Page 5 of It Just Feels Right

After he stares at me for another moment, I start to fidget in my seat. The chemistry between us is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. “Uh, will you get in trouble taking me home when you’re supposed to be working?”

He just shakes his head. “No. And I wouldn’t care if I did.”

I nod, accepting what he’s saying. I want to ask him if he feels this too, but I’m not brave enough. I’m sure every single woman in Whiskey Run hits on him, and I don’t want to just be another woman throwing themselves at him.

He pulls out onto the street, and I hate knowing that it won’t take very long at all to get home.

“Are you okay?”

We’re at a stop sign, and he’s looking at me questioningly. “You were sighing. Are you okay?”

I nod. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you glad you’re back in Whiskey Run?”

I almost ask him how he knows I left and came back, but I figure he’s probably just heard it from someone tonight. “Yeah, I am.”

He taps his hand on the steering wheel. “You sound surprised.”

“I guess I am. I thought when I left to go to college, I would stay gone, but I missed it here. I missed my sister.”

He nods his head in agreement. “I can see that. Your sister is a good person.”

This time there’s no hiding my surprise. “You know my sister?”

He nods but changes the subject. “You like teaching at the middle school?”

And all at once, I remember. I think my face was numb from the ice, but since he’s brought it up, I pull the visor down and open the mirror. It’s dark in the car and I can’t really tell so I push the visor back up. “Yeah, I love it actually, but I probably won’t have the job after tomorrow.”

He tenses and straightens up in his seat. “What do you mean you won’t have a job tomorrow?”

Even though I know he can’t really see it in the dark car, I still point to my forehead. “This.”

His arms flex as he holds on to the steering wheel tighter. “What? You’ll lose your job because you got hurt?”

My voice is shaky because I’m filled with worry. I really don’t want to screw this up. “Yeah, when my boss finds out I was in a bar fight, she’ll fire me. She hates me.”

He reaches over and pats my leg, and I sit perfectly still, wishing he would keep his hand on me. Geez, what the heck is wrong with me? I’m never like this. He grunts and pulls his hand away. “It’s going to be okay. And you weren’t in a bar fight.”

I laugh because just the image of me in a bar fight is kind of funny. I’m laughing now, but I know I won’t be tomorrow. “Trust me, by the time Mrs. Daniels hears about it, she’ll have heard I was drunk, I hooked up with some random guy, and then got into a bar fight. She’s just looking for a reason to fire me.”

“Mrs. Daniels? Are you kidding? Krista Daniels is still the principal at the middle school?”

I nod. “Yeah, how did you know that? Wait, what do you mean still? I thought you were new to Whiskey Run.”

I turn in my seat, completely focused on him now. He’s watching the road, and it gives me time to take him all in. He’s slow to respond, but I don’t mind. “No, I’m not new to Whiskey Run. I lived here most of my life. I’ve been gone for a while working undercover in Jasper, and I just got back last week.”

I hold my hands together in my lap.Don’t ask. Don’t ask,I repeat to myself but it doesn’t stop me. “How old are you?”

He smirks and looks over at me. “Thirty-two.” He pauses. “Ten years older than you.”

“How do you—”

“How do I know how old you are? I know a lot about you. I didn’t know when I met you that I’d want to know more, though.”

My lower belly pulls as he hints that he wants to know me better. I can barely process it before he says, “Is that a problem?”

“No, I’d like to know more about you too.”

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