Page 22 of Dreaming About Forever

Jordan glanced at their clasped hands.

Oh. She hadn’t released him from her clutches yet.

“Sorry.” She pulled her hand back and wiped it down her pants.

“No problem. We’ll take the trucks from now on.” He slung his leg over the vehicle and steadied himself beside her.

She looked up at the old barn. One side was enclosed, and the other side just had a slanting roof. Round hunks of hay were stacked in the back, and a few older farming machines were parked in front of the hay. She’d never seen a real barn before, and this one had a musty smell.

“Grease and hay. I hope you’re not allergic,” Jordan said.

Alicia relaxed her expression. Oops. She must have wrinkled her nose at the smell.

Jordan pointed to the enclosed side. “This way.”

She followed him to the door, where he opened it and stepped aside to let her enter first. The inside was dark and vast, but she could make out the shapes and shadows of various large vehicles.

Jordan stepped around her and flipped on a single light that dimly lit the interior. She stayed close behind Jordan as he walked through the barn with purpose.

“There she is,” Jordan said, pointing at a pickup truck that had probably once been white. Now, rust had taken over whole parts of the body.

“That’s your truck?”

“My first truck,” Jordan said.

Alicia grinned at the reverence in his voice. “I take itsheis your baby.”

Jordan ran his hand over the hood as he passed toward the driver’s side. “What gave it away?”

“Oh, you seem oddly proud of the inanimate object.”

“I paid for her myself, and she saved me more than once,” he said.

Alicia tilted her head, studying the truck. “Saved you?”

Jordan opened the driver’s side door and bent to rummage under the seat. “That’s a song for another time,” he said as he sat up and stuck a key into the ignition.

She hadn’t seen an actual car key in years. The thing probably didn’t have air conditioning or power windows either.

A dent on the front bumper caught her attention. “Are you sure it runs?”

Jordan turned the key, but the engine didn’t start. He tried it again, but the truck made the same sad noise.

“Nope.” Jordan got out of the truck and rounded to the front. He opened the hood and propped his hands on the sides.

Wow. Those arms were massive. And distracting.

Stop staring.

He reached inside and started pulling out sticks and straw. “A mouse built a nest in the air filter.”

Alicia’s eyes widened. “A mouse?”

Before she knew it, Jordan was on his back and scooting under the truck.

She stared at the big hunk of rusty metal. There was no way he was getting that thing running. “What are you doing?”

“Checking some other things,” he said from beneath the truck.

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