Page 38 of No Going Back
Griffin shook his head, straightening as he wiped oil from his hands. “I’m fine.”
It tasted like a lie, but admitting that would only add to the list of problems he was facing.
“You sure?” Troy lowered the hood into place, letting it drop the last few inches. “You don’t think maybe you might be working yourself too hard?”
“I’m okay. Promise.” Too much work was never the problem. Up until now it had always been the answer.
Work was the only thing that never failed him. It was the only thing he never failed at. It offered him respite when he was struggling in his personal life.
At least it normally did. But recently, he hadn’t quite been able to work himself to the point that nothing else really mattered.
The past two days were proof of that.
After Dianna rushed out Friday night, leaving him with a pan of warm cinnamon rolls and an ache in his gut, he’d done everything he could think of to keep himself busy, expecting it to take the edge off her abrupt retreat. All he’d ended up accomplishing was staying up most of the night and accidentally mislaying two rows of tile in his bathroom.
Griffin tipped his head toward the ATV they’d just finished working on. “How about you get that out of here so we can service the next one.”
He’d been thrilled as hell when he showed up at Troy and Amelie’s and discovered that his son was hoping they could give each of the ranch’s work vehicles a run-through, making sure they were ready for the upcoming winter months. It meant he would have plenty to occupy his time and his mind. But even after two nights of barely sleeping and two days of working himself to death, he was still struggling to think of anything but Dianna.
Troy started up the engine and pulled out of the building, circling around to the carport that ran up one side where they parked all the side-by-sides. Griffin leaned against the wall, waiting for his son to return with the final one, wiping across his perpetually stained fingernails as he waited.
Was that why Dianna raced off like she did? Had she finally realized he wasn’t worth spending time with? It had happened more times than he could count, and always came out of nowhere, a whole lot like Friday night did.
Except he and Dianna hadn’t really been spending time together. They’d actually both gone to great lengths to make it clear they were nothing more than friends.
Friends who occasionally accidentally fucked.
He stepped out of the way as Troy backed the final UTV into their workspace. Once the engine was shut off and the hood was up, they got to work, spending the next hour changing out the oil and making sure everything was working in perfect order before lining it up with the rest of its cohorts.
When all their tools were cleaned and back in place, they made their way to the house where Amelie and her grandmother had just gotten back from spending the day in town. He helped them carry in groceries, doing his best to pretend everything was normal.
And maybe it would have been normal if Dianna had actually left her house after rushing from his. But her claims that she forgot to do something at The Baking Rack were clearly not true since she’d never actually left her house. That meant there was another reason she’d run out on him.
“I didn’t realize how late it was.” Amelie leaned back against the counter, blowing out a breath. “I haven’t even thought of what to make for dinner.”
“I don’t need dinner.” Griffin immediately seized the opportunity. He usually spent Sundays with Troy and Amelie, leaving after dinner and dessert, but right now he was itching to get home. Itching to find out why Dianna walked out like she did. “I should actually get back and finish tiling the shower so I can have that upstairs bathroom running this winter.” It sounded like a reasonable excuse to cut out early.
But that’s all it was. An excuse.
His reasons for leaving had nothing to do with tile or his bathroom, even though it probably should since he desperately needed to have a working shower. But he needed to know why Dianna left like she did more. He needed to know how to get back to their morning talks over coffee and their evenings on her back porch swing. Their time together was important to him. Their friendship—
The word grated. Peeled at his hide in a way that burned.
Because Dianna wasn’t his friend. She was so much more than that.
And she’d walked out of his house like the time they spent together didn’t matter to her at all.
“Well we wouldn’t want you to have to keep showering in the backyard all winter.” Amelie grinned at him, oblivious to the foul mood gripping him tight. “Do you need help? I’m sure Troy could—”
“No way. You guys stay here and enjoy your evening.” He grabbed his jacket and his keys. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you out or if you have any more issues with any of those side-by-sides.” He slapped Troy on the shoulder, giving Amelie and her grandmother a wave as he let himself out the back door. It took everything he had not to run to his truck. Now that he decided he was upset over Dianna walking out the way she did, he couldn’t wait to find out why she’d left him.
Why she wasn’t struggling with this the same way he was.
Even though he was pushing the speeds of the country roads way past their limit, the drive back to his house took forever. By the time he pulled into his driveway his teeth were grinding together in frustration. How could she be so detached? How could she be so completely unbothered by the fact that they couldn’t explore what was between them?
And there was definitely something between them.
He shoved open the door to his truck, getting out of the cab and slamming the door. He was halfway across his front yard before he noticed the car sitting in Dianna’s driveway.
