I messed things up,” I admitted before lowering my voice. “I just… I just don’t know if someone like Parrish Partridge can really want to be with someone like me.”
The slap to the back of my head came from Ginger. The otherwise sweet, unassuming woman glared at me. “Diesel, lemme ask you something,” she said in her Southern drawl. “Who changed Pastor Mitchell’s flat tire the night his niece went to the hospital for appendicitis?”
“I was already out that way. Anyone would have done the same.” I busied myself pulling out Marigold’s water cup, but she kept going.
“And who made a million mini quiches for the senior center when their kitchen went on the fritz in April?”
I shot her a warning look. “That was supposed to be anonymous. Besides, I had extra eggs that needed cooking.”
Maureen chimed in with a knowing smile. “And who donated a new washer and dryer set to the firehouse last year when theirs succumbed to the most ironic lint fire in history?”
“It was hardly new,” I corrected. “And, again, anonymous…”
Maureen laughed. “Hard to sneak two big metal machines into the firehouse without someone noticing. And anyway, those guys are the worst gossips in—”
Wade interrupted, wrinkling his nose in dismay. “And who always volunteers to change poopy swim diapers at the splash park?”
“Nice try,” I said.
Ava reached over to take my hand in hers. Her smooth, clear skin stood out in contrast against my ink. “Diesel, anyone with eyeballs can tell that sweet man is loopy for you. He’s also the kind of human who has a huge heart. Do you agree?”
I nodded automatically.
“Right,” she continued. “Does he seem like the kind of person who would reject someone over where they came from or how they live or what they look like or—”
“No!” I said harshly. “Never.”
She smiled knowingly, and I realized I’d been had. “What exactly do you think he wouldn’t approve of? The fact you run your own business? The way you love your niece more than anything? The little anonymous things you do to better your community?”
“Apparently there’s no such thing as anonymous in the Thicket,” I muttered.
Ginger laughed. “Your lips to God’s ears.”
Paul stepped over and grabbed Marigold from Ava’s lap so she could sit next to Beau and splash. I gave him a smile of thanks.
Ava pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “Maybe you should do something nice for him. Plan a surprise that will show him you’re sorry and you love him.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat that had formed the moment she mentioned the “L-word.”
My mind drew a blank. “Like what? Take him out to dinner or something?”
Maureen rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You’re more romantic and creative than that. Besides, any ole guy can wine and dine Parrish. What can you do that will really show him you know him better than anyone?”
I fidgeted. I didn’t know him better than anyone. How could I when we’d only known each other such a short time?
“What’s his secret pleasure?” Wade asked, settling back down after a trip to the restrooms nearby and placing his baby on the blanket in front of us. I watched her roll to her front and try and get up on her hands and knees.
Cora’s little butt was covered with a giant blue-and-yellow butterfly stitched into the cotton pants she wore.
Suddenly, I knew what to do. I looked up and grinned at everyone. “Thanks. That helps a ton.”
After we finished hanging out with everyone and eating the lunch we’d packed, I got home and put a happy but exhausted Mari down for a nap. Then I pulled out my phone and got to work.
I pulled up to the Partridge Pit the following day and grabbed Marigold from her car seat. I’d dressed her in the butterfly romper Parrish had given her in hopes of helping sell him on my idea. Even if he could resist my bumbling efforts, I hoped he wouldn’t be able to resist spending the day with her.
When I walked in, Gil Hammersmith was all up in Parrish’s business with a flirty smile and his hand on Parrish’s upper arm. Parrish’s ears were pink, and his hands fidgeted nervously with a tablet and stylus. Petty jealousy rolled through me with a spike of heat and adrenaline.
The restaurant looked almost finished, and I wondered how much longer the contractor would need to be on-site.
Before I had a chance to call out to Parrish, Marigold spotted him and let out