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“Do yourself a favor and keep a better eye on your son. I know you might think he’s capable of taking care of himself, but he’s still just a kid.”
“I’m almost seven!” Nick burst in.
She offered him the most patient smile she could muster. “You’ve been walking for five years. You’ve been talking for less than that. There’s a lot you don’t know about taking care of yourself.”
“You’re aware that there’s no minimum age a child can be left alone in Montana, right?” Grant cut in.
She sighed. What was it with this guy? “You’re right. But that doesn’t mean you should just leave a kid alone to fend for himself. Even you have to see the logic in that statement.”
He didn’t answer, but his steely gaze remained locked on hers.
“And for the love of all that is holy, take that truck through the car wash. I don’t want to see it looking like that again.”
Bella spun around and headed toward the bookstore that served her favorite coffee. She needed to get as far as she could from that man before she said or did something she might really regret.
Already, she was dealing with insecurities that were dragging themselves up from deep down where she’d buried them. There was no plausible explanation for why that was happening, either. She simply had a hard time keeping her wits about her when she was talking to him.
Bella pulled open the door and headed inside. The second she stepped over the threshold, her heart started to slow. Her pulse returned to normal, and her face cooled from the heat that filled it as she’d all but run away from Grant Shaw.
She made a beeline for the café on the far side of the store. She’d only been in Rocky Ridge for about six months, and she was still getting to know all the residents. There was one person she had gotten close to, however, and that was Megan Reese.
The line moved quickly and by the time she reached the counter, she’d cooled off enough to think clearly.
Without looking up from her tablet, Megan asked. “What can I get for you?”
“The usual.”
Megan glanced up, her eyes snapping to meet Bella’s. “Hey, you! I was expecting you, like, a half-hour ago.”
“I got held up.” Bella leaned on the counter with folded arms. “You wouldn’t believe the guy I just met.”
Megan’s grin widened and her brows lifted. “New guy? Or local?
“Both? Sorta?” Bella shook her head. “And it’s not that kind of meeting. Man, this guy is something else! Can you believe he just let his son run around town square without supervision? The kid is six!”
Megan’s smile faded but only slightly. “That’s weird.”
“I know! But I guess you might actually know him?”
“I do?”
Bella nodded. “Grant Shaw?”
Megan frowned. “You know, it sounds familiar, but…” Her eyes widened and she nodded. “His kid is Nick, right?”
“That’s the one.”
Megan moved away from the counter and started working on Bella’s order. “Yeah, Daniel mentioned that they hired him temporarily. It was more of a favor to their cook, Charlotte.”
That was when the realization hit Bella so hard in the chest it felt like it knocked the wind right out of her. “Please tell me you’re not talking about Charlotte Bradley.”
She turned to look out the windows even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to see the family she’d just lectured. If that was who Megan was talking about, then Nick was actually Nicholas Bradley.
“The very same,” Megan responded.
Bella groaned. “Well, that’s just great.”
“What? Did something happen?”
