Page 4 of Truck Off

I blink several times to refocus my eyes, and when I look at him again, he’s back to studying the candy bars on the shelf with his typical broody expression.

Did I imagine the wink and faint smile? Must have.

I turn my focus back to Tanner and Betty Jo. She’s finished paying for her items, so I help her carry them to the car.

“How are you going to get this inside once you’re home?” I ask her about the case of pop as I slide it into her trunk.

“My son and his family are visiting today. He’ll help me unload the heavy stuff.”

I nod, pleased to hear she won’t be carrying it inside herself. “If you’re sure. Otherwise, I can come by later and do it for you.”

She pats my cheek and smiles. “That’s sweet of you, dear, but I’ve got it covered. Promise.”

“Okay,” I head back inside, but call over my shoulder before I reenter the store. “Call me anytime. I mean it. I’m only a few drives down from you.”

She waves me off and slides into her car. Betty Jo lives close to Dad and me, and we’ve always been friendly neighbors. I’ve helped her plenty of times with unloading groceries or larger items. If she needed help, she’d tell me.

Once inside, I head to the aisle where they stock the beef jerky. I grab a bag and start for the cooler when I hear Tanner’s voice.

“Whatever you’re doin’, stop it now.”

I whip my head around to see Tanner standing next to Christian with his arms crossed over his chest. Christian towers over him like the brooding, sexy god that he is.

“And what exactly am I doing?” Christian growls.

“Can’t have you stealing my products. Get what you want and pay for it.”

Christian snorts. “I ain’t stealing shit and you know it.”

Christian turns his back on Tanner and catches me staring. He winks again before he walks away from Tanner like he’s not even there. Huh, maybe I didn’t imagine the wink before.

“Don’t walk away from me. This is my store. I’ll ban you and all your brothers from shopping here.”

“Go ahead. See how much business you lose when you do.”

Tanner opens his mouth to refute his claim, but he stops himself. He knows Christian is right. The feud between their families hasn’t caused too much of a divide between our community, but there are enough people on both sides that taking action like banning one family from a business would cause quite a stir. Tanner would lose business. No doubt about it.

“Tanner, stop being an ass,” I say, sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong.

Christian whips around to face me, his brows lift in surprise. It’s not like he and I are friends or even talk all that often. I’ve had a crush on him from a distance.

“Lina, mind your own damn business. This doesn’t concern you.” Tanner glares at me, and I return his glare, making it clear that his grouchy response doesn’t intimidate me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Christian’s arm move. He snatches a Snickers bar from the shelf and stuffs it in his pocket. When my gaze shifts to his, he winks. Again.

When I look back at Tanner, he doesn’t seem to notice. He’s still staring at me.

“Maybe instead of falsely accusing customers of theft, you should pay more attention to the ones that could use your help. Like Betty Jo, for example.”

Tanner narrows his eyes on me because he knows I’m right. While he was busy glaring at Christian, he missed out on helping Betty Jo. She may not gossip, but she remembers people’s actions. If she picked up on the fact that Tanner ignored her in favor of causing shit with Christian, she’ll shop somewhere else.

Tanner nods his head toward Christian. “Grab whatever it is you came here for and get. I don’t like it when you’re in my store.”

Once Tanner is back behind the counter, Christian turns his gaze to me. His eyes quickly flick down my body and back up again. If I hadn’t been watching him so intently, I would have missed it.

When his gaze meets mine again, there’s something there that I’ve longed to see in his expression. Desire.

He steps closer and drops his voice to a whisper. “Can’t say a beautiful woman has ever come to my defense before. Gotta say, I like it.”

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