Free Every Yesterday (Boot Creek) by Nancy Naigle Page B

I’m the best man. You’re the maid of honor.” He looked around at the empty lot around them. “You and I seem to be in the minority—those without dates. Think we could call some kind of truce and pal around this week—no strings, no expectations?”
    “You serious?”
    “Yeah. I like your sass. I damn sure don’t want to have to dodge that ticking time bomb of a baby maker—”
    “Flynn?”
    “Oh yeah. That would be the one.”
    She couldn’t blame him. Flynn would dog him all week. “Well, we do seem to be on the same page here.”
    “Yeah, and it seems the guys I thought were on my team are defecting.”
    “You’re going to have to be a better quarterback then.”
    “I’ll take that under advisement.” He extended his hand. “My new partner in crime?”
    “For the week.” She shook his hand. A nice firm grip.
    “Think we should go back in?”
    She slumped forward. “In a minute?”
    “You twisted my arm.”
    “Oh, we are going to get along fine,” she said.
    “Jackson said you make candles for a living.”
    “I do. Aromatherapy candles. All natural. I make them from beeswax that I get from a local beekeeper.”
    “So you hand pour them. Like one by one?”
    “Just like that.”
    “That has to take a long time.”
    “I’ve got a pretty good system. I never intended for it to become huge. I’m very happy with the size of the business.”
    “How do you come up with the smells?”
    “ Aromas. Smell is what you do to test a carton of milk when the date has passed.”
    “Yeah, that’s not good.”
    “Never is. Why is it we always want other people to smell stinky stuff? I think guys started that.”
    “We probably did.” He stood up. “Come on. Let’s go back in. I’ll buy you a free drink to seal our deal.”
    “Okay.” She followed him back into Blue Skies Café. The crowd had thinned out some. There was even a booth empty toward the front.
    He went straight to the bar and got a beer. “You still drinking wine?”
    She nodded.
    “Wine for the lady.”
    “I’ll grab that table,” she said as he waited for the bartender to pour the wine. She slid into the booth. When she looked up, he was walking toward her. She wondered where he’d sit. Next to her or across from her.
    Like a proper gentleman he gave her space, sitting across from her in the booth.
    He handed her the wineglass, then held his beer in front of her. “To a week of no-bs fun and helping our friends start their new life together on the right foot.”
    She tipped her glass toward his bottle. A smile played on her lips, and suddenly he didn’t seem nearly as bad as she’d made him out to be in her mind earlier. He was playful and fun. No problem.
    “Jackson drove us around Boot Creek. It’s not a very big town, so I guess it’s safe to say you live nearby.”
    “That would be a good bet. Within walking distance.” Great, now he’d think she was inviting him over. Not her intention at all.
    “Lived here all of your life?”
    “Yep.”
    “I grew up in a small town outside of Nashville. I spent most of my youth wishing for a bigger place to live.”
    “I’ve never felt the urge to move somewhere else, but then I pick up and go where I want to go whenever. So I’ve never felt stuck by living here. But it’s nice when you know everyone in town. It’s comfortable.”
    He listened intently. Never interrupting her as she spoke. Like he was really listening. Which seemed kind of odd.
    “I hadn’t thought of it that way. Makes sense.”
    “If I’d never been able to travel. I might feel very different. You live in California now. Big state. What part?”
    “ Near Los Angeles. ”
    “Busy.”
    “Good for business. I don’t live in the city, though.”
    “On the beach?” That would explain the tan.
    “Yes. Great view, but the lots are so small I have to keep my cars in a separate garage near my business. My garage is bigger than most of the lots on the beach.”
    “How big is your garage?”
    Was