Page 12 of Tricked in October
“You don’t owe me.” Davis backed away, tugging on Cooper’s leash who wagged his tail. “But you know going to the bar on a holiday, when I know it’ll be packed full of locals and tourists is really pushing it for me,” he teased.
“I think you can make the sacrifice, especially for me,” she said.
“Anything for you,” he said, his voice trembling. He flashed her that familiar smile over his shoulder, but this time there was a timidness to it, and it was enough to cause her heart to flutter.
What was happening?
She watched him as he strode away, Cooper stepping in time with him.
Before last night, that comment combined with that smile would’ve done nothing to her. But now, after last night, the combination set her skin ablaze. It baffled her and she wasn’t sure how to process this foreign reaction.
Having these feelings was not only unexpected but it was unwanted. She had no desire of being in a relationship. After Ricky passed, she swore she’d be fine being single for the rest of her life. She didn’t need a man. Besides that, what other man would accept her as she was. All her quirks and bad habits.
A relationship could screw up her plans. She needed to focus on a plan to pay back the loans and save the bar. And besides that, she wasn’t sure how her kids would handle her being in a relationship. She wanted to make things as easy as possible on them. If that meant being single until they were out of the house—so be it. She’d sacrifice for them.
But that decision didn’t help these uninvited feelings that had suddenly appeared from left field and that she had absolutely zero time for. Typically, when she had a problem, she went to Davis for advice. But this time she couldn’t. And as much as she didn’t want to expose these feelings to anyone, she needed to talk them out with someone in hopes they’d make sense. She needed Izzy.
Kelsey climbed back into her minivan and found her phone in the console. She sent a text to Isabella.
Kelsey: Have a huge problem. In desperate need of some Izzy advice.
CHAPTERFOUR
DAVIS
The smooth textureof the wood beneath his hand breathed life into Davis’s soul, and the scent of freshly cut pine sent a blaring memory in his mind—
He and his brother Garrett standing shoulder to shoulder mesmerized by the work their dad did with his table saw. Crackling wood chips beneath the soles of his boots, his vision slightly blurred behind the scratched safety glasses, the sound of the screeching power tool as it tore through the wood, making a perfectly smooth cut.
“Why don’t you find a woman to grope instead?” Garrett’s voice sliced through Davis’s memory like lightning as he stepped into the garage.
Davis could come up with a snappy comeback. Or he could ignore his twin. He decided on the latter. He didn’t have the energy to put up with Garrett and his comments today.
After the water fiasco at O’Henry’s Bar and Grill last night, he’d got to bed late. And to sleep even later. For what felt like hours, he’d tossed and turned while images of Kelsey popped in his brain. Not only of her dressed in his tank top or in her wet t-shirt, but the sadness conveyed in her eyes, and the defeated slump in her posture.
He’d been distracted at work all day, unable to stop thinking about their interaction that morning when he found her parked in the lot at the ice-skating rink singing in her minivan. Their conversation had been awkward. And what was worse? He’d agreed to stop by O’Henry’s that night. He wasn’t prepared to have another uncomfortable conversation.
This issue with her past-due bills was wearing on him. He wanted to help. But how could he do that without stepping on her toes? Something told him if he offered to pay off the loans and buy O’Henry’s but still have her manage the place, Kelsey wouldn’t approve.
Spending time nose-deep in a project and being surrounded by wood, the scent of the pine invading his nose, calmed him. The morning sun had been swallowed up by the early afternoon clouds and brought with it a fall drizzle Davis didn’t mind. It gave him the added incentive to be indoors today, as if he needed the permission. But Garrett’s presence had the opposite effect on him, and he felt the stiffness in his jaw.
Garrett shuffled next to Davis where he tried to focus on the piece of wood he’d just cut. Garrett remained unusually quiet while he bent and looked on with him, and it made him nervous. Was Garrett judging his cut lines? They’d never butt heads regarding work stuff until the show.
“It looks good,” Garrett finally said, easing Davis’s apprehension.
Davis glanced over his shoulder, quirking a brow. “Yeah?”
“You know I’d lie to you about many things, but this? Not a chance.”
It was true. As opposite as they were, creating and designing had always connected the two of them. That connection was the only hope Davis had in them finishing out their current contract with HGTV.
Renovation Dudeshad two more episodes to film before this season was over and Davis could hardly wait. He needed a break. But not from the actual work. The work he didn’t mind. It was the cameras. The lights. The crew. The fans.
Fans.
Since when was he—Davis Vance—fangirled over?
“Thanks,” Davis said.
