“I’m not,” he answered, but in the course of a few minutes, his day had changed from carefree and happy to gloomy. Then, as if the universe understood the way he felt, a strong southern wind whipped at the awning. Storm clouds gathered on the far horizon, and a few streaks of lightning zigzagged through the sky.

“Looks like we’ve got about another hour,” Harry said. “Unless that storm circles around us, but it sure looks like it’s making a beeline for us.”

Dixie groaned. “I wanted to stay here until night and catch fireflies up on the bank.”

“I even brought a quilt so y’all could sit on it while we caught them,” Tabby said. “We can’t even get back in the water to swim if it’s lightning, can we, Daddy?”

“Rules are rules. I’ll call up the weather on my phone.” He held up his hand and crossed his fingers before he started scrolling through the icons for the weather. “Sorry, girls. According to this, we should start carrying things back to the truck soon as we eat. It says that it’s going to hit in an hour. Strong winds, maybe even some hail. Y’all finish up your food, and I’ll get the boat headed back to the slip.”

The wind had picked up and thunder rolled by the time Alice and Graham got the boat tied off and things gathered up. A loud crack above their heads had him ducking as they all helped take coolers and food back to the truck. Dixie squealed and Tabby took off in a run with her load.

The temperature dropped at least fifteen degrees as Graham walked with Mitzi to her van. Everyone else was loaded up and ready to go when he bent slightly and asked, “Would you go out to dinner and a movie with me on Friday night?”

She shook her head. “No, I won’t.”

“Got other plans?” he asked.

Another shake of her head. “No, but we need to take a step back and figure out if we’re starting something for us or for the girls. What happens if it all goes south and we hang on because we wouldn’t want to disappoint them? Is this chemistry we feel between us real or is it a flash in the pan?”

“I like you a lot,” he said.

“And I like you, too, but before we start breaking hearts, let’s figure out why.”

“Couldn’t we just have a good time?” Crazy thing was that ever since he’d seen Rita in front of Walmart, he’d been wondering the same thing. It had nothing to do with what Rita said about Mitzi’s size, and he didn’t have any intentions of letting Rita back in his life. But he needed to be sure of his own heart before he offered it to Mitzi.

“I always have a good time when I’m with you,” she answered.

“Well, then I’ll leave it up to you, Mitzi. I feel something with you that I’ve never felt with another woman, not even Rita. I’m comfortable with you, and yet there’s a spark of electricity that’s brand new to me. But if you need time, then you’ve got it. When you get everything all analyzed out, you let me know. Call. Text. Come by the house. I hope you feel the same as I do, but if not, then you’re probably right about not taking this to the next step. I won’t bother you until you get things figured out.” He took a step back without kissing her, even though he wanted to very badly.

“Did she say yes?” Dixie asked the minute he was in the truck.

In that moment Graham could understand why Mitzi said no, because he hated to tell them the truth, so he stretched it slightly. “She’s got a lot going on for the next couple of weeks, as y’all well know. We’re going to talk about it later.”

“Then we’ll help her out a lot this next week so that y’all can talk real soon,” Tabby said.

Chapter Twenty-One

You did what?” Jody almost dropped her glass of sweet tea when Mitzi told them about what had happened.

“I figured out that I was having more fun watching the girls play in the water than I was having watching him. And besides that, I like him too much to get into a relationship and then ruin things with everyone,” Mitzi said.

“You look miserable,” Paula said. “In my opinion, you’re overthinking things.”

“In mine, you’re afraid to get hurt, and I hope my situation isn’t causing you to back away from a good relationship,” Jody said.

“I am second-guessing myself,” Mitzi admitted. “Graham may be the best thing that ever happened to me. I know I’m making up excuses not to get into a relationship with him, because if I do and he breaks my heart, I might not ever get over it. And I am worrying so much about the future that I’m giving up the future. But I need to get this settled, so we need some time.”

“We’ll stand by you no matter what you decide,” Jody said.

“Thank goodness we’ve got lots of business the next couple of weeks. I think best with a sketch pad and pencil in my hands,” Mitzi said.

“Like I do with a needle,” Jody said as she reached for the ringing phone. “The Perfect Dress.”

“Hello, Jody, this is Quincy. Will you go to dinner with me? Any day this week would be good,” he said.

“Are you going to stop calling me if I say no?” she asked.

“I am not,” he answered.

“Well, then here’s my cell number.” She rattled off the numbers. “You have a nice evening, Quincy.”