Page 28 of Devoted Enough

Glancing past Hank, I saw my car sitting in the driveway. “Did you have to put a new tire on?”

Hank nodded. “I had to. There was no way I could plug that tire again.”

“Again?” Nate asked. “Oh, was that the same one from last month?”

I nodded and focused on Hank. “Thank you, Hank. Can I drop by the shop later today to pay you?”

He smiled. “Of course you can, Haven. There’s no rush. I’m just glad I found the right tire at another store for you this morning.”

Nate turned and looked at me. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he pressed his mouth into a tight line.

“Right. Well, thank you again, Hank. How are the roads?”

“Minor flooding on some roads, but you won’t have any issues getting home. The sun is out and drying things up as we speak. I’m just glad we didn’t get ice or snow.”

I wrapped my arms around my body. “The temperature has dropped, that’s for sure.”

Hank looked up. “Winter is right around the corner, so it’s no surprise we are getting this crazy weather.”

When he looked at Nate and me, he smiled. “I’ll be heading off. Let me know when you want to get the other tires replaced.”

“Thanks, Hank!” I called after him as he headed down the porch steps and to his tow truck.

After he got in and pulled off, Nate shut the front door and started for the kitchen again.

I followed and helped him clean up, even though he had told me not to. We worked in silence, and I couldn’t help but notice something had shifted with us over the last day. What it was, though, I couldn’t say.

“Thank you for picking me up and letting me stay here.”

Nate tossed the dish towel over his shoulder and flashed me that drop-dead gorgeous smile of his.

“No problem at all. I’m glad you got your tire fixed. Are you taking any dogs out today?”

“No, it’s too wet. Sophia told me she had sent out a text to let the dog owners know.”

Slipping his hands into his jeans pockets, Nate looked around the kitchen. “Thanks for helping me clean up, and for the delicious pancakes.”

“Sure,” I said with a smile. “I should get going.”

“Do you have everything?” Nate asked as he followed me into the living room.

“Yep.” I picked up my small bag and purse. “Thanks again.”

He walked me to the front door and out to my car. Right as I was about to get in, Nate spoke.

“Haven, um, wait a second. There’s something I needed to say; I mean, I wanted to talk to you about.” He cleared his throat. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Pausing, I looked into his silver-blue eyes and tried to ignore how my heart sped up. His eyes were dancing with something I had only ever seen once before from him, and it was a long time ago.

He tore his gaze away from mine and kicked at something on the ground. “Last night…something–”

The sound of a vehicle pulling up the driveway caused us both to turn and see who it was.

“Ted?” I said in complete shock.

Ted pulled up behind my car and got out, a smile on his face. “You have your car!”

I looked at Nate, my car, then back to Ted. “Yes, Hank brought it over just a little bit ago.”

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