Nestled in the middle of the Montana grasslands, the Prairie House could easily have been mistaken for a high-end log cabin someone built for decadent privacy. In the distance, the silhouette of mountains formed the perfect backdrop. Completely awed by what she was seeing, Lacey gushed, “How did you learn about this place?”
“Him.” Paul pointed at Colton.
Colton fidgeted with the air conditioning vent, and said, “My father helped build it.” His chest rose with the onus being given to someone else. “He could make anything out of wood.”
“Wait until you see the inside,” Paul stepped out of the pickup and opened the door for Gracie to get out beside him. Since Colton had already walked around the front of the pickup and met them, Lacey scooted across the cab and got out behind her.
It turned out that Paul had not given them a strong enough impression of what they were about to see. Everything was made of wood. The interior of the restaurant looked more like a sculpture than a place for people to go on a date. Lacey found herself reaching out to caress the scroll work on the edge of the bar when they passed by it. She was so focused on the woodwork that Paul had to snap in front of her face to grab her attention. Determined to make a good impression she hurried to follow the group to the table.
“You might want to run some of your ideas about the house for Colton. He’s too humble to tell you he inherited his father’s woodworking talent. The inside of his house is amazing.”
“He’s not kidding,” Gracie piped in. “I am in love with the kitchen table. He spent half of last summer making it.” Gracie, who was as equally impressed with the layout of the restaurant, gawked every once in a while or sighed softly in appreciation at a new facet of the woodwork.
“I thought you owned a pest control business,” Lacey didn’t see the connection between craftsman and controller of invasive bugs and animals.
Shrugging at the lack of connection, Colton replied, “It pays the bills, and I get to be outdoors.”
The conversation came to a temporary halt when the hostess stopped in front of their table. Paul took the seat beside Colton and Gracie chose the seat across from him. Lacey looked twice before resigning herself to the seat diagonally across from the person who was supposed to be her date. Taking it as a sign that perhaps his impression of her changed after the post squirrel discussion, she guessed this was their way of saying that the three of them came up with alternative dinner plans. Preparing herself for the disappointing we should be friends talk; Lacey forced herself to find a way to dim the attraction she felt towards Colton.
Paul and Colton, united in their message, exchanged stories about things they had seen at their day jobs. Occasionally Gracie leaned in to quietly add her two cents to the conversation. To get Paul to talk more, Colton asked, “Were you the one who answered the call about the lady who said a man was walking around in a Speedo at her apartment complex?” Gracie leaned in again to explain the source of the discussion. “Every police call is registered and listed in the Wednesday newspaper.”
“You have got to be kidding.” Usually, Lacey focused on the headlines and the home and garden section of the paper.
“I’ve been in there a couple times myself,” Colton sheepishly admitted.
“What for?”
“When I was eighteen, I toilet papered Bernard’s house.”
Paul and Gracie snorted their laughter. “Back in the day, he was the town crank.” Through giggles, Gracie said, “I wish I could have been there to help.”
“And the second time,” Colton continued, “Was for getting into a fight with…”
“I was there for that call,” Paul interrupted. “After I figured out why he was beating friendly Floyd Fletcher to a pulp I felt bad for cutting the whooping short.”
The conversation continued to tamer topics. When the men were talking about a fish another friend had caught, Gracie whispered an explanation for the Floyd story. “Floyd was extra friendly with Colton’s ex-wife, Barb.”
At first, it was charming to hear the stories of life before Lacey moved to Three Creeks. Through their stories, she learned about friends she was sure to meet and like. The occasional smile or nod of recognition was all the three of them needed to continue the friendly banter. They got through appetizers and dinner without her having to offer much in the way of conversation. By dessert, she was ready to go home. If she was going to be quiet, she wanted to be in her pajamas under a blanket on the couch.
Promising to return before the dessert arrived, Lacey excused herself to go to the restroom. Gracie stood to join her. “I need to freshen up my makeup too.” She retrieved her makeup bag from her purse and accompanied Lacey to the women’s restroom.
Lacey had been to many places. Nothing prepared her for the lavishly designed bathroom. The stalls separated by lacquered walls that went from floor to ceiling were more like individual powder rooms. It was obvious the owner considered every small detail down to the toilet paper dispenser that had lace scrolling carved around the edges. “They almost made it too nice,” Lacey’s eyes wandered from one detail to the next. “I’d be happy sitting in here with a good book.”
Gracie stopped mid lipstick swipe to talk to Lacey. “You are so good for Colton. He is back to being the person he was when we were growing up. Do you like him?”
From what Lacey observed over dinner, Colton seemed to be a nice enough guy. He held up his end of a conversation which was more than he’d be able to say about her. Lacey said what she knew Gracie wanted to hear, “He seems like a really nice guy.”
“Do you think you’ll go out with him again?”
One of the benefits of having a quiet personality is people interpreted silence for thoughtfulness. That was the only way Lacey was able to successfully suppress what she really thought. Which was: This was not a date. A date is where you go out with someone, and you both feel awkward as you try to figure out the nuances of the other person. She was looking forward to the back and forth of discomfort of confusion and relief that comes from receiving approval from the other person. She had no idea whatsoever of what Colton Hughes thought of her. This was three friends getting together for a meal and inviting Lacey along, most likely because they didn’t want her to be alone on a Friday night.
The emerging pattern of what was to come was as bright as Gracie’s lipstick, and Lacey did not see a way to avoid it. Rather than get into a lengthy discussion in the women’s restroom, she kept her answer to the question simple. “I can see us going out together again.”
When Gracie gave her a beaming smile in response, Lacey knew she had given the correct answer.
With the help of her brother, any interest Lacey may have had in Colton Hughes got pushed to the wayside. There was no way she’d ever be able to compete with their bromance. The ride home was a mirror image of how the date began. Colton sat in the front seat while Lacey and Gracie sat in the back. She hoped nobody was going to quiz her about what they discussed because she had no idea. Feeling like a spare tire on a tricycle she went off in her own mind and considered moving to Arizona to be closer to her parents. Sure, it was hot, but it couldn’t be any more uncomfortable than the situation she was in. By the time they pulled up to the house, she was trying to decide whether or not she wanted to wear one-piece bathing suits or a bikini.
Lacey didn’t wait for Paul to shift the pickup into park. Going with the group of friends vibe she picked up from them, she opened the door and jumped out of the back of the cab. She tapped the door like she had seen people do in the movies and said, “That was a lot of fun. Thanks for bringing me along.” She backed away to see three confused faces watch her head to the house. For a brief moment, she thought maybe I played the group of friends card too hard. Before the situation grew any more awkward, she turned and headed for the door. She refused to look back until she walked through and gave her biggest happy smile and waved.
Standing against the door firmly closed behind her, Lacey exhaled the breath she hadn’t reali
zed she was holding. She spoke to the empty room. “I need to google excuses for not going on outings with my brother.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
A Do Over
Lacey should have known making the decision to not have anything to do with someone and following through with the unspoken decision are two different sides of the same coin. Things could change with a simple flip. She was hunkered down on the corner of her couch scrolling through books on her tablet when the first phone call came.
It was her father. She checked the time and immediately began to worry. Her parents never stayed up past ten, and it was after eleven p.m. Skipping the usual courtesies she answered, “Is everything okay?”
“Does something have to be wrong for a man to call his only daughter?” Lacey could only hope to meet someone like her father. He knew exactly what to say to allay her worries.
“When it’s way past your bedtime it might?” she sweetly replied.
“It is so hot out here we take naps during the day and stay up later. Just yesterday we saw a man fry an egg on the hood of his car.”
“Are you calling to say you’re ready to come home?” Lacey silently pleaded for the answer to be yes.
“No, a little heat isn’t going to scare us away. Besides we can go swimming or visit the mall when it’s hot. There’s no way to get around shoveling snow,” he joked. “Your mother just got off the phone with your brother. He said he thought you might be missing us. Something about you going out to dinner and not talking.”
It was a classic Paul move. Whenever he got in trouble, he called his mother to soften the aftermath.
“Oh, you know how he gets. Once he starts talking, it’s best to take a seat and let him have his audience.”
“That’s true. I always thought he was going to be an actor or a standup comedian,” her father agreed. He pressed into the reason for the call. “So you two aren’t at odds?”
“No, not at all.”
Having received the information he called to get, her father asked a couple more questions, and they ended the call. Lacey put down the phone and picked up the tablet. She had just logged into her wish list when the phone rang again. She silently moaned about the inability to enjoy some peace and quiet. The grumbling grew louder when she saw it was Colton calling.
“I just called to tell you were a breath of fresh air tonight.”
She was not giving him a chance to sweet talk her. She sassed, “Did you get that from a country song?”
He chuckled at her comment, and replied, “I don’t think so. But you never know. Sometimes we hear something so often it becomes a part of our regular conversation.”
“Hmmm, I can see that happening. By the way, dinner was delicious.” She felt better about not having to lie about having fun and offering him a token of politeness.
“I was wondering if you’d want to come with me to a family picnic.”
When she googled ways to get out of something, the most common solution was to make other plans. “I’m already doing something, but thank you for inviting me.”
“I never told you when it was happening. I told your brother you weren’t having fun tonight.
The last thing she needed was for Colton to contradict what she told her father. “I never said…”
“Let me make it up to you,” he insisted.
“There’s nothing to make up for.”
“We were trying to get you to know as much about me as possible in a short amount of time because you made a comment about not going out with strangers. Paul and I may have gone overboard with our intentions.”
“Oh, for heavens to Betsy,” she exclaimed.
“Did you get that from a country song?” Her heart swooned. He used her own words against her, and it worked.
“I may have.” She felt the grin taking over her face.
“Would you mind if I stopped by?”
As much as she wanted him to logic told her it was a bad idea. “It’s kind of late.”
“I know, but we didn’t end the date right. I’d like a do over.”
“Can we do it another night?”
Lacey heard the knock on the door, and it slowly registered to her senses that Colton was on the other side. She gasped in surprise.
He coached her on what to do next, “This is the part where you say who is it, then I’ll say, baby, it’s me I just came to give you a goodnight kiss.”
Her heart started floating around her chest, and her stomach disappeared to give it room to wander. Lacey didn’t know what she should do when she opened the door. The anticipation urged her to get there as quickly as possible to find out. She turned the lock and opened the door to see Colton leaning against the post on her front porch. His thumbs were in his pocket, and his hands rested casually on his upper thigh. He was the picture of the hunky country boy next door.
She forgot she was wearing her pajamas until she saw his eyes widen and retract in surprise. Lacey blushed three shades of pink, and tried to hide behind the door, “Oh, I should go change.”
“No, what you’re wearing is perfect.” He grinned and said, “I just caught a vision of our future, and I’m not ashamed to say I liked it.”
Nobody had ever said anything like that about Lacey when she was in her pajamas. Her body said she was over forty. Her head felt like it was the first time she was really in love. The man standing in front of her had frustrated her into considering a move to a place where they fry eggs on their cars. In less than a couple minutes he had her eating out of the palm of his hand. She bet if the squirrel knew he was the trapper it would have happily walked into the cage.
Colton took two steps to stand in front of her and placed his hand on the small of her back. He used the thumb of his other hand to raise her chin toward him and gently kissed her on the lips. His lips turned up to form a satisfied grin. He said, “That’s how a date is supposed to end,” and he left Lacey standing on the front stoop wearing a silly smile that she couldn’t push away if she tried.
CHAPTER EIGHT
More Than Fine
Lacey was at the counter of the hardware store waiting for Kent to bring out an order of mini blinds for her bedroom when her eye caught Colton walking toward the lumber department. She wished for a lot of things. Seeing Colton Hughes in a t-shirt and jeans at ten a.m. in the hardware store hadn’t been one of them. The loose fit of his clothing did little to hide the well-defined muscles beneath them. As she was checking out the back pockets, she made a mental note, “thank the good Lord for bringing us unexpected gifts.”
“These will go well with the paint you’ve chosen.” Kent’s voice startled her back into reality. Her cheeks burned at the slight grin he gave her as she forced herself to remember why she was there. “I have some prints coming in that will blend the colors.”
“C’mon I’ll introduce you two.” Kent’s playful smile said he’d keep her secret.
“We’ve already met,” Lacey pressed her lips together to try and hide how much she really liked Colton. She didn’t want to jinx things.
Kent walked with her to the register. “I’ll let you off the hook this time.”
Colton came to the register with a large chunk of wood. His smile brightened when he saw Lacey. Kent alternated glances between the two of them. “Is there something I should know about you two?”
They were in the hardware store, but the rest of the world faded into background noise. As far as Lacey was concerned, there were only two people in the world. She held up the blinds for Colton to see. “I’m here to make some finishing touches on a room. What brings you here?”
“Remind me to never babysit a Saint Bernard.” Colton held up the plank of wood. “I’m here to make some minor repairs to a chair leg.”
Lacey grimaced. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“If you like I can show you the damage.”
A snapping sound pulled Lacey from the conversation. Kent joked with the cashier, “This happens every time the weather warms.”
&nb
sp; It was the second time in a short amount of time she had experienced a Colton induced amnesia. She completely forgot that she was in a hardware store full of people. She inhaled a breath and pulled out her wallet to pay for her purchase.
“I can help you install the blinds and then you can come by the house.” Colton added, “You can see the table. Thankfully, the dog stayed away from it.”
“We can say we were here when it all began,” Kent cajoled. At Lacey’s blush, he said, “I have to give old Colt a hard time here.”
“Old Colt? Who are you calling old?” Colton’s indignation at the jab drew chuckles from the people in line behind them.
“He isn’t talking to me,” a woman who had to have been in her sixties answered.
Considering his alternatives, Colton laughed and took his receipt from the cashier. He walked out of the store with Lacey to where their vehicles were parked. His pickup was parked beside hers. “I’ll follow you to the house, and we can decide what to do from there.”
When they got to the house, Lacey felt better about making the bed before she left the house. Her mother’s wisdom echoed in her mind. “You never know when you’re going to have a surprise visitor.”
They had the blinds changed in a matter of minutes. The original off white blinds slid out of the clips and they replaced them with the charcoal grey blinds Lacey purchased to match the paint she chose for the room.
She stood with her hands on her hips and proudly assessed her work. “It is coming together nicely. I think Paul will be pleased with the results.”
Standing beside Lacey, Colton held his arm folded in front of his chest. “I wondered why you chose a masculine color scheme.”
“Well, it is Paul’s house.”
“That he wants you to live in.”
“I am,” she answered.
“And like it.”
“I do.”
He eyed her soft pink hoodie and boots with pink scrolls stitched on the top. His brow wrinkled before he said, “I’d have taken you for the type of person that likes softer colors.”
Piece of Cake: Small Town Stories Novella #1 Page 3
