Page 37 of Off the Trail

“Have fun,” Blaze says, moving out of the way so I can climb past him into the cab. “Don’t chop your finger off.”

“Helpful advice,” I say, laughing a little. The seat is still warm from his body, and I register that my ass is touching the spot where his ass just was, which makes me think about touching his ass for real, and I need to get out of here before I do or say something stupid. I’m a little taller than him, so I rack the bench seat back a click, then start the engine. “Thanks again.”

“Of course. Come back in one piece, yeah?” He shuts the door, pats the side to let me know I’m good to go, but I don’t rush to peel out or anything.

I adjust the mirrors, make sure Misty, Brooke, and Blaze are all out of the way, and then carefully, feeling the pressure like we’re one down at the bottom of the ninth, man on, two outs, and I’m the last batter up, ease the truck onto the road. I catch Blaze smiling in my rearview mirror. Brooke is saying something to him; he pushes her arm and shakes his head. I focus on the road in front of me and head toward town.

Chapter 15

Blaze

“I think he’s into you,” Brooke says as we watch Shawn creep his way down the drive toward the main road.

I push her arm. “Shut up. No, he’s not.”

“He’s totally into you,” she says, not backing down. “He took you out to dinner last night.”

“That was a friends thing,” I argue as we head toward the boathouse on foot.

“It was at a bed-and-breakfast. And he paid.”

“He was just being nice. Gail and Billie say hi, by the way.”

“Hi back. And didn’t you two end up watching a horror movie instead of a baseball game?”

“So?”

“So, horror movies are like classic date movies. You can scream and hide your face in your date’s broad, manly chest.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” I insist, even though she’s echoing my own traitorous thoughts.

I unlock the boathouse and flip on the lights. It’s chilly in here, and I kick the heat on to take the edge off. Misty finds a chew toy under my desk and brings it over to her bed. “Let’s just inventory the life jackets, okay? Some of them are past their prime.”

We set to work, but Brooke won’t let it go. “Is he coming to Sunday supper?”

“Yeah,” I say cautiously. “All the guests are invited. You know that.”

“Fine, continue being oblivious. But at least you can tell me you like him.”

“I—” I’m about to deny it, but that would be protesting too much. I make a note to order more extra-small life vests. “He’s nice.”

“He’s a hottie with a body and green eyes that stare into your soul,” she gushes. “And he likes you. So please, since you’re dating him already, can you get some action, too?”

“What do you mean I’m dating him already? He’s a guest. I’m doing my job.”

“Lending him your truck is not in your job description. You won’t even let me drive your truck.”

“That’s not true. You hate driving my truck.”

“That’s because I need a booster seat to see out the windshield,” she grumbles.

“We’ve become friends,” is all I’ll admit to, because wanting anything else seems completely pointless.

“Yeah, sure,” she says, but maybe she hears the stress in my voice because she backs off for a while, helping me count out the kid-sized vests and add to my reorder list.

“I guess it’s just good to see you enjoying spending time with someone,” she says a little later.

I reach for a bag of pool noodles slung up in the rafters and pull them down. “Huh?”