Page 12 of Hold my Reins

Rox nodded. “Yeah, I like the town so far.”

What else was he supposed to say? He’d been there less than twenty-four hours, and he’d managed to hook-up in that time—a personal best.

Arn hooked his thumbs into his belt loops. “I’ll show you around, then you can do the paperwork. You got an address yet?”

“I’m staying at the motel until I sort out a rental.” That and he didn’t have the money for a rental deposit, and it was going to be harder to save up while staying at the motel even though he had the weekly rate. It was much easier to be on the road because then he didn’t have to consider things like rent, but there were other problems like being unable to cook anything for himself and needing to find a laundromat.

“Okay. When will you have that sorted?”

“I’ll be speaking to a real estate agent or looking for a room to rent on the weekend.”Let me find out which way is up in this town before you start harassing me.

Arn grunted. “Okay then. I’ll show you where you can put your bag. We’re booked up for the rest of the week, so you’d better not run out on me.”

“No, sir.” Busy was good, much better than cleaning and killing time. If he was busy, he couldn’t think about things to do with Lynck.

He made it until lunch time before messaging. Which wasn’t exactly being chill. But he had thirty minutes and no desire to wander around looking for lunch when he could eat the muesli bar he’d tossed in his bag.

He sat out the back on a tire, soaking up the sun with a cup of coffee, contemplating what to write that didn’t sound too salacious or too much like he was looking for a new best friend. He knew those gray areas existed, but he wasn’t very good at finding them.

Hey, I had fun last night.

No, that was too much like he wanted a repeat. Which he did, but he didn’t want Lynck to think that was all he wanted because he’d also been enjoying their chat.

Did you want to grab coffee sometime? I enjoyed meeting you yesterday.

That wasn’t it either. He deleted it and scrolled through their conversation. He should ask something smart about Lynck.

I’m thinking about checking out the lake after work. I can swing past the cafe if you want to grab a coffee and come with?

Yeah, that was better. Or did that sound like he was asking for a date? He was so out of practice; he was pretty sure he’d begetting it wrong with anyone. At this point, he needed to send something.

He hit send and finished his rather shitty lunch. He needed to buy some stuff to put in the mini-fridge so he could make sandwiches for lunch. While he was at the shops, he should grab a couple of frozen dinners; they were cheaper than eating out every night. Two should fit in the freezer section of the mini fridge in the motel room. He made a tiny shopping list on his phone that suited both his fridge and his budget until he got paid on Monday. If he went after work, he’d have dinner for tonight and be sorted for tomorrow.

By the time his break was over, he hadn’t gotten a response from Lynck. His heart sank, even though it shouldn’t matter. He’d thought there was a vibe between them, something worth following up on—even in daylight. By the time he got in his truck at the end of the day, there were still no messages.

Wow…he’d really misread the situation. He sucked with peopleandmonsters.

seven

With the lunch rush over and a small breathing space before the afternoon crowd came in, Lynck wiped down all the tables and swept the floor. Keeping busy didn’t stop Rox’s message from rolling around his head.

I’m thinking about checking out the lake after work. I can swing past the cafe if you want to grab a coffee and come with?

What kind of message was that?

“What’s bitten you beneath the tail?” Thursten asked as he refreshed the cake cabinet.

“I’m just doing my job.” And trying to figure out how to reply.

“Yes, like you hate it.”

Lynck leaned on the broom and glared at his friend. “I’m thinking.”

“Human problem?”

There was no point in denying it. It might’ve been easier to write Rox off if he hadn’t messaged. Instead, he’d followed up as promised. He said as much to Thursten.

“So you’re miffed because he wants to see you again?”

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