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They’d reached the truck before he couldn’t ignore Parker’s laser sharp glare any longer. “Yeah, I’m a Ryder.” He might as well put that out there.
“How long were you planning to let me ask you questions and believe you work for Bonnie Bonner?” Her gaze remained pinned on him across the hood.
He shrugged. “Until it served my purpose I reckon.”
With a groan, she got into the truck and after he let Chow jump in, Raven climbed into the driver’s seat. He noticed that Parker’s attention remained on the window. “Just so we’re clear, I don’t work for Bonnie, but since her husband passed I’ve been helping out.”
“You could have made that clearer.” She continued to stare straight ahead.
“In my defense, I didn’t really get the chance to elaborate.” He chuckled, started the engine and pulled away from the street.
Chapter Eight
Raven saw the welcome sign at Bonner’s Farm and couldn’t remember ever being happier to see a place before. The tension had crept back in between them, and he wasn’t sure why that bothered him. Maybe things were getting real as they drove on the back country road and the scenery changed into farmland. He noticed that she’d checked her phone a few times looking for service.
“Welcome to Bonner’s Farm,” he said.
Chow whimpered and his tail thumped against the seat in excitement.
“Someone is happy to be here,” Parker said unenthusiastically.
He guessed this was quite the culture shock.
Parking the truck, he shut off the engine and she climbed out before he even got his seatbelt unbuckled. He waited for Chow then closed the driver’s door, watching Parker spin in a full circle, taking stock of her surroundings.
“So, what do you think?” he asked.
“It’s very beautiful. I will say that.” She looked at him across the hood of the truck. “But for a business it’s inconvenient.”
She’d get no argument from him. He strolled to the bed of the truck, took out her luggage and the bag from the hardware store.
She situated the boutique bag on her wrist and wasted no time in grabbing the suitcases from him, wheeling them toward the porch.
“How about I lend a hand?” he offered.
“I can manage.” She offered him a tight smile that warned him she wanted to remain independent.
“Suit yourself.” The least he could do was hold the screen door while she struggled dragging the large case up the rickety steps and across the porch.
He heard a growling noise and turned to look at Chow who had what appeared to be a toothy grin and was drooling. He lifted his paw as if begging for Parker to shake it. “Come on, boy. Enough flirting.” Raven laughed.
To his surprise, she stopped to pet him. That was a step in the right direction.
He guessed she must be warming up to Chow. He kind of hoped she might warm up to him too.
The satisfied dog instantly whipped around, his bushy tail slashing through the air as he bounded across the threshold in one leap.
The woman stayed frozen. “An honest question, does he bite?”
“Not unless you bite him first,” Raven muttered, hiding his grin.
“Excuse me?” she said in a raised tone.
“No, he doesn’t bite.” He continued standing there, holding the door, while she thrashed around the piece of bright red luggage the last few steps. “Sure you don’t want some help?”
“I’m more than capable of handling my own luggage. If the boards were even it wouldn’t be so difficult.”
He wanted to explain that if the luggage wasn’t so dainty there wouldn’t be a struggle but instead he kept his mouth shut and waited patiently.
