Page 9 of That Kiss

I turn to look behind me, backing up and pulling out of the lot. When I glance in the rearview mirror, I think I catch a glimpse of someone else stepping out of the truck, but the sun partially blinds my vision.

I push it to the back of my mind and run through the list of errands I have to get done. I need to work on prioritizing my time better so I have enough hours in the day to tend to my own needs and not end up staying later at work than everyone else.

By the time I do finally close the doors and lock the place up, it’s past 9 p.m. I take a few deep breaths in my car, savoring the silence for a few moments before I look over at the invoice in my purse for the Slades.

“I’ll do it tomorrow,” I say, deciding it’s too late to go bother them. I should’ve given it to Ranger, but I wasn’t thinking. My parents will still be up, my dad probably watching one of his late-night talk shows, and my mom most likely busying herself with some chore that didn’t even need finishing in the first place.

I’m tired but I’m not ready to go home. I know I’ll take a shower and end up eating a sandwich in bed right before passing out. Instead, I drive over to our lone local diner, grabbing a booth in the very back and ordering a bowl of chicken noodle soup. I don’t pay attention to anyone else tonight. Normally, I’d wave, saying “hi” to anyone I recognized, but I just want to feel invisible tonight. I pull my hat down a little lower, sinking down into the booth as I close my eyes for a few moments.

“Are you really going to walk right by me twice today without so much as a ‘hello’?”

My eyes fly open at the familiar deep voice, the instant clench of my stomach reminding me that my body is still at this man’s mercy. I look straight up into the deep blue eyes of Decker Slade.

Chapter 5

Decker

“Ididn’t even see—what do you mean twice today?”

“Well, tonight, obviously, you walked right past me a few booths up, and earlier, I dropped my truck off at your dad’s shop with Ranger and saw you walk right past me to your car.”

Her mouth falls open then snaps shut when I take a seat across from her in the booth. She sits up. “That was you today?”

“So you did see me?” I give her my best grin, the one I know she used to like.

“Well, I thought it might have been you, but I didn’t realize you were back home.”

“I didn’t know you were home either.”

“Chicken soup for you, my dear,” Karla says as she places the bowl down in front of Juniper before reaching into her apron to pull out a handful of saltine packages. “Anything else for you?” Juniper shakes her head and then looks over at me.

“No thanks, Karla.” When she walks away, I lean back into the booth, lifting one foot and then the other to rest on the bench Juney is sitting on. “So, why are you back home again, Miss Riley?”

“Because it’s home.” Her face scrunches in confusion. She picks up a spoonful of soup and blows on it. “I think the real question is, since you still live back in Texas, why are you home?”

“Because as of this week, I no longer live in Texas. I’ve officially moved back home.”

The spoon falls from her fingers and clatters against the bowl, making her jump. She picks it back up and laughs nervously. “Well, isn’t that funny then?”

“Why?”

“Because I took over for my dad—” She cocks her head. “Did you not know he retired?”

“Retired? No.” I guess I wondered why I didn’t see him at the shop this morning, but I just figured he was busy in the office. “Hold up, you took over? You’re running the shop?”

Her brows knit together. “Yeah, and . . . ?”

“Not like that, Juney. Come on, I know you’re more than capable. Your dad raised you in that shop—hell, you know more about damn trucks than any man I know. I just didn’t realize it had happened so fast.” I run my hand over my beard a few times. “Surprised Ranger or my dad didn’t say anything to me is all.”

She extends her hand and slowly pushes her bowl away from her. “So it looks like we’re both back in Dodge then, huh?”

“Looks like it.” We both smile at each other, a hint of tension brewing between us. I avert my gaze and clear my throat. “So, how’s it going then, running the business?”

“Good, actually—great. Busy, a lot busier than I expected,” she adds with a laugh.

“Yeah, I get that. I don’t think I ever realized how short 24 hours could be until I started running the ranch down in Texas. Sometimes it feels impossible to get the things done you need to get done.”

She fiddles with her wadded-up straw wrapper. “Are we ever going to talk about it?” she finally blurts out. I could tell she’d been wanting to ask that from the second I sat down.

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