Not bad. Not impressive to anyone but herself, but at least she was doing something.
She was on her third set when she saw Will come in.
Crap.
He hadn’t seen her, and he went right for the treadmill. She watched him as he stopped to greet a few people he knew, then he set his machine, plugged in his earbuds to listen to some music, and began to walk, slow at first as he warmed up, then faster, finally settling into a comfortable run.
Where she was clunky and out of shape on the machines, he seemed a part of his, running fluidly, his muscles hard with tension as he ran. She was so lost in watching his arms flex and the tightening of his calf muscles that she got lost and forgot she’d been hogging the chest press until an older man came up to her and asked her if he could work in with her.
“Oh. I’m so sorry. I’m finished here and guess I was daydreaming.”
She climbed off the machine and looked around, trying to figure out where she could hide so Will wouldn’t see her.
Or, she could be an adult and go talk to him instead of avoiding him like she’d been doing for the past two weeks.
She hovered around a couple machines, watching him while he finished his run. When he got off and swiped the sweat off his brow, heading for the water, she met him there. He looked surprised to see her.
“Jane.”
“Hi, Will. I don’t mean to disrupt your workout.”
“It’s okay. What are you doing here?”
She offered up a half smile. “Fumbling my way through a few of these machines.”
He glanced around the room. “Need some help?”
Leave it to him to give her an out. “That’d be great. Thanks.”
She told him what she’d already worked on. He took her past the machines and into the free weight room.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for these. The elliptical nearly killed me.”
“Yeah, I hate that damn thing. I avoid it.”
“That makes me feel better.”
“We’ll start with really light weights and you can do multiple reps. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
The way he said it, the way he looked at her, made warmth coil low in her belly. “Thanks.”
He walked her through a workout that made her feel good—made her feel strong. By the time she was finished, she felt like she’d worked every body part. And he lifted alongside her, with much heavier weights of course, so she got to see his muscles flex, which was a nice bonus.
“Do you need to go pick up the kids?” he asked as they left the weight room.
“No. Actually, they’re both spending the night elsewhere.”
“I see. So, you have a free night tonight.”
“Yes.”
“That’s nice.”
He wasn’t going to let her off the hook quite that easily. She was going to have to eat a little crow, which she deserved. “Will, would you like to go out with me tonight? If you don’t have anything else going on?”
His lips curved. “I’d like that.”
Her already shaky legs wobbled just a little more. “Great. I’m going to head home and take a shower.”
“I’ll pick you up in an hour. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
For the first time in a while, she felt relaxed. And eager. “Me, too.”
She dashed home and into the shower, then grabbed a pair of jeans and a silk T-shirt she was certain Chelsea would approve of. She slipped on a pair of fancy sandals, and was just putting the finishing touches on her hair when Will rang the doorbell.
She opened the door and inhaled his crisp, just-showered scent. “Hi.”
“Hi. You ready to go?”
“Definitely.”
“I thought we’d eat local tonight. There’s a new Italian restaurant that opened up here in Hope and I thought we’d give them some business.”
“I saw that sign go up last week. Sounds great.”
New business was always something exciting in Hope. The parking lot was full because, like them, folks in town tried to check out new restaurants. There was a line waiting for tables, and the owners were enthusiastic and welcoming. And oh, the place smelled fantastic, which was a very good sign. After about fifteen minutes they were seated at a charming table by a window.
One of her former students scurried over to take their order, another girl trailing behind her.
“Mrs. Kline,” she said. “How are you?”
The one thing about small towns was you couldn’t escape running into someone you knew. “Hi, Melanie. Nice to see you. Are you still on school break?”
Melanie gave Will the once-over, and then grinned. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be heading back to school in about a week, but since the Serranos are friends of my parents and their restaurant is new, I’m picking up a little extra money before I go by helping them train the new staff. This is Tina, by the way. She’s the trainee.”
Will and Jane both said hello to Tina. Jane didn’t recognize her, so she wasn’t in any of her math classes.
“That’s right,” Jane said to Melanie. “I remember you used to work at Bert’s when you were in high school.”
Melanie nodded. “And I waitress part time during the semester in college.”
“How’s it going at Oklahoma State?”
“Great. Still making A’s in all my math classes, thanks to you.”
“That’s good to hear. You always were one of my best math students. Have you decided on a major yet?”
“I’m in premed right now.”
She always knew Melanie would go far. “Excellent. Your parents must be so proud of you.”
Melanie beamed. “Thanks. What can I get for you two?”
“I’ll just have iced tea.”
“Same here,” Will said.
“I’ll be right back. Our special tonight is chicken parmesan. Gail and Orlando make the best. Trust me, you’ll love it.”
Melanie hurried off, and Will met her gaze. “A good student?”
“A great one,” she said. “If they were all like her, my job would be so easy.”
He laid his menu to the side. “Now what fun would it be if it were easy?”
She laughed. “Believe me, I’d love easy.”
“So would I.”
She closed her menu, too. “Did you have a challenging day?”