Alan glanced down at the folder of materials Brody handed over. “Isn’t this a little extensive for judging six floats?”

As he leafed through guidelines for float construction, judging, and the breaking of ties, Alan heard Brody say, “It’s tradition. I think the rules are at least thirty years old. My mom said when she was little, they had at least twenty floats from towns all over the area. They even had some from across the river in Wisconsin.”

Alan closed the folder and asked, ‘What happened?”

Brody shrugged. “I guess people decided they have better things to do than show off pride in their community with parades. She said every town around here had parades, and a group like the Lions Club built a float for the region and then sent it around to at least five different parades during the summer.”

Alan nodded and looked around Brody’s Home Pro office. It was small, and it included the desks for both Brody and his secretary, Lacey. Despite being crowded, it was warmer and significantly more charming than Alan’s office. He stepped up to a file cabinet and looked at a framed photo of Brody and Dak.

Brody said, “That was before we were a couple.”

“Did you know each other well before you started dating?”

“We’ve been best friends for over twenty years. He was the new kid in town, and I was the quiet kid who sat in the corner when we met.”

Alan turned back to Brody and gazed at the confident manager of a large hardware store. “You were a quiet kid?”

Brody grinned. “Back then, yeah. I like to think I’ve been recovering ever since.”

Alan laughed softly. “How is the store doing? I hear a lot from people about business slowing down. At Tar-Mor, they keep pushing for further flung markets that we can reach with shipping because the regional orders aren’t holding up.”

Brody sighed and pointed to the chair across from his desk. Both men sat while Brody commented, “I hate to say that we’ve benefited from the hard times of others, but that is true in some ways.”

“How does that work?”

“We had a big competitor in Zephyr. In fact, they did more business than us. Their total receipts were higher than ours. The Zephyr population is nearly twice that of Coldbrook Bend. The store closed down about a year ago because they were going broke. You might have noticed the big empty box store where you exit the highway.”

Alan nodded. “Why did they shut down? Did you undercut them with your prices?”

Brody shook his head. “I don’t have a lot to do with prices. Home Pro gets its guidance on that from headquarters in Rochester. I can only report what I heard. We picked up a few employees when they shut down, and I’ve heard management there was a mess. Deliveries to customers were late, and sometimes they didn’t show up at all. We run a tight ship here.”

“So you’re saying you were the better manager?”

Lacey butted into the conversation from behind. “He’s far too modest. He’s the best manager in the area.”

Brody turned his head toward Lacey. “Thank you. By the way, Lacey, could you give us a few moments of privacy? We’ll wrap up here in about fifteen minutes.”

Lacey stood up from her desk. “Of course!” She blushed as she said, “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but you are far too modest, Mr. Sexton. You’re the reason we’re flourishing.”

As the door closed behind Lacey, Brody leaned forward toward Alan and asked, “How are things going for you? Do you feel well settled in now? It’s been, what, almost three months?”

Alan nodded. “Right at three months. Settled in, though? I’m not completely sure. It feels like there is a new surprise around almost every corner.”

“Surprise? Coldbrook Bend is a pretty sleepy place. How many surprises can there be?”

Alan rubbed his hands on his jeans and said, “I ran into someone I didn’t expect to see.”

“Someone you know?”

“It feels like both times meeting him have been extraordinary coincidences. He runs a trucking company here in eastern Iowa.”

Brody shook his head. “I don’t believe in coincidence. If you meet twice like that, there’s a reason. Don’t you agree?”

“I suppose so, and that’s what worries me. We have a business relationship that can be mutually beneficial, but our personal connection would get in the way.”

“Then you’ve decided what to do. What’s his name? Is it someone I know?”

“Diego Flores. He lives in Red Wing. His company is M-Trak.”

Brody rubbed his chin. “Diego…no, I don’t recall the name, but I have seen his trucks. They must be relatively new. Most of our shipping agreements were already set when I took over here at Home Pro.”

“Yes, I think they are new and hungry. Probably less than five years here. Diego is hungry, too.”

“For you?”

With a nervous laugh, Alan said, “Yes, he asked me out, and I said no.”

“I do think you’re making a wise decision separating the business and the personal. Are you sure you chose the right one?”

The question made Alan uncomfortable. It was easier to reject Diego’s advances if he assumed that he was making the right choice. Brody’s simple question challenged his assumption. Alan wasn’t sure how the alternative choice would work. It would mean rejecting a good deal for Tar-Mor and potentially jeopardizing his new job.

“I don’t know if I have a choice.”

“Because of business concerns?” asked Brody.

Alan nodded. “He’s giving me a great deal. Diego is expanding his business base, and I’m saving Tar-Mor a significant sum of money.”

Brody reached a hand halfway across his desk. “Then I have some advice for you.”

Alan exhaled. “I can use all of the good advice I can get.”

“Don’t look into his eyes.”

Alan tilted his head to one side. “Don’t look into his eyes? Isn’t it kind of hard to do business without looking at him.”

“I think you know what I mean. Don’t stare into those eyes. That’s what happened with Dak. I finally looked into those blue eyes in a way I’d never done before.”

Alan thought about Diego’s dark brown eyes. They were full of fire and lust. He noticed it first in Mexico. It hadn’t changed in all those years. He saw it again when they met at Auntie Erin’s house.

“But that was a good thing.”

Brody nodded. “I was making the right choice. I should have made that choice many years earlier, but I think it was the right time. Maybe now isn’t the right time with Diego, but it might be later.”

“Perhaps…” said Alan. He stood up from his seat. “I should get going.” He opened the folder again and quickly leafed through it. “Thank you for asking me about the parade. This looks like fun.”

Alan stepped toward the door while Brody stood and joined him. Brody reached out for a hug. As he wrapped Alan warmly in his long arms, Alan understood why everyone loved Brody. He was kind, genuine, and confident. Alan didn’t want to leave, but he had to get back to Tar-Mor.

Before Alan exited, Brody said, “I’ll be in touch soon. We should have dinner again. Dak is learning how to cook on the grill out back. Maybe you can stop over for dinner on the deck now that the weather is getting warm.”

“That sounds perfect.”

As he made his way through Home Pro, Alan marveled at the clean, orderly condition of the store. The employees he saw all had smiles on their faces. Lacey was speaking with one of the checkers, and she waved as Alan passed by. The store spoke volumes about the quality of Brody’s management.

Just after Alan slid into the front seat of his car and pulled the door shut, his cell phone rang. Elaine was calling. “I don’t want to interrupt anything Mr. Hansen, but I thought you might want to know that we’ve received the full proposal from M-Trak already.”

“Already?” asked Alan dumbfounded. “It’s just been two days.”

“And it’s a big stack of papers. It looks like they were up all night putting this together.”

“Thank you. I’ll be there within twenty minutes. I’m in Coldbrook Bend. M-Trak wants the job. That much is clear.”

As he drove back to Zephyr, Alan thought about Diego’s efforts to endear himself using both his business and his personal charms. Before he could stop the drift of his thoughts, he remembered the word, “Dreams,” tattooed at Diego’s collarbone. He thought about unbuttoning Diego’s crisp dress shirt and spreading it open to view the artwork on the bronze canvas of Diego’s body.

Alan jumped when the car behind him honked. The light turned green, and he failed to react. Alan was holding up traffic. He pounded the steering wheel, chased Diego from his thoughts, and pulled into the intersection.