Ollie Vance - Book One: Secrets and Sparks

Chapter Six

I haven’t been out on a date in a while and I forgot the nerve-racking few hours of preparation before your date picks you up.

I’d showered and put a little bit of make up on my face—a light pat of blush of my cheeks, a dab of cherry lip balm and a swipe of mascara. I wore my long hair down, its light, natural waves cascading on my back. I pinned one side up slightly with a small and pretty silver barrette the shape of a dragon fly.

I bought a new dress—it was off-shoulder with a flouncy skirt and it was watermelon pink. I wore it with a pair of white, wedge espadrilles, the closest I’ve got to fancy high heels.

When I told Mary Anne and Patrick my plans for the evening, they both looked sincerely stunned. I left quickly enough to leave no room for further questioning. I knew what they were thinking but I didn’t want to talk about it. I had every intention of enjoying this date.

Jack himself cleaned up quite nicely, wearing jeans and a blue, buttoned-up, collared shirt, his hair neatly slicked back.

He arrived in a dark blue pick-up truck and had a small bouquet of pink tulips for me.

“You look lovely,” he said with a big, appreciative smile, offering me a hand so I could climb up into his truck.

“Thanks. You look great yourself.”

I watched him on the corner of my eye as he pulled out of the driveway.

Jack was a really handsome guy in that strong, dependable, protective kind of way that makes you think of marriage and children. Wasn’t that most women in my age look for in a mate? 

I shook the thought out of my head. This was a first date. We’re not making a wedding guest list yet.

The drive to Hillside was a little over half an hour. The town is about the size of Willow but it thrived more on doing a lot of industrial work for farm equipment and construction materials. 

He took me to Dixie’s Grill for an impressive peppercorn steak and over dinner Jack told me about some of his adventures as a firefighter, his younger sister and his childhood. I told him about my parents, my brother and the bakeshop. It was a relaxed and refreshing conversation with no mention of anything supernatural.

He asked if I wanted to hang out at his favorite bar and I said yes. If I was going to give this thing with Jack a chance, I had to keep an open mind.

We were at a red light on our way to the bar when I spied a very familiar burgundy Range Rover parked on the side of a corner bar named Hedley’s based on the neon pink sign above the door.

There couldn’t be that many Range Rovers in that color in this part of the state.

“Hey, Jack,” I asked, sounding casual. “What’s at Hedley’s? That bar over there?”

He tilted his head to look and his expression went grim just ever so slightly. “It’s just another bar but a lot of weirdos hang out there. A lot of transients through town stop by there as well. Not a good place, in my personal opinion.”

Then just as the car in front of us started rolling at the light change, I watched as the Range Rover’s door opened and out stepped Tristan from the passenger seat as a tall and statuesque woman in a black dress and blood red shawl came out from the bar and met him with an intimate embrace, her mouth clamping on to his.

Something that felt like a fist hit me in the gut, worsening when I realized he wasn’t pushing her away.

I quickly lost sight of them as Jack drove on and I forced myself to push the thought out of my head. Tristan made no promises and certainly did not plead to be an exception so he could kiss anyone he wanted and apparently he’d been busy. I had a quick flashback of the first time I walked in on him and that alone told me all that I needed to know about my chances of being with someone like Tristan.