Page 103 of Forever By Morning

I quickly replied to Beckett that 8 o’clock was fine and shoved my phone in my bag. It took a few tries to get the seatbelt low enough that it wasn’t strangling me.

She hopped in the driver’s side, and I quickly realized why she liked the bigger car. Bells was tall and curvaceous, and the retro car suited her on every level. She flipped her deep red, almost burgundy hair over her shoulder as she twisted to physically look out her back window to back out of the parking spot.

“So what did you tell the horse guy?”

“How do you know I told him anything?”

“Because your foot is tapping.” She gunned the jet fighter plane engine, and we took off like a shot out of the parking lot and onto the winding road that led out of the orchard.

I gripped my knee. That was a new thing. I’d never been fidgety before. Then again, I didn’t generally start my day with a man in my bed. Or hungover.

“You’re very observant.”

She grinned and the dimple instantly turned her from bombshell sexy to approachable for some reason. “People are fascinating. How they tick, why they do the things they do. It’s fun to figure it out.”

I relaxed my fingers in my lap. I’d probably regret asking, but maybe it would be interesting to know what a relative stranger thought about me. “Okay, what’s your first impression of me?”

She paused at the stop sign at the mouth of the orchard. “Sure you want a free session with Dr. Grayson?”

“Probably not, but I’m interested anyway.”

“You asked for it. First, do I go left or right?”

I pulled out my phone where I had the bakery plugged into my maps app. “Left.”

“And off we go.”

I set my phone in the slot in the console to let the app continue to give directions.

“First of all, you’re wound super tight.” She flipped down the visor for a pair of oversized sunglasses against the late day sun. “Says probably a killer parental figure or ex-husband-slash-boyfriend.”

“Point one. Mother.”

She snapped her fingers. “Right. The texts and messages. Probably overbearing sort. Dad kinda a non-entity.”

I cleared my throat and resisted the urge to sink in my seat. I definitely shouldn’t have asked. “Second point.”

“I’m not keeping score, mind you. Just observations. My bestie’s mom is one of those over-involved kinds. Hers is mostly out of love, but it does make Kenz super independent. Like her husband wants to shake her kind of independent.”

I relaxed a little. “Because he wants to help, I hope?”

“Oh, yeah. He’s super grumpy, but he’s very helpful around their B&B. I’ve been known to pinch hit when they’re jammed. I found out I really liked parts of it.”

“Then why didn’t you just work for them?”

“I thought about it. But I’ve always been itchy to get out of my little town.”

“And come to another one?”

She laughed. “Fair point. I thought about trying a bigger city, but I tripped over Laverne’s job offer on a few postings. When it came up for the third time, I figured it was a sign. And here I am.”

“Just like that?” The thought of just picking up and moving for a job was so foreign to me. “That’s really brave.”

“Nah. I mean, I miss Kenz, but she’s so busy with her kids.” She tapped her long fingers on the steering wheel. The first time I saw a tell other than the carefree Bells she’d portrayed since I met her.

I was good at reading people as well, due to a lifetime of trying to avoid the wrath of my mother when she was upset.

“Anyway, I needed a change. I hopped in my car to interview with Laverne and fell in love with The Lodge from the minute I saw it.”

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