Life Rewired (Aspen Friends, Book 3) (26 page)

“How-dee, Cowboy.” Dwight joined me as the guy retreated to the back room with my list. “Maybe this place isn’t so bad.” He looked around and spotted Molly pulling shirts from a rack and holding them to her chest. “Oh, no. No!”

She grinned and slipped into the dressing room before he could reach her.

“Is something wrong?” The cowboy was back with a stack of boot boxes in his arms.

Dwight’s attention split between him and the atrocity Molly was trying on. “Not anymore. How are you this fine day?”

I thought the cowboy would give him a suspicious look and step back when he figured out that Dwight was flirting, but instead, he just smiled. “Doing well, thanks. How about you? Something I can help you find?”

“I’m just here for support.” Dwight gestured to me then glared over at the dressing room. He noticed the numerous boxes of shoes the man had put down and looked back at me. “Didn’t know you loved shoes so much.”

“I don’t. The guys on the crew asked me to pick up new boots for them while I was here.”

He looked surprised. “You’re too nice to them, Falyn.”

“I was already going to be here, and Nat let me off early with her truck so we could fit in your armoire and Viv’s chairs. Remember?”

“Yeah.” He rolled his eyes at the cowboy and got a lingering smile in response.

“What do you think?” Molly stepped out of the dressing room in a red, black, silver, brown, and green patterned sleeveless western shirt with shiny chrome buttons. Gold piping darted everywhere. Other than the wonderful flash of her amazing arms, it was probably the most hideous shirt she could find.

“Lord, help me now.” Dwight pushed a hand through his cropped brown hair in exasperation.

Molly came toward us to model off the shirt. “Looks hot, right?”

Even the cowboy, whose only job it was to sell these kinds of things, couldn’t help but join in our amusement at how awful the shirt looked. “Perhaps another color.”

“Another color won’t make him this uptight,” Molly declared.

“Ha!” Dwight exclaimed.

“Help me decide between these three styles, Dwight,” I encouraged him to look at the boots the cowboy had unpacked before he could go into Round Twenty with Molly.

“Those, definitely those,” Dwight said with one glance, pointing to the six inch brown pair with a steel toe and good electrical rating. “And tell Luis that they didn’t have these in his size.” He held up the standard tan work boot that Luis preferred. He pointed to the black steel toe that Tyler liked. “Would you grab those in his size?” He looked at the cowboy.

“Dwight, he specifically asked for the tan ones,” I protested.

“He’ll thank me later. Those others are more comfortable anyway. He’s just being stubborn.” Since they were cheaper and he had mentioned he liked Tyler’s boots once, I figured I’d let Dwight take the blame if he got angry.

Molly came over as the cowboy went to get the other boots. “Beefy Cowboy’s checking you out, D.”

He smiled and gave her a fist bump. I thought I’d seen the look, but I was a little out of practice. These two probably spent many hours in bars together and knew what to look for. “He’ll be mine before we leave this place.”

Yep, these two were definitely friends.

“You need workpants, too, Falyn?” she asked as she headed back toward the dressing room to change out of the shirt. “I’ll check the racks for you.”

My heart warmed. She was so attentive, even when we’d just been friends. It was such a change from my other relationships. I was always the attentive one. To have that for myself was pretty incredible. And to have it appreciated so much by her was prize worthy.

“I’m happy for you,” Dwight said in a low voice, squeezing an arm around my waist. He tipped his head at the dressing room. “Happy for her, too. She’s needed someone like you, and the stubborn numbskull couldn’t see it.”

I should probably have some witty retort for him since that was how he and Molly communicated, but I couldn’t come up with anything other than honesty. “Thanks. I’ve needed the same and was just as unconvinced about it.”

“Lesbians,” he sighed and shook his head but perked up immediately as Cowboy came back with the other boots for Luis. “Those will be perfect. Now, we’ve got to put her in workpants that don’t look like they were made for a man. Help me save her style, will you?”

The cowboy laughed with me as they went to the women’s section, leaving me to try on the boots that Dwight liked best. My foot slipped into one and felt like it was being massaged. Okay, maybe not massaged but so much better than the cheap boots I’d been wearing all summer. That I could afford them now and had a reason to get them tightened my throat.

Molly appeared beside me and sat down, bringing a hand up to rub my back. She smiled sweetly at me as if she could read my mind. She probably knew how much being able to buy boots for a job I loved at a place forty miles from home meant to me. Four months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to afford them, let alone be allowed to leave the area to make this trip.

“They look good. Feel good?”

I nodded, still a little choked up that this was my life now. Great job, good friends, and amazing girlfriend.

“I’m glad we did this, even if we had to bring Dwight along.” She gave me a squeeze. “Happy?”

I glanced over at her. My heart swelled. “Happy.”

“Me, too.” She leaned in for a swift peck that had both a calming and sexy effect.

“I leave you two for a second,” Dwight interrupted with a mock sigh. Several pairs of pants draped over his arm on hangers. “Try these.”

I shared a look with Molly before following his order. Unlike her, I found it was best just to follow his suggestions rather than fight him every second. Molly rather enjoyed the arguing, which was funny because she didn’t argue with Vivian or me at all. She must expend it all on Dwight.

“That furniture place closes in an hour, Dwight. Don’t make her try on every pair in the store.”

He checked his watch as I slipped out of the boots and grabbed the hangers he was holding. “We’ll make it. They like me there. They won’t mind waiting an extra few minutes for us.”

After trying on the pants both Dwight and the cowboy had picked out, I chose enough to make it a full week without having to do laundry. At the register, the price for my stuff would have alarmed me just months ago. Before I went to prison, I would have handed over a credit card without even checking the receipt. I wasn’t at that stage yet, and planned never to be there again, but I was happy that I could fork over the cash without having a seizure.

Outside, Molly and I piled the bags into Natalie’s locking toolbox in the bed of her truck as Dwight ran into the coffee shop next door to get us some beverages for the rest of our trip. We were just about to get into the truck when a familiar voice stopped us.

 “Look who it is!”

We twirled to see Joanna and Brandy getting out of a car. Molly groaned beside me. Dwight came out of the coffee shop with a panicked look when he spotted them, afraid we wouldn’t make it to the furniture store in time.

“What a small world,” Brandy exclaimed, coming closer. “We were just on our way back for a long weekend and here we run into you so far from home. Are you world travelers now?”

“Hey, guys.” Molly received hugs from both.

They did the same to me and Dwight before focusing on me. “We were going to call you, sexy thing. Spend Saturday night with us. We’ll hit a bar or two and have some fun.”

My eyebrows rose. It wasn’t a blatant come on, but still. “I’m busy.” I stepped closer to Molly.

“But we’re only here till Sunday. Don’t make us wait till the slopes open,” Joanna ordered.

I shook my head with conviction. “I’m busy for the winter, too.” This time I slid my arm around Molly’s waist.

She grinned and slipped an arm around me. She looked pretty proud, and it felt wonderful. Especially when their jaws dropped.

“You two?”

“Yep,” Molly stated. What I liked best was that she didn’t feel the need to make the point further. No extra squeeze, no kiss on the head, no slipping around me to make out in front of them.

“You said to give her space. Look what space did,’” Brandy accused Joanna.

“Don’t blame me,” Joanna cried.

Dwight sighed loudly and tapped his watch. “Great support, ladies. Why don’t we take this up another time?” He opened the back door of the truck, prompting Molly to leave my side and head to the passenger door.

“Who would have known?” Brandy asked Joanna but looked at me as if I’d explain.

I didn’t need to explain. Molly turned out to be the best type of woman for me, and I wasn’t about to question it. I shrugged, waved goodbye, and got into the truck with my ideal girlfriend and her bickering friend. We had an armoire to rescue.

Ramón and I moved the sofa two inches back per Vivian’s instructions. Installation day at her house and it was the first time she hesitated on any decision. We’d repositioned the couch three times now.

She looked at the couch and over to the fireplace and back at our position. “Good. Curtis, move to your left.”

I turned to see Curtis heft one of the beautiful chairs Vivian had chosen for the great room. Luis followed his move with another chair. Miguel and Cole were maneuvering a mattress up the staircase for the guestroom. Natalie and Tyler were right behind them with the tempered glass tabletop for Vivian’s studio worktable.

The huge smiles Vivian and Natalie wore were the best part of the day. Miguel and Luis warned me that install day was the only time we’d see Vivian’s temper flare onsite. They laughed about it, having endured what they’d described as a bipolar boss for years before joining Natalie’s company. Vivian’s temper was like a pillow fight compared to an MMA match, they said. No one’s temper had shown yet today.

I followed Ramón out to the furniture truck. There wasn’t a lot left to bring in. Mostly it would be arranging to make sure everything was placed where Vivian envisioned. In a few hours, what she’d been calling her dream home would be put together. I could feel the excitement rolling off her in waves.

“Are you coming to the housewarming party on Saturday night?” Ramón asked.

I grabbed the other end of a custom ottoman as he started backing out of the truck. “Planned on it.”

“Bringing a date?”

I chuckled. The guys on the crew liked ribbing each other about their dates. Only Miguel and Owen were married. They’d been guessing about my status for weeks. Even Cole and Curtis weren’t quite sure what was going on with Molly since we stayed over at her place a couple nights a week and didn’t show a lot of affection in front of them. Not because we were embarrassed but because neither of us was a big displayer of affection. Yet another perk of dating someone like me instead of the usual femme, lovey-dovey type.

“My date’s already invited.”

“Oh, really?” He grinned as he set the ottoman down, looking over at Vivian for her nod. “Do we know her?”

“You’ll see her on Saturday.”

“C’mon, Fos, give me a hint. More importantly, does she have a hot friend that she can set me up with?”

I laughed. Molly did have quite a few friends. “Can’t get a date?”

“Everyone else is bringing someone.” He glanced over at Vivian. “You’re inviting single
chicas
to your party, right?”

She motioned with her hand for us to move the ottoman back a little. “You’ll be happy, Ramón.”