907 For Keeps Way (Cherry Falls)

My stomach twists again. “No, actually. I’m taking a client out as a part of their workout.”

“That’s smart.”

“It’s my way of showing someone that exercise doesn’t have to happen on a machine.” A slideshow of the faces Kaylee made when talking about working out runs through my mind. It makes me chuckle. “She seems to have a real aversion to exercise in the traditional sense, so I’m trying to show her that it can be fun and doesn’t have to happen on a treadmill.”

He grins, rubbing a tattooed hand down his bearded face. “Mother Nature gives the best workouts, man.”

“I agree. Let’s just hope Kaylee does too.”

Weston drops his hand. The grin he’s wearing stretches, pulling the corners of his mouth wide.

“What?” I ask.

“Kaylee Richards?” He says her name without hiding his surprise. “The Kaylee Richards?”

I grin. “If there are two of her …”

He laughs. “If there are two of her, I’ll take the other for a workout.” He whistles through his teeth. “How did ya score that?”

Good question.

I don’t fucking know.

The rational, logical side of me understands that I own the only fitness center in Cherry Falls. If Kaylee wants to join a gym, it’s a no-brainer. But the wishful, hopeful side of me wants to think that maybe Kaylee walking in the front doors at a time that I was walking toward her means … something else.

Something I’m not sure of and don’t want to jinx by thinking about it. It doesn’t even shock me how Weston sees Kaylee. She is … indefinable.

“If she wasn’t such a Goody Two-shoes, I’d have tried my hand at that,” Weston says. “Especially after her dickhead husband ran her around like he did.”

“I heard about that.”

He scoffs. “Never liked Derrick. Tried to get him to fight me more than once.”

Nothing about this surprises me, so all I do is laugh.

“Little shithead wouldn’t take the bait, though,” Weston laments. “At least he’s out of Cherry Falls and Kaylee can move on.” He plants his hands on the counter and looks me up and down. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You interested in that?” He smirks. “I mean, clearly you are because you’re not blind.”

I run my hands down my shorts. “I don’t know her all that well, really.”

“What’s to know?” He shrugs. “She’s hot as sin. Also cute. Weird juxtaposition but it works. She’s got a great business. She’s a good mom. I don’t really know what you need to know, man.”

I know, I know. Save yourself the trouble.

“I just … I don’t think she’s a woman who you can just assume will be into you,” I say. “Like you said, she’s smart and gorgeous. She could literally have any man she wants.”

“And you don’t find it funny that she walked into your gym?”

“What were her options, exactly?”

He chuckles. “Dude, don’t be dumb. You know every woman in this fucking town wants you. Hell, I know it, and I try to avoid knowing it. Hurts the ego a little.”

I roll my eyes, but it’s true. Maybe not every woman in Cherry Falls, but the awkward come-ons are the main reason I stopped doing a lot of personal training. Someone can only fake not knowing how to operate a piece of equipment so many times in order to get you to stand behind them and guide them through the motions.

“Real talk—I don’t think she came in to see me,” I say, ignoring the look on his face. “But, would I like to take her out to dinner or something? Of course.”

Weston considers this. “I’ve known Kaylee her whole life. She’s a good girl. The two of you would be a solid match.”

I laugh, shifting my weight from foot to foot.

Out of all of the women in Cherry Falls—Kissme Bay, and every other place that I’ve ever been—Kaylee is the only woman who I’ve felt a certain way about. I’m not sure if it’s how sweet she is or the classy way she operates her life or any of the other hundred things I admire about her, but I would consider ending my bachelorhood for her. That’s if she’d have me.

I bend down and pet Maker again.

“Did you turn this place into a matchmaking service? Should I call Jett?” I ask.

“Hell, my brother would probably agree with me. He’d make a play for her being that he’s a hopeless romantic except for the fact that they got into an argument in sixth grade, and there’s a little unspoken grudge between them now.”

Is he serious? I have no idea.

“All right. Let’s get you a kayak,” he says. “But I’m upgrading you to the red one just in case it gives off a more romantic vibe.”

“It’s a workout, Weston.”

He winks over his shoulder. “Sure it is. Now pull your truck to the back and I’ll get you loaded.”

“Do I pay when I return it, or what?”