Page 25 of The Little Things

Chapter Fourteen

Rae

It was only after exiting the barn, the heat of the sun spreading across my skin, that I was able to pull in a full breath. There was something so damn potent about Zach Paulson, that it consumed everything. I needed to get the hell out of there.

I hustled toward the nearest truck, letting out a relieved sigh when I found it unlocked. Hopping into the driver’s seat, I flipped the visor down and caught the key ring before it fell in my lap. I shoved the key into the ignition and twisted but nothing happened. “What the hell?” I tried again with the same outcome. “Oh, come on,” I groaned. “Not now.” Not when I was so close to escaping.

I looked around, finally noticing that the gearshift looked different and there were three pedals instead of two. “Just freaking great. How the hell am I supposed to drive this thing?”

“You have to push in the clutch.”

I let out a startled shriek and whipped around to find Zach standing on the other side of the closed door, only just noticing the driver’s side window was down. “What?”

“The truck. It’s got a manual transmission. You have to push in the clutch to start it.”

“Oh.” My gaze bounced between the pedals trying to understand what he was attempting to explain to me. “Um... okay.” I recognized the gas pedal and the brake, so I could only assume the pedal on the far left was the clutch. I pushed it in and twisted the key again. This time, the truck started up on a deep rumble, the engine so powerful I felt the seat vibrate beneath me. “Got it.”

I grabbed the gearshift and tried to move it only for it to make the worst screeching sound imaginable. “Jesus! What was that?”

Zach didn’t bother hiding the smile on his face. “Never driven a stick before?”

I shot him a side-eyed look, lifting my brows high on my forehead. “Is that supposed to be a sex joke?”

His head fell back on a deep laugh, the pleasant sound causing my core to clench. On top of having the best ass I’d ever seen on a man, he also had the sexiest throat. Until that very moment, I hadn’t even known it was possible to consider a throat sexy, but his was. All thick and strong and corded, in perfect proportion with his broad, solid shoulders. Honestly, everything about the man was sexy as hell. “No, it wasn’t a sex joke. Come on.” He grabbed the handle and pulled my door open. “Scoot over. I’ll drive you.”

Damn my heart and its inability to maintain a normal rate in this man’s presence. If it kept up like this, I was liable to have a heart attack before I reached twenty-five. “You don’t have to,” I blurted out quickly. “I mean, it’s really not necessary. I’m sure I can figure it out.” To prove my point, I grabbed the shifter again, only to grind the gears for a second time.

“I’ll teach you to drive a stick, but it’ll take some time for you to get it. And I thought you needed groceries,” he challenged with cocked brow.

I shot him a glare for being so damn smug and grumbled, “Fine. But I want to learn. I don’t want to be dependent on everyone here. People will get sick and tired of me coming to them for every little thing I can’t do.” I hadn’t meant for all of that to spill out. I’d let my frustration at feeling helpless get the best of me and showed more of my hand than I’d intended.

His brow furrowed as he shook his head. “I don’t know what it was like back in California, but that’s not how it works here. We take care of each other here. If someone needs help, we help. That’s all there is to it.”

I narrowed my eyes, my turn to issue a challenge as I replied, “Like you did when I first got here?” He broke eye contact, dropping his head as if in shame, and I instantly felt bad for throwing that in his face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said?—”

“Stop.” My mouth snapped shut. “Don’t apologize to me. You weren’t wrong. I was an asshole when you first got here. If anyone needs to apologize, it’s me.”

“It’s forgotten,” I stated quickly, kicking myself for even bringing up the past.

“But is it forgiven?” he asked quietly.

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly feeling like it was full of cotton. “Of course. It’s all forgiven. I won’t bring it up again.” I shifted over on the bench seat of the truck, eager to disable the tension swirling around us. “Now, get up here and drive me to the grocery store already.” My lips curved upward into a grin. “I don’t have all day.”

The drive to the grocery store was made in silence, but there was something companionable about it. It wasn’t awkward or charged. It was as if we were comfortable enough with each other to be in the present, no need for mindless chatter to fill the minutes. It was nice, being able to watch the landscape, so different than what I was used to, pass by as we left the ranch and headed into town.

We rode with the windows down, the fresh, pleasant breeze filling the cab as some country song played at a low volume on the radio. I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I’d felt so content, so at peace. Back in L.A., it had been a constant battle with my so-called friends to constantly one-up each other, to always be on top. There was nothing calm or settling about that life. You were either planning how to bring someone down or constantly looking over your shoulder, waiting for someone to plunge a knife in your back.

I was finally starting to understand why my parents sent me here and what lessons they were hoping I’d learn once I got away from that viper pit I’d been living in for so many years.

I couldn’t help but smile at the number of people who waved at our passing truck as Zach wound it through the streets of downtown Hope Valley. “Man, you’re really popular in this town, aren’t you?” I observed with a small laugh after Zach lifted his hand from the wheel to return a wave for the tenth time.

“It’s more my family than me. They’ve been here for generations.”

I gave him an assessing glance. “I don’t know about that. I think you might be selling yourself short.” He let out a hum, but didn’t say anything more about it as he guided us toward the local market.

Fresh Foods wasn’t some big chain grocery store like you’d see in the city. It was much smaller, but as I slowly perused the aisles, scanning the shelves as Zach pushed the cart behind me, I was happy to see that the selection wasn’t lacking just because it wasn’t some huge warehouse that sold everything from women’s sandals to potato chips.

The wine selection was surprisingly good, and I was excited to find they even had a section of different kinds of artisan cheeses.

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