Page 31 of Montana Heat

Her brown eyes clouded over. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Addict parents. They lost custody of me when I was ten, which was honestly a relief, seeing how they’d done a shitty job providing for me up to that point anyway.” That was putting it mildly, but no need to spoil our appetites before the food even got here. “I bounced around a few foster homes, then finally was placed with a permanent family when I was fifteen. The Everetts—Lucas—lived next door. He invited me to play basketball the day I moved in, and we were thick as thieves from that point on.”

Patti came back with our milkshakes. I was glad for a little bit of a reprieve as we both enjoyed those first icy sips.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I totally get that.”

I shrugged. “Lucas has been a wonderful friend to me. He joined the Navy and became a SEAL. I was just a grunt in the Army for a few years, no active combat or anything. Then I went into security for a while—but it was just a job, not something I saw as a longtime career. I came out to visit a few years ago and really respected what Lucas and the guys had built here.”

“The respect you guys have for one another is evident in everything. Even in how you harass and joke with one another.”

I grinned. “Yeah, that’s bro love-talk—sparring with one another and calling one another dickwads.”

She laughed, and once again, the pure sound of it struck me. Damned if I didn’t want to hear it as much as possible.

“The garage came up for sale about a year ago, and I bought it. Wanted to be close by here and help out whenever I can.”

I never dreamed that would involve a situation like safeguarding Kenzie, but now that I thought about it, that was exactly the sort of thing I’d wanted to be around for.

“You love it here.” She took another sip of her milkshake, and I had to force myself not to stare at her lips sucking on the straw. “Despite doing takeout all the time, you love it here.”

“I do. I don’t think I’ll ever want to live anywhere else.”

She looked around again. “I was pretty resentful of having to come to Garnet Bend a few days ago when I first arrived, but it’s definitely growing on me. How could it not, when you guys are going way above and beyond to help me out? That’s more than law enforcement did for me back in my hometown.”

“I’m glad we can help.”

A few minutes later, Patti and Clive both walked our plates out to us. They chatted a minute with Kenzie, who didn’t mind a bit. Unlike me, she was definitely a people person. Finally, they left, and we dug into our food.

“Do you miss Denver?” I asked after a bite of my hamburger.

“Mostly, I just miss being busy. It’s hard when you lose your work, your friends, and all your activities at one time. Especially for someone like me who doesn’t do great at sitting around doing nothing.”

“How is your business surviving without you?”

She let out a sigh. “I have a team, so they’re able to handle things, especially face-to-face interactions. The stalker has seemed to target just me, not my actual business, so that works in my favor, at least.”

I made a mental note to let Jude know about that for when hestarted digging into the stalker electronically. Whatever it was, was personal solely to Kenzie.

“It’s good that your overall business isn’t suffering.”

She smeared a fry through ketchup. “Honestly, I can do a lot of my work remotely. I just don’t like to be out of the loop. And right now, I’m bored. I’ve taught my team too well, and now they don’t need me. I even miss the social media stuff, where I posted about my seminars and answered questions. But Detective Watters said that’s definitely a big no.”

“You like social media? I absolutely hate it.”

She laughed through another bite of food. “As a tool for promotion and communication? Absolutely.”

I ate a few more bites of my own meal while pondering a possible solution that might help both of us. I was so lost in my own thoughts—and hell, so used to being in only my own company—that I didn’t realize I’d been silent for too long.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

I looked up from my food to find Kenzie almost finished with hers. I appreciated that she hadn’t tried to force conversation out of me.

“I was wondering if maybe you’d like a temporary job.”

She blinked rapidly at me. “A job?”

“Susanna and I have been wanting to promote my woodworking, but both of us are shit at social media and have no interest in doing it. I was wondering if while you’re in Garnet Bend and can’t do your own work, you’d be interested in helping me start this side of mine.”

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