She admired his tenacity, but realistically there was too much for any one person to handle. “What can I do to help?”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I can’t guarantee I’ll pick up on things as quickly as I did baking strawberry pies, but I would be happy to help you, under one condition.”
“Anything.”
“Adam, you have to promise me that if she is your daughter, you will come up with a backup plan.”
He held his hand out to her. “I’m really glad you rented my old bunkhouse and became my neighbor.”
“Me too.”
“How about you come over for dinner tonight? You can meet Zan. I’ll cook.”
“I can do that. What time?”
“How about six? I know that’s early, but I read that children her age should be in bed by around seven thirty, and I don’t want her to go to bed on a full stomach. Well, couch. She’s sleeping on the couch.”
“You know more about this stuff than you think.” Suddenly he was the sexiest father she’d ever seen, and she couldn’t wait to meet Zan. “Does anyone else know about this?”
“Adam, we need you in here!” one of the sales guys hollered from the loading dock.
“A few people. I’m keeping it kind of quiet until I know the results. Sorry, I gotta run.”
He hooked his pinkie to hers, then dropped an unexpected kiss on her cheek as he got up and ran inside.
She got in her car and touched her cheek where he’d pressed his lips for that second. That kiss had made her almost out of breath.A real one might have given me a heart attack.
18
Merry Anna brought the beveragedispenser back to the shop. “Here we go. I got the big one.”
“I like the spigot on it,” Krissy said. “That’s cute.”
“It is. I’ll be right back. I’ve got the ice and stuff in my car.” She ran out back and collected the bags and carried them inside. Merry Anna started setting up the beverage station on the small table in the middle of the store. The farther she could lure the customer inside, the more likely the person was to buy something. Some retail knowledge expanded across all types of business.
There had been a steady stream of customers all day, despite the heat. As they were closing shop, Krissy asked, “Want to come over and have dinner?” She put the unused cups back into the plastic sleeve. “Matt is doing a big cookout at Angels Rest tonight. He’s got ribs smoking, and he’ll be barbecuing chicken. And I hear they’ve got a huge pot of fresh green beans and shoepeg corn. Matt is the best cook.”
“What is it about these guys in Antler Creek? Do they all cook?”
“Just about all of them, and you’ll never hear us girls complain about it either.”
“Oh, I’m not complaining. I’d love to come, but I already made plans. Adam is cooking for me tonight.”
Krissy twisted in delight. “Oh! I love how y’all are getting along. You may just be the woman to tame that cowboy.”
She’d never met anyone like him before. “He definitely has my attention.”
“Well, you go have your romantic dinner, and I’ll sneak ribs off the grill for us for lunch tomorrow. You’ve got to try them.”
“Sounds great.” The one thing she knew for sure was that, under the circumstances, there’d be no romance this evening, but that gentle kiss on her cheek this afternoon had made her swoon in a way that she’d be feeding off of for a while.
“I’ll finish closing up. Why don’t you head on out?” Krissy suggested. “Go on.”
Merry Anna grabbed her purse from under the counter. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She went out back and got into her car. Since she wasn’t walking, she had a little extra time, so she drove to the other end of town to the department store.
She loaded a handbasket with crayons and a coloring book, a princess tiara, and some alphabet flash cards. At the last minute, she grabbed a fluffy plush goat from an endcap. This little splurge wouldn’t crunch her budget for the month too bad. That stupid bet with Kevin was becoming inconvenient. She swerved over to the linen aisle on the other side of the store and found the perfect set of frilly little-girl sheets, a small white blanket with a pink pony on it, and a small pillow, and she still came in under budget. That little girl might be sleeping on Adam’s couch, but they could make it seem like her special little princess place.
