A gentle hand on my shoulder breaks the spell. “Perhaps you wouldn’t mind sitting with me for a few? My knee starts acting up if I stand too long.”
Quickly, I bring my attention back to Dan. “What? Oh yeah, sure. Of course.”
When I peek back over at Colton, he’s still looking in my direction. But this time there’s a drop-dead, shockingly beautiful blonde standing beside him. Like, supermodel gorgeous.
Of course.
I turn to Dan. “There’s a bench over there by the merry-go-round. That work?”
He nods, and we make our way over. I notice his limp does seem a bit more pronounced than it was earlier.
He sits down, and I offer to go grab us a couple of lemonades from the booth behind us. He smiles his gratitude when I return and hand him the ice-cold drink.
“Thanks. Sure is a scorcher today. Just hope the storm stays away till the festival is over. Don’t want folks stuck driving in it.”
I look up at the perfectly clear blue sky, with not even a single cloud in sight. “Storm?”
Dan takes a few gulps of his lemonade. “Pretty big one coming. Should be rolling in around twilight, I think.”
“Really? In the middle of summer? When it’s so hot out?” I hope I don’t sound totally stupid, but it never rains in the summertime in southern California. Ever.
Dan smiles. “When it’s hot is when it’s the worst. You’re in for a treat if you’ve never been through a real Southern thunderstorm. Lightning like crazy, and the loudest thunder you can possibly imagine. Shakes your whole house.”
I stare at him, hoping he’s kidding, but I don’t think he is. Earthquakes and wildfires I can deal with. Thunder and lightning freak me out. But I’m not going to mention this embarrassing fact to him.
“Well, hopefully it won’t hit till much later then,” I murmur. “If you don’t mind my asking, what happened to your knee?”
He grimaces a bit and repositions himself on the bench to face me. From the corner of my eye, I see Colton’s familiar stride as he and his arm candy make their way past the carousel. I feel his eyes on me again, but this time I don’t look back at him, and instead focus all my attention on Dan as he speaks.
“—so I had to have surgery on it, but there was a lot of nerve damage. Now I have to wait for it to heal some more before having the next operation.”
Crap, what was he saying?
“Oh, that’s too bad,” I murmur. “I hope it heals quickly!”
Dan nods. “Thanks, me too. This will be the first winter I haven’t gone skiing, and already I’m depressed.”
Just then my phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s Vivi.
“I’m back, where are you?”
“We’re sitting on a bench right next to the red and blue carousel… across from the lemonade stand.”
“Be right there.”
She must have already been close by, because she appears only seconds later. Dan stands up and smiles. “Well now, I suppose it’s time to take my leave. I’m not technically on call, but I should go check in the first-aid area to make sure no one needs me for anything.”
“Thanks for keeping me company.” I’m almost tempted to give him a friendly hug, but I don’t want it misinterpreted. I still sense… something.
His kind eyes twinkle. “The pleasure was all mine, Miss Cady. You girls enjoy the rest of your day. And stay safe tonight!”
Chapter 15.
Unlike me, Vivi is quite thrilled at the thought of winning a giant stuffed animal, so she’s basically dragging me to every game booth possible in a desperate attempt to claim a prize. I just tag along and provide moral support, happily munching from my huge bag of caramel kettle corn. But of course, even in a field spanning several acres and in a crowd of thousands, it’s only a matter of time before we cross paths with Colton and his Barbie doll again.
“Oh, I totally got this,” Vivi is saying, eyeing the makeshift wall covered with colored balloons. “I’m great at darts.”
“Just hitting the dartboard once in a while at The Dirty doesn’t exactly make you an expert shot, Vivi,” Colton says coming up beside us. “You have to get each balloon in order to win. Not easy.”
She flashes him a disdainful look. “Oh, you hush, Cole. No one asked you.”
She manages to hit two before missing the third, enough for a prize slightly larger than my little stuffed mouse, which she grumpily waves off. She rolls her eyes and scowls as we watch Colton land five in a row, much to the non-delight of his beautiful companion.
“Can we go now?” the girl asks. She sounds bored.
The man running the game tells Colton to pick anything from the top shelf. He turns to Barbie, but she just stands there, obviously uninterested. So he turns back to us.
“Which one you want, Viv?”
Her eyes light up. “That awesome tiger, obviously!”
He hands it to her, and she beams and gives him a quick hug. “Thanks, doll.”
He musses the top of her hair in a brotherly way. “Don’t tell Freddy…he’ll get all jealous.”
Vivi winks dramatically. “It’ll be our secret.”
Colton’s date reaches for his arm, and he turns to meet her mildly annoyed expression. He gives us a half-hearted wave and they both wander off.
Vivi nods at them, but I just turn away. I really wish I’d stop running into him at every turn. This town is not that small.
“Let’s go drop this thing off in my car so I don’t have to carry it around with me,” Vivi says.
“Sure… then we can head back towards the bake-off. It’s almost 4 o’clock now.” Even though I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell, I’m curious about the other entries, and I wonder if any of my cookies have been bought yet.
“Sure thing.”
We make our way in the direction of the parking lot, once again passing Colton and Barbie as they stand in line for some BBQ.
“I swear, that boy is too handsome for his own good,” Vivi mutters, shaking her head.
“Who, Colton?” I ask as casually as possible. “Why do you say that?”
“Just… he attracts a lot of girls.” She scrunches up her face. “The wrong kind, I think. And he’s always moving from one to the next.”
“So that’s not his girlfriend?”
Vivi gives me a look. “I’ll fall over if he even knows her last name. That’s probably why he didn’t bother introducing us.”
“You don’t know her?”
She shakes her head. “Nah, I think she’s from Stone Creek, next town over. I’ve seen her with him at The Dirty a few times, but that’s it.”
“She’s very, very beautiful.”
Vivi shrugs. “You say that almost like it’s the most important thing there is.”
“Well… it is pretty important, to a lot of guys especially.”
She wraps one arm around her enormous tiger, and with her free hand reaches over and grabs some of my kettle corn. “Meh… pretty girls are a dime a dozen. Seriously. Nothing really special about all that.”
I chuckle. “Sure. Try telling that to every man who has ever lived.”
She shrugs again. “I mean yeah, sure, guys like pretty girls. But when it comes right down to it, most men… the ones worth their salt… they want more than just that.”
“So what does that say about Colton, then?” I ask as we slowly maneuver our way through the bustling crowds. Vivi stops for a moment to look at a booth with bunches of dried flowers in a variety of cool arrangements.
“Personally, I think he’s just bored. He never gets too invested in anyone, it seems.”
“So he’s a player…”
She gives me a coy glance as we continue on into the parking lot. While I’m a little nervous about the direction our conversation is headed, I like Vivi and feel I can trust her. She doesn’t strike me as someone who would take my words out of context to spread gossip.
She sighs. “I don’t know if I’d say that, necessarily. I don’t think
he uses women just to use them. I think he has that sort of ‘unavailable’ thing going on that makes women go after him for the challenge. I’ve known him a long time, and he’s a good guy. He was pretty wild when he was younger, but something changed…”
Her words drift off as she opens her car door and tosses her stuffed tiger inside, and then locks it back up.
She glances up at the sky. “Supposed to storm tonight,” she murmurs.
“Yeah, that’s what Dan said.”
We head back across the lot toward the fields. I wait for her to pick up where she left off, but she seems to have let the subject drop.
“What do you mean ‘something changed’?” I prompt, hoping I don’t sound like I’m digging. But she can’t just leave me hanging like that.
We walk past a group of teenagers, and Vivi smiles at them and waves. Then she looks at me, somewhat subdued. “I don’t know exactly, and maybe it’s just me imagining things. Like I said, I’ve known him a long time, and he was a bit wild when he was younger, but still a good guy. He was really big into racing dirt bikes and actually made quite a name for himself. Had some major sponsors. Won a bunch of local competitions, and even some bigger national and international ones.”
“Yeah, he mentioned something about that to me.”
She looks surprised. “Really, he did? Funny, he doesn’t much seem to want to talk about those days. Anyways, he was kind of a big deal around here, but he was always off traveling, even in high school. He was hardly ever around and ended up dropping out at sixteen. Or maybe he got his GED, I don’t really know.”
I look at her, intrigued.
“He’d be gone for long stretches at a time,” she continues. “And yeah… you could say he had his share of fun with the ladies, if you know what I mean.”
She pauses and stops to say hello to a young couple with their newborn in a stroller, and I smile politely as she introduces us. Another set of names I’ll forget within the hour.
“But then since he came back here for good… a few years ago now, he just seems more interested in his cars and the garage than he does anything else.”
“Well, some guys are just like that. I mean, he’s only in his mid-twenties… not like he needs to settle down and get married right now.”
She grins. “Yeah, I know that. But something changed him somewhere. Like some of his light inside had died.”
I know I need to be careful here. “Have you ever seen him without his shirt on?” I ask.
She looks startled for a second, then laughs. “I wish!” She shakes her head. “I mean…now that you mention it… I don’t know about totally with no shirt, at least not since we were much younger and playing at Mr. Crowley’s swimming hole. But that was a long time ago. I imagine he looks pretty damn good now though!” She laughs again. “Why, have you?”
“Have you seen all his scars?” I ask softly.
“Yeah, some I guess. But he raced motorcycles for years and years. Got banged up on more than one occasion, I’m sure. Why?”
I just shake my head and glance away.
“No reason… just wondering.”
Chapter 16.
The long table is beautifully arranged with at least three dozen different desserts, and in front of each is a card with the name of the baker elegantly inscribed on it. The only rule for the competition is that the dish must contain strawberries as one of the main ingredients.
People walk past admiring, and I’m amazed not only by the variety of desserts, but by the creative presentation of each plate. I see artfully prepared cheesecakes, shortcakes, pies, tarts, crisps, bars… so much bright red popping out against the yellow and white tablecloth. Like Martha Stewart and Paula Deen had exploded all over the place. Everything looks almost too good to eat.
Finally, toward the end of the table I see a plate with several of my cookies on it, arranged in a rather sloppy pyramid. I scowl as I notice that a few on the bottom are squished, and my name is misspelled on the card.
Oh well. Not like it really matters anyways.
Ten or so judges are moving around, trying the samples that are set aside for them and making notes. Suddenly I spot Colton in the group. He takes a bite and jots something down on a clipboard.
“What the… he’s a judge?” I whisper to Vivi.
She looks over and shrugs. “Probably. They always recruit local business owners for this. Those are my bosses there, Tom and Shelly,” she adds, motioning to a dark-haired couple standing by the table. “They own The Dirty, and they’re the ones who run the bake-off.”
It suddenly dawns on me. “And Colton owns the Grease Monkey,” I murmur.
I hadn’t made the connection before. Not sure why this matters any, but it does, and I feel my respect for him go up a notch. It’s one thing to work for someone else, it’s a whole other thing to take on that level of risk and responsibility for yourself. This shows a sense of groundedness and dedication that I find admirable, even appealing. Law school grad versus high school dropout, and he has his shit more figured out than I do, apparently.
Vivi and I wander around, admiring the different desserts and buying some treats from the bake sale. I don’t see my cookies for sale anywhere, though. I’m about to look for the woman in charge to ask her where they are, when a voice sounds over some nearby speakers. I turn to find the very woman I’m searching for standing on a small soapbox with a microphone in one hand and a list in the other.
“Okay, all y’all… it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. The winners for the 17th annual Dirty South Bake-Off! Our esteemed judges have sampled and scored each dish on a scale from one to ten based on taste, originality, and presentation. We totaled up all the scores and tallied the top three winners. Now it was close, I’m not even gonna lie to y’all… the judges had a heck of a time doing this most difficult task, so let’s all give them a round of applause!”
There’s a smattering of laughter and clapping while the judges smile good-naturedly and wave. A few even bow.
“Without further ado, your winners are, in third place, Cady St. Claire with her Sweet Southern Surprise cookies!”
There’s more clapping, and I look at Viv, floored. “Me? With my what?”
She just grins as two more names are read off, including the one for first place: Maple Dewane, for her Strawberry Paradise Ice Cream Cake.
“Maple! She’s here?” I ask.
Vivi points to a matronly woman wearing a blue and white striped dress. I can’t believe I haven’t met the kindly 9-1-1 operator yet.
“Don’t feel bad. Maple wins every year.”
“Feel bad? I’m… stunned. Third? How is that even possible? And I want to say hello to her.”
We make our way over to where she’s standing amongst a small group of congratulatory well-wishers, and a few even come up to me as well.
“That was the most unexpectedly delicious thing I’ve tasted in ages!” one woman says to me dramatically, her eyes bulging. “I wanted to buy more but I couldn’t. You have to tell me your recipe.”
“Uh, sure,” I reply. Suddenly I’m engulfed in Maple’s exuberant hug as Vivi tells her who I am.
“I’m so happy to finally meet you, sweetheart!” she beams. “How are you doing? You feeling okay?” Everything about her exudes genuine love and warmth. We chat for a few minutes, before she returns to her friends. Vivi had told me how badly she wanted to try some of my cookies, so I track down the woman in charge again and ask her where they are.
“Gone, darlin’. Sold out a few hours ago, even before the bake-off.”
“What… really? All of them? Wow! That’s great!”
“We sold ‘em for two dollars each. Raised almost $300. You should be proud.”
I am proud. Surprisingly so. Who woulda ever thought something so simple could make me feel so good about myself?
She hands me my prize –a bright yellow ribbon and a fifty-dollar gift certificate to The Dirty. Cool...
Vivi and I spend the r
est of the afternoon wandering around the grounds, and even going on a few rides, including my first-ever hay ride. The day finally winds down with the band playing more music as several people dance.
“This was so much fun!” I gush to Vivi, as we start to make our way in the direction of the parking lot. “I’ve never been to anything like this before. This was the best day I’ve had in... well, a long time. I really needed it. Thanks.”
She nods and dodges some kids running past us. “You’re so welcome. Glad you liked it… it was a lot of fun. I wish Freddy didn’t have to miss it.”
“When’s he—”
Just then an earsplitting BOOM explodes through the air, and I turn to Vivi, wide-eyed.
“What the hell was that?”
“Let’s motor,” she says. “Once you hear that sound, it’s only a matter of time before the sky opens up.”
I’d almost forgotten about the storm. But now I glance up and see that the clear blue has been replaced by an ominous smoky orange. The branches of the trees are rustling and bending in the wind, and suddenly the first drops of rain are already coming down. We squeal and run laughing to the car.
Vivi quickly unlocks the passenger side door, and I toss my purse on the floor and dive in just as the rain starts pouring down in earnest. My purse has popped open and spilled all over the floorboard, and I’m retrieving my wallet and the mouse prize when suddenly the whole sky lights up, and a couple of seconds later I hear another deafening crack of thunder.
“Holy shit!” I screech, practically jumping out of my seat.
“It’s okay, we’ll be fine. Just a little rain is all.”
I’m glad she’s so calm, because I may stroke out any moment.
Fortunately we’re parked pretty close to the exit so we’re able to get out without too much trouble. Vivi focuses on the road ahead as she drives through the heart of Sweet Oak— the windshield wipers swishing rapidly back and forth—and I focus on not having a panic attack. I’ve never liked driving in the rain. Another bolt of lightning flashes in the sky around us, followed almost immediately by another explosion.
“Ughhhh, this sucks,” I moan.
Vivi keeps her eyes on the road, but she manages a smile and shakes her head. “This ain’t nothing. I’ve been driving in this kind of weather for years. Used to it.”
The Dirty South Page 10
