Page 40 of Your Soul to Keep

He flicked the indicator and tapped his foot on the brakes.

“Oh my God!” I exclaimed, slamming my hand back down on his thigh. “Happy now?”

He covered my hand with his and moved it closer to the crease of his groin. “Now, I’m happy.”

The Loose Moose was the finest dining establishment one could find an hour north of Mistlevale, and it was widely acknowledged to be the shining star in Moose Lake’s nightlife scene.

Memories flooded back as he turned into the lot and threw the truck into park.

The Loose Moose started out as a hunting lodge evidenced by the disgruntled moose head mounted above the sturdy brick fireplace. Adorned with enormous antlers, it overlooked the entire establishment. A collection of comfy chairs, a wide couch, and a large coffee table hung out next to the hearth. At some point in its history, two of its walls were knocked down to add a diner. Later still, a sleek, mahogany bar was added along the wall separating the kitchen from the dining room.

The slap dash sum of its parts was integral to The Loose Moose’s charm, and the reason people made a point of dropping in whenever they drove through town.

That and its world-famous hamburgers.

For us, it was freedom. Far enough from Sage Ridge, we reveled in escaping from under the microscope of our small town.

Well, except for that one time.

“Remember the day we skipped school and drove up here?”

He grinned as he pushed his door open. “And frigging Anita was here and shooed our asses back out the door? Yeah, I remember.” He cocked his head to the side. “Remember where we stopped on the way home?”

I blushed and averted my eyes, remembering again the shocking ecstasy of his tongue working between my legs for the first time, his dark head nestled between my thighs.

Chuckling, he reached out and stroked the backs of his fingers over my cheek. “You blushed pretty fiercely back then, too.”

It was a memory that had played out in my dreams more than once over the years since. I felt it even now.

“Want a redo?” he teased just as I opened my door.

“Well,” I barked out a laugh as I swung my legs around and hopped down. “I wouldn’t say no!”

But I wouldn’t pursue him either.

The half of me that still smarted from when he turned me down after Nan’s funeral held the side that wanted to rip off his clothes and jump his bones firmly in check. I wasn’t eager for a repeat.

I took a deep breath as I walked to the front of the truck to meet him.

He tossed the toothpick and took my hand. Blue eyes sharpening on mine, he promised, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Things were moving too fast. I drew back slightly and dropped my gaze.

“And there she goes,” he murmured.

My eyes snapped back to his, my eyebrows scrunching together. “In some ways, it’s like I never left. I feel like I know you just the same, but twenty years lie between then and now and I don’t know anything about how you spent them.”

“That’s fair,” he murmured, tugging me toward the entrance. Once we settled at a table nestled to the side of the fireplace, he reached across the table for my hand. “What do you want to know?”

Tentatively, I intertwined my fingers with his.

How much did I really want to know?

I shrugged. “I don’t know, give me the highlights?”

He nodded shortly, his lips pressing together tightly for a brief moment. “Dropped out of college. Run the garage with my dad. Trained to be a fire fighter. Bought a house. Had a kid.”

My heart dropped into my stomach, and I reeled.

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