Chapter 7

7

It took the two of them surprisingly less time than Cath expected to navigate through the gathering crown and reach the auction platform. In the past, she would have liked to assume it was because of the stern look on her face, and the commanding way she walked. In reality, she suspected that the crowd parted like the Red Sea primarily because of the good-looking Hollywood actor on her arm smiling at everyone. Given how much she wanted to score this particular tractor for Danny, however, she was willing to call it potato, potato if it meant they got a spot up front.

“If you want, I can use my elbows.” Kris whispered in her ear. “Maybe start dropping kicks.”

“You only have one good elbow at the moment, let’s not risk it,” Cath deadpanned as she pulled to a stop, ignoring the face he made at her. “And the goal is to acquire the tractor, not cause a pit fight and get us arrested.”

“Sounds like our kind of fun though,” he pointed out hopefully. “It’ll be a regular date night.”

“I can’t take you anywhere,” Cath chided with a soft laugh, leaning lightly into him.

“Nope. Guess you’ll just have to take me home to bed.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Instead of responding back, Cath closed her eyes, taking in the smell of the pine boards, the murmur of the crowd, the feel of his solid body and reassuring behind hers, his hand stroking her waist. Not for the first time that day, she felt herself grow overwhelmed as her emotions flared. She leaned carefully into him, finding his presence the calming lodestone she needed as she tried to right herself.

“You okay?” He asked in concern, nudging the top of her head with his cheek and drawing her attention back to the present and out of her head.

“Absolutely.” She looked up at him with a smile then watched as the auctioneer mounted the stage. “Here we go, get ready to fight.”

“Always am.” Cath watched as he subconsciously shifted his body language, muscles tensing as he shifted his feet so he could move freely if needed. He reached up, adjusting his sunglasses and she could almost see him centering his mental focus on the stage. Cath had to check herself as her stomach gave a sharp tug and a current of desire sparked through her, quick and fast as electric shock. The feeling was almost primal in its intensity, and she unconsciously shifted her body squeezing her legs together, trying to ignore the sensation that was tugging at her. It wasn’t the time or place to get turned on, and yet she was. She chanced a glance back at Kris, and he gave her a grin and winked at her, sweeping a hand down her hip and squeezing her ass. She felt her cheeks flush, he knew exactly how she was feeling and he was not helping the situation in the least.

“You’re such a bad influence,” she whispered, watching as the first item, an antique horse buggy that looked like it had seen better days, was successfully auctioned off for what seemed like to her a small fortune.

Kris nuzzled her neck, teasing the skin and making her shiver. “Hmmm, but I’m your bad influence and you love me.”

“Yeah, guess it’s getting pretty obvious huh?” She glanced over her shoulder, chuckling at his slightly stunned expression. She watched as a mellow grin spread across his features and he ducked his head, resting it on her shoulder. She reached up absentmindedly, tousling his hair and watched as the auctioneer rattled rapid fire over the price of an antique hay turner. “Now focus, we’re up next.”

As the next item was hauled to the stage, Cath winced. It was an absolute unit of a machine, wide and bulky, the color of faded ketchup and spotted with enough rust that it could have qualified as a Dalmatian. It was missing one of the large back wheels, and part of the engine block was open and exposed. The vents on the side were dented in and the bucket seat was cracked in multiple places.

“What a fucking wreck.” Kris said, the shock in his voice evident. ‘We’re seriously bidding on that?”

“Up next, Lot #33469B, one 1953 Allis Chalmers WD45 tractor in acceptable condition. Sold as is for restoration or parts.” The auctioneer looked over the crowd, gauging the level of interest. “Starting bid is $2000.”

Cath’s hand flew up and the auctioneer gave a nod of acknowledgment. “I have 2000$ from the pretty lady, do I hear $2250?”

Before Cath could react to anything other than pissed off rage at being called “pretty lady”, a hand flew up behind her agreeing to the bid. She whipped her head around, trying to see who it was but the face was lost in the crowd.

“I have $2250 from the gentleman in the back with the black cowboy hat, do I hear $2600?”

Kris’s hand went up fast, catching Cath by surprise. He gave her a lopsided grin and tweaked the end of her ponytail when she scowled at him. “Come on, I can’t let you have all the fun.”

“I have $2600 from...Kris Avery?” The auctioneer looked both pleased and shocked. A murmur went out through the crowd and Cath watched as heads turned in their direction. “Well, I'll be damned. Do I have $3000?”

Cath flicked her hand up and the auctioneer nodded. “Excellent, do I hear $3300?”

The same hand from the back flew up again and the auctioneer pointed his gavel. “$3300 from the same gentlemen in the cowboy hat, do I hear $3800?”

Kris flashed an annoyed look at the back of the room and raised his hand. It was only because Cath was standing so close to him that she caught his middle finger flash briefly as he lowered it to his side.

“Alright, I have $3380 from Mr. Avery, do I have $4000?”

The urban cowboy nodded and the auctioneer took note. “$4000 over there, do we have $4500?”

Cath nodded and made a noise of frustration; she hadn’t counted on there being much interest in a junky old tractor. She and Vera had set a decent budget between the two of them, but it was already starting to toe into the red zone. Forty-five hundred dollars was more money than she would ever conceive of spending on herself, but she knew Danny had been looking for this tractor for ages and he couldn’t stand being in large crowds to bid. She didn’t want Vera to think she hadn’t tried her best to acquire it for him. On the other hand, she also didn’t want Kris to think she had brought him here to play money bags if things went red line. She chanced a glace over at him, his mouth was set in a grim line and his brow was furrowed in annoyance. She reached out and stroked his hand but in truth, she knew how he felt. Situations like this brought out her competitive nature, and she hated feeling like she was going to lose.

“$4500, do I hear $5000?” They went on like this for several minutes in a triangle of bidding, she and Kris on one side, the cowboy on the other as the auctioneer spat out the rising price. $5000 went to $5500 then $6000 and before Cath knew it, the price was sitting at $6500 in the hands of the Urban Cowboy.

“$6500 going once, any other takers?” The auctioneer looked towards Cath and watched as she gave a subtle shake of her head. “Going once, going twice... Sold to the man in the black cowboy hat for $6500!”

“What happened?” Kris said surprised. “It’s not like you to give up.”

“That was our cap,” Cath said with a noise of disappointment. “Vera and I agreed on a strict budget. Dammit, I really wanted to get it for him too.”

“I could have...” Kris shrugged his shoulders, but Cath shook her head and began to back them out of the crowd.

“No,” she said firmly with a disappointed hand gesture. “It’s okay, we’ll figure something out.”

“All right,” he tucked his free arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. “You’re the CO on this mission, I'm just the good-looking scoundrel along for the ride.”

She guided back towards the back of the building, stopping when to her surprise she came across a new booth set up selling vintage motorcycle and car parts. She felt her attention draw in and began to poke through the various boxes, thinking maybe she could find a part for Danny’s current pet project, a 1965 Harley-Davidson FLH Electra-Glide. “I’m going to take a solid look through here, see if I can find anything useful.”

“I’m going to go find the men’s room.” Kris raised her knuckles to his lips softly. “Why don’t we meet by the front doors in twenty minutes?”

“Sounds good.” Cath watched as he melted into the crowd and then went back to systematically going through the parts to see if there was anything else that Danny could use.

By the time she finished going through the boxes and talking with the chop shop owner running the booth, Cath was surprised to see that almost twenty-five minutes had flown by. She checked her phone to see if Kris messaged her, but it was silent. Muttering a quick apology, she began to work her way towards the front doors, her inner soldier chastising herself for running late. Passing by the same mare she had seen before, she almost felt pulled to a stop then noticed the allotment card for the horse had been flipped, indicating a sale had been made. With a wishful hope that the horse had found good ownership, she bypassed the enclosure and made it to the front, just as Kris did.

“Find anything good?” He asked, opening the door for her, and shepherding them outside into the early winter dusk.

“No, the whole endeavor was a bust.” Cath couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice. “I’m having coffee with Vera the day after tomorrow, we’ll have to figure out something else.”

She opened the Subaru’s door, slid in, automatically throwing her seat belt on, and leaned back in the seat, rubbing a hand over her face. When she opened them again, Kris was in the passenger seat, watching her with alert blue eyes.

“I need to call Vera and fill her in.” She fished her phone out of her purse and was about to dial when Kris reached out and covered her wrist for a moment stopping her. He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a yellow slip of paper, passing it to her silently.

Cath gave him a look and took the paper, opening it to find the bill of sale for the Allis Chalmers WD45. She dropped her head to hide the smile trying to break free and shook a finger at him, trying to sound annoyed. “Looking for the men’s room my ass, I told you no!”

“Actually, what you said was I couldn’t over bid your budget,” Kris shrugged his shoulder unapologetically. “You said nothing about finding the buyer and using my charms to convince him to sell it to me. His price was reasonable, I paid what he paid at the auction and all it took extra was a couple of photos, and a Merry Christmas message for his son.”

“You’re supposed to use your Hollywood superpowers for good,” she reminded him as she tucked the bill of sale in the visor. By all rights, she should have been livid with him for disrespecting her wishes. It seemed impossible to stay mad at him however, when he was being genuine about wanting to help. She was actually very touched that he went to bat so hard for a wreck of a tractor for Danny. It showed how much he had grown as a person since she had first met him a few years ago.

“And this isn’t good?” He gave her a comically wounded look.

“It’s better than good, it’s great . You have no idea how happy this will make Danny this Christmas.” She admitted, leaning over and kissing him repeatedly in excitement. “But I will talk with Vera, and we will split the cost three ways, understood?”

“If that’s what you want.” He acquiesced, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and dropping a kiss on the end of her nose.

“And don’t you dare start pulling shit like that on a regular basis,” she warned as she started the car. “This is a one-time thing.”

“Of course.” He raised a hand in supplication and leaned over to turn on the radio.

“I mean it.” Cath tried to sound stern as she began navigating them out of the parking lot and onto the road. “I’ll kick your ass next time.”

Out of the corner of her eye she watched as he pulled out the full spectrum of his charm, looking at her from under his lashes with intense blue eyes. He quirked a smile, reaching out and flitting his fingers softly along her shoulder and the crook of her neck. He left his hand there, caressing the skin as he tried to act as nonchalant. Cath felt a rush of heat radiate from her core and spark up and down her spine at his touch. Trying to focus on the road, she swatted his fingers playfully. “Stop it.”

“Stop what?” He feigned ignorance, pretending to see something out the window

“You’re so lucky you’re cute,” she grumbled with an admittedly contented sigh.

“You think I’m lucky one?” Kris took out his phone and began to make a list of ingredients. “Just wait until you taste the Beef Bourguignon I'm making you for dinner tonight.”

“All right you're on.” Cath felt her stomach growl and realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast that morning. Suddenly the idea of a home cooked meal and a night in trimming the tree seemed like heaven. She reached over, keeping her eyes on the road, and squeezed his hand. “Let’s go home.”