Ready to Fall (11 page)

“No problem.”

“You’re a great kisser,” she said, another blush deepening on her cheeks.

“I know.” I winked at her. I had no doubt about myself in that area. My heart may have been off limits, but I was comfortable in my skin.

“You’re cocky,” she teased me, her smile returning.

“I am.”

A wadded ball of a napkin sailed across the table and landed in the middle of my plate.

“Now, now, there’s no reason to start throwing things. I’m honest. You like that about me.”

She narrowed her eyes at me, but nodded. “I do like your honesty. Sometimes. Let’s agree not to involve Gabriel in any future debates. I think he’s stoned.”

When the waiter returned, neither of us could stop ourselves from laughing when the telltale scent of pot hung around him in a cloud.

Grabbing the pizza box, I pulled Diane up with my other hand.

“Are you going to kiss me again?” she asked when we stood close together.

“Do you need to be kissed again?” I smiled at her.

“No, I’m good.”

“Okay, you let me know. Always happy to help a woman in need.” I helped her with her coat and hat before saying, “Let’s catch the ferry. There’s someplace I want to show you before it gets dark.”

My truck stood alone on the shoulder of the road when the ferry docked. Instead of heading toward it, I led Diane a short distance down the road and through a gravel parking area.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Have faith in me.”

We walked through the empty lot and into the narrow strip of sea grass, rocks, and sand before hitting the first row of driftwood. I stepped up on a large log, then turned to give her a hand up. Her glove covered hand stayed in mine as we traversed the piles of logs between the grass and the water.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“I like to call it the driftwood graveyard, but its real name is the Keystone Spit.”

“Your name is better.” She let go of my hand when we reached the rocky beach.

“It’s a great place to come and think. Or beach comb, if that’s your thing.”

Turning to peer down the beach and then back, she took in the curved strip of land. It wasn’t late in the day, but given the time of year the sun sat low on the horizon, casting a golden glow on everything.

“It’s beautiful.” Her words echoed my own thoughts.

“Thought you might like it. Let’s hike up the beach.” I opened my arm and gestured for her to follow me.

“Is this where you’re from? You said you grew up in Coupeville.”

“Yeah. Not down here at the beach, but up the road toward the highway is where I grew up. Beachfront property was too rich for my parents. They built a simple A-frame, but had a few acres.”

“Do they still live there? You mentioned Sunday dinners with family, but didn’t say what family.”

I bristled at her innocent question. Steeling myself, I resolved to be honest, despite wanting to change the topic more than anything.

“Nah, I have dinner with my aunt and uncle only. A few cousins show up now and then. They’re the only family left on the island.”

“What happened to your parents?”

It was the logical next question. The nice thing about living on the island all your life is most people already knew the answer.

“My father remarried and lives in Arizona with Joyce, his wife.” I never referred to her as my stepmother.

“And your mother?” she asked.

I didn’t answer right away. Diane touched my arm and said, “I’m prying, aren’t I? It’s evident you don’t want to talk about it.”

“My mom isn’t around anymore. Just my brother, me, my dad, and Joyce.” I knew I wasn’t being completely honest, but she didn’t need to know everything about my past.

“Ah. I’m sorry.” I didn’t meet her eyes, not wanting to see any signs of pity there. I had enough of that the last decade. The sympathetic looks from the various benevolent women from church, hospital, or grocery store were something I couldn’t stand then. Or now.

“No problem. Let’s change the subject.”

“Sure.” She let her hand fall from my arm, but kept pace with me.

I bent down to pick up a feather and handed it to her. “It’s an eagle feather. Won’t find one of those in New York.”

She accepted it from me and twirled it. “Can I keep it?”

I stared at her for a beat. “No way. Only Native Americans and eagles can be in possession of eagle feathers.”

She frowned and gently propped it up between two rocks near a driftwood log.

Whatever flirty tension or mood existed between us in Port Townsend had disappeared. A cloud passed in front of the sun, casting a shadow on the whole beach. Without the sun’s warmth, the chill of winter returned. Diane shivered and stuffed her hands in her pockets.

Time to call it a day.

I
DIDN
’
T
SEE
Diane for more than a week after the kiss, which led to the awkward talk about the parents on the beach. Not that I avoided her—I hadn’t. A stretch of good weather meant work picked up again. It had been so busy I had donned my orange safety gear and hit the woods to help clear. Despite my helmet and face protector, my hair and beard itched with sawdust. If I ever smelled like a tree before, I most certainly did today. Laughing at the memory of Diane’s description, I stared at her house from my position behind my truck in the driveway. I wasn’t hiding, but I involuntarily crouched behind the bumper when her garage door opened. Realizing how strange it looked, I straightened up and squared my shoulders.

Diane appeared, carrying a box of recycling to the back of her SUV. I trotted over to her and reached to take the box, so she could lift the tailgate.

She jumped away from me and dropped the box. “For the love of— “ She cut her words off and glared at me holding a hand to her chest. “What are you doing?”

“Sorry. I was trying to give you a hand. I didn’t mean to scare you.” I gave her a sheepish grin, then picked up the spilled recycling, placing it back in the box.

“Next time warn a girl when you’re going to be chivalrous.”

“Sorry. Hi,” I said, grinning at her. “You jumped about a foot, for the record. Impressive.”

“I’m a city girl. Someone coming up and grabbing something out of your hands usually means you’re being robbed. Old instincts die slowly.”

“I didn’t even think of that. Looked like you needed a hand and I was giving you one. You headed to Island Recycling?”

“I was. Time to stop hoarding the empty wine and beer bottles in the garage.”

“Want some company?”

She cocked an eyebrow at me. “To the recycling center?”

“Sure. Have you been?”

“Not yet. Hence the hoarding comment.” Her words sounded more clipped than they had been a few weeks ago.

“Well, you’re in for a real island treat. Let me grab my stuff.” I turned back toward my garage, but didn’t get far before changing my mind. “Let’s take my truck.” We needed to clear the air and I’d rather do it on my turf.

“Okay.” I could hear the doubt in her voice.

“Trust me. This will be fun.”

“Okay, whatever you say. Want to grab that?” She pointed at the box sitting at her feet. “I have more back in the garage.”

“Great. The more the merrier. Grab it and I’ll meet you back here in a minute.”

She gave me a sidelong glance before shaking her head and tromping back inside. Being excited about a recycling center probably sounded strange, but Island Recycling was no ordinary place.

Everything loaded, we drove up the hill from the beach and headed up island.

“What’s the helmet for?” she asked, patting the orange plastic creating a barrier between us on the bench seat.

“Safety. What else are helmets used for?” I slipped back into my easiest way of communicating.

She responded with a roll of her eyes and a deep sigh. “I know that. Is this going to be similar to the last time we hung out where I ask a question and you deflect or ignore?”

My eyes wandered away from the road again to her face. “That wasn’t the extent of the last time we hung out. I remember something else more.”

Her lips twitched into an almost smile before clamping down into a straight line.

“Okay, no teasing. Sorry I didn’t answer your questions. You hit a nerve without realizing it. Wasn’t your fault,” I apologized.

“Yeah, I got that feeling. Why not say as much then, instead of clamming up and stewing?”

“Who’s stewing?” I asked even though I knew the answer.

She turned her body and tucked her left knee up on the seat to watch me while I drove. “Okay, I was prying, but I’m curious. We know some things about each other, but not the back story, not the history that makes us tick.”

“You want to know what makes me tick? I’m pretty straightforward.”

Her mouth gaped open. Maybe I hadn’t been so straightforward.

“You play things close, John Day. Other than your relationship with Kelly and you wear an orange helmet to work, I don’t know much about you. Same goes for me.”

“The orange helmet is so you can be seen in the woods and to protect your head from falling branches.”

“See? That’s a start. You are a real lumberjack?”

“Lumberjacks sing songs and eat flapjacks. I work in timber. Or if you want to be fancy, say Silviculture. If you must, you can call me a logger. Although I don’t work with saws and chokers on a daily basis.”

“Okay, logger it is. I suspected as much. That’s why the Paul Bunyan book is perfect.”

“And probably why I smell like a tree, according to you.” Talk of how I smelled took my mind back to the bookstore and what happened after at the pizza place. From her silence, I’d guess her mind went to the same place.

“It all makes sense now. See? This sharing stuff isn’t awful. Let’s start with the simple stuff.”

I turned to glare at her, narrowing my eyes at her motives. “Simple stuff?”

She nodded. “Like favorite food, favorite movie, favorite Turtle … basic get-to-know-each-other stuff. No sticky emotional questions or skeletons.”

“But how will we know when we hit something sticky or run into a skeleton?” I asked.

“We need a code word. Something which changes the subject without either of us feeling put out for being defensive or shut down.”

“Code word?”

“A code word. And you can pick it. A word that won’t come up in normal conversation or is the answer to a question.”

I took a moment to think over her offer of a code word as I turned off the main road to the dirt drive which led into the center. I spied my answer stacked into a pyramid.

“Bowling ball.”

“Bowling ball?” she asked.

“Yes, bowling ball.” I pointed toward the stack.

“Oh cool. Look, over there’s a bird sculpture!” She leaned forward toward the window, eyes wide taking in all the magic of the found objects.

“I thought you might like this place.” Pulling the truck up to the bottle bins, I turned off the engine. “Let’s dump this stuff, and then I’ll show you around.”

“This place is so cool,” she said, turning her head to rubberneck behind us at the stacks of old rusted cogs, scrap metal and the brightly painted lavender school bus. “Weird, but cool.”

I led her over to the bus after we dumped our stuff. Inside housed a small collection of used books.

“It’s a book bus. At a dump.”

“It is. Since you like old books, I figured you’d love this.”

She climbed up the narrow steps and entered the bus. I followed her into the tight space crammed with shelves and the smell of old paper. There wasn’t much room to maneuver or turn around, and we found ourselves standing shoulder to shoulder while she scanned the shelves.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“For what?” I whispered back, unsure why we were whispering. We weren’t in a library.

“For bringing me to the dump because you thought I’d like it. I can honestly say no guy, or woman, has ever taken me some place like this.”

“I’m nothing if not a classy guy.”

“Do you bring all the girls here?”

“No, only the ones who’d get excited by some rusty metal and a slightly musty smelling copy of a bird book.” I pointed at the book she clutched to her chest.