Page 6 of Choosing You

Frowning, MacKenzie turned back to her computer and began scrolling and typing for a solid minute before she looked back at him. “Done. It will be here sometime before noon tomorrow. Do you want me to call Cheryl and let her know?”

Smiling, he nodded. “That would be great. Thanks, Mac!” He went to walk away when she called his name. “What’s up?”

Now she was grinning and looking a bit more relaxed. “Devin told me about the new festival and your quest to finally find this elusive redheaded kisser.” Her smile grew. “Have you thought of having an artist draw a rendering of her and placing posters all over the festival?”

She was teasing, and Will didn’t take any offense at it. “Nah, seems like too much trouble. I’m just going to make sure there are always two of us on duty at the booth.”

Chuckling, MacKenzie shook her head and straightened. “Since it’s only a one-day festival, I’m sure you can find enough volunteers for that, but you may need to enlist the help of a personal trainer.”

“Um…a personal trainer?”

She nodded.

“I’m sure I’m going to regret asking this, but…why?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way…”

“But…?”

“But you’re like a bull in a china shop, Will. You just run blindly! And every time you do this, you cause damage. You need to hone your skills.” Pausing, she studied him. “You know how in football, a running back’s job is to like…get the ball and then run through all the opposing team’s players?”

“Obviously. You know I’m a huge football fan.”

She just gave him a patient look before going on. “Then imagine that the redhead is the quarterback and the kiss is the football. You get it, and then you are going to have to run through the crowd to catch this girl.”

For a moment, Will just stared at her. “That’s not…completely accurate. And I thought you hated football?”

“Not the point, Will!”

“Okay, but in your scenario, she’s the quarterback who throws me the ball, and then I chase the quarterback. That makes no sense. It would be…”

“Oh my God!” And yeah, she was frustrated. Laughing, but frustrated. “Why are you like this?”

“I’m just trying to understand your logic, Mac!” he replied, turning on the charm. “I appreciate you trying to put it all in a language I would understand, but…I’m still lost.”

“The point I’m trying to make is that you run wild. You need a little more finesse. Maybe talk to someone who can train you on running obstacle courses so you can practice not running into things. I think I speak for the entire town when I say we’d all appreciate it.”

Laughing heartily, he shook his head. “That’s hysterical! You want me to run an obstacle course?” More laughing. “Mac, I adore you, but that’s just crazy!”

“No, what’s crazy is you ruining another festival because you’re a big, clumsy oaf!”

That sobered him. “Hey, there’s no need for name-calling.”

“And there’s no need for you to make a fool out of yourself chasing after a ghost and knocking over everything in your path.” Reaching out, she touched his arm. “You’re a great guy, Will. And you know everyone in town loves you.”

Dammit. “But…?” he asked wearily.

“They’re talking about putting a lock on the booth so you don’t plow through yet another festival.”

“I hate that Devin told you about all that.”

“Oh, it wasn’t just Devin,” she explained. “Jade told me, Billie told me, all the guys here in the garage told me, Mrs. Baker at the post office…”

“Okay, okay, okay,” he huffed. “I get it. People in this town like to gossip. Sheesh.”

Only now he felt foolish.

Or…more foolish than he already did from all his past failures.

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