Page 19 of Ice Mechanic

“This is a small town. Everyone is going to be talking about what happened. It’s probably all over the nursing home group chat now.”

“The fact that some jerk grabbed you or the fact that I stopped him?”

“Both.”

“You shouldn’t be sorry.” He raises his chin. “None of this is your fault. If it’s anybody’s fault, it’s mine.”

“So you admit it’s your fault?”

He stares straight ahead, choosing his words carefully. “If you expect me to apologize for intervening…” He shakes his head. “I won’t. I only apologize for things I’m actually sorry for.”

“Noted.” I crank up the air conditioner because, for some reason, my face is getting hot.

He taps his fingers on his knee. “So… you and Evan…”

I groan. “You were doing so well.”

“I have to ask.”

“‘Have to’ is relative.”

“What’s the deal with him?”

“We dated. He cheated. We broke up. Case closed.”

Chance scrunches his nose. “He cheated, and he’s still demanding you answer his calls?”

I shrug.

He looks genuinely outraged. “You shouldn’t have stopped me from punching him.”

“Please don’t pick a fight with Evan. He meant it when he said he’d have you thrown in jail. The Kinseys pretty much own this town. His cousin, Gunner, is the captain of our hockey team and Gunner’s dad is the sheriff.”

“Which means Evan is the nephew of the sheriff?” He scrunches his nose. “So Lucky Falls is a kingdom then, not a democracy.”

“Sounds about right,” I concede. “You’ll get the hang of it if you stick around long enough.”

“I don’t plan on doing that.”

He takes out his phone and checks the screen. I briefly wonder if he’s hoping for a call from his girlfriend. Or maybe his many girlfriends. With a face like that, he doesn’t scream ‘my dream is a wife, a white picket fence, and two and a half kids’.

I know the deal with athletes. Our hockey team is popular around here and I’ve seen how girls throw themselves at Gunner and the rest of the players. Athletes, at every level, are never in want of company, attention and adoration. Since Chance has been at the very top, he’s probably reaped the benefits of that.

Why do you care who he dates, April?

I shake my head to clear the thoughts. Seeing Evan threw me for a loop and now not even my thoughts are making sense.

Speeding a little faster to the hotel, I drive my truck right up to the front doors and let Chance out.

I’m glad our time together is over. In this state, my emotional defenses are down. I’ll start talking about the cheating incident or the incident that hurt me even worse afterwards. And that’ll be beyond embarrassing.

“Thanks for the ride,” Chance says. “And for the help with my car.”

“Thanks for the burger. And… with Evan…” I say stiffly.

“You’re welcome.” He unleashes a soft smile that would probably have me falling flat in my chair if I wasn’t already seated.

I bet women always go weak at the knees in front of Chance. The man should walk around with a warning.

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