Page 12 of Pumpkin Spice Promises

“Maybe two miles back.”

My stomach clenched. “You walked two miles in this?”

“It wasn’t raining this hard when I started.”

“That doesn’t make it better.”

“It makes it factually different.”

Jax lowered his head, but not before I caught his grin.

I looked back at her. “You could’ve waited in the truck.”

“With no phone service, no working vehicle, and several milk deliveries sitting in the bed?” she asked. “For how long?”

“Until the storm eased.”

“The forecast says it’s supposed to rain through tomorrow morning.”

“You checked the forecast, but you didn’t charge your phone?”

Her eyes narrowed. There it was again…that flash of temper beneath the shivering.

“I charged it last night. It’s old, and the battery drains quickly. I wasn’t exactly planning to break down today.”

I rubbed my tongue over the inside of my cheek, fighting the urge to smile.

She was right. More importantly, she knew she was right, which meant there was no chance of her letting me pretend otherwise.

Still, the thought of her walking alone along the highway while the sky darkened made irritation crawl beneath my skin.

“You could’ve gotten hurt.”

Something shifted across her face so quickly I almost missed it. Then she looked back toward the heater and tucked my jacket more tightly around herself.

“I didn’t.” Her answer closed the subject.

Jax stepped away from the desk. “What kind of truck am I looking for?”

“Black eighty-nine Chevy. Square body.”

His eyebrows rose with obvious approval. “That's yours?”

“Yes.” Her hands stopped trembling long enough for her to rub them together.

“Nice truck.”

“It will be once one of you gets it running again.”

Jax laughed. “Fair enough.”

“It matters to me,” she added, the humor fading from her expression. “So please be careful with it.”

Something about the way she said it made me look at her more closely. She wasn’t worried about the value of the vehicle. An eighty-nine Chevy could be worth something in decent condition, but that wasn’t what had tightened her voice.

Jax seemed to catch it too because his amusement softened. “I’ll take care of her.” He pulled his keys from his pocket, then clapped me on the shoulder as he passed. “Try not to interrogate her while I’m gone, Beau.”

“I’m not interrogating anyone.”