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“Seriously?”
“Yup. People are going to be trying to figure you out, and until they do, they’re going to have their eyes trained on you.”
Once I’m on my feet, Ethan pulls me into his arms and holds me closely. “That’s creepy.”
“That’s life in a small town.”
Resting his chin on my head, he asks, “Have you ever thought about living somewhere else?”
“I’ve thought about it, but my whole support system is in Gamble, so I’d be a fool to leave that behind. A single mother needs all the help she can get.”
“What if you had a support system somewhere else?”
“If you’re asking what I’d do if Grandpa and Digger moved, I’d probably follow them. But there’s no way that’s ever going to happen. They’re both set in their ways.”
“I get that,” he says, as my stomach suddenly drops.
He’s telling me that he’s set in his ways, too. Which, once again, makes this short-term dating thing a bad idea.
I don’t have time to let doubt take center stage in my brain because Ethan lowers his lips to mine in the most soul-searing kiss I’ve ever experienced. The burn starts at my feet and slowly moves all the way up to my brain. That’s when a serious malfunction of my thought process occurs, and I no longer wonder at the logistics of what we’re doing. There are times in life where you have to live for the moment. And if this isn’t one of those times, I don’t know what is.
It feels so good to be in Ethan’s arms, so right. It feels like it’s where I was always meant to be. If not for old Mrs. Martin driving by and honking, I might have stayed there forever.So much for finding a more secluded spot.
Instinctually, I lower my head onto Ethan’s chest, hoping to hide from her until she passes by.
“Who was that?” he asks.
“Sissy Sinclair’s grandmother. Hopefully, she didn’t see me.” That’s when it hits me that my truck is sitting out in plain sight, and there’s no chance she didn’t see that. Super. My already undeserved reputation in town is about to get even more interesting.
“Is there any place in Gamble where we can be alone?” He sounds as frustrated as I feel.
“We could go for a hike,” I suggest.
“When?” I love that he’s so eager.
“How about on Saturday after two? Things slow down at the diner at that time, so Abigail can handle things on her own until the dinner shift shows up. The kids are going to go fishing with Digger, so they won’t be around.”
That’s when Ethan smacks himself in the head. “My parents will be here tomorrow. I don’t know how I’m going to sneak away from them so soon.”
“Tell them that you’re going up the mountain to help gather notes for a grisly murder scene,” I suggest.
“I’ll do my best, but just so you know, my mother is not the easiest person in the world to shake. When she wants something, she gets it.”
She sounds like someone I’d like to meet. “Bring her along, then. Maybe she can give me some lessons.” I eye him with intent.
He steps back with a wicked grin on his face. Running his hands up and down in front of his body, he asks, “Is there something here that you want?”
Yes, yes, yes, yesyesyesyesyesyes … but of course, I don’t say that. Instead, I offer a slight shrug. “Maybe.” Then I look at my watch. “Edna needs to get home, so I’d better hustle. I’ll text you once the boys go to bed.”
He reaches out as if to grab me, but I speed up to stay out of his reach. If I let Ethan get his hands on me again, I’ll be hard pressed to ever walk away. Driving home feels like I’ve tuned into the Ethan channel. He’s all I can think about until I pull into my driveway.
That’s where I’m greeted by total mayhem. The twins are running around screaming, Wyatt is lying on the ground like he’s been hit by a brick, and Edna’s heading in my direction as fast as her seventy-something legs will carry her.
I barely have the car in park before I get out. “What happened?”
“Well, there’s good news and bad news. What do you want first?” She huffs as she stops to catch her breath.
“Always the bad,” I tell her. I hate having good news ruined by bad.
