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Ken’s smile was spreading across his face. “You did it, didn’t you? You rascal…I didn’t think you had enough time or enough dates with the lady to ask for money, but you must be even smoother than I thought you were. And in honor of your obvious exceptional prowess with the lady, you can advertise a free drink for the first 100 customers, which I will gladly pay for.”
Jace realized Ken was sure he’d slept with Emily to get the money and sometime in the future he’d tell him the truth but Ken wouldn’t believe him now, anyway.
Not to be outdone by Ken, one of the men offered to pay for an advertising spot on the radio and another said he would handle the cost of placing an ad in the newspaper.
They really were his good friends and Jace was thanking God for them. ‘Stop it Jace. You just did it again..by Sunday, you’ll be preaching at the local church.’
“Maggie, do you think any of your nieces or nephews would like a job for a few days in the afternoon? I’d like this place to be spic and span clean before our big weekend.”
***
Later in the day, when the morning coffee-drinkers were gone, Maggie asked, “So tell me, Boss Man, did you really sleep with the woman named Emily on your first date? I’m happy for you if you did but I must admit, after all my failed efforts to get you in the sack, I’m quite jealous.”
Dani had just entered the bar and overheard Maggie’s question. She interrupted and told Jace that Luke was outside waiting for him. She didn’t want to stick around to hear any more about Jace and one of his online dating conquests.
“Wait, Dani,” he said as he chased her down. “Please don’t believe what you just heard. It’s not true. You know how they all like to tease me.”
She nodded slightly. “Luke is in your truck waiting for you like we arranged. I have errands to do. I’ll see you later.”
She drove off and he knew she didn’t believe him.
***
The rest of the afternoon was spent with Luke. Jace’s dog Jake loved Luke and followed him everywhere. That surprised Jace a little as Jake didn’t always accept people immediately. Obviously, he could sense that Luke was a good kid.
When they took a break, Luke was throwing sticks for Jake and Jace
was resting with a glass of lemonade in his hand. He watched the dog/boy interaction and realized he longed for a family like Ben Frasier had…a houseful of kids, a wife who loved him and was there for him. Those were things he never experienced as a child or adult and he didn’t really expect, at this age, to have any of it come true. He resigned himself to taking his happiness where he found it and he was pretty happy in Emily’s arms the other night. He was taking her out again. He’d always felt like he was older than his years so he was comfortable with their age difference. She was very attractive, fun to be with and a good conversationalist. What more could a man ask for? ‘Are you positive her being wealthy doesn’t add to her charm?’
He dismissed the thought as fast as it surfaced. He enjoyed her company, plain and simple and if that led to more intimate things…he was ready for that, too.
***
Collier arrived at Camille’s house to fix some outdoor gutters that had been damaged by the winter’s snows. He was on a ladder when Camille came out. She shaded her eyes with her hand and squinted up at him.
“I have some lunch ready if you’d like to come in and eat with me. Don’t get too excited…it’s only egg salad on rye.”
This woman was going to drive him to drink. She looked good in anything. Today, she had on a pair of cut-off shorts and a t-shirt. Pretty simple but she made it look like a fashion statement. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her when they were together.
“Would you like to go to dinner this evening?”
“I would but I have other plans. I’m sorry. Could we do it tomorrow night?”
“Sure. Tomorrow’s good.” ‘I wonder if tonight’s plans include Jace Matthews.’
Her phone beeped. She glanced at the number and frowned. “It’s a call from Paris, France. Guess who that might be. Barbara’s probably checking up on me…asking if I’ve broken any of her precious possessions yet.”
Collier asked, “Aren’t you going to answer it? Maybe it’s important.”
“I’ll call her back later…or never. Nothing she could possibly want is important to me.”
He shrugged his shoulders, indicating her and Barbara’s relationship was none of his business and he planned on keeping his nose out of it.
“Tell me, Camille, when we go somewhere together, does our age difference bother you?”
“Since I’m the older one…the cougar as they call it…I think I should be asking that question of you.”
“We’re only ten years apart and I’m very comfortable with that so I don’t think it will ever be a problem for me.”
