The Strawberry Hearts Diner(79)

“You better get Ryder to make you a list if that’s the rule. And you’d better make a list of your old boyfriends so he knows not to use those names,” Jancy said.

“You got a point. I hear a truck—Ryder and Shane are on their way. Why don’t we just let them sleep in our bedrooms tonight, Jancy? That way we won’t have to walk home tomorrow mornin’.”

“Short answer to that question is no,” Nettie said. “Long answer is hell, no.”

“Hi, darlin’,” Ryder said on his way from the truck to the porch. “We got busy today and didn’t get to come by the diner. Shane is pouting because he didn’t get a tart.”

“Yes, I am,” Shane agreed. “And since I didn’t, I thought w-we m-might walk down to Leonard’s place and get an ice cream. It won’t be as good as a tart, but it’ll have to do.”

Emily jumped up and looped her arm in Ryder’s. “Let’s go. I’m starving for a Fudgsicle. Let’s take our ice cream to the park and swing.”

“Us guys could push you girls on the m-merry-go-round,” Shane suggested.

“It’s been years since I’ve been on a merry-go-round. That sounds like fun,” Jancy agreed.

“You goin’ to be m-my girlfriend from now on?” Shane whispered as they fell in behind Ryder and Emily, who walked faster than they did.

“I thought I already had that title. After all, I’ve been spending nights in your bed,” she answered.

He stopped and kissed her right underneath a streetlamp. “You do, but I w-wanted to be sure that you knew that you had it.”

“I love being your girlfriend and yes, from now on.” She rolled up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.

“And you’ll stay in Pick?” he asked.

“Until the baby is born at the very least.” A picture of her getting into a used car and leaving Pick with Shane waving good-bye flashed through her mind, and her chest tightened. If she had that kind of pain at the thought, she’d never be able to drive away from him—not ever.

“That’s a start.” He took her hand in his and continued walking, keeping his steps short so that she didn’t have to do double time to keep up.

“Lookin’ back, I had a crush on you in high school, but I really fell for you when I saw you sittin’ over there on your things wh-when your car was burnin’ up. You were so beautiful and you . . .”

“I what?”

His stopped, and his eyes fluttered shut. Heavy lashes rested on his high cheekbones as his mouth zeroed in on hers. “You’ve always made me feel important, like I was somebody,” he whispered when the kiss ended.

“You are, Shane.”

“W-with you, I am,” he said.

“Hey, you two. Y’all goin’ to get ice cream with us or make out all evenin’?” Ryder yelled over his shoulder.

“Forget the ice cream if that’s our choices,” Shane hollered back.

“I want both. Get us three ice-cream bars, and we’ll meet y’all at the park.”

Shane sat down on a park table and pulled her down onto his lap. “All I got for us is a junkyard, Jancy, and I w-wouldn’t have got through high school if Ryder hadn’t helped me—a lot. I’m not smart.”

“You know everything about cars and how to fix them. You have a job and you are honest. That’s smart,” she argued. “And don’t you ever say bad things like that about Shane Adams again or you’ll have me to fight.”

“Exactly wh-what I was sayin’. You make me feel good about m-myself. That’s wh-wh-why I fell in love with you right over that burning car.” He grinned.

“Love,” Jancy stammered.

“Yes, love. I don’t expect you to say it right now, but I love you, Jancy Wilson. And like Gramps said, I am goin’ to m-marry you. It don’t m-matter when. That’s for you to decide. Just know that I am and that I do love you.”

She saw herself through his eyes, and she liked that woman. “I love you, too, but that marriage thing has to wait awhile,” she said.

His smile lit up the whole universe. “I’m patient. Besides, Emily and Ryder need to be the center of attention right now.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE


Jancy heaved a sigh of relief on Friday when the sun rose in a pale-blue sky without a single cloud floating around. The weatherman had said that that the weekend would be hot and dry, but he didn’t always call it right. Even with all the excitement of the past few days—and nights—of being with Shane, something wasn’t right. What went up had to come down, and all the euphoria surrounding Jancy couldn’t last forever without the other shoe dropping—life had taught her that.

Vicky had mentioned the bad-luck/good-luck stuff that occurred in her life during the summers. At first Jancy had thought that the bad-luck devil had visited when her car burned, but lately she’d come to realize that maybe it was that pretty good-luck lady who’d waved a magic wand over her life that day.

“The day after the wedding is going to be like the day after Christmas around here.” She pulled a basket of fries up out of the hot grease.

Nettie put a burger together and passed it over to Jancy to add fries to the basket. “No, you can get ready for a very busy week. We’ll be gettin’ last-minute things done to help Emily with the wedding and honeymoon packing right along with runnin’ this place. And believe me, the day after Christmas is one of our busiest days. Everyone is tired of cooking and they want to get out and talk to the folks about their holiday stuff, so they show up here. We’re always packed. And we will be the day after the wedding, so you are right, it will be exactly as crazy as the day after Christmas. If we had a lick of sense, we’d close for the day, but then where would the folks go?”