Page 4 of One Lustful Summer (Texas Summer #14)

Maggie

Rowan. That’s his name. The handsome man that had me stopping in my tracks.

After we caught each other checking the other out, I kept my head down, but followed him with my eyes. There was an invisible pull that kept me tethered to where he was in the store. His brown hair curled out under his black and red ball cap, suggesting that he needed a haircut soon.

His worn jeans and gray t-shirt fit him to perfection. Showing off muscles in both places. But it was his smirk that set flutters off in my stomach.

With a rake and shovel in my hands, I make my way up to the cash register. I don’t have time to lollygag about a man; I have a house to work on.

“All set?”

the cashier asks as I stop at the counter.

“Yes,”

I answer, holding out the rake and shovel. She scans the items, and I lean them against the counter as she rings up my other items.

“I don’t mean to sound too intrusive, but did you just move to town?”

The cashier asks, and while her attempt to learn about me should frustrate me, I remember this is a small town, and she likely knows everyone.

“Is it that obvious?”

I ask with a small smile.

She chuckles as she places my smaller items in plastic bags.

“Just a tad.”

Her smile is sincere and I loosen up a little.

“I’m Carla, and that’s my husband over there, Joe.”

She nods towards the man in at the counter in the back.

“I’m Maggie. I just bought a house unseen and have a lot of work cut out for me.”

Her eyes widen at my confession.

“The Sterling house?”

I nod and she continues.

“There’s a lot of work to be done. Do you have a construction crew lined up?”

I shake my head at her question, frustration clear on my face. I try to mask it, but she sees it.

“Turn that frown upside down, Maggie. I got you.”

She reaches down in a drawer where she pulls out a business card and hands it over to me.

“Thank you,”

I tell her and take the card. She gives me my total and after paying her husband helps me out to my car. I have to lower the back seats and load the rake and shovel through the back of the hatchback.

With everything in the vehicle, I lock up and take a quick walk to the other side of the square, getting a glimpse of what else is available. On the last street there is a diner, bookstore, post office, photographer and building behind a corner parking lot with a sign displaying The Gypsy Rabbit.

Since I have time to spare, I decide to walk the whole square back to my vehicle. I had a pleasant look while I was driving, but I can now window shop as I walk by each building. The sidewalks have a frame signs boasting sales and telling those passing by to come in. It’s an all-around welcome feel.

The town square isn’t too crowded this late in the morning; this makes me wonder if many people drive out of town for work or are already at their offices.

It’s warmer than it was when I left this morning, the sun rising higher in the sky, and I know soon it’s going to be overwhelmingly hot and muggy. As I walk back to the street where my car is parked, I hear someone call my name. Looking behind me to see Lauren walking quickly down the sidewalk.

“How is everything going? How was your first night?”

She asks, her voice laced with genuine interest in my answer. I’m so lucky she was the first person I met in Paulding.

“It was good. I woke up a little confused to where I was this morning, but after a quick look around, I was more determined to get the day started.”

And with my lists, I’m more prepared for what I need to focus on first.

“So, how do you like our little town?”

Lauren asks as she waves her hand like Vanna White and chuckles at her actions.

“It’s so cute. I came into town to go to the hardware. Once I got the stuff I needed, I had to take a stroll around the square.”

I take a breath and look over the square, watching a mother and young child walk hand in hand into the bakery.

“Well, I should get on my way. I’m hoping to tackle some of the shrubbery at the front of the house today.”

“Have you thought about the interior of the house? What you plan to do there?”

“Now that I know the state of the house, I know I can’t do a lot of the work myself. I plan to seek some help, but I’m going to figure some things out myself, too.”

“That sounds great,”

she says.

“Do you have anyone in mind for the construction?”

“No, not really. I tell her. Carla gave me a business card while I was at the hardware.”

I pull it out and show it to her.

“DuPont construction. They’re great. I may be a little biased because it’s my uncle’s construction company, but he’s honest, and we’ll do right by you.”

“Well, that makes me feel a little better,”

I tell her.

“Seeing as I don’t know anyone in this area, I’m gonna probably lean on you heavily for information.”

“Like I told you yesterday, I’m your girl. Hey, what are you doing Thursday night?”

“I don’t have any plans,” I reply.

“My friends and I all get together at Gypsy. You should come.”

“The Gypsy Rabbit,”

I ask as I turn to look back at the building I saw earlier.

“Yeah, right over there. It’s kind of like the local hangout. It’s a restaurant in the evenings, Southern barbecue. And then as the dinner rush wears out, it’s where everyone hangs out for a couple of drinks and fun times. Thursday is trivia night.”

“I’ll have to think about it,”

I tell her, unsure of myself.

“Well, you have my cell phone and I have yours, so I’ll send you a message to remind you and see what you’re up to. Well, I should let you go. Talk to you soon.”

She tells me, and with a wave, she heads back to her office.

I walk back to my vehicle and open the door, but I hesitate to get in the driver’s seat. I feel the sensation of someone watching me. Looking to my left and then to my right, I notice a pickup idling at the stop sign with the window down, and Rowan sitting in the driver’s seat.

I give him a small wave and hop into my car. I have no time to be thinking about a man. But I can’t get him out of my mind. Who is he? What is his story?

***

I’ve spent the last few days passing around the outside and getting things cleared up. This required a few more trips to the hardware store for supplies. I found it easier to lob off as much of the bushes that I could before I used a shovel to dig them out of the ground.

I also made a few strips to the grocery for supplies, stocking up on pain relievers and muscle cream. I’ve used muscles I wasn’t even aware I had. New pains appear each morning and I wonder again, is it worth it?

I’ve toured the inside of my new home multiple times. Every time I enter a room, a new vision unfolds in my head.

I finally broke down and called DuPont construction this morning and have a meeting with one of their contractors tomorrow morning.

I’ve also been texting with Lauren each day, and while I’ve been reluctant, her persistent personality has broken the spell, and now I find myself looking forward to her text messages.

I reluctantly agreed to go to trivia night tonight. So I’m now trying to figure out what to wear before I take a quick shower and clean off the day’s grime.

I’m meeting her and her friends at Gypsy around seven to have an appetizer dinner. Trivia starts at eight, so we’ll have time to eat and I’ll get time to meet everyone.

While talking with Lauren these last few days, it’s made me really look back and reevaluate what I thought were my friendships from my old life?

The more I look at those relationships, it makes me realize that what I had was not friendship but just acquaintances. No one’s checked in on me to see how I’m doing since I left. The people that I thought were my friends stood by and watched everything unfold with my past relationship.

The more I reflect on my conversations with my so-called friends, I’m reminded of what the ultimate goal was with each and every one of them. Everything was about the status of who you were with and the status of what they could do for you. It was all about how you were perceived by other people. My upbringing, sadly, emphasized those things. That’s how my mother and father look at things.

But I don’t want people to look at me and see dollar signs or she has the best of the best. I don’t want to keep up with the Joneses. I want people to see me as me, authentically me. A fun person, I think, a caring person, someone who wants to make sure that people are okay. Someone who generally cares about someone. It’s exhausting to be the only person who’s caring in a relationship, whether it’s a friendship or an intimate relationship.