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False, only because she knew him.
Grady dipped a solemn nod toward Hunter. “Thanks.”
Janie wiped her hands on her apron, then untied it. Hunter reached to take it.
“I can finish here,” Janie stammered.
“I told you—I got it.”
She met his eyes for only half a breath and then looked away, because what she saw there made her chest ache. A blend of betrayal and hurt. She didn’t like the feeling that she deserved either.
Honestly, she’d rather he’d have stormed out mad. Then she could just label him a selfish jerk and not feel bad at all.
Twelve
Bennettlookedupfromthe wobbly table he’d been sitting at for far too long and squinted to see out the heavily streaked window facing Main. A figure came around from the back of Janie’s Café, shoulders slumped in his black coat, hands punched into his pocket, and face cast toward the dirt road.
Hunter Wallace had never carried himself like a man beat down. The lack of his hard-earned military posture sent up warning flags, and the fact that he’d just come from the back side of the café exploded curiosity.
Bennett needed a break from looking over legal documents anyway. And the kids definitely needed to leave the dark space of this tiny room and the screen trance they’d been under.
“Let’s get out of here.” Bennett pushed his chair backward, only to feel the snap of one of the wooden legs give way beneath him. Great. Something he’d have to replace. Standing, he looked around at the room in which he’d barely slept, what with taking the awful cot, listening to Nathan snore, and worrying that Gemma was going to burn out all her sunshine before she started her new school. Every piece of furniture in this dump needed replaced.
The whole place needed a revamp. If it wouldn’t look like he was trying to compete with Hunter’s lodge, Bennett might have taken on that flip.
No, he had enough going on, financially and personally. He didn’t need one more project right now.
Gemma sprang off her bed, pushing her painted toes into those now-dirt-stained Toms. “Are we hiking again?”
Bennett shook his head. “Think we’d better go see what Mama B has for sturdier footwear for you.” He picked up the papers he’d been reading and signing. “And maybe we’ll check to see if Leslie is available to go over these.”
“On a Saturday?”
Shrugging, Bennett grabbed his recently acquired Yellowstone hoodie and ducked into it. “She told me we’d get this process done ASAP so we can get into the house.”
Looking around the room with a wrinkled nose, Gemma nodded. “Good. The sooner the better.”
His sentiments exactly. Bennett smacked the bottom on Nathan’s black Air Force 1s. “Let’s go, bud.”
Nathan pinned a glare on Bennett. “What?”
Heaving a sigh, Bennett reached for patience. This had gotten old fast. How were they going to survive each other? “Let’s. Go.”
Nathan tugged on his ear, removing an AirPod. “What?”
At least he hadn’t been ignoring Bennett. “We’re going out. Come on.”
“Out where?” Nathan didn’t move.
“Outside.” Bennett walked to the door. “We need fresh air. And to do something other than sit.”
“There’s nothing in this hellhole to do.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“What? Hellhole is bad language to you?” Nathan sat up, rolled his eyes, and stomped his feet on the floor. “Where are you from, the fifties?”
“The nineties, genius. And you don’t need to call this place a hellhole when you haven’t even given it a chance.”
