Page 19 of No One But You

That might be a story worth hearing one day, but I could tell this would not be that day. Kora stood up. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go.” She pulled out her phone.

I was sitting next to her and noticed her pull up an Uber ap. “I thought that was your black Rogue in the driveway.”

She glanced at me over her phone. Those brown eyes held nothing but contempt.

What had I done to consistently irritate her?

“That’s Darlene’s. We bought the same car.”

“You know besties need to have the same everything,” Darlene sang.

I looked back and forth. “I always knew girls tend to be close, but the same car?”

“It wasn’t intentional,” Bryson replied. “But it’s a little frightening how alike these two are. It’s like they have that twin clairvoyance, but they aren’t twins.”

“Nope.” Darlene wrapped her arms around Kora. “Just besties since birth.”

Kora blew her friend a kiss and looked back at her phone. “The closest Uber can’t be here for over thirty minutes.” She finally looked at me. “One issue with being so far in the middle of nowhere. No Uber.”

I felt myself drowning in those rivers of brown. What was it about her? “Not a problem. I’ll take you home. It can’t be that far.”

“You sure? It’s about ten minutes, give or take, knowing the roads.”

My brow ticked up. “Excuse me?”

“She means—if you don’t know the roads it’ll probably take you longer. She lives way out with nothing but cows, chickens, and goats as neighbors,” Darlene answered.

“Not true.” Kora hip-bumped Darlene. “I have Aunt Tonya. She can take me.”

“Nope. Can’t tonight, baby doll. I have places to go.” Tonya wagged her brow.

The expressions of Jamison and Bryson were priceless, and I chose to act like I didn’t hear that as quiet gasps filled the air. “Seriously. Not a big deal. I sort of owe you, anyway.”

“How do you owe me?” Kora asked.

“I did spill beer over you. Let me make it up to you.”

Kora looked me over, and I could feel her gaze stop on the scar. I’ve been told by many women that it makes me look a bit mysterious and sexy, and wondered what she thought.

She gave me a half shrug. “Fine. I’ve got to go, though. My animals need to be fed.”

Time alone with Kora. What could be better?

Chapter 8

Kora

The truck looked much better on the inside than the outside. The seats were leather and didn’t look anywhere near the age the truck had to be. There were no bells and whistles, and the windows even had manual cranks, but the radio was new. At least Kai had good sense when it came to music. “So, I know you came to Orlinda Valley because of work, but what made you settle here instead of somewhere else? There’s a lot of small towns around if that’s all you were looking for.”

“I don’t know. Being close to the interstate helped. Makes getting to work easier. And like I said, I love the openness, and the river is a major plus. I love kayaking and would love to start fishing.” He glanced quickly at me and shrugged before getting his eyes back on the road. “I always dreamed of the quiet and peacefulness of a small town.”

“Well, you’ll get the peacefulness here, but quiet will all depend on what time of year it is and where you live. During baseball season, if you live near the city park, the noise and traffic of little league parents gets a bit much. If you live near the school, basketball season and football season are a racket.” I pointed to the next right. “Turn right here.”

We passed the school on the left. “This parking becomes packed to overflowing during football games. The entire town comes out on a Friday night. Football’s a big thing.”

Kai glanced out his window. “The parking lot and field look like they take up more space than the entire school.”

“Well, you know. Orlinda Valley’s got their priorities straight. Turn left here.”

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