Page 22 of So Right
Chapter Five
Luke made the very short drive to Kelsey’s apartment and was fortunate to find an open spot to park at the curb. He shut the engine off and looked through the passenger window at the building. It was pre-1950, with businesses all along the ground floor. A hair-and-nail salon took up the most space on the corner. Next to it nestled a door that likely led up to Kelsey’s apartment. He hadn’t realized people still lived in the building.
He got out of the car and didn’t even make it to the curb before she was already walking toward him with a brilliant, beautiful smile. Her hair was split into two dark, glossy braids that fell over each shoulder, and dark sunglasses covered her pale blue eyes. “Good morning! What a nice day for a hike. Though I hope it warms up a little.” She rubbed her arms, which were covered in a violet-blue fleece pullover.
“It will.” The sun was already shining, and the temperature would likely climb to the mid-seventies. Add in the exertion of hiking, and they’d be plenty warm. “I hope you’re not too warm in jeans.”
She glanced down before looking back at him, her dark brows arching elegantly over the top of her glasses. “Oh? Should I change? I see you have convertible pants on. I don’t have any of those.”
He knew he’d convert to shorts at some point. “Do you have anything lighter weight?”
“I might. It’s just been a while since I did anything outdoorsy. Do you mind waiting while I go change?”
She wasn’t going to invite him upstairs? “Sure.”
“I’d invite you up, but my grandmother is staying with me, and she’s in the middle of her morning routine.” She flashed an apologetic smile. “Be right back.”
Luke leaned against his car and waited maybe five minutes before she jogged back out the door in a lightweight pair of capris. She had great legs—long and lithe.
“Better?” she asked.
He nodded. “I think you’ll be more comfortable. Ready?”
“Yep.” She held up her hand, in which she clutched a hat. “And I almost forgot this. That would’ve been bad.”
“For sure. But I keep extra caps in the car. I can’t tell you how many times that’s come in handy.” He opened the door for her.
“Such a gentleman,” she said softly.
“My mom would kill me if I wasn’t.” He closed the door with a smile and rounded the car—his trusty, beat-up, old Jeep—then climbed into the driver’s seat. “It’s about a thirty-minute drive. Do you like music or quiet?”
“Either is fine. I do so little driving anymore.”
He fired up the engine and pulled onto Main Street, then took a quick right so he could loop back around and head west out of town.
“I guess that makes sense,” he said. “You live and work in about a four-block radius, right?”
She chuckled. “Pretty much.”
He slid her a glance. “Welcome to small-town life.”
“I like it. I grew up in Chehalis, which isn’t that much bigger.”
“What brought you here to Ribbon Ridge?”
She took a moment to reply, and he sensed she was organizing what to say. Which made him wonder what she was censoring. “I was in a relationship, and he got a job in McMinnville. We lived there, but I worked at The Arch and Vine.”
He remembered when she was new. That was a couple of years ago—when he and his brothers and Hayden had decided to buy the vineyard and start the winery. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you with the relationship, but I’m glad you decided to stay in Ribbon Ridge.”
“I really do love it. And I actually like being away from my family.” She chuckled again. “Wow, that sounds terrible.”
“Maybe,” he said, smiling. “But your grandmother’s here?”
“Oh yes, but she doesn’t count. I adore her. I mean my mother. And my stepfather. Mostly my mother. We have a rather, um, tense relationship. Things are much better when there’s distance between us.”
“That sucks, but I get it. When I went to college in California, I was so happy to be away from my family—my mother, my father, my brothers, all of them.” He glanced toward her and saw that she was watching him. “My introvertedness was at an all-time high then.”
She nodded. “I so get you. I was thrilled to move to central Washington to go to college. I even graduated high school a year early.”
