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“Now.” Determined to keep Kiley, I text Kate for a ride to Chris Fosdick’s Auto Repair shop in Lead.
Jason’s ability to surprise me by popping out of the woodwork every time I get close to shedding my clothes with Blaze has got to stop. I want my car back. Whatever it takes to get her running, I’m going to give Chris the green light. At least in my own car, I will not be distracted by the driver, be it one of the girls, Kate or Blaze, and I will have a better chance of noticing Jason’s stupid little luxury Audi creeping up behind me. The audacity of that man ceases to amaze me.
How dare he follow Blaze and I to Spearfish! How dare he knock on the window while we were making out like two lonely rabbits. It is none of his business! Why does he think it is? We are split up! We are done! Why can’t he get that through his thick skull? I don’t owe him a dime. Not from my heart or my winnings! He can go find his own high-stakes game and try to make his own seed money!
Besides, I have really good news for Kate. I cannot wait to get into her Bronco and spring the surprise on her. All her worries are gonna just fly out the windows like a free-spirited canary whose cage has been left open. A smile crosses my lips for the first time in eighteen hours.
Jason’s presence in South Dakota is causing me frown lines that I do not need or have enough retinol cream to banish. He has got to leave! I need to figure out how I feel about Blaze. Is this something I want to nurture and develop, or am I just lusting after his amazing physique? How can I ever figure anything out with Jason popping upevery singletime Blaze and I get a chance to explore our feelings?
Or am I looking at this all wrong? Are Jason’s interruptions just a sign from above that I’m running down the wrong rabbit trail with Blaze? Mmmm. My mind snaps to the little circle of hair around Blaze’s belly button that leads southward to what I have not been able to explore.
Stop! I yell in my mind at myself, while shoving my libido down, like a kid clamoring to get past me to reach a huge jar of candy. It belongs out-of-sight, out-of-mind until I can figure this out.
So does Jason!
Kate toots her horn, and I make my way to her. “Hey,” I pant as I climb in her back seat. “I… have… good… news.”
Handing her money for my ride to Lead, I wait for my lungs to stop acting like a bellows.
“Yeah? Kiley running again?” She guesses. It’s a good guess since I now have her taking me to the only man who understands my passion for my car and is willing to work on her.
“Yes, but… that’s… not my… good news.” I hold up one finger where she can see it in the rearview mirror.
She leans toward her passenger seat and opens a little playmate cooler. “Here. Drink some water.”
I catch the bottle she tosses over the seat. “Ah, an upgrade?”
“VIP treatment.” She grins in the mirror.
I nod and drink from the bottle. It does help. I’m grateful. I draw in a solid breath as we pass the Deadwood city limit. “So, I sat down last night, and looked at my finances. I have a surplus of funds that I really don’t need.” I watch her eyes in the mirror. So far, she’s non-responsive, just listening. “So, I’d like to gift it to you, my friend, so you can buy your house.”
Her eyes widen.
I smile.
She stammers, “You’re saying you have twenty thousand dollars just lying around and you want to give it to me for a downpayment for my house?”
My smile widens. “Yes.”
Her brows curl downward over her eyes. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I like you, Kate. You need help, and I help my friends when I can.”
She shakes her head. “Why don’t you buy the house and become my landlady?”
I’m stunned into a pause. “Because it’s your house. You want to buy it and be the homeowner.”
She shakes her head again. “No. I can’t afford two payments.”
I cock my head back. What does she mean? “What two payments?”
“If you loaned me the downpayment, I’d have that payment and the mortgage… for what? Five years? How long were you thinking for me to pay you back?”
Now I shake my head. “Oh, Kate. I’m not talking about loaning you the money. It’s a gift. You won’t owe me anything.”
Kate stares at me intermittently while returning her eyes to the road. She pulls into the Fosdick’s auto repair and stops near his front door. “You need me to wait?”
“No. I need you to say you will accept my gift to you.”
