Page 35 of Love, Lies and Sleigh Rides
Kade led her around the corner of Two Tree to the parking lot. She let out a squeal even before he said a word.
“My car!”
She shuffled her boots along the slick pavement, leaving Kade behind. He clicked the remote in his hand to open the door. The car beeped as the headlights blinked on.
Fallon circled the car to look at the previously damaged spot. She even knelt on one knee to look at the underside. He smiled at her thorough inspection.
“Good as new?”
Fallon got to her feet. Her cheeks pinkened from the cold this time, not embarrassment, but she was as pretty as ever.
“I can’t even tell. Bart’s amazing.”
“I think he even threw in a detail.”
Her mouth gaped as she opened the door. “You’re kidding?”
“Take a look.”
She sat down in the driver’s seat, running her hand over the dash, shaking her head. “How much do I owe him?”
“Bart said it was six hundred and change. You can pay him whenever you get a chance to get over there.”
Her shoulders slumped. “C’mon. That’s way too cheap. I’m no stranger to repair work.”
He shrugged. “Don’t strangle the messenger.”
Fallon got out and shut the door. “I’ll have to do something for him. A gift card or…or…a fruit basket at least.”
Kade struggled not to laugh. The only fruit basket he guessed Bart had ever seen was the still-life portrait in his waiting room. Kade had always thought it an odd choice of decor for an auto body shop. But Bart was an odd guy and didn’t give two hoots what anyone thought of him, fruit paintings notwithstanding.
“Bart’s very generous…and a good friend. He won’t like you gushing over it. Just thank him and that’s it.” He held the keys out, swinging them from one finger. “I can take the loaner back. Trade?” He held out his hand for the other set.
Instead of giving him the keys, Fallon took his hand. Hers was warm and small enveloped in his, but then she gave him a little squeeze that wasn’t delicate at all.
“Thank you, Kade. You’ve been too…amazing this whole time.”
Snowflakes crowned her head, still falling around them. One landed on the tip of her nose and didn’t melt right away. She felt it and brushed it away with her other hand with a chuckle.
“It wasn’t part of the joke, you know,” she said, lowering her voice. Against the white backdrop, Fallon’s hazel eyes shown with a preternatural light as she cocked her head.
“The joke?” Kade knew what she meant but there was no earthly way he could have uttered more than two words.
“Me asking if you’d like to come to the sponsors’ dinner with me. I was given two tickets. How about it?” She gave his hand a little shake before she dropped it and put an extra space between them.
“If you’d don’t mind being seen with the town troublemaker,” he managed to say.
She looked at him through one eye. “That was a long time ago. Surely people around here don’t hold grudges for that long.”
Kade gritted his teeth but couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “You really have a lot to learn about small towns.”
ChapterThirteen
On her way out of Hendricks the next morning, Fallon stopped by Bart’s Auto Body to settle up with him. Sara sat in her usual spot at the desk, only her face visible above the counter when Fallon walked into the office.
“Good morning, Sara.”
“Hi. I’ve been waiting for you. The bill’s ready.”
