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She didn’t answer. Tears left trails down her cheeks.
Raven swiped a glance at Chow, hoping the dog would do something. Anything. Soft snores came from the canine.
“Wait right here,” he told her, as if she might run away, and he strolled over to the truck. Rummaging through his duffel bag on the passenger seat, he found his best button down, and grabbed a takeout napkin from the console. He returned to her with the items. “It might be a bit big, but it’s clean. And here’s a napkin. Sorry, I don’t carry tissues in the truck.”
Sniffing, she stared at the shirt for a good five heartbeats. He thought she might tell him where to stick it, but instead she brought it against her chest. “I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I never cry. You must think I’m out of my mind.”
He thought it best to keep his opinion to himself. “How long have you been out in the heat?”
“A long time.” Some of the tension returned in her voice.
“Look, we got off on the wrong foot. Chow…well, he’s not a bad dog. I think he likes coffee because he seems to be obsessed with it. I’m not usually late, but it’s been one helluva day—week.”
She used the napkin to dab at her wet cheeks. “I don’t want to be here. In Montana.”
Ah, hell. The tears kept coming. “Maybe you should consider taking a flight back home.” What he thought would be a simple solution didn’t seem to work.
Her mouth twisted. “That’s not possible.”
Shifting in his worn boots, he looked back at his truck that was double parked. “I hate to add pressure, but we should be hitting the road.” He had a list of things to do before the day ended.
“I need to change.”
He rubbed his palm down his jaw. “Yeah. Right. How about the truck? No one is around to see.”
She nodded. “Stay here and turn toward the building.”
Chow perked up. “Stay,” Raven commanded and kept his eyes on the glass doors of the building. He heard the clicking of her heels on the cement, the opening and closing of the passenger door, and he let out a long, aggravated sigh. “Chow, I blame you for this.” He looked down at the oblivious dog.
He’d read every sign in front of the building when he finally heard, “I’m finished.” He spun and almost bit his tongue. The stained shirt had been replaced with his button down. She tied it at the waist to show off a portion of her stomach. The shirt looked better on her. The wide sunglasses were pushed on top of her head and the frown was gone. Her pretty, glossy eyes stared back at him. At least she’d stopped crying.
“Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” she said under her breath.
The attitude had returned. Raven guessed the ride back would be amazing.
Reaching for the luggage, he glanced at her, silently daring her to make a peep in rejection. She didn’t. Instead, she took the crushed cup and straw and dropped them into a nearby trash container. Once Raven had the luggage in the back, he rounded to the door to find her staring at him.
Now what?
“What if it rains?” One corner of her mouth dipped.
“It won’t,” he muttered, opening the door.
“But what if it does?” she asked through the open window that still had clumps of Chow’s hair stuck to the glass.
He refused to answer. He whistled and Chow jumped up onto the seat. “In the middle, boy.”
With Chow sitting between them, Raven would have thought that would deter any conversation, but unfortunately, before they even got to the highway, she asked, “Does this thing have AC?”
“No,” he muttered.
“Really?”
He glanced over. She had one hand holding the ends of her hair to keep them from blowing and the other holding on to the armrest like they were in a racecar. Rolling the windows up, he clicked on the AC. Cold air whirred through the vents. “Happy now?”
“Since you asked…no. Your dog—”
