Plan made, he felt a little lighter as he jogged across the street and strolled to the opposite end of the town square. The TradingPost might not have everything he’d need to supply his kitchen for the week, but it would have plenty of what he wanted for tonight.
He searched through his memory of all of Heather’s favorite foods as he approached the store. A little red car turned the corner and slid into a parking spot as he opened the door to step inside.
“Hey there, cowboy.”
The familiar draw was like fingernails raking over a bed of broken glass. It couldn’t be. He ran too far, too much time had passed. Slowly, he glanced over his shoulder and his eyes connected with a tall blond with big, blue eyes and pouty lips.
She stood beside her car, her mouth in a hesitant smile and gave a little hip-high wave.
He fisted his hands at his sides and reigned in the temper threating to snap every shred of patience he possessed. “Chrissy? What the hell are you doing here?”
She lifted one slender shoulder. “I wanted to see you.”
Suspicion grew inside him like a wildfire. “How did you find me?”
“Heather told me she was coming up to see you, so I followed her.”
At least she had the decency to cringe at the admission.
“Why?”
Giving him a tiny shake of her head, her lips curved in a sad smile. “Don’t you think it’s time we put all of our issues behind us?”
“I put you behind me a long time ago.”
She took a step forward, and he instantly took one back.
“Are you sure about that?” she asked.
He ground his teeth together as every act of emotional warfare he’d endured at her hands flitted through his mind. “Absolutely.”
A flash of anger darkened her eyes to cobalt. “Well, I haven’t, and I deserve to be heard.”
A thought ignited and stoked the flames of his suspicion to raw, hot anger. “You did it. You’re the one who wrote that threat on Suzy’s car. I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I don’t want any part of it.”
Plans for the evening forgotten, he turned from The Trading Post and stomped back to his truck. He needed to put distance between him and his past before Chrissy took things way too far.
Just like she always did.
Even if themorning had been filled with a number of unexpected interruptions—both bad and good—Suzy still had work to do. As hard as it was to concentrate, she sat at her desk in Lane’s home office and double checked the schedule for the upcoming week.
She balanced the phone receiver between her ear and shoulder while she spoke. “We have a window of time open Wednesday afternoon if you’d like to come in and speak with the guys about your needs, Mrs. Carpenter. Does that work for you?”
Mrs. Carpenter sighed. “Yes, I suppose that will do.”
“Would you like to come to our office or have one of the guys to come to you?” she asked while typing Mrs. Carpenter’s information into the computer.
“Well, this cold weather really has my hip acting up. It’d be better if they come here if it’s not too much of a bother.”
Even though no one could see her, Suzy rolled her eyes. She’d known Mrs. Carpenter most of her life, and the older woman’s theatrics were known by everyone in a three-county radius. “No bother at all.”
The front door banged open then shut followed by stomping footsteps. Duke stormed into the office, his handsome face drawn into a scowl. He darted his gaze around the room before his narrowed eyes landed on her.
“Uhm,” she stammered into the phone, trying to remember what she was saying. “I have you down for 1:00 on Wednesday. Call if you need anything before then.”
Hanging up, she focused on Duke. Before this morning, she’d never seen the man rattled. He oozed charm and sarcasm, usually appearing to be unbothered by anything that crossed his path. This side of him turned her stomach, making her want to do whatever she could to put that sexy smirk back on his face.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked.
