Need You for Mine(60)

But since he was in the sheriff’s department, surrounded by his brothers and a bunch of pistol-toting guys, mapping out booth placement for Beat the Heat, he didn’t think he was in much danger of breaking his word.

“That’s never going to work.” Jonah reached over Adam’s shoulder to flick the quarter off the map and onto the floor. “It puts the second generator too close to the St. Paws booth. Shay won’t have it.”

“I’m not moving a generator to increase the odds of you getting laid,” Adam said.

Jonah shrugged. “Your call, but last year, Ida’s pet duck waddled too close and burned off its tail feathers, blowing the generator. This year, Shay’s bringing that flock of geese that got lost in the migration last year.”

“And we can’t move Shay?”

Jonah laughed. “She had to bribe last year’s planner to get a corner spot, so unless you are offering her street-facing property, no way will she give it up.”

“Could you at least ask her?”

“Do I look like I want to sleep on the couch?”

“You look like you should trade in that gun for your Deputy Pussycat hat,” Adam mumbled, then pulled another quarter out of his pocket and placed it by the stage.

“Too close to the coffee stand. The ladies will complain about having to talk over the noise,” Jonah said and flicked it off the map. “Plus, it blocks the walkway to the porta-potties, which is never a good call.”

“Where do you learn this shit?”

“Planning a wedding teaches important skills.”

“What? Like how to make a table decoration of out fishbowls and where bathrooms should go?” Adam pulled another quarter out and placed it by the oak tree.

“Don’t underestimate the power of event planning.” With a flick, Jonah sent it flying.

“Seriously, you knock one more quarter on the ground and you’ll understand the power of my fist,” Adam said, running a hand over his face.

He’d been at this for hours. Trying to map out a hundred vendor booths, a half dozen games, eating areas, and porta-potties in their small community park was harder than he’d originally thought. He had the basic layout from last year, but over the past week they’d grown their vendors by ten percent and added a food truck—which meant two more generators. The public bathrooms were closed for renovation, hence the porta-potties, and Harper had managed to convince some guy who owned a party games rental company to donate a few of the smaller casino games for the weekend—free of charge.

The woman was magic.

“Just because you’re not getting any doesn’t mean you get to hate on the rest of us,” Dax said from his desk a few feet away. He was flipping through a file, his boots kicked up on his desk. And he was grinning.

“Who says I’m not getting any?”

Jonah and Dax both burst out laughing. Flipping them the finger, Adam walked behind the counter to pick up the quarters.

“The way you were hobbling down Main Street was a pretty good indication,” Dax said, pushing farther back in his chair. “Your balls were so neglected they were singing the blues.”

Adam paused for a beat before setting “generator three” on the counter. “You might think spying is charming, since that’s how you managed to snag Emerson, but it’s not, man. It’s just creepy.”

“Call it what you want, but I’m not the one with the neglected nuts,” Dax said. “And I didn’t have to spy. My fiancée lives above the Boulder Holder. She’s also besties with your girlfriend.”

“More like sisters,” Adam mumbled, regretting the statement the moment it slipped out of his mouth, and Jonah and Dax exchanged a look.

And, yeah, Adam knew he sounded like an ass, but Harper sharing the details of last night with someone else, when he didn’t even understand what had happened, didn’t settle well.

To say he was thrown by how everything went down would be an understatement. The scene was set, the invitation extended and accepted. It was go time. And he’d gone home.

Alone.

Adam realized right then that it was a damn good call. From an early age, Harper had to create the family she was denied. Clovis stepped in for mother, the other biddies great-aunts. Emerson was her sister, and every guy she’d ever come across became a brother. Harper collected people to fill a need.

And Adam didn’t want to be another fucking brother figure in her life, just like he didn’t want to go home alone. But he sure as hell didn’t want to be one more disappointment.

He’d had plenty of practice at that, and she’d had enough of those.