Free Only You by Deborah Grace Stanley Page A

ago. Get your be-hind over to the library right now, Cole Craig.”
    “She ain’t gonna want to see me again today.”
    “Really, men can be so dense. Let me spell it out for you. You’d better get on over there and do some damage control, or you may never see her again. Give her too much time to think, and I guarantee, she’ll be thinkin’ things that won’t be good for your buddin’ relationship.”
    “What do you care, Dix?”
    She wiped the counter with her towel. “Well, you know, it’s springtime, young love and all.”
    Cole didn’t miss the sadness that clouded her eyes. “How’s Susan?” Dixie’s best friend since childhood and the mayor’s wife had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. The whole town had been upset by the grave prognosis.
    “As well as can be expected. She’s tough. She’ll fight this, just like you oughta be fightin’ for what you want.” It was her turn to point at him now. “Life’s too short.”
    She was right. As usual.
    “You got any coconut cream pie back there?”
    “Does your dog have fleas? What do you need pie for?”
    “If all else fails, I thought I’d ply her with sweets.”
    “Good thinkin’.”
    Dixie dished the pie into a styrofoam container and handed it to him. “There. Now get goin’.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    As Cole walked the short distance to the library, he hoped Josie wouldn’t shut and lock the window in his face. Maybe if he helped her with her program, she’d be grateful enough to go out with him on a real date. He smiled and quickened his pace.
     
    *
     
    Josie sat back and kneaded the aching muscles in her neck. It had taken hours to get the network operational again this afternoon. She’d been testing the catalog portion of the program, but every time she thought they might be ready to test it with the Internet portion of the program, the system crashed. The problem was that these computers just couldn’t handle the amount of information they’d been inputting. She didn’t even want to think about what would happen when they tried to process the graphics in the website. If she could only get the two portions to connect. For the last couple of hours, she’d been back to doing what she should have been doing all day—trying to figure out was wrong with the programming.
    This time the tapping on the window didn’t even surprise her. She turned to see Cole standing outside with a big grin on his face. She rolled over and unlocked the window. After she opened it, he swung himself up onto the sill.
    “Hey, Josie Lee. Working late again, I see.” He leaned back against the window casing and gave her a look that had probably just melted her hard drive.
    With her elbow on her desk, she propped her head in her hand and stared at him. Mrs. McKay would have a fit if she could see this. The knowledge gave Josie perverse pleasure. Didn’t every good girl have a secret longing to be bad? Looking at Cole, all the naughty possibilities that could fill a girl’s fantasies seemed limitless.
    Refocusing, she said, “Yes, I’m always working. What do you have there?”
    He held a white container aloft. “Coconut cream pie.”
    “How is it you know all my favorites?”
    He shrugged and kept smiling. “Just lucky, I guess.” He handed her the container. “Still havin’ trouble with your program?”
    “ Yes ,” she nodded. “I was just about to throw in the towel for tonight.”
    “Aw, don’t do that.”
    “I’ve never been so frustrated with anything in all my life.” She set the pie aside and rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m so tired.”
    “Sounds like you need a helping hand. First things first.”
    Cole shifted and stood, then approached her in measured steps. He moved with the natural rolling gate of an athlete, filling the room with his presence. Disquieted by his nearness, Josie dragged in a deep breath. Her nostrils filled with the enticing scent of his cologne, and her heart jumped and hammered against her rib cage.