Lena laughed . . . maybe a little too loudly. Subtlety was definitely not her strong suit.
Vi shot her a startled glance. “You okay, Lena?”
“Huh?” Her smile fell a bit. “Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.”
“Coffee?” Lou asked, holding up the carafe. Gage held out his cup, grateful for the moment to gather his thoughts.
“So, Gage,” she said once she'd settled in her seat. “How are you liking Holiday Junction, so far?”
“I’m settling in,” he replied, wiping his mouth. “It's quiet here, but I can't say it's been boring.” He shot a look at Lena, hoping it came across as fond, rather than exasperated.
Lena grinned. “I'll take that as a compliment.”
Gage snorted. “Who says I was talking about you? Maybe I meant my new dog.”
Lena made a face at him, and he laughed.
“Oh, you got a dog?” Lou asked.
“A puppy, actually,” Gage replied. “And it’s more like she got me. I found her under a dumpster and couldn’t leave her there.”
“It’s the puppy eyes,” Lena said. “She’s got those down pat.”
“A new job, new home, and now a new dog?” Kade said, scooping up some ice cream. “That’s a lot of changes.”
“I know it can be a bit of a culture shock,” Vi added. “When I came back from New York, I felt like a fish out of water for a while, and I grew up here. It must be even weirder for you.”
“I don’t know,” Gage replied with a shrug. “People are pretty much the same anywhere, I think.
“You keep telling yourself that,” Lena said, pointing at him with her fork. “But I bet you never had to deal with a ten-foot ice cream cone in Chicago.”
“Speaking of which,” Gage said, scraping the last of the trifle off his plate. “I was going to offer to help you out with that.”
Lena tilted her head. “What'd you have in mind?”
“I have a saw, some other tools,” he replied. “I could come by and help you figure out how to cut it down without ruining the . . . aesthetic aspects of the Blarney Cone.”
Lena's jaw tightened slightly, but her smile remained. “Oh, that's so nice of you,” she said sweetly.
Gage's lips quirked. “Well, I'm a nice guy. Generally speaking.”
“I bet.”
Lou watched the interaction with her eyes narrowed, and Gage couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking.
“So, what's your secret?” he asked Lena. When she looked at him blankly, he added, “for the ice cream.”
“Oh.” She wiped her mouth, missing a bit of chocolate on the corner of her lips. “Fresh, local ingredients—”
“—mixed with love,” the others chimed in simultaneously.
Lena smirked. “It's kind of our slogan.”
Gage nodded, still distracted by that bit of chocolate. “You missed a bit,” he said, motioning at his own lips.
“Oh!” Lena wiped her mouth again. “Did I get it?”
“No.” He laughed. “The other side.”
Lena scrubbed at the corner of her mouth, finally wiping away the chocolate. “Now?”
Gage smirked and shook his head. “No, it's still there.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she dipped her napkin in her water, swiping it across the whole lower half of her face. “Now?”
Gage huffed out a laugh. “Okay, you're good.”
Lena shook her head, but she was smiling.
“So.” Kade held up his plate. “Can I have a little more?”
The rest of the evening was pleasant, if a little unsettling for Gage. He and Lena chatted like old friends, and every now and then he'd almost forget it was all an act for Lou's benefit. Lena was surprisingly funny, and he found himself relaxing as she, Vi, and Kade shared stories about growing up in HJ.
Eventually, the laughter subsided and Gage cleared his throat. “Well, I should probably get going,” he said. “I have an early shift tomorrow.”
“Oh, right. Me, too,” Lena said, getting to her feet and gathering the dessert plates. She and Gage ignored Lou's protests and carried the rest of the dishes into the kitchen, setting them by the sink.
“It's going well, don't you think?” Lena whispered. She was closer to him than he'd realized and the rush of her breath against his ear sent a shiver down his spine. Lena seemed to notice, and she froze for a moment before taking a quick step back. “Sorry.”
Gage painted on a nonchalant smile. “For what?” He ran hot water over the dishes. “Do you think Lou will back off now?”
Lena didn't answer for a moment, and he looked at her curiously.
She startled when their eyes met. “Oh, yeah.” She shoved her hair back from her face, her cheeks pink. “I think we're in the clear.”
Gage swallowed. “Well, that's good.” He eyed Lena carefully. “Isn't it?”
“Of course,” she said brightly. “No more meddling.”
“Right.” Gage wiped his hands on a towel. “Well, I guess we should—” He motioned toward the living room and Lena gave him a faint smile, before heading out of the kitchen.
They were putting on their coats when Gage remembered what waited for them outside. He'd been biding his time for an opportunity to get back at Lena for the packing peanuts, and couldn't believe his good luck when he'd spotted her car outside of Lou's house. Sure, it had made him a little late, but planning ahead really paid off and the actual execution had taken hardly any time at all.
But now, he and Lena had established a truce of sorts, and Gage was about to break it, rather spectacularly.
“What's wrong?” Lena asked him once they'd said their goodbyes and emerged onto the front porch.
Gage grimaced. “I'm not sure how to tell you this.”
“Tell me what?” She asked slowly, arms crossing over her chest. Suspicious. And rightfully so.
“I may have retaliated for the packing peanuts incident,” he said quickly.
Lena ducked slightly, looking up as if something might drop out of the sky onto her head. “What did you do?”
Instead of replying, Gage pointed at her car. It took her a moment to spot it, but then her mouth dropped open. “You put the peanuts in my car?” she asked. Kade expected her to blow up, but instead she gave him a reproachful look. “Not very original, Sheriff.”
“Oh yeah?” he said, accepting the challenge. “Go open the door, then.”
She shook a finger at him. “Don't go anywhere. You're helping me clean this up. Lou will kill us both if there's a single peanut left in her driveway.
He held up his hands, willing to give her that, then held his breath as she approached the car, peering in the windows.
“You did get it a bit fuller,” she admitted, perhaps with a touch of admiration.
“Your car is smaller,” he replied, biting the inside of his cheek as she pressed the fob, unlocking the door.
As he watched, it seemed to happen in slow motion. She pulled the door open, looking down as she expected the packing peanuts to fall out all over her feet. What she didn't expect, however, was the avalanche bag he'd rigged up to the driver's side door to auto inflate in a split second, spraying the peanuts out with a burst that showered over her from head to toe.
Gage burst out laughing as she turned to him, peanuts stuck in her hair, her jacket . . . she even spit a few out onto the ground. He clutched his stomach, unable to breathe as she brushed the Styrofoam out of her hair.
“Okay, I'll give it to you,” she said. “That was a nice touch. Now come over here and help me.”
Still giggling, although in a manly way, definitely, Gage retrieved some garbage bags from his own car and handed one to her as they set out to gather up the mess. When he turned away to work on the back seat, Lena moved quickly and stuffed a handful of the peanuts down his shirt.
Of course, that demanded retaliation. And in a few minutes they were running around the front yard, throwing Styrofoam at each other a
nd laughing hysterically.
“Hey!” Lou shouted from the front porch. “You two better clean that up. And keep it down, all right? People around here work for a living.” She stomped back into the house and shut the door. Gage stared after her and Lena took advantage of his distraction, jumping on his back and tackling him to the ground.
He landed with a grunt in the grass, and she piled the peanuts over his head. Gage pushed up and rolled, flipping around until he'd reversed their positions, his upper body holding her down as he stuffed peanuts into her coat while she giggled madly.
Then the giggling faded, and she looked up at him, blinking slowly. Gage stared into her brown eyes, and he felt lost for a moment, untethered and a little dizzy. She licked her lips, breathing hard, and he swallowed, his eyes following the movement.
“We should—” Her voice was low, husky. She cleared her throat. “We should probably clean this up,” she said quietly. “Or Lou will have our heads.”
“Yeah,” he said raspily. But he didn't move, paralyzed by . . . what, he wasn't exactly sure.
Lena smiled, one dimple winking. “You'll probably have to let me up,” she said.
“Oh.” He startled. “Oh, right.” Gage scrambled to his feet and held out a hand to help her.
She brushed herself off, and he picked a packing peanut out of her hair and put it in his pocket.
“So, are we even now?” she asked him, eyes twinkling. “I'll declare a cease-fire if you will.”
“I think I can agree to that,” he said.
They retrieved the bags and started to pick up the mess. “You'll have to tell me how you rigged it to explode like that,” she said after a while.
“I'll think about it,” he said. “We'll see how the truce goes before I go sharing my trade secrets.”
Lena smirked at him in response, cramming another handful into the garbage bag.
And Gage smiled to himself, glad that—for now, at least—the war was over.
* * *
“It sounds like you've had a busy couple of weeks,” Doctor Wendy said at Lena's session the following afternoon. “I'm glad you decided to share some of your past with Vi.”
Lena nodded, glancing out the window at the garden. Snowdrops and crocuses blanketed the ground around the large cedar tree, the white and purple blossoms defying the cooler-than-normal temperature outside.
“I'm glad I did, too,” she said. “It was easier than I thought it would be.”
Doctor Wendy looked down, her hair swinging forward across her face as she took a few notes. “And your relationship with the new Chief is interesting.” She gave Lena the look—the one that asked a question without saying a word.
Lena sighed. She knew the therapist would wait her out until she responded. In the early days, Lena had tried stubborn silence when a question made her uncomfortable. She'd also learned pretty quickly that Doctor Wendy had way more patience than Lena herself did.
“I don't know that I'd call it interesting,” she replied. “We kind of hated each other. And now, we've moved into some semblance of tolerance, I suppose?”
“Mmm hmm.”
Lena felt her face heat. “What's that supposed to mean?”
The therapist blinked at her over her red reading glasses. “It doesn't mean anything.”
“Right,” Lena huffed. “You always do that when you're trying to get me to admit something. But there's nothing to admit.”
“If you say so,” Doctor Wendy said mildly. “Now, if—”
“I mean, I suppose in the past, I might have found Gage Turner attractive,” Lena admitted, uncrossing her legs, then crossing them again. “But I've learned my lesson. I may not know what I want in a man yet, but I definitely know what I don't want.”
Doctor Wendy took her glasses off and gave Lena a thoughtful look. “And what might that be?”
This was more familiar territory. They'd discussed this at length over the years. “Someone who'll control me. Someone who makes me feel like what I think or want doesn't matter,” she said quietly. “Someone who picks away at who I am until there's nothing left.”
“And you're certain Chief Turner would do all of those things?”
“Certain?” Lena's stomach twisted a little, although she wasn't sure if it was due to guilt or something else. “I can't ever be certain, can I?”
“I don't suppose so.”
“Then, it's best not to risk it, right?” Lena forced a smile.
Doctor Wendy tipped her head and raised her brows in question. “Is it?”
“I hate it when you do that.”
“Do what?” The therapist's lips twitched.
Lena rolled her eyes. “If I never take the risk, I'll protect myself from getting hurt. But I also might miss out on something good.”
“And?”
“And—” Lena inhaled deeply. “I have to give people a chance to prove themselves rather than assuming based on my own, sometimes skewed, perceptions.”
Doctor Wendy smiled. “Very good. Now, do you believe that, or are you just reciting it back to me because you think it's what I want to hear?”
“Can I plead the fifth on that one?” Lena's lips twisted in a wry smile. “I do believe it. It's just hard sometimes to put it into action, you know?”
“I know.”
“Besides, even if I admit that I might, possibly find Gage the slightest bit attractive—” Her face flamed and she swallowed nervously. “There's no saying he feels the same way about me. We didn't exactly start off on the best of terms.”
“Well, it sounds like the two of you have reached a detente, of sorts,” the therapist replied. “That's a beginning, right?”
“You don't—” She cleared her throat. “You don't think it's too soon?”
“Only you can answer that question, Lena,” she answered. “I've told you before that you're stronger than you give yourself credit for. Now it's up to you to make your life what you want it to be. But that starts with learning to trust your own instincts again.”
Lena twisted her hands together on her lap. “But what if they're wrong?”
“Sometimes they will be,” Doctor Wendy replied. “That's why you take it slow.”
About once a month or so, Lena went on an experimental binge, cranking out mini-batch after mini-batch of ice cream to try new flavor combinations. On the first Tuesday in March, the creative bug bit her and she went on a freezing frenzy. Bowls cluttered the center table in the shop's kitchen, the ice cream makers churning so loudly she had to crank up the music to hear it over the grinding noise. She’d had to make two trips to her car for ingredients—parked a block away because she still hadn’t had time to deal with the petition or Mayor Kendricks. Lena had a life, after all, and a lot of other things to do.
Like plotting revenge. Thankfully, that was one thing she could take off her To-Do List, now that she and Gage had declared a truce. At least for now.
Lena was tasting a sample inspired by English high tea—vanilla ice cream flavored with black pekoe, bits of shortbread and a ripple of raspberry coulis—when there was a pounding at the back door. She swallowed the mixture, making a mental note to try lemon curd instead of the raspberry, and went to the door, popping up on her toes to look through the peephole.
Gage Turner stood in the alley, dressed in his uniform, his hands resting on his hips. Lena hesitated, thought for a moment about turning off the lights and pretending she wasn't there.
Then, Doctor Wendy's words came back to her. Trust your instincts. Lena took a deep breath and whipped the door open.
“Sheriff,” she said, a rush of butterflies taking flight in her stomach. Why did he make her so nervous?
A whine drew her attention and she looked down to find Gage's new puppy sitting on his right boot, looking up at her with her head tilted, and one floppy ear flipped backward over her head.
“Well, hey, sweet girl,” she crooned, dropping to a knee. The pup yipped happily and jumped up to lick her nose. Lena giggl
ed. “I'm happy to see you, too.”
Gage said something Lena couldn't quite make out over the pounding music and she got to her feet. “What?”
He started to repeat himself, but the puppy made a mad dash into the kitchen and the leash slipped out of his hand. The two of them chased the dog inside and she rounded the center table, yipping merrily. She grabbed a towel hanging off a hook on the wall, growling as she tried to pull it down.
“Bea, sit!” Gage commanded, and the dog sat, although she didn't release the towel. He swept her up and pried her jaws open, to retrieve it. He held it out to Lena, who wrinkled her nose.
“I think it's hers now,” she said.
Gage winced. “Sorry about that.”
She shrugged as she washed her hands. “I have plenty of towels. But if you want to make it up to me, I could use your help.” She dried her hands and scooped up a spoonful of the tea concoction. “Taste this.”
He opened his mouth and she stuffed it in. Come to think of it, he might have been about to say something, but she really didn't have time for that. Lena waited, watching him carefully.
Gage chewed and swallowed. “What is that?” he shouted over the music.
Lena grabbed the remote and turned it down. “What does it taste like?”
He reached for the spoon, glancing up at her for permission. “Help yourself,” she said.
He took another bite and looked up at the ceiling, his jaw moving as he concentrated on the flavor.
Gage shrugged. “It's good.”
Lena rolled her eyes. “Well, I know it's good,” she said. “I'm not aiming for good. I need fantastic. Amazing. The best thing you've ever tasted.”
Gage leaned back against the counter and folded his arms. “It tastes like tea and cookies,” he said. “It is good, but I liked the Caramel Almond Crunch better.”
She considered that, then dragged over her notebook and made a few notes. “Thanks.”
“Look, I—”
Lena held up a finger, silencing him, then shoved another bowl toward him. “Try that one.”
Gage picked up the bowl and sniffed it. “It smells like bread.”
“It's Chocolate Chip Pecan Stout,” she said, handing him another spoon. “I figured the Guinness floats were such a big hit, so maybe I could actually put the Guinness in the ice cream.”
Lena’s Lucky Charm: Love in Holiday Junction, Book 2 Page 11
