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“I’ll have to go into town. I forgot candy for the parade.”
“I grabbed four bags when I went to the courthouse.”
“Eastyn—”
I snap my mouth closed when I spot Chandler walking up, not missing the way his eyes drop to her ass before he looks overat me. The man may be heartbroken, we buried his father only a few days ago, but he’s still a man. Sometimes I hate my gender.
I mean, I see the appeal. Eastyn is a beautiful woman. She’s just not Adalynn, and that has always been enough to keep me from seeing her as anything but an employee.
“That’s very thoughtful of you. Give me the receipt on Monday and I’ll pay you back.”
She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind as she steps back and gives Chandler a spot in this small impromptu meeting.
“Hey,” I say as I climb out of my truck and shake his hand. “I didn’t know if you were going to be here today.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” he tells me, taking my proffered hand. “Pop loved this competition. He always gave me shit for being a cop rather than joining the winning team. Sorry for the language.”
Eastyn frowns, as if realizing she’s not as much a part of the team as she considered herself. “I’ve heard worse.”
“Still,” Chandler says, his eyes darting from hers back to mine, like I’m going to chastise him like a child for cussing. “It’s disrespectful.”
“Fuck it,” she says with a shoulder shrug.
Laughter erupts from my throat, and Chandler’s ears turn pink.
I spend a minute looking between the two of them. I have no doubt Eastyn would chew him up and spit him out. I think Eastyn has a little bit of a wild side to her that Chandler could never keep up with.
“Okay,” she says, clapping her hands. “This is the year the Guns win it all.”
I follow behind her as she turns toward the town square. I don’t pop her bubble. I know us coming in dead last will do it soon enough.
“You know,” I begin. “As the office manager, you can take part in this competition too.”
“Harper does,” Chandler adds. “She beats us too.”
“Not really my thing, bossman.”
“Exercise?” Chandler asks.
“Performing for an audience. Do you see that line?”
We both look in the direction of her pointing finger. The women sitting in chairs at the starting line don’t even bother to look ashamed with our attention.
“Half of those women are married, and they’re still here to ogle shirtless men.”
Chandler’s smile widens. “It’s all in good fun. It’s a FUNdraiser after all.”
“I’m just here to support the community,” I argue.
“Same,” Chandler quickly agrees. “And the food. My God, have you tried the beef and cheese hand-pies that Ruth makes. I’m drooling just thinking about them, and as competitors, we get to eat free.”
I grin at the man. I know he’s hurting, but he’s facing that pain and not letting it get him down.
“It’s my first Guns and Hoses event, but I’ve heard talk of all the business owners and what they offer at these types of events. I’m looking forward to Adalynn’s ice cream. I hear it’s to die for.”
I feel her eyes dart to me, but I keep looking down the road at the folks gathering for the start of the event.
“Some only offer certain things exclusively at these events. Adalynn sold out of her ice cream before I got a chance to sample any of it at the ice cream social a few months ago,” Chandler says, going on to talk about his favorite things each vendor could be offering today before circling back to mention those hand-pies Ruth makes.
