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He hopped into the Wrangler and speared the ignition with the key, freezing for a moment when the passenger side door opened and Isabel did, in fact, get in. He blinked at her until she threw her hands up.
“What? You told me to get in if I wanted to talk to you,” she said, her tone still many levels of peeved.
“Okay. Yeah. I did.” He checked his rearview mirror and backed out of the little driveway beside his cottage.
This ought to be a disaster.
He navigated the Wrangler past the front gates of Pine River Cottages, expecting Isabel to say whatever she needed to say and ask for him to let her out. When she didn’t, he cruised beyond the gates and headed for the main road. Isabel sat quietly beside him, her hands white-knuckling her knees.
“You had something to say?” he prompted, not able to take the quiet.
“Umm... yeah.” Her hands relaxed their grip and she flattened a wrinkle in her dress, drawing a fraction of Jackson’s attention to her thighs.
He snapped his gaze back to the road in front of them.
“I wanted to say thank you for helping my dog last night,” Isabel said in a soft, practiced voice. “I may have been a bit of a... of a...”
“Bitch?”
“Yeah, okay.” She nodded. “A bitch. I was a bitch last night, but you were hardly a Prince Charming yourself, Jackson.”
He winced as he took a left at a stop sign. “You’re right. Neither of us was cordial last night.”
“I’m sorry about my behavior,” she said. “You rescued my dog, paid for his vet care, and planned to house him overnight until you found his owner, and what did I do? I bit your head off the moment I saw you.”
“You were worried about your dog. That’s understandable.”
“And once I saw it was you... I...”
“Freaked?”
“A little.”
Jackson risked a sideways glance to her and she huffed.
“Okay, okay. A lot. I freaked a lot, but so did you.”
“Guilty as charged.” Jackson stopped at a red light. “I had no idea your grandfather owned Pine Creek Cottages and I certainly didn’t know you were back in town.”
“Grandpa had a heart attack.”
“What?” He swiveled his head to look at her. “Is he okay?” How had he not gotten word of that? He’d been in town for a few weeks now.
Isabel nodded. “Yeah, but it took some oomph out of him, you know? That’s why I’m here. To help him out until he gets stronger.”
“And to lose your dog on a rainy night?”
“That wasn’t my fault.” She folded her arms across her chest as Jackson stepped on the gas when the driver behind them beeped over the light turning green. “He probably saw something that interested him.”
“Yeah, a couple coils of steel cable that weren’t so interesting once they attacked.”
“Where did you find Blaze?”
“Blaze. Cool name.” Perfect for a dog who had a fiery coat. “I found him right before the gates at the cottages. He was bouncing around, trying to get free, I guess.”
“And you just approached him?”
“Well, I couldn’t leave him there.” Jackson maneuvered the Wrangler around a hole in the road. “He was clearly in distress. How is he doing now?”
