better … I don’t know.”
He pulled her fingers from his lips. “You owe me an explanation, Candy. Why now, all of a sudden?”
She cocked her head in confusion.
“Why did you suddenly notice me? After all these years?”
Her eyes flashed with something close to embarrassment. “I’ve always noticed you. I’ve always liked you. A lot.”
“But you said yourself that you just now saw me in a different light.”
Candy grinned. “No. What I said was that I just realized you’re the sexiest man I’ve ever known.”
“Yeah. I just wanted to hear you say it again.”
She laughed. “I’m not sure why, Turner, okay? But there you were, pulling me over with your flashing lights and your bright smile and it was like I was seeing you for the first time. That probably doesn’t make much sense.”
“Oh, yes it does,” he said, “I was suddenly out of context. I wasn’t your childhood running buddy, hanging out with you and J.J. and Cheri, like always. Plus, you were practically naked from the waist up, and that might have given you a slightly different perspective.”
“That’s an exaggeration.”
Turner laughed. Very carefully, he leaned in closer to her, now gripping both her hands in his. “The point is I think you saw me, just a man, for probably the first time.”
Candy frowned slightly and turned away, moving her eyes to stare at the water. “Tell me the rest of that story,” she said, a hesitance in her voice.
“Which story?”
Candy glanced at him again, the corners of her mouth turned down and her chin trembling. “When you drove me to Viv’s you mentioned something about the night you called and my dad answered the phone.”
Turner pulled back, surprised. He studied her for a moment, but saw nothing but sincerity in her eyes. “All right.”
“It’s just that I think I’m starting to remember some of it,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I need you to fill in the blanks, if you don’t mind.”
Turner freed his hands from hers, turned his body square with the edge of the dock, and gazed out over the lake. “All right,” he said. “It had taken me months to summon the courage to ask you out on a date, but I finally decided that the moment was right. You had just broken up with Petey Swanson, remember?”
A vague smile touched her lips.
“But your daddy picked up the phone. I was very polite. I said, ‘Good evening, sir. This is Turner Halliday. May I please speak to Candy?’” He turned toward her again, and saw the pain in her expression, but he continued. “Your father asked me why I wanted to talk with you, and, since I knew I’d have to go through your father one way or another, I told him I wanted to date you.”
“Oh, no,” Candy murmured. She shook her head and closed her eyes.
“He called me ‘boy.’” Turner heard the stiffness in his own voice. “Your father asked me who I thought I was and said I’d never get anywhere with you because you’d been ‘raised right.’ Then he told me to stay within my own race.”
Candy gasped. She slapped a hand over her mouth and widened her eyes.
Turner chuckled bitterly. “Yeah, I know. But when he finally put you on the phone, I went ahead just as planned. I asked you to go out with me that Friday night. Do you remember what happened?”
She shook her head quickly, her hand still covering her mouth.
“You pretended you didn’t hear me. You started laughing even though I hadn’t said anything funny, and that’s when I knew for sure your daddy had to be standing over your shoulder. You told me you had to go because your family had company and that you’d see me at school. Then you hung up on me.”
Candy’s hand fell away from her mouth but she continued to shake her head from side to side, like she didn’t want to believe it. Then she bit down so hard on her bottom lip that Turner half expected to see blood.
“Now do you remember?”
“I … I didn’t hear what my daddy said to
He pulled her fingers from his lips. “You owe me an explanation, Candy. Why now, all of a sudden?”
She cocked her head in confusion.
“Why did you suddenly notice me? After all these years?”
Her eyes flashed with something close to embarrassment. “I’ve always noticed you. I’ve always liked you. A lot.”
“But you said yourself that you just now saw me in a different light.”
Candy grinned. “No. What I said was that I just realized you’re the sexiest man I’ve ever known.”
“Yeah. I just wanted to hear you say it again.”
She laughed. “I’m not sure why, Turner, okay? But there you were, pulling me over with your flashing lights and your bright smile and it was like I was seeing you for the first time. That probably doesn’t make much sense.”
“Oh, yes it does,” he said, “I was suddenly out of context. I wasn’t your childhood running buddy, hanging out with you and J.J. and Cheri, like always. Plus, you were practically naked from the waist up, and that might have given you a slightly different perspective.”
“That’s an exaggeration.”
Turner laughed. Very carefully, he leaned in closer to her, now gripping both her hands in his. “The point is I think you saw me, just a man, for probably the first time.”
Candy frowned slightly and turned away, moving her eyes to stare at the water. “Tell me the rest of that story,” she said, a hesitance in her voice.
“Which story?”
Candy glanced at him again, the corners of her mouth turned down and her chin trembling. “When you drove me to Viv’s you mentioned something about the night you called and my dad answered the phone.”
Turner pulled back, surprised. He studied her for a moment, but saw nothing but sincerity in her eyes. “All right.”
“It’s just that I think I’m starting to remember some of it,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I need you to fill in the blanks, if you don’t mind.”
Turner freed his hands from hers, turned his body square with the edge of the dock, and gazed out over the lake. “All right,” he said. “It had taken me months to summon the courage to ask you out on a date, but I finally decided that the moment was right. You had just broken up with Petey Swanson, remember?”
A vague smile touched her lips.
“But your daddy picked up the phone. I was very polite. I said, ‘Good evening, sir. This is Turner Halliday. May I please speak to Candy?’” He turned toward her again, and saw the pain in her expression, but he continued. “Your father asked me why I wanted to talk with you, and, since I knew I’d have to go through your father one way or another, I told him I wanted to date you.”
“Oh, no,” Candy murmured. She shook her head and closed her eyes.
“He called me ‘boy.’” Turner heard the stiffness in his own voice. “Your father asked me who I thought I was and said I’d never get anywhere with you because you’d been ‘raised right.’ Then he told me to stay within my own race.”
Candy gasped. She slapped a hand over her mouth and widened her eyes.
Turner chuckled bitterly. “Yeah, I know. But when he finally put you on the phone, I went ahead just as planned. I asked you to go out with me that Friday night. Do you remember what happened?”
She shook her head quickly, her hand still covering her mouth.
“You pretended you didn’t hear me. You started laughing even though I hadn’t said anything funny, and that’s when I knew for sure your daddy had to be standing over your shoulder. You told me you had to go because your family had company and that you’d see me at school. Then you hung up on me.”
Candy’s hand fell away from her mouth but she continued to shake her head from side to side, like she didn’t want to believe it. Then she bit down so hard on her bottom lip that Turner half expected to see blood.
“Now do you remember?”
“I … I didn’t hear what my daddy said to
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