they are as good as yours.”
Mae’s sigh came out in a long breath. “I miss Gracie. This is the first time she won’t be here for the July Fourth event since she’s come back from college.
I understand that Dakota’s family wants her to be with them this weekend, but it don’t keep me from missing her.
But I’m telling you right now, she had better come home over the Christmas holidays.
I don’t care if it’s on the day or Christmas Eve.
I want all three of you here this year.”
Cleo raised her hand. “Testify, Sister Mae.”
“Oh, hush,” Mae scolded. “I’m stating facts, not preaching.”
“I’ll miss her, too. It’s my first one in years, and I wish she was here to enjoy it with all of us. Walker and I are dating,” she blurted out, and then clamped a hand over her mouth.
Walker smiled and nodded. “Yes, we are!”
“Hey, I heard that you and Walker were caught kissing at Trade Days last weekend, but I thought it was gossip,” Cleo said with a big grin on her face.
Mae shot a look toward Cleo. “I knew it first. I told you that there was something going on between them. I could feel the sparks.”
“Well, just because you said it out loud first don’t mean I didn’t already know,” Cleo argued.
Tina was shocked speechless. What happened at Trade Days evidently did not stay at Trade Days.
“I was right glad that y’all told us that you were dating when you got home, because Millie and Diane both sent me a message this morning about the kissing. Sabrina is stirring up crap again,” Cleo said.
Mae started the dishwasher and then turned around to face all three of them. “Them nosy hussies are as bad as Iris when it comes to gossiping. Did you post something?”
Cleo raised her chin a notch. “I told them that Tina and Walker would most likely be at the event tonight, and they could ask either one about their personal lives.”
“Good enough,” Mae said smugly.
“Right when I sent back that message, Diane called me.” Cleo rolled her eyes. “Lord, that woman must get up with the chickens. Anyway, she said that Sabrina is spouting stuff all over Facebook, saying that poor Walker is about to get his heart broken.”
“Oh, really?” Tina growled. “I wish she would find a boyfriend to take up her time and leave all the rest of us alone.”
“Ain’t goin’ to happen for a long time. Not after the way she treated Brandon,” Cleo said.
“Him, nothing!” Mae snorted. “The way she treated his credit card was a disgrace, for sure.”
Tina glanced over at Walker. “Guess the cat’s out of the bag now.”
Mae’s head bobbed up and down several times. “Seems that Reesa was over at Trade Days last weekend and saw Walker kiss you a couple of times. If we could buy them three nosy bitches for what they’re worth and sell them for what they think they’re worth, we would be billionaires.”
“They’ve always been trouble on a stick,” Cleo said. “And even though we ain’t supposed to judge, you called them the right name.”
“What does trouble on a stick look like?” Walker chuckled.
“Like the devil’s sister,” Cleo barked. “Now, y’all get on out of here. You got work to do, and you ain’t got time to be thinkin’ about gossip. It comes and goes with every breath of the wind. By the time you get home this evening, someone else will be in the spotlight.”
Tina didn’t need to be told a second time, and she sure hoped she was right about spending the whole day with Walker—even if it was on the concrete floor, or on a blanket on top of a few feed sacks.
“We’ll see you later, and we’ll take lots of pictures this evening to send to Gracie,” she said on her way out of the room.
“She’s supposed to do the same thing,” Cleo yelled after her.
“She ain’t deaf,” Mae fussed.
“I know that, and I also know that you ain’t my boss.”
Tina hoped that she and Gracie grew up to be just like them.
She was halfway up the stairs when she blushed at the thought of what she and Walker would be doing all day—and it didn’t have a thing to do with paperwork.
She quickly packed a few things in a tote bag, tossed her purse in on the top, and was in the hallway when Walker came out of his bedroom.
“What do you have there?” he asked.
“Emergency kit,” she said with a smile.
“For a flat tire?” he teased.
“I hope not. Let’s talk about it in the truck.”
He took it from her with one hand and draped the other over one of her shoulders. “I love how easy it is to walk beside you. I don’t have to shorten my stride or bend when I kiss you.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “Right back at you. We fit together very well, Mr. Cosay.”
“I’m just Walker, or darlin’ to you, sweetheart. Are you telling me that you’ve dated men shorter than you?” he said as he escorted her out to his truck.
“Those don’t matter. You are the one for me—probably always were, if I would have opened my eyes and seen it.”
“I can never hear that enough,” he said as he backed out of the driveway and drove east.
She pointed in the opposite direction. “The store is that way.”
“But the motel in Vega is this way,” he said. “I called while you were putting your emergency bag together and got us a room with a king-sized bed.”
“You can really read my mind?”
“Of course I can,” he grinned.
“Walker, what happens if we get tired of each other?” she asked.
“That question is way too serious for today,” he said. “We need to enjoy all the stolen moments we can, not worry about the future. But to put your mind at ease, remember this: When we have a disagreement, it just means that we can have make-up sex.”
“Then I might just start a fight when things get dull between us.”
“The way I see the future, there is not a dull moment in it. You can always just walk right up to me and say that we need to go have make-up sex anytime you feel like it.”
“You amaze me,” she said.
“Right back at you.”
The motel could not be called five star, but it at least looked clean when Walker carried her across the threshold. Tina wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, “I wonder if the person who took your phone call is related to someone in town who knows the name Walker Cosay?”
“Who cares,” he said, and slammed the door with the back of his bootheel.
“Not me,” she said when he gently laid her down on the bed.