Page 16 of Knot Yours

Placing my hand over his on the cool dirt, I add, “Thank you for showing me. What’s next?”

Austin looks down at our hands. He surprises me by turning his over and tangling his fingers with mine. “Now, we let it grow.”

“It?” I ask with a smile, hoping I’m not misinterpreting his double meaning.

I don’t get an answer. Pushing off the ground, Austin pulls me up with him. He brushes something off my cheek and leans in. “You’re so young and too good for me.”

“That’s not for you to decide,” I whisper.

Austin draws closer still, and my eyes drift shut. He moves so slowly that I nearly groan in impatience, and just as I feel the heat radiating from his lips, Piper begins barking from the backyard.

Austin jerks away, and I nearly stomp my foot. A red Mercedes rolls down the street, not in a hurry to go anywhere. The car holds Austin’s attention, but he doesn’t comment.

The mild chaos of the interruption soon ends, but the spell is broken. It appears I won’t be tasting Austin’s lips in my immediate future.

“I guess Piper is ready for dinner?”

Austin scans the area and answers absently, “Yeah, I guess so.”

He steps back and releases my hand. “I should take care of her and clean up this mess.”

I look around, realizing the landscaping is finished. I only came in on the back end of things. “It doesn’t look like I did much to help.”

Austin winks. “There’s always the mulch.”

Austin

Marisol rolls her eyes but smiles. “I’m game.”

“I’ll have to unload it first.”

The barking begins again, and I step toward the front door. “And that will have to wait until I feed Piper.”

Marisol’s hopeful voice stops me before I open the door. “I have an idea. I’ll order a simple dinner to save either of us the trouble of cooking. Then we can work until the food arrives.”

I reach around for my wallet, but Marisol stops me. “Please. You bought me flowers. Let me get dinner. Now, what do you like?”

“I’ll eat anything,” I answer honestly.

Marisol grins, and the sight hits like a punch to the gut. “Be careful. Us Puerto Ricans like things spicy.”

I nearly swallow my tongue at the sultry look on her face. “I can handle it,” I answer, suddenly hoarse.

Marisol dusts off her hands and traipses past me into her half of the duplex, leaving me staring at her closed door and shaking my head. I slip inside the empty unit and open the back door for Piper. She attacks the food bowl when I set it out, and I leave her to clean up the gardening mess outside.

I gather the plastic containers and empty potting soil bags, stuffing them into the trash bin. I’ve just set the first mulch bag on my shoulder when I hear a knock. Marisol waits by the B unit door, so I call, “Over here!”

She tiptoes through the grass, moving as gracefully as a forest nymph. Her cute little toes are painted light blue, and her five nine height means her toned tan legs go on forever. I throw a second bag on my shoulders, feeling the need to show off for the younger woman.

“Whoa, Superman. Don’t overdo it,” she chides with a giggle.

Her eyes sparkle when I only grin in answer, and Marisol reaches for a bag herself. “Mierda. That’s heavy.”

I enjoy her Spanish cursing more than I should. After two more trips, all the mulch has been unloaded, and Marisol drops like a sack of potatoes onto the front steps. “I am a wimp and horribly out of shape.” Pointing to me, she huffs, “You’re not even winded.”

“Be careful,” I warn, feeling playful. “Us war horses have stamina for days.”

Marisol has the look of someone in danger of swallowing their tongue. Two can play at that game, sweetheart. While she’s speechless, I open my mouth to tell her just what I think about her shape when an electric car pulls up to the curb. A pimply-faced kid wearing a red DD cap jumps out of the car and hands Marisol a bag of food. The boy’s face turns red as his cap when she smiles and thanks him.

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