AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Like that’s any better!” She shook her head. “He’s six. You can’t just?—”
“It’s a tractor. It’s not like it’s a racecar. He’ll be fine. Now, if you’d like to come with us and sit in the passenger seat, you’re welcome to.”
She lifted her chin with defiance. He probably didn’t think she’d accept. But she wasn’t going to let him take a kid out on a tractor without supervision—especially if people were sabotaging him. “I think I will.”
He lifted his brows but didn’t look as surprised as she’d thought he might. If anything, he seemed pleased that she was going to tag along.
It was probably because he wanted to ensure his son had more supervision in case anything went wrong. She couldn’t blame him. If Nick had been there when Grant had passed out a couple days ago, it would have been more traumatic than it already had been.
“Yay! Do you have boots?” Nick jumped back into the conversation.
“I have my work boots.” She motioned for him to scoot back so she could push the door open. She stepped out. “I know they’re not the best, but they’re gonna have to do. I’m guessing we need to get started before we lose the light.” She glanced once more at Grant.
With each passing day, it was getting harder to draw a line in the sand. She had found he was a great deal more responsible than she’d initially given him credit for. On top of that, he absolutely adored his son, and it showed. The kid was adjusting a great deal better than anyone would have expected.
Grant’s gaze delved into hers, causing a strange tingling feeling to sweep through her body. It didn’t last long enough for her to analyze it, however, so all she could do was look away and pretend it hadn’t happened. In all likelihood, it hadn’t.
She could still feel his gaze on her, the expectation causing a wave of goosebumps to appear on her arms. No, it wasn’t his staring that caused that. There was a slight coolness in the air that created these kinds of reactions in her body.
When she couldn’t stand it any longer, she lifted her gaze, unsurprised to find that he wasn’t the least bit unnerved by her attention. “We’ll take my truck.”
It was the only thing Grant said before he turned and strode toward a new vehicle.
Bella had taken a few steps to follow him, Nick hanging on her arm, but then she stopped in her tracks and stared at the truck. This one was different than the last. Come to think of it, the last one was still in evidence. They hadn’t released it yet because they wanted to get as many prints from it as they could.
“Rental?” she asked.
“Nope! My dad got it today. Do you like it?” Nick tugged her forward. “It looks just like my favorite toy truck.”
The vehicle was a cherry-red Toyota. It had a large extended cab with four doors. It shined much like she would have thought a toy right out of the box would.
“I’m sure we can get you the truck back from the station by the end of next week. You didn’t have to go out and get a new one.”
Grant pulled open the back door and Nick climbed in.
Bella half-expected Grant to chuckle and tell her Nick was wrong, that the vehicle was indeed a rental and he had no intention of keeping it. That was why she was floored when he stared at her dead in the face and said:
“Don’t worry about it. That truck was always meant to be temporary. I’d gotten it when I arrived in Rocky Ridge. Since I had an excuse to replace it, I took the opportunity.”
It wasn’t until he paused, his own door open, that she realized her mouth was hanging like a broken door on one hinge.
Grant chuckled. “Everything okay?”
She closed her mouth with effort. “Yeah, of course. Why?”
“You look a little… surprised.”
“That’s because I am.”
“Because I got a new truck?”
“Because you didn’t request to have your old one back.”
“I told you—” Grant started, but she didn’t give him a chance to finish his thought.
“It’s your money. You can do what you want with it. I just didn’t realize that people do that sort of thing.” She opened her door and slipped into the passenger seat without looking at him. The more she learned about him, the more she realized she didn’t know anything about him at all.
Grant started his truck and they drove along a dirt road for a good five minutes before it dawned on Bella that something wasn’t right. She turned to face him.
