Jasper was clearly ducking behind him, so Rusty figured the old man had his words mixed up. “Why are you hidin’—er, avoidin’—her?”
“Because she is the bane of my existence.”
Rusty turned to face him. “The what of your what?”
“Don’t draw her attention. Oh drat. Too late.” Jasper grabbed a cup and handed it to Rusty. “I’ll take that drink now.”
Rusty filled the cup halfway and handed it behind him.
Slurp!
“Hello, Rusty.” Erma grinned as she reached the table. “Manning the punch bowl tonight?”
That sounded a little pathetic. “Just observin’ the festivities,” he said. A tad better, but not by much.
“I see.” She craned her neck to peek around his shoulder. “Observing all by yourself, then?”
“Uh...” There were very few things Rusty outright hated. Lying was one of them. But he didn’t want to upset Jasper either. Who knew standing by the margarita bowl would put him in such a pickle?
“Don’t bother fibbing, Rusty,” she said. “I know that old coot is right behind you.”
“Who you callin’ an old coot?” Jasper moved to stand next to Rusty. He weakly slammed his empty glass on the table.
“If the suspenders fit...” Erma crossed her arms.
Rusty’s lips twitched. Jasper was rarely seen without his suspenders.
“I will not be aspersed by you.” Jasper lifted his chin.
While the idea of learning a new vocabulary word was a little interesting, the fire in Erma’s and Jasper’s eyes was not. “I best be gettin’ along—”
“‘Aspersed.’” Erma rolled her eyes.
“Yes. Aspersed.”
“All I did was ask you to dance. Then you ran off like the scaredy cat you are.”
Jasper scowled. “I ain’t afraid to dance.”
“Then prove it.”
“If it’ll get you off my back, then I will.”
Erma smiled as if she’d won a secret lottery jackpot. She held out her hand.
Groaning, Jasper trudged around the table.
“Slower than molasses flowing upriver,” Erma mumbled, but she was still grinning.
“We’ll see who’s slow.” As if he’d suddenly found the pep in his step, he grabbed her hand and practically dragged her behind him onto the dance floor.
Rusty wondered if he was the only one who noticed Erma’s hand fluttering to her chest. He shook his head and smiled.
“Ready for that dance?”
He looked up to see Harper standing in front of him. And then something weird happened. His mouth went dry at the exact same time his palms grew damp. What in the world? It wasn’t as if this was the first time he’d seen her today. But it was the first time he’d reacted like this. That punch was stronger than he thought.
She tilted her head, her blue eyes filling with slight confusion. Then she brightened and walked around the table to stand next to him. She slipped off her heels and pushed them under the table with the side of her foot. “Ah, that’s better. My feet are killing me in those things.”
