A Hero for Tonight (6 page)

“Mom wants to be open that much?” His mother had never mentioned to him about wanting to be there more. In fact, he distinctly recalled her saying something about not sure how many more years she wanted to continue.

Krista drew her bottom lip into her mouth, drawing his gaze. Her lips were full and pink with only a hint of lipstick. Melissa’s lips were always covered in some type of glossy goo that tasted like a cross between salad oil and cough medicine. Krista’s mouth looked like it would taste only like her, not some cosmetic.

“I haven’t talked to her about it yet. I wanted to get all the details worked out before I said anything. I know she doesn’t have any interest in the store being opened more than it is. I would do it on my own. The last thing I want is to put any type of pressure on her.”

“But aren’t you two partners? Wouldn’t she have to be involved if you did this?”

Fear replaced the excitement in her eyes. Obviously, it was something she’d been wrestling with.

Her cheeks tinged pink. “Actually, my hope is that she’ll let me do this on my own, but still stay in it with me, especially in the fall.”

“That will never work; she’ll never let you go it alone.”

Krista nodded. “I know. That’s the part I don’t know how to fix.”

She lifted her gaze to his, and for a crazy moment their eyes locked and held. Shane swore his heart skipped a beat. Her eyes were incredibly green; the color no doubt intensified by the sweater, but for some reason tonight, they were mesmerizing. He swallowed.

“What do you think I should do?”

Her question brought him out of his fog. He broke the contact and picked up another piece of bread, glancing up in hopes Annie was bringing his own dinner soon. “How the hell should I know?”

He heard her breath catch, and he instantly felt bad that he’d snapped.

“Thanks. I don’t know why I even thought you could help.”

Shane forced his gaze to hers and tried to look sympathetic. “Sorry. Tell me some more, and I’ll see what I can do.”

She pushed her empty salad plate away and picked up her water. “No, thanks. I’ll figure it out on my own.”

“You’ll have to figure out a way to make it seem as if her not doing this is the best option. I have no clue how you’re going to do that, though,” he finally offered.

Annie appeared and set full plates down in front of each of them. “Anything else right now? I’ll bring you a refill.” She picked up Shane’s empty cup and looked from one to the other.

His stomach grumbled with anticipation. “Thanks. I think I’m all set.”

Krista nodded in agreement, and Annie bustled away.

The aroma of her dinner drifted to his nostrils, and for once, he wished he’d decided to change his order. He was stuck in a rut with always getting the steak sandwich. Hell, it just mirrored his life; stuck in a rut. He scowled.
Now where had that come from?

“I was thinking of telling your mom that I want to be a business woman on my own; see if I could do it alone type of thing.” Her words poured out in a rush as if she couldn’t seem to stop herself from asking his opinion. Probably, she had absolutely no one else to bounce it around with.

Shane chewed his first bite and waited until his mouth was semi empty before commenting. “If you do that, she’ll feel like you don’t want her.”

“No matter what I tell her, she’s going to feel that way. It’s what’s held me back from doing it.” She picked up a forkful of mashed potatoes, and Shane watched as she mixed it with some chicken and gravy.

“Tell her you’re bored and need an outlet.”

Krista’s mouth dropped open, and she shook her head. “You really think I’m useless, don’t you? I mean, you have this image that I sit around all year until the store opens, and then I start working.”

“I suppose you have some secret career that I don’t know about? Be careful, because as you know, there’s very little I don’t know about you, thanks to my mother.” He took a large bite of the greasy sandwich.

Her eyebrows arched, and she studied him for a second. “Really? For your information, I’ve been designing websites for small companies for the past five years.”

He knew she was working on the website for the Apple Basket, but there were websites everywhere; how hard could it be to toss a few images up on the computer and hook up an email? He never really thought it a big deal. “What companies?”

Krista lifted her chin. “Well, I did the website for the recreation club and for the new day spa.”

“A day spa? You mean the new beauty parlor on Elm Street?”

Krista gave a humorless, short laugh as if he was an idiot. “These days, everything is a day spa; it sounds more glamorous than beauty shop.”

“I’m sure if I walk in there, it still smells like ammonia from the hair goo mixed with coffee.”

“Yes, but they also have massages, facials, and pedicures. Pampering for ladies. I took your mom for her birthday. She loved it.”

He’d given his mother flowers like he always did. He never would have thought to give her a spa treatment, but then, he was a guy—what did he know about facials and such. “She loves anything you do.”

“I know it annoys you. My relationship with her, that is, and you think she’s a substitute mother, but she’s my friend. I enjoy her company.”

“It’s not like I’m jealous of it or anything. Hell, I don’t want to go to a day spa with her.” Shane poured ketchup on his fries and then sprinkled them liberally with pepper.

“No, but you could do other things with her. I know she misses you.”

His head jerked up, and he frowned. “Misses me? I’m there for dinner at least three times a week.”

“Yes, it’s very nice that you allow her to cook for you.”

Annoyance crept up his spine. Here they were having a nice meal, and she had to go and, well, go and be herself. “If you knew my mother the way you think you do, you’d know that she’s only happy when she’s taking care of people and feeding them,
especially
feeding them.”

“I’m not saying she’s not, but did you ever once ask her if she wanted to go somewhere with you? Maybe take her on a road trip, or do something other than eat her dinner?” She lifted her napkin to her mouth.

“I take her and Dad out to dinner.” Shane couldn’t help but watch the way Krista’s mouth puckered as she wiped at the gravy on her lips. What the hell was wrong with him that the action turned him on? Unreal. She was bitching him out for not being a better son, and here he was wondering what it would be like to...to what? To kiss her? Lick the gravy from her mouth? He took a huge bite of his sandwich.

“Yes, I know. On her birthday and Mother’s Day. Come on, Shane. This is just like I said earlier. You think only of you.”

Shane kept chewing to stop his mouth from saying anything until he had a chance to choose his words. He knew part of his annoyance was that Krista probably had a point. He never gave it a thought that his mother might enjoy actually doing something with him other than just stuff around the house. Hell, even when she tried to help him decorate his own place, he’d shoved her aside.

He swallowed his food and wiped his mouth before lifting his gaze to hers again. “You’re probably right.”

She laughed, eyes dancing with mirth. “Seriously? You said I’m right? Wow. It’s nearly impossible for you to admit that maybe you were wrong, but to say that I am right?” She pointed to her chest. “This is one for the history books right here.” She sat back against the booth and fanned her hand in front of her face. “You’ll have to give me a moment. I need to take this in.”

“See, that’s why you annoy me. You have to be so dramatic about everything and act like I’m a selfish pig who can never say I’m wrong.”

“You can’t. It’s not your fault, Shane. You just don’t see the world the way everyone else does.”

“Whatever.” He was done with this conversation. Frankly, he was done with the entire dinner and wanted to escape.

“Don’t you ever wonder why it never works out with anyone you date?”

He bit his sandwich, refusing to answer.

“The reason it doesn’t work out is because you can’t give of yourself enough to sustain a relationship for more than a few months.”

“Give of myself? I can’t
give of myself?
” His eyes went wide with astonishment. “Did the fact that I
voluntarily
joined the marines escape you? I signed a contract to die for our country if necessary, yet
I’m
the selfish one?”

She nodded “Yes, you did, and I would never take that away from you. What you do every day and what you did over there, well...there aren’t enough words to thank you. But I’m talking the everyday, Shane. Not the military, not even your job as deputy sheriff, but on a one-on-one basis. Have you ever had a deep conversation with someone else? One that doesn’t involve where to go for dinner or how fast can I get this woman into my bed?”

So he wasn’t one of those guys who talked about his feelings; he was a marine, damn it. Whether she understood or not, he was trained to not show his emotions and keep what he was thinking to himself. A marine didn’t have thoughts unless they were assigned to him by the military.

He grimaced at the old line. This conversation was going somewhere he had no intention of continuing. “I thought we were talking about you and the farm market, or websites or something?”

For a long pause, she simply stared at him, her green eyes searching his as if trying to read his mind. “All I was saying is that while you think I don’t have a job, I actually have been freelancing for several years. I’ve designed and sold websites for several local businesses and others that are out of town.”

He had no idea about websites or design work, but at least she was doing something. It not only surprised him, but he was actually almost proud of her.
Proud? Where’d that come from?
Maybe it wasn’t so much proud as glad she wasn’t the useless person he thought she was sitting home all year and being supported by her father until it was time to work the farm market.

“That’s terrific, Krista. Sounds like you’ve found something to do.”

She set her fork down and pushed her plate away. He longingly eyed all the food she hadn’t eaten.

“I seem to be good at it, and it brings in really good money. I’ve been saving up, and now I want to do what I really love, which is the Apple Basket.”

“So, we just have to find a way to convince my mother that you want to do this expansion on your own,” he clarified. “Not because you want to push her out, but because you know it’s not what she wants.”

“Exactly.” She inched her plate toward him in invitation. “And just to note, if you looked at women the way you’re looking at this chicken and biscuits, you might have a better track record.”

He eagerly picked up his fork and dug into her leftovers. “I’ve never had any woman complain that I didn’t look at her the right way. In fact, for the record, none of my relationships ended because of a physical reason.”

“Thank God for that.” She opened her eyes wide and faked relief. “I was losing sleep wondering if you weren’t any good in bed.”

“Brat.”

“Ass.”

Shane finished off Krista’s chicken and biscuits and pushed the plate back across the table. “That was awesome. I can’t believe you didn’t finish it.”

“I wasn’t very hungry.” She reached for the check but Shane grabbed it.

“What’s my half?” she asked.

Shane widened his eyes. “Your half? Your dinner was far more than my steak sandwich.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You ate your dinner
and
half of mine, plus you had a cola and I had water.”

He yanked his wallet out of his jeans. “Relax, I’m paying.”

She grinned. “Works for me.”

“You aren’t even going to pretend to argue?”

She shrugged. “Why on earth would I do that? You want to pay, go for it.”

He slipped out of the booth. “There’s something not right about you.”

Krista grabbed her jacket and purse. “Something not right about me? That’s good coming from someone as messed up as you.”

Shane held out his hand and let her precede him through the throng of diners. Her rear end, normally clad in old jeans, looked pretty amazing in a sleek pair of black dress pants. She even had on a pair of shoes that weren’t sneakers or flip flops. His gaze seemed transfixed on the sway of her hips as she easily maneuvered the crowded tables. At the counter, he handed the check to the cashier as Krista slipped her jacket on and flipped her hair out of the collar.

What was it about her tonight? Something about her seemed almost…sexy.

Even as he thought the word, he was uncomfortable. Thinking of Krista Saunders
that
way was just plain weird. Something was off today, that was for sure.

“Thanks, Shane.” Annie handed him his change, and he handed her back a tip. “Sorry you had to share a table, but I appreciate it.”

“Not a problem. Krista and I have eaten dinner together more years than both of us care to remember. It’s no big deal.”

“And he paid, so it worked out great for me, Annie.” Krista grinned and pushed through the door to the outside.