Excerpt of Tucked Away by Jennie Marts

The corner of the heavy dog food bag caught the strap of her purse, and she stumbled forward, falling off the curb and waving her arms to catch her balance. The loud snap of her heel breaking was followed by a curse word worthy of a sailor, and her purse went flying.

The dog food slid from his grasp. He reached to grab her as she pitched forward and fell into his arms.

The heady scent of her perfume surrounded him as she looked up at him, her chest pressed against his. “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry.” His mouth went dry, and he tried not to look down at the front of her shirt where her blouse gaped open and the lace edge of her bra peeked through. He held onto her a beat too long, then let go as she steadied herself. “You were just looking for some coffee, and I almost knocked you over with a bag of puppy chow.”

She laughed. A light, easy sound. “I think breaking my heel and being mauled by a giant bag of dog food is right on par with the way the last couple of days have been going for me. I’m just glad you didn’t impale me with the toilet bowl brush.” She reached down to pick up the brush that had fallen near her feet. It lay amongst the scattered articles that had fallen from her purse.

“Here, let me help you.” Embarrassed, he knelt to the ground and began collecting the oddest assortment of items: a fat wallet with receipts sticking out the sides, three tubes of lip gloss, a pink makeup bag, a collection of fancy bottles with French names printed on their shiny labels, more lip gloss, and a variety of feminine hygiene products. “What is all this stuff?”

She was busy cramming things back into the enormous bag but stopped to give him a skeptical look. “Really?”

“Well, I mean, I know what this stuff is.” He awkwardly handed her the items filling his hands. “But why do you have all this stuff in your purse?”

She blew her bangs out of her eyes. “It’s just stuff I need.”

He handed her a balled up pair of gym shorts and a hot pink sports bra. “What could you possibly need this for?”

“Those are my workout clothes.” She grabbed the garments from him and stuffed them in her purse. “In case I want to stop at the gym.”

“What gym? The only 24-hour fitness you’re going to find around here is chores on a farm. They go from sun-up to sun-down.” He watched in awe as she stuffed more things into the leather bag. He couldn’t believe how much she fit in there. It was like an endless cavern of space.

He heard her mumble something about one more thing she would have to get used to before she looked up at him and sighed. “I’m thinking about moving here. But this place is quite a change from where I’m from.”

“I can imagine.” More stuff had fallen onto the curb, and he collected another five tubes of lip gloss. Geez, how much lip care could one woman need? He caught himself glancing at her lips, wondering if they were soft as they looked.