Page 11 of Montana Heat

“Susanna’s my office manager,” I told Kenzie. “She can get your information, and I can call you tomorrow with an update.”

I forced myself to turn away as the women left. I needed to get the vehicle fixed and get the city beauty on her way.

Not stand here wondering why I could still feel the warmth from where I’d touched her hand.

Chapter Three

Kenzie

The next morning, I heaved a sigh and snuggled down into the soft mattress of my new bed. It wasn’t the same as my normal bed, but it was comfy.

The whole place was…okay. Not bad. Just nothome.

Susanna and I had gotten all my stuff out of my car, into hers, and then brought it over here. I’d appreciated that the other woman had helped me carry it all in. She’d wanted to stay and help me set up, but I just hadn’t had the social bandwidth for it.

I didn’t want to make friends here. I wasn’t going to be here long enough for friends.

Plus, I didn’t have enough stuff to need much help anyway. The apartment had come furnished, so all I’d needed was to put away my clothes and set up the few decorative items I couldn’t live without.

I’d changed into better clothes for walking then had gone back into town for a few groceries. Not too many since I had to carry them all back.

This morning, I was thinking of my car. I wanted it back as soon as possible, even though I was within walking distance of nearly everything in Garnet Bend. I missed the comfort ofknowing my car was available as a means of escape. Without it, I felt trapped here.

But if I was honest, it wasn’t just my car on my mind as I lay in bed. It was Jensen Chambers.

We hadn’t talked much, and, as was never far from my mind, I was not in Garnet Bend to connect with people. But…I felt a weird pull to want to know more about the handsome mechanic. He had one of those rich, deep voices, and coupled with his looks—short, dark hair, strong chin and granite cheekbones, and a body that showed very clearly he was used to hard work—I was drawn to him.

All he needed was a tool belt.

I hadn’t tried to strike up small talk, and he hadn’t seemed to be interested either. Actually, the fact that he barely talked to me had me more intrigued. I worked with people for a living and generally found they wanted to engage with me. But not Jensen Chambers.

I had no clue if I could count on him, despite Charlie’s recommendation. His place seemed to be the only garage in town, though, so it wasn’t as if I had a choice.

But the knowledge that I was going to get to talk to him soon made the thought of the long day ahead of me a little more bearable. I knew I needed to shut those feelings down, but damned if I wanted to.

My phone rang on the side table, interrupting my musings. Seeing the name of the garage flash across the screen, I extracted myself from the warmth of my covers and tried to calm the sudden dancing butterflies in my stomach.

“You’re not here to make friends,” I murmured into the quiet space. “Or anything else.”

But it wasn’t Jensen’s voice on the line when I answered. It was Susanna’s.

“Hey, Kenzie,” she said. “Jensen says your car won’t be ready today.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Yeah, he’s waiting for some parts and wants to check out a few more things.”

So it was going to be a long day sitting here in this apartment. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“Hey, listen!” I stopped myself from disconnecting the call as I heard Susanna’s rushed phrase. “I was hoping you would like to join me for coffee.”

That was sweet. And unexpected. “Sure. I’d love to.”

The words were out before I could stop them. Ah, damn it. What was I doing?

“Great! I’ll swing by your place, and we can walk from there. You’ll love Deja Brew.”

“Yeah, sounds good. See you soon.”

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