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“Tapas?” Ben opened the passenger seat of his truck, letting me slide in before softly closing the door behind me.
I waited for him to get into the driver’s side. “Tapas? It’s Spanish, I think. Like appetizers.”
“Well, I could eat a lot of little things or one big thing. I’m not picky. I shoved down a sandwich for lunch, but I had a trucker turn up at dawn who hit a moose on the road a mile back. Only broke its leg, which considering the damage to the truck is a miracle.”
“I thought you weren’t going to take any more moose,” I asked.
I didn’t love the more dangerous animals at the rescue. I’d made peace with the bears. They were his grandparents and as close to domesticated as an animal that size could get. I didn’t wander around the cages, of course, but I also didn’t get the same thrum of panic that seized me when Ben took in a moose.
He shrugged, starting up the truck. “I couldn’t say no. Besides, based on the truck, I thought I’d just be putting the poor thing down. I didn’t realize I could rehab her.”
“Her?” I raised an eyebrow. “Does Franklin Notch have a new mayor?”
The last time Ben ran out of space at the rescue, he’d drummed up a deal with the town: Ben could house the moose in the pasture just behind town hall, and Larry Jenkins, the former mayor of Franklin Notch, would make the moose acting mayor.
The deal had upped the tourism in Franklin Notch, but the uproar when the moose finally healed enough to be released back into the wild had been a nightmare. No one wanted to give up the moose except for Ben.
He sighed heavily, pulling out of the neighborhood. “I didn’t have a choice. Dr. Collins made her a town council member. I don’t think he was so hot on giving up his mayoral title, and Lexi’s seat is still open.”
I hiked my knee onto the bench seat, turning to face him. “Seriously? You pushover! You swore you’d never do that again.”
“It’s a town council member. It’s different.”
“Is she at least friendly? You know town hall is going to advertise that moose everywhere.”
He sighed. “Well, thanks for your concern, but it’s fine. Whitney drove up to look at our newest resident and I put Mrs. Marple in the pen.”
I nodded. “Good choice, actually.”
Mrs. Marple had been at the rescue for nearly five years now and was as friendly as a moose got. Unlike the last mayor, she was full grown, though.
“Are you sure the pen at town hall can hold her?”
“She’s pretty docile, but I spent the rest of the afternoon reinforcing the fence, just in case.”
Well, that at least answered why he hadn’t texted me all day.
“You must be exhausted,” I said. Looking past his freshly cleaned exterior, he looked tired. His eyes drooped slightly and his shoulders rounded. “You could have called me to help.”
He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I was the one who took the moose in. It’s my responsibility to find room for it. I’m sure you had better things to do on a Saturday.”
I pursed my lips. The only thing I’d done all day was sleep in, eat a late brunch, and take a nap. I hadn’t saved one animal and launched the political career of another.
“I would have liked hanging out with you, anyway.”
He glanced over at me, eyes warm as he reached out a hand and squeezed my knee. “I would have liked to hang out with you, too.”
I let the sincerity of that comment settle my stomach through the drive to Pierce, even as I dreaded the destination. Of course, it had been my brilliant idea to sign us up for speed dating.
Ben pulled into a parking space across the street from Oak & Barrel. We piled out of the car, entering the Irish pub with a Spanish menu, searching for any sign of the event.
A small sign hung over a booth and a grizzled man with an Irish accent barked at us. “Ya’ here for a drink? Or for speed dating?”
“Both,” Ben answered, sidling up to the bar and sitting on an oak stool. “Do you have a menu? We thought we’d eat before the thing got started.”
The man shook his head, throwing two menus down the bar. “Speed dating. Whoever thought of such a thing? A drink?”
“A pint for me. You, Thea?” Ben asked.
