Love on the Air(40)

"Just giving you a head start." Rick lifted a crate full of extension cords. "Don't worry, I'll be letting you do all the setup. So the earlier we get there, the better."

Her worst suspicions were confirmed. "You're coming along?"

"Who else?" Rick smiled. Either he had amnesia, or he was a gifted actor. "I don't see any reason to bring another full-timer in on a Sunday afternoon. Remember, program directors have no lives." He lifted a speaker and loaded it in. The other one, she noticed, was already inside. His memory was working, all right.

Like Christie, Rick was wearing a station staff shirt, but his definitely fit him better, the sleeves hugging his upper arms as he loaded in another crate. Christie's shirt had just come in last week, silk-screened with her name and the blue and gold KYOR logo. It had been a minor thrill to put it on for the first time, but the manufacturer definitely had a different idea of "small" than she did. The sleeves hung down to her elbows, and the shirt itself was so long it nearly covered her bottom. She'd done her best to tailor it by tucking it in and cuffing the sleeves.

"You don't have to do this," she said. "Yvonne took me along on her broadcast at the clothing outlet last week. She walked me through the whole thing." In spite of her arguments, Christie knew that having backup on her first live appearance made sense. She also knew that having Rick there would make her a nervous wreck.

"You can't be too safe," he said, still unperturbed. "Believe me. There are a lot of little things that can go wrong. I've seen power go out on the equipment, microphones die... and don't tell her I told you, but on Yvonne's first remote, she locked herself out of the van."

"Okay," she said. As if she'd ever had any choice.

Christie got busy helping him load, determined to carry her own weight, literally and figuratively. When all the equipment was inside, she closed the back of the van and took the keys. For the first time, Rick showed what might have been faint discomfort. Apparently, it went against his male instincts to let her drive. Well, too bad.

But he still held the driver's door open for her, and she sighed inwardly. Male instincts indeed.

She'd been worried about what to say during the ten-minute ride in the van, but Rick took care of that with a running commentary of what to expect when she got there. Christie did her best to concentrate, but it wasn't easy. The front of the van was roomy, but Rick seemed to fill it completely with his long legs, his voice, and his presence.

"You should have a pretty big crowd," he said. "They're having dollar burgers the first hour. And when that dies down, I got hold of a few pairs of movie passes for giveaways."

She glanced at him sideways. "Thanks." Movie passes were always a good draw. Plus, a hamburger restaurant at lunchtime was a natural. And with dollar burgers...

She'd look incredibly stupid if she managed to mess it up.

When he ran out of information just before they reached the remote, Rick shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat. He'd bowed to the situation and let her drive, but it felt wrong. He was the man; he should drive. But she was the disc jockey; it was her remote. He sneaked another sidelong glance at Christie in her new, oversized station shirt. With some tucking, she'd managed to keep it from looking like a tent, but its bulky shape just emphasized how small and slender she was. Rick sighed inwardly. The baggy shirt was further proof that she could distract him no matter what she wore. Just one more reason he would have preferred to drive; it would have forced him to keep his eyes on the road. He looked through the windshield and tried to occupy his mind by thinking of natural disasters. Income tax forms. Boy Scout knots.

As long as this situation went on, that was what he had to do.

"... Now, mount the speakers in the stands, carefully ... Rick narrowed his eyes at her as they set up the equipment. It was the first time either of them had referred, directly or indirectly, to the speaker incident.

He seemed to be playing it for laughs. Christie took a chance. "Absolutely," she agreed. "Wouldn't want to hurt the speakers." She threw in a smile to show she was kidding, too.

Christie attached the first speaker to its mount on the metal pole. Rick held the stand steady, but otherwise let her do the work. She made sure it was secure before she let go.

When it held, she asked, "How's the foot?"

"Fine. Just don't step on my toes. Next speaker." There was no inflection in his voice. He handed her the second stand to set up.

She pulled up the collapsible pole of the stand to its full height, about a foot shorter than Christie. It reminded her of a tent pole. "This makes me think of camping," she said.