Jack glanced at where Taylor sat on the golf cart. Strands of her hair had worked loose from her braid and flew about in the wind. A folded bandana covered the lower part of her face to save her from breathing in the dust kicked up from the golf cart. Dark glasses shielded her eyes from the bright sun. She wore the “Medical Staff” T-shirt she’d been given that morning and loose cuffed khaki shorts. A shiny sheen of sweat coated her skin, as did a layer of dust.
“So many jokes I could make,” he teased, thinking she looked beautiful, if a bit tired. No wonder. The medical tent had been hell today. A total nightmare. Thank God it had calmed down about an hour prior to the end of their shift.
Taylor rolled her eyes. “You could, but should you?”
“Which is why I’ll keep my farm jokes to myself.”
“I appreciate that.”
“You don’t think you’d appreciate my farm humor?”
“Who knows? Maybe I would have even if they were baa-d.”
He laughed at her play on farm humor.
“Either way, even if I have to wait in line hours to get a shower, I am taking one.”
“Agreed.” He was hot and sweaty himself. And somewhere between emotionally exhausted and exhilarated.
Today had been rough for more reasons than one. Which was why he normally didn’t let the memory of Courtney into his head, ever.
Not that she was ever far away, it was just that he didn’t consciously let thoughts of her take hold. Not like he had today.
* * *
“Wow. Don’t you look as pretty as a Georgia peach?”
“Thank you.” Taylor fought not to blush at Duffy’s compliment. She wore a loose tie-dye sundress that tied around her neck and a pair of crisscrossed lace-up-her-legs sandals that she’d bought just for the weekend. For convenience’s sake, she pulled her hair back up into its braid. Plus, her hair off her neck would be much cooler in the Tennessee heat. Because she was spending the evening with Jack, she’d brushed on a light coat of mascara and glossed her lips.
He didn’t say anything, but his eyes told her he appreciated her efforts.
“You sure you aren’t up for a festival fling?” Robert asked, his tone light, teasing. “A few whispered sweet nothings and you could steal me away from Amber.”
“Yeah, yeah. You say that but I saw how you were following her around like a besotted puppy earlier today,” Taylor teased back, not feeling threatened by Robert in the slightest. Not after how she’d seen how kind he was during patient care. The man had a big heart.
Robert looked sheepish at her claim. “She is a pretty little thing, isn’t she?”
Taylor agreed. She’d met Amber earlier in the day. The woman was a tiny powerhouse of a nurse with bright eyes and a brighter smile.
Taylor’s gaze shifted back to Jack, who was watching her with those ethereal blue eyes. Despite the stressful day they’d had in the medical tent, he looked completely relaxed. He, Duffy, Robert, and a few others were sitting around. Jack’s guitar was propped beside his chair so they’d probably been playing but were just chatting now.
While she put away her toiletries, Jack moved her chair for her to join them. The guys sat talking about past music festival adventures, trying to impress Taylor by upping each tale told. At one point her belly hurt from laughing so hard.
“The first gig I want to see starts at seven. You game still?” Jack asked, standing to put his guitar back in a beat-up case, then putting it in the passenger seat of his Jeep.
“I am,” she agreed, conscious that the others were watching them. Ha. She imagined in this environment it wasn’t difficult to pick up on romantic happenings during the festival.
Grabbing her sunglasses, a loose bag to toss over a shoulder, and a straw hat, she joined him and they headed into the main event area to find a spot as close to the stage as they could get and still spread their blanket.
“I’m surprised we haven’t seen any injuries from people getting stepped on,” she teased as they spread their blanket. Even though there was still a good forty-five minutes before show time, a crowd was already gathering.
He laughed. “You’re right, but I don’t recall having seen anyone with that particular complaint.”
Once their blanket was spread, Jack offered to go and grab pizza and beer.
Taylor lay back, covered her face with her straw hat, and soaked up the late evening sunshine. It was hot, but not unbearably so. She must have dozed off because the next thing she knew Jack was back.
They ate, chatted, and Jack asked how she and Amy had become friends. By the time the show started, they were surrounded by festival goers.