“So what was your infraction?”
“I was passing a note to Bobby Riker. It wasn’t even my note. It was that bossy Camille’s note. I was too scared to say no to her.”
Hunt tossed his head back and laughed. “I’d forgotten all about her. She was something, wasn’t she?”
“I think she had it out for me. She was horrible to me all the way through high school. Not sure what I ever did to her except take her punishment for passing a note in grade school.” Keely grinned.
“Wonder what ever happened to Princess Camille.”
“I heard she moved to Mobile. I see her every once in a while in town. Visiting her mother, I guess.”
“Does she still strike fear in your heart when you see her?” Hunt cocked an eyebrow.
“Would I admit that I crossed the street to the other side last time I saw her walking down the Main Street? Nope, I’d never admit that.”
“Well, if we ever run into her, I promise to protect you.” Hunt winked.
“Mighty nice of you, kind sir.” Keely had forgotten how much fun she’d had joking around with Hunt when they were growing up. She’d better keep on her toes, she was so out of practice joking with someone that it had taken her a while to figure out he was teasing her.
Hunt took off the tool belt and set it on the ground. “I’ll just pop in the restroom and clean up a bit.”
Keely stood sideways in the doorway to let him pass and watched him walk over to the restroom. She kind of missed seeing the sexy tool belt slung low on his hips…
~ * ~
Hunt splashed water on his face and scrubbed up to his elbows. He snatched a paper towel from the dispenser and dried off as best he could. Hunger rumbled through him and he was glad Keely had suggested lunch. Sometimes when he got deep into a project he forgot to eat until he became a cranky bear. He was pretty sure Keely didn’t want to see the cranky bear side of him.
He brushed some dirt off the leg of his jean. That’s as good as it was going to get. He went out into the cafe and looked for Keely. She sat perched at the counter, sipping a glass of tea, waiting for him. With a few strides he crossed over and slipped onto the stool next to her.
“Starving.” He reached for a menu. Not that he really needed it. Not much had changed since he’d been coming here as a boy.
“What do you want? I’ll turn in our order.”
He set the menu down. “I’ll have a burger, fries, vanilla shake.”
“We have fresh peach pie.”
“And a piece of pie. With ice cream.”
“Thought so.” She got up from the stool, walked back to the kitchen, then came back out and busied herself making his shake. He watched while she added the ice cream to a large silver shaker and placed the container beneath the shake machine. She poured the shake into a large glass, squirted some whipped cream on it, then plopped a cherry on top of that.
“Here you go.” She placed the drink in front of him along with a long handled spoon.
He took a sip. Just as good as he remembered. “That’s great.”
Keely crossed around the counter and perched on the stool next to him again. They sat in silence for a bit. He wondered what she was thinking as she stared off into space.
“Penny for your thoughts?” He set down his glass.
“What? Oh, I was thinking about all the changes here. Mom is barely speaking to me, she thinks everything is my fault. Katherine is taking on too much at once and I’m worried about her. Watching Natalie’s boys, trying to learn the books here, and now working on Summerfest.”
“She seems pretty happy doing all that. Maybe she wanted to take on more responsibility and not feel like she wasn’t contributing.”
Keely chewed her bottom lip. It mesmerized him. No, it didn’t. He looked up to her eyes, instead. And that didn’t help. Not one bit. He started to figure out just which shade of brown he’d call her eyes. Brown eyes didn’t do them justice. They were tinted with honey highlights.
“What are you staring at?” Keely interrupted his thoughts.
He figured he wouldn’t tell her about the mesmerizing lips, but would go with her eyes. “Sorry. Hazard of being a photographer. I’m always looking either at the light or colors. I was trying to come up with a good description of your eye color.”
“Normal people would call them brown.”
“So, you’re saying I’m not normal?”
“Well, what did you come up with?”
“Whiskey colored,” he said sheepishly.
“Ah. Well, that’s the first time they’ve been called that.”
Hunt picked up the shake and had another long sip of it, the cool glass soothing his chattering nerves. What is up with all this staring at Keely? They’d been friends forever. He snuck another sideways look at her while she drank her tea. She was good looking. She’d grown from tomboy, to gawky teen, to this accomplished-if-serious woman.