widened. “They just got considerably better.”
I craned my neck, keeping the bill of my cap down, to see what had put the purr in her. My gray eyes connected squarely with Johnny Leeson’s deep blues.
Somehow in the previous week I had forgotten how beautiful Johnny was, with his shaggy, dark blonde hair, thick eyelashes, and soft, gently smiling mouth. His hands were strong and tanned, the kind of hands that you wanted moving slowly down your naked back and tangled in your hair as he pulled you in for a deep kiss. His broad shoulders tapered nicely to narrow hips, and it took all my willpower not to imagine what it would be like to have my legs wrapped around them. I crossed said legs to muffle the excited whispering down below and gave him a short nod. Men had always been bad news for me, in a cheating and dying sort of way, and I had vowed to start listening to my brain more and my nerve endings less. It was high time I focused my energy on a more reliable form of entertainment. Like tornado chasing. I drew in a deep breath and concentrated on slowing down my heartbeat, which had revved at the sight of Johnny.
I wasn’t surprised to see Jed follow Johnny out onto the Fortune deck. The two were the local odd jobs, taking on landscaping and heavy lifting work on the side, and they often hung out in their off hours as well. I hoped Jed wouldn’t feel bad to see that I was still out. Johnny waved at me with one of his gorgeous hands and started to pull up a chair at a far table, but Jed loped over.
“Hey, Mira! You must be feeling better. And you know what I forgot to ask you? Now that someone stole the Chief, who you gonna crush on?” Jed smiled and slapped his knee.
Was my pitiful, make-believe love life written on my forehead? Or more likely, a billboard on the edge of town? “Good one.” I tried to send out “go away” vibes because I didn’t want Johnny to notice that I was dressed like a dorky tourist, and I especially didn’t want him to hear that I thought Chief Wenonga was hot. If finding out that you like really big fiberglass men doesn’t turn a guy off you, then you don’t want him.
Jed, as always, was oblivious to social cues. “You guys got two extra chairs. Awesome!” He signaled to Johnny.
He walked over and flashed his killer shy smile at me. “Hi, Mira. How’re you doing?”
“Fine.”
“Mind if we sit here?”
“Not at all,” Dolly said, indicating the chair nearest her. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
I thought I detected a faint burning smell. It might have been the sizzling Dolly was directing at Johnny, or possibly my hopes of being the object of his unrequited love going up in smoke. I had no choice but to make the introductions. “This is Johnny Leeson. He works at the greenhouse here in town. And this is Jed.” Jed smiled and nodded through a mouthful of our sugar cookies, but the doctor didn’t bother to look his way.
“A horticulturalist? That’s so fascinating! Where’d you study?” Dolly’s smile was ear to ear, and she was leaning in to hear Johnny’s response.
He pulled back a little, or maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part. “U of M. I’m going to grab a couple sodas. Can I get you two anything?”
“Soda?” Dolly asked. “You must have spent some time in Wisconsin. No one in Minnesota calls it ‘soda.’”
“Yeah, my grandparents are from Wausau. I spent a lot of summers at their place. So you two are fine?”
“Yeah, we’re fine. Thanks,” I said. When Johnny stood up, I caught a whiff of him. He smelled clean and solid, like a cherry Popsicle stick. I forced myself not to look at his firm-like-a-new-mattress rear as he walked away. If I had a pair of x-ray goggles, my willpower might not have been so strong.
“Hey, you’re the Indian doctor, aren’t you?” Jed asked.
“Close. I’m a professor of Native American Studies. What do you do?”
“I work at my parents’ resort. It’s a pretty good job, but … oh,
I craned my neck, keeping the bill of my cap down, to see what had put the purr in her. My gray eyes connected squarely with Johnny Leeson’s deep blues.
Somehow in the previous week I had forgotten how beautiful Johnny was, with his shaggy, dark blonde hair, thick eyelashes, and soft, gently smiling mouth. His hands were strong and tanned, the kind of hands that you wanted moving slowly down your naked back and tangled in your hair as he pulled you in for a deep kiss. His broad shoulders tapered nicely to narrow hips, and it took all my willpower not to imagine what it would be like to have my legs wrapped around them. I crossed said legs to muffle the excited whispering down below and gave him a short nod. Men had always been bad news for me, in a cheating and dying sort of way, and I had vowed to start listening to my brain more and my nerve endings less. It was high time I focused my energy on a more reliable form of entertainment. Like tornado chasing. I drew in a deep breath and concentrated on slowing down my heartbeat, which had revved at the sight of Johnny.
I wasn’t surprised to see Jed follow Johnny out onto the Fortune deck. The two were the local odd jobs, taking on landscaping and heavy lifting work on the side, and they often hung out in their off hours as well. I hoped Jed wouldn’t feel bad to see that I was still out. Johnny waved at me with one of his gorgeous hands and started to pull up a chair at a far table, but Jed loped over.
“Hey, Mira! You must be feeling better. And you know what I forgot to ask you? Now that someone stole the Chief, who you gonna crush on?” Jed smiled and slapped his knee.
Was my pitiful, make-believe love life written on my forehead? Or more likely, a billboard on the edge of town? “Good one.” I tried to send out “go away” vibes because I didn’t want Johnny to notice that I was dressed like a dorky tourist, and I especially didn’t want him to hear that I thought Chief Wenonga was hot. If finding out that you like really big fiberglass men doesn’t turn a guy off you, then you don’t want him.
Jed, as always, was oblivious to social cues. “You guys got two extra chairs. Awesome!” He signaled to Johnny.
He walked over and flashed his killer shy smile at me. “Hi, Mira. How’re you doing?”
“Fine.”
“Mind if we sit here?”
“Not at all,” Dolly said, indicating the chair nearest her. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
I thought I detected a faint burning smell. It might have been the sizzling Dolly was directing at Johnny, or possibly my hopes of being the object of his unrequited love going up in smoke. I had no choice but to make the introductions. “This is Johnny Leeson. He works at the greenhouse here in town. And this is Jed.” Jed smiled and nodded through a mouthful of our sugar cookies, but the doctor didn’t bother to look his way.
“A horticulturalist? That’s so fascinating! Where’d you study?” Dolly’s smile was ear to ear, and she was leaning in to hear Johnny’s response.
He pulled back a little, or maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part. “U of M. I’m going to grab a couple sodas. Can I get you two anything?”
“Soda?” Dolly asked. “You must have spent some time in Wisconsin. No one in Minnesota calls it ‘soda.’”
“Yeah, my grandparents are from Wausau. I spent a lot of summers at their place. So you two are fine?”
“Yeah, we’re fine. Thanks,” I said. When Johnny stood up, I caught a whiff of him. He smelled clean and solid, like a cherry Popsicle stick. I forced myself not to look at his firm-like-a-new-mattress rear as he walked away. If I had a pair of x-ray goggles, my willpower might not have been so strong.
“Hey, you’re the Indian doctor, aren’t you?” Jed asked.
“Close. I’m a professor of Native American Studies. What do you do?”
“I work at my parents’ resort. It’s a pretty good job, but … oh,
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