All He Ever Needed

by Shannon Stacey

Gavin Crenshaw was young, but he loved to cook and he was good at it, so he was working at the diner until he could save enough money to move to Portland or Boston and start moving up the culinary ladder. In the meantime, Paige let him try out recipes on her customers, as long as the ingredients weren’t too expensive, and Ava made slash marks on a sheet of paper by the register whenever somebody ordered one of the Gavin’s specials.

  Whitford hadn’t embraced the eggplant parmesan. Judging by the tally marks, most of Whitford hadn’t even tried the dish. The roast beef melt on grilled garlic bread, though, had been such a hit Ava had kept a separate tally for the number of customers who asked that it be added to the regular menu. Paige made a note to have Gavin offer it a few more times and, if the interest stayed high, she’d consider it.

  “Last night he just rolled over and went to sleep. I snuggled up against him, but he started snoring before I got any further.”

  “He was probably just tired, Mom,” Paige said. It had been a few minutes since she made a sympathetic noise, plus she wanted to waylay any descriptions of “any further.” “He’s five years younger than you, but he’s not nineteen, either.”

  But that explanation wasn’t the sympathy Donna was looking for, so the complaints marched on. Paige put a red X next to a couple of items and made a note to remind Gavin their fellow citizens weren’t fans of gussied-up vegetables. They liked a side of green beans. Corn was okay. Caramelized anything wasn’t a crowd favorite.

  Another ten minutes went by before her mother wrapped it up. “Oh, he’s pulling in the driveway now. Gotta run. Love you!”

  Paige hit End with a shake of her head. “Nice talking to you, too, Mom. I’m doing fine. Business is great, thanks for asking. And there’s a really hot guy in town I’m not having sex with because I don’t want to end up like you.”

  She tried not to take it personally. She loved her mother and she knew her mother loved her, too, but she’d long ago given up on being the most important person in Donna Sullivan’s life. It was just the way her mother was wired and she was never going to change.

  As emotionally unsatisfying as the call was, it had come at a perfect time to serve as a reminder of why Paige had a no men rule. She had better things to worry about than a guy forgetting the anniversary of their first date or rolling over and going to sleep.

  Or whether or not one had thought about kissing her on a park bench in the sunlight.

  Chapter Four

  Paige loved Whitford’s Old Home Day celebration. A little bit of the love came from the diner not opening until noon, allowing her to sleep in until a very decadent seven o’clock. Mostly, though, she loved the strong community bond she felt while honoring her adopted hometown.

  It was already warm, so she slipped on a red sundress with a snug bodice that flared into a flowing skirt. Besides being cool, it also made her boobs look great. Not that she was showing off for anybody, but she lived most of her life in Trailside Diner T-shirts and it was nice to look pretty and feminine every once in a while. As a nod to the humidity, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and skipped any makeup but a quick swipe of lip gloss.

  Though sleeping in was a refreshing change, the diner being closed meant toast with jelly for breakfast, but she didn’t mind. That left more room for the fried dough only available in Whitford on Old Home Day, and the incredible baked goods the PTA would be selling. If she was lucky, somebody forgot to hire the Italian sausage vendor this year, because she blamed him for her jeans being too tight for an entire week after last year’s celebration.

  At a little after nine, she walked down to the library to meet Hailey. The parade didn’t start until ten, but the base of the statue commemorating the founding donor of the library offered a great view and somebody would steal the spot if they didn’t get there early. It didn’t matter that Hailey was the librarian, either. People would shush if she shushed them, but they weren’t giving up prime parade-viewing real estate.

  Hailey was already waiting when she climbed the small, grassy hill, and she grinned when Paige sat on the cement slab next to her. “You look like a sexy pinup girl in that dress.”

  “I was going for not hot and sweaty, but sexy pinup girl works.”

  “From the ankles up, anyway.”

  Paige looked down at her worn, comfy flip-flops and wiggled her toes. “Damn. I was really hoping to snag a guy with a foot fetish today.”

  “There are other parts of my body I’d rather a guy be obsessed with.”

  “I don’t know. Free foot massages. Maybe pedicures if he’s got a steady hand.”

  Hailey smirked. “I wonder how Mitch feels about feet.”

  And curse the pretty sundress for doing nothing to hide the warm flush creeping over Paige’s skin. “You mean the entire town doesn’t already know if he has a foot fetish?”

  Hailey actually looked as if she was giving the question serious consideration. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard any stories about him and feet.”

  “Doesn’t matter, anyway. I have no interest in Mitch Kowalski’s interests.”

  “Aw, but you looked so cute sitting in the park together the other day.” Paige gave her a you have got to be kidding me look. She smiled. “Or so I heard. From about twenty different people.”

  “I was reading. He was waiting for Josh to get his hair cut. We talked for a few minutes, then he left. No big deal.” Well, her imagination thought it was a big deal, especially when she was supposed to be sleeping, but she didn’t think anybody else would.

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “Besides, he’s off-limits. You had a relationship with him and you’re my friend, so therefore I can’t have a relationship with him.” Plus there was that whole abstaining thing, but their friendship was a handy excuse.

  Hailey laughed. “We did not have a relationship. We were young and stupid and bored, so we got drunk and had sex in the backseat. And that was a very long time ago. So long ago drinking wine coolers was the cool thing to do.”

  “But still—”

  “But still nothing. Trust me when I tell you there was no emotional involvement at all, for either of us, and you are clear to land, honey.”

  “My runway’s closed.” Paige frowned, then shook her head. “I’m butchering this whole airplane thing. I can’t be the plane and the runway.”

  “Let me make it easy. He’ll be the plane. You be the hangar.”

  “For a guy who’s parked his plane all over town? He can taxi on down to another hangar.”

  Hailey laughed. “You’re right. You do suck at the airplane thing. But I don’t think he’s quite as free with his plane parking as legend makes him out to be, you know. I’ve lived my whole life here, and a lot of those stories are the equivalent of my uncle’s fish stories. They just want everybody to think they landed the big one.”

  “I can’t do planes and fish. You’ve gotta pick one.”

  “Reel him in, keep him a few weeks, then throw him back and let him swim away.”

  “You’re killing me with metaphors.

  “Bang the guy, Paige. Have hot, sweaty sex until you think you’ll never walk again, then kick him to the curb.”

  It sounded good in theory—hell, it sounded great in theory—but Paige couldn’t take the chance. All she needed was to fall for a guy like Mitch and lose everything she’d gained because she was busy chasing a guy who didn’t want to be caught. She’d done it before, though she’d made the decision to change her life before it got to be a habit, as it was for her mother.

  In an effort to distract Hailey, Paige changed the subject to the impending library fundraiser and it worked. Time ticked away as they talked about budgets and used book sales and the pressure the Whitford library was under to ramp up the development of their digital collection, until it was almost time for the parade.

  Paige was startled when Hailey put her arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, pointing with her free hand. “Tell me again you’re not interested.”

  She l
ooked across the street to where Hailey was pointing and sighed. Of course Mitch had to pick a spot directly across from theirs to watch the parade from. No doubt it was the bench that had drawn them, since a couple of teenagers gave it up so Josh could sit there, but still. Did he have to be directly in her line of sight like that?

  Mitch was wearing what looked like a ragged T-shirt from his high school days—probably in honor of the occasion—and cargo shorts that drew her attention to his legs. She couldn’t really say she’d ever really paid attention to a guy’s legs before, but she liked the look of his. He sat on the bench next to his brother without taking his eyes off his phone. Paige hoped whatever had his attention, kept it. Maybe he wouldn’t even notice her in the crowd.

  “If Mitch catches you looking at him like that, he might do a kamikaze dive into your hangar right here in front of everybody.”

  Paige laughed and shoved Hailey away. “Will you quit with the planes? Let’s talk about something else. Have you seen the fried dough vendor yet? I want to be first in line when the parade’s over.”

  If she was going to surrender to something bad for her, better junk food than a man.

  * * *

  “Are you going to play with that thing all day?”

  Mitch scowled at his touch screen. “I’m not playing. We’re doing prelim work on a drop in Miami, and Scott’s supposed to double-check the calculations on the dust cloud radius. There’s a school and a health clinic close and if we need HVAC crews to cover their intakes and shit, that’s gotta be factored into the bid.”

  “Did you tell Scott to do it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then he probably did it. Watch the parade.”

  “The parade hasn’t started yet. And I sent him a reminder email yesterday and I haven’t gotten a response.”

  “He’s probably sending your emails to his spam folder because you won’t leave him alone long enough to do his job,” Josh said, and Mitch was about five seconds from shoving his brother off the end of the bench, cast or no cast. Instead he ignored him. “Paige looks hot as hell today.”

  Mitch looked up, half-written text message forgotten, and scanned the area. It didn’t take him long to find her. In that red dress she looked like one of those women from that story he’d hated in English class—the women who lured men to their doom.

  She was sitting on the base of the library statue with Hailey and they were laughing. Hailey was an attractive woman, but there was something about Paige that drew his eye and held it.

  “Doesn’t she?” Josh said twice, and Mitch realized he was talking to him.

  “What?”

  “Doesn’t she look hot?”

  “Yeah.” She did, and before the day was over, he intended to tell her that himself.

  The crowd stirred with excitement as the police department’s new SUV came into sight at the end of the street, blue lights flashing. Drew hit the siren and let it wail for a few seconds, signaling the beginning of the parade.

  Mitch figured they had a few minutes before it got to them, so he bent his head over his phone to finish the text to Scott. The growling sound and flash of movement in his peripheral vision gave him just enough warning to evade Josh’s grab for the phone. “What the hell?”

  “Put the damn phone away or I’ll throw it in front of the fire truck.”

  “You touch my phone and I’ll throw you in front of the fire truck.” Since he was done anyway, he tucked it into the cargo pocket of his shorts. “A quick text isn’t going to ruin the day.”

  “But he’ll text you back and then you’ll have to respond and then you’ll check your email and next thing you know, you’re wandering around looking for a quiet spot to make phone calls.”

  Mitch snorted because he had to wait for the ambulance horn to stop sounding before he could speak. “I couldn’t make a phone call right now if my business depended on it.”

  Hopefully, it didn’t. There was a lot on Northern Star Demolition’s plate, but he had to trust the people he’d hired to do their jobs. This trip home to make sure Josh didn’t injure himself worse by doing too much was supposed to be doubling as his first vacation, but he wasn’t very good at it.

  But work matters got slowly pushed to the back of his mind as the town’s rescue vehicles went by, followed by the Little League teams riding on floats advertising their sponsors. Butch Benoit’s wrecker was decked out in twinkling lights, though it was the candy Fran was tossing to the crowd that made the kids shout and wave. There were a bunch of little girls from dance class twirling in fluffy skirts, and a line of antique tractors.

  And a pretty blonde in a red sundress he caught watching him a few times. She’d look away if he caught her eye, but her gaze was there to be caught too many times to be incidental. Even Burt Franks’ blue-ribbon-winning pulling horses couldn’t steal his attention away from Paige for more than a few seconds.

  “Poor Burt,” Josh muttered.

  “What’s the matter with Burt?”

  “He’s so proud of those Percheron and nobody’s paying any attention to them. Everybody’s watching you watch Paige look like she’s trying not to watch you.”

  Mitch glanced around and, sure enough, a whole lot of people jerked their eyes back to the horses. Whatever. He was used to these people being way too interested in what he was doing.

  When the fire department’s big ladder truck went by, signaling the parade was over and people were free to pour into the street, Mitch kept track of the red sundress as the women walked down the hill and into the crowd. Paige looked like a woman on a mission, and he had to walk fast to set an intercept course.

  “Don’t mind me,” he heard Josh shout from somewhere behind him. “I’ll just hobble along and hope nobody kicks my crutches out from under me.”

  Just a few more milling-around people to dodge and Mitch was able to put himself in Paige’s path. She stopped short when she saw him. “Hi, Mitch. Enjoy the parade?”

  “Not as much as I’m enjoying that dress. You look like every woman in a country song.”

  She tilted her head, lips curving into a smile. “So I took your dog and your truck and left you crying in your beer?”

  “Not that kind of country song. More along the lines of taking you for a ride on my tractor down to the creek for a little dip.”

  “Do you have a tractor?”

  He had to think about that for a few seconds, but it was the creek he wasn’t sure about. He’d dig a trench and fill it with the garden hose if that’s what it took. “The lodge does and I think it even runs. Wanna go for a ride later?”

  Despite the blush creeping up out of the neckline of the sundress, her smile was annoyingly polite. “I think I’ll pass. And I’m going to get some fried dough, so I’ll see you around.”

  She wasn’t more than ten feet away when he heard his little brother snicker behind him. “A tractor ride? And we don’t have any creeks deep enough for skinny-dipping, dumbass.”

  “Shut up.” Since they were surrounded by people who had nothing better to do than eavesdrop on their conversation, he made a big show of shrugging it off. “Plenty of women to wade in the creek with.”

  “I’d rather find a woman selling food. Where the hell is the bake-sale booth?”

  Mitch stood on his toes, trying to see over the crowd. He felt kind of bad about abandoning Josh in his pursuit of Paige, so he put her out of his head and turned his attention to finding them some food.

  * * *

  Being busy at the diner helped keep Paige’s mind off Mitch’s surprising invitation to ride his tractor, despite it being one of the more interesting propositions she’d heard in her life. Sitting on his lap, bumping across a field, was a visual to savor later.

  Ava was working her regular shift, so Paige wasn’t technically on the clock. But the Whitford Historical Society was selling reusable drink bottles emblazoned with their logo to raise repair money for the Grange Hall, and the Trailside Diner was offering free water or lemonade refil
ls to anybody who bought the bottles. It was a hot day and a lot of families were taking advantage of the offer.

  Thankful she’d worn her flip-flops with the sundress rather than dressy sandals that would be killing her feet right about then, Paige refilled bottles and gave Ava a hand keeping up with the families trying to get a real lunch into their kids before they went nuts on the food vendors lining the main street.

  When the initial rush was over, Ava helped herself to a glass of the premixed lemonade Paige had stocked up on for the event and leaned against the counter. “So tractors aren’t really your thing?”

  She wasn’t surprised talk of her turning Mitch down was already spreading. “Or maybe Mitch Kowalski isn’t my thing.”

  “Honey, those Kowalski boys are every young woman’s thing.”

  “He certainly seems to think so.”

  “Wouldn’t hurt you any to take a ride on the boy’s tractor.”

  Paige laughed and shook her head. “Riding on tractors with boys isn’t on my list of things to do anytime soon.”

  And Ava knew why, since she was one of the few people Paige confided in. More than once, she’d caught herself wishing Ava was her mother, but she tried not to think it too often. Part of making her home here was letting go of her old life and embracing the new. Resenting the choices her mom had made didn’t do anybody any good.

  The bell jangled before Ava could say anything else about Mitch, and Paige was thankful for that since it was him walking through the door. As her body starting zinging and pinging and slightly overheating all over again, she did her best to look as if she couldn’t care less.

  “It’s nice and cool in here,” he said, taking a seat at the counter. “Good place to sit and have a cheeseburger.”

  “Did you lose Josh?” He was supposed to be taking care of his brother, which he couldn’t do while sitting at her counter.

  “He overdid it, standing in line for cotton candy, so I took him home.”

  “You didn’t stand in line for him?”

  “Hey, I offered. He can be pretty stubborn.”

  Probably a family trait. “You want fries with your burger?”