"Now, Mr. Saint is fixing the freezer," Opal says, "because he's kind and generous with his time and came down here to help out." She speaks each word slowly and carefully like she's speaking to a child, her eyes boring into me, her message telegraphed loud and clear: don't yell at him.
Chloe directs her attention to Killian. "I beat East doing my math problems in school the other day, even though he said I wasn't going to beat him because I was too slow. Just so you know . . . because you didn't think I could do those math problems."
"Well, shoot." Killian winks at me. "You sure proved me wrong, didn't you?"
"I did," Chloe says, matter-of-fact. She holds out her empty palm and looks at Killian expectantly.
Killian looks up at the ceiling, pretending not to remember their bet, before sliding his hand into his pocket and retrieving his wallet. He hands Chloe a dollar bill. "It's all I've got. That's worth four quarters. Now you owe me some more math problems – if you can handle it."
"I can handle it for sure," Chloe says, her voice firm. "Miss Opal, I found a caterpillar in its cocoon today. Mom helped me get a stick and put it in a jar so we could watch it. It's going to change into a butterfly, you know."
"Is it really?" Opal asks. "Why don't you come out to the front and we'll have a tea party and you can tell me all about it?"
"I will tell you all about it. Mom, can I have cookies?"
"You can have cookies and juice. No soda."
"Mo-om," Chloe whines. "It's pretend champagne. Because we're fancy."
"You shouldn't be drinking pretend champagne at a tea party anyway." I glare at Opal. "Opal, no fake champagne. Or soda."
Opal shakes her head as she rounds the corner from the refrigerator, a plate of cookies in her hand. "You know, in my day, they used to give children soda. Said it was good for them."
I cock my head to the side. "I didn't know they had soda in Paleolithic times."
"Burn," Killian says.
"Paleolithic means dinosaurs, right?" Chloe asks. "Miss Opal wasn't alive when dinosaurs were on the earth. Were you? Humans weren't alive then."
"Your mother is making a joke," Opal explains. "Unfortunately, her sense of humor isn't that well-developed. Now, make sure to eat a bunch of cookies before you go home, so you have lots of energy for your mom. And we'll see what soda we can find. The extra-sugary kind, I think."
"Opal!" I yell as she whisks Chloe out to the front of the store. Then I stand there, alone with Killian.
"Opal called me," Killian says, his voice gruff. The sound of his voice, low and gravelly, sends goose bumps along my arms.
"Opal called you and you just dropped everything and came here?"
Not more than a minute after she left, Opal pokes her head back through the kitchen entrance. "I popped my head back in here to tell you I'm taking your child to my house. She decided she'd rather do a real tea party. I didn't hear any screaming yet so I figured it was safe to come in."
"You thought I was going to come in here and scream at Killian for dismantling the freezer?"
"Not dismantling it. Fixing it," Killian interrupts.
"I was slightly more concerned for his safety."
"You should be more concerned about yours, old woman."
"You're awfully cantankerous today, Lily. You should think about doing something to . . . ease your stress." She looks at me innocently and bats her eyes, but the implication that Killian is the perfect stress reliever is crystal clear.
I narrow my eyes at her. "I might be looking at the cause of my stress."
"Hey, mom." Chloe's head appears beside Opal's waist. "I don't want to hang out here today. Miss Opal has hats and real dishes and jewelry."
"You don't want to make cupcakes?"
"I'd rather go to Miss Opal's house."
Opal's house is within walking distance of the store, a Victorian place in the historic part of town that suits her, since she herself is a relic of West Bend. "Bring her back if she misbehaves." I give Chloe a stern look.
"Nonsense. She never misbehaves. Text me when you're finished here and you can pick her up. I can't guarantee I'll want to return a kid this cute, though."
Chloe giggles. "You always say that, but you always give me back."
"Let's get on now." Opal ushers Chloe off, and I hear the front door shut behind them.
Killian and I stand there in awkward silence, the air between us thick with the unspoken pull of attraction that has existed between us since the day we crashed into each other at the general store. "Did Opal badger you into coming down here to fix the freezer?"
Killian shrugs and grunts. "Didn't have to badger me."
I shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other. The only thing I can think about is that damn kiss. "Do you know anything about freezers?"
Killian shrugs. "Enough to fix the compressor."
I don't know what the compressor is, but that sounds like good news. "You fixed it?"
Killian wipes his hands on his jeans. "It's old. It's not going to last you forever. You're going to need a new one probably in six months or so. But I think it'll work for a bit."
I exhale heavily. "Oh my God, I could kiss you right now." I blurt it out before I realize what I'm saying.