then I heard a voice from the back. “Just a minute.”
I recognized the cheery trill right away. Tracy turned the corner and the first thing I noticed was her hair. It was a beautiful, buttery blonde and it fell in waves to the middle of her back. The second she saw me, she greeted me with a wide smile that showed off two rows of perfectly straight teeth. She had a high hairline, which made her forehead just a bit too big for her face, but this flaw—if you could call it that—somehow only made her cuter.
“I remember you.” She circled around to the back of the counter. “You ever finish that deck with your daddy?” Lord, the way she said the word daddy with her bayou drawl; it was almost too much to bear. There were so many accents in Louisiana it was hard to keep them straight. Cajun, Creole, the kind of New Orleans accent that sounded more like New Jersey, good ol’ boy, affected Midwestern. You name it. But the way she spoke, it was like honey dripping off her tongue. I couldn’t help but wonder if she tasted as sweet as she sounded, but I pushed the thought away. Messing around with country girls on the road was one thing, but messing around with buffers who lived this close to the Village was a one-way ticket to trouble.
It dawned on me that I should actually respond. “Umm, yeah,” I said, slipping into the good ol’ boy accent I’d gone with the last time I was in here. We never spoke in our true accent—an Irish brogue with a hint of southern drawl—around buffers. We found they treated us better if we talked like they did, and anyway, we didn’t like them knowing who we were. “Yeah, we finished the deck.”
“So you came back just to say hi to me, then?” she asked, leaning against the counter on her forearms. This new angle allowed me to see the slightest hint of cleavage over the white tee shirt she wore underneath her hardware apron. Dear Lord, could this girl get any sexier?
“Yeah. I mean, no. It’s, umm, I realized you gave my brother too much change when we were in here before.” I pulled the ten-dollar bill out of my wallet and held it out to her. “I thought I’d bring it back.”
She looked at the bill in my outstretched hand, then up at me, then back to the bill again, but she didn’t move to take it.
“I mean, if you don’t want it—”
“No, it’s not that,” she said quickly. “I’m just surprised you brought it back is all.” She grabbed the bill out of my hand and shoved it in her pocket. “You really are the sweetest peach.” Her smile broadened, and her nose scrunched up a little with the effort.
I returned her dazzling smile with an awkward one of my own and shoved my wallet back in my pocket. What the hell was I doing? I needed to get out of this damn store. “So, umm, I guess I’ll be going now.” Why was I acting so weird? She was just some girl in a hardware store. I walked purposefully toward the door.
“Hey,” she called, and I turned back around. “I never got your name.”
“Jimmy.”
“Thanks, Jimmy. I’m Tracy.”
I know, I thought, but didn’t say it. “It’s nice to meet you, Tracy. You make sure you do important things with that ten dollars, you hear?”
The second the words had left my mouth she shot up to standing and held up the index finger on one hand. “I have a great idea for how to use the money.”
“Yeah?” I couldn’t help but smile. She looked so excited.
“Have you ever played shuffleboard?”
“You mean, like the old person game?”
She giggled. “No, not that kind of shuffleboard. Like, the kind in bars.”
“I don’t think so?”
“Perfect. I’m off in ten minutes. You want to grab a couple happy hour drinks with me? My treat.”
“Are you even old enough to get into bars?”
“Twenty-one as of last month. Why—aren’t you?”
“I’m twenty-three,” I said with a chuckle. “But I don’t think I could.” Immediately her face crumpled. I don’t think even the
I recognized the cheery trill right away. Tracy turned the corner and the first thing I noticed was her hair. It was a beautiful, buttery blonde and it fell in waves to the middle of her back. The second she saw me, she greeted me with a wide smile that showed off two rows of perfectly straight teeth. She had a high hairline, which made her forehead just a bit too big for her face, but this flaw—if you could call it that—somehow only made her cuter.
“I remember you.” She circled around to the back of the counter. “You ever finish that deck with your daddy?” Lord, the way she said the word daddy with her bayou drawl; it was almost too much to bear. There were so many accents in Louisiana it was hard to keep them straight. Cajun, Creole, the kind of New Orleans accent that sounded more like New Jersey, good ol’ boy, affected Midwestern. You name it. But the way she spoke, it was like honey dripping off her tongue. I couldn’t help but wonder if she tasted as sweet as she sounded, but I pushed the thought away. Messing around with country girls on the road was one thing, but messing around with buffers who lived this close to the Village was a one-way ticket to trouble.
It dawned on me that I should actually respond. “Umm, yeah,” I said, slipping into the good ol’ boy accent I’d gone with the last time I was in here. We never spoke in our true accent—an Irish brogue with a hint of southern drawl—around buffers. We found they treated us better if we talked like they did, and anyway, we didn’t like them knowing who we were. “Yeah, we finished the deck.”
“So you came back just to say hi to me, then?” she asked, leaning against the counter on her forearms. This new angle allowed me to see the slightest hint of cleavage over the white tee shirt she wore underneath her hardware apron. Dear Lord, could this girl get any sexier?
“Yeah. I mean, no. It’s, umm, I realized you gave my brother too much change when we were in here before.” I pulled the ten-dollar bill out of my wallet and held it out to her. “I thought I’d bring it back.”
She looked at the bill in my outstretched hand, then up at me, then back to the bill again, but she didn’t move to take it.
“I mean, if you don’t want it—”
“No, it’s not that,” she said quickly. “I’m just surprised you brought it back is all.” She grabbed the bill out of my hand and shoved it in her pocket. “You really are the sweetest peach.” Her smile broadened, and her nose scrunched up a little with the effort.
I returned her dazzling smile with an awkward one of my own and shoved my wallet back in my pocket. What the hell was I doing? I needed to get out of this damn store. “So, umm, I guess I’ll be going now.” Why was I acting so weird? She was just some girl in a hardware store. I walked purposefully toward the door.
“Hey,” she called, and I turned back around. “I never got your name.”
“Jimmy.”
“Thanks, Jimmy. I’m Tracy.”
I know, I thought, but didn’t say it. “It’s nice to meet you, Tracy. You make sure you do important things with that ten dollars, you hear?”
The second the words had left my mouth she shot up to standing and held up the index finger on one hand. “I have a great idea for how to use the money.”
“Yeah?” I couldn’t help but smile. She looked so excited.
“Have you ever played shuffleboard?”
“You mean, like the old person game?”
She giggled. “No, not that kind of shuffleboard. Like, the kind in bars.”
“I don’t think so?”
“Perfect. I’m off in ten minutes. You want to grab a couple happy hour drinks with me? My treat.”
“Are you even old enough to get into bars?”
“Twenty-one as of last month. Why—aren’t you?”
“I’m twenty-three,” I said with a chuckle. “But I don’t think I could.” Immediately her face crumpled. I don’t think even the
Similar Books
