The Trouble With Valentine's Day

'Oh, I don't know.' Kate's mind raced to think up an excuse. 'I think I'll be too busy getting bread ready for the next day,' was the best she could do.

'Too bad. You'll miss my new and revised poem about Snickers.'

Kate smiled. 'Yeah, that is too bad.'

Ada put her change away and picked up her bread. 'Well, I'll tell ya what. I'll bring over a copy tomorrow afternoon, special for you, so you can read and enjoy it.'

'Really?' Kate forced her smile to stay in place. 'That would be great.'

After Ada left, Kate restocked the 'ethnic food' aisle, which consisted of refried beans, salsa, and canned chilies. At noon, Stanley arrived, as he'd said he would. His smile curved up the corners of his mustache, and he hummed what sounded like the William Tell Overture all day. Not 'What's New Pussy Cat' or 'Delilah,' but classical music like Grace listened to.

He had it bad.

At three, Rob called with a delivery for across the parking lot. Kate didn't balk at his laziness this time since she figured he probably wanted to talk over the latest news with her.

As Kate left the grocery store, dull gray clouds hung over the wilderness area, threatening rain. A strong breeze played with the ties that closed her cuffs and secured the front of her cream-colored blouse. She wore a peach flared skirt and cream pumps with ankle straps. Wind whipped her hair as she glanced in the bag and smiled. Four granola bars and a bottle of passion fruit juice. Some people were so predictable.

Inside Sutter Sports, a man and his son looked at a row of mountain bikes while a woman leaned her elbows on the checkout counter. She'd squeezed herself into a tight pair of Wranglers, and her behind was pointed at Kate. Rob stood on the other side of the counter, chatting and tapping a pen on the cash register. He wore a dark green polo with the store's fish logo on the breast pocket, and when he looked up, a smile curved his lips.

'Babe,' he said, 'I'm so glad you finally got here.'

Babe? Either he was really, really hungry, or he was talking to someone else. Kate glanced over her shoulder as she walked toward him. There was no one behind her, and she turned back as Rob came out from behind the counter and moved to her. She was about to ask him if he'd been eating paint chips when he stunned her even more. He wrapped her in a big hug that lifted the heels of her shoes off the floor. The scent of his sandalwood soap filled her lungs and her stomach got a little light, like she'd swallowed some air.

'Pretend to be my girlfriend,' he said next to her ear.

Kate glanced behind him as Dixie Howe straightened and turned around. She'd somehow managed to squeeze her breasts into a little midriff top that was more suited for the beach than an overcast day in April. More suited for someone half her age, too.

'What's it worth?'

'I'll give you ten bucks.'

'Forget it.'

'I'll tell everyone I know that your jalapeno jelly is great and to scoot on over to the M &S and pick up a jar before it's all gone.'

She smiled and leaned back far enough to look into those eyes of his surrounded by thick, dark lashes. She placed her free hand on the side of his smooth face and planted a loud kiss on his mouth. His soul patch scratched her chin, and she pulled back and smiled. 'Is it me you're glad to see or my granola bars?'

He laughed and set her back on her heels. 'Both.' One of his hands slid down her spine and rested on the curve of her behind. She gave him a hard look, and he gave her a heart-stopping grin in return. 'I'm sure you've met Dixie,' he said and turned to face the other woman. He did not, however, remove his hand.

'Yes,' Kate answered. 'Dixie comes into the M &S. How are you?'

'I'm good.' Dixie looked Kate over and shrugged, as if she didn't see the attraction. 'Well, I'm going to head out, Rob. If you change your mind, you let me know.'

'See ya.'

'Change your mind about what?' Kate asked in a hushed voice as soon as the front doors shut behind Dixie.

He glanced at the man and his son looking at bikes, then slid his hand from her behind to her waist. Once again he pulled her close. His Fu Manchu tickled her temple when he spoke close to her ear. 'Her version of the sexual pretzel.'

'And you're not interested?'

'No. She's… too available to everyone in town.'

'And she has those scary fake boobs.'

There was a long, silent pause before he said, 'Yeah, that, too.' He dropped his hand and took the grocery bag from her. 'Passion fruit. I thought I told Stanley kiwi.' He shrugged. 'Want some?'

'No. It's too sweet. I have to be in the right mood for passion fruit.'

'That's the difference between men and women. Women have to be in the right mood. Men are always in the mood for a little passion fruit.'

'Women need a reason. Men just need a place?'

He popped the top. 'You know it, babe.'

'Dixie's gone. You can stop calling me babe.' He just gave her another grin and turned toward the man and his son. 'That Heckler is a nice bike,' he said and moved toward them. He took a drink of his passion fruit. 'Lightweight and can take a lot of punishment.'

'A thousand dollars is a little steep,' the father said with a shake of his head.

'How much do you want to spend?'

' I can't afford anything more than three hundred.'

'I just got in a Mongoose for two-fifty-nine.' Rob pointed toward the back with his bottle. 'I'll show it to you.' The three of them moved past the helmets, and he looked at Kate across his shoulder. 'Can you stick around? I need to talk to you.'

Since she was curious and wanted to know what he thought of his mother's impending wedding, she decided she could 'stick around' for a few minutes. 'Sure.' While she waited, she cruised the store, looking at everything from one-man tents to fly-tying equipment. In one aisle, she pulled on some fingerless gloves and looked at Road Dog headbands and bandanas. She took off the gloves and moved to the checkout counter, where she tried on Oakley sunglasses.

As she tried on her third pair, Rob walked from the back room beside the little boy and his dad. 'I can have that ready for you tomorrow,' he said. By the front door, the two men shook hands, and Kate turned her attention to a small mirror on the sunglasses case. She turned her head from one side to the other and couldn't determine if she looked good or like a bug.

'Do you want to learn to fly-fish?' Rob asked as he moved across the wooden floor toward her.

She glanced over at him through a pair of blue-and-red iridium lenses, and the hundred-and-fifty-dollar price tag hung from the bridge of the sunglasses and jabbed her nose. His mother was marrying her grandfather, and that's what he wanted to talk about? 'Today?' She took off the Oakleys and put them back in the case. Surely he'd heard the news by now. If he hadn't, it wasn't her place to tell him. It was his mother's.

'Sunday.' He set his empty bottle next to her. 'Both stores will be closed on Sunday. I'll bet you look hot in hip waders.'

She lifted a brow. 'Hot?'

He chose a pair of tortoise-framed Brinkos from the case, and the tips of his fingers brushed the sides of her face as he slowly placed them on the bridge of her nose. 'Sexy.'

Kate looked at him through gold lenses, and her voice took on that embarrassing breathy quality that his nearness sometimes brought on. 'I'd look ridiculous.'

'Will you go with me?'

She shook her head. 'If I want fish, I'll just walk to the meat cooler at the M &S.'

'It's catch and release.' He took the glasses from her face and looked away long enough to place them back in the case. 'I'll pick you up at six.'

'In the evening?'

'In the morning.'

'That's my only day to sleep in.'