“The bed and breakfast that never has room?” I ask with a raised brow.
He laughs. “Fair point. But yeah, I had to stay in the house down the road.” He points toward Cedar Street which is a big road off Main Street. “Right there. And now I’m hungry. I’ve heard there’s a new place in town.”
Jericho’s and my faces must have turned sour because Jonah lets out a loud cackle. “O-kay, I won’t go there. I guess I’ll freeze my ass off walking to the diner.”
“A very wise choice,” I confirm, giving his shoulder a gentle pat. “Grandma and Cheryl might still be there if you hurry. It’s not easy to drag Grandma from that place—every table wants to say hi to the original Moon.”
Jonah’s face brightens even more. “Great! Maybe Theodora will spike my cocoa.”
“Theodora?” Jericho asks.
“My grandma’s name.” Seeing his confusion, I laugh. “You didn’t think her name was actually Moon, did you?”
We say goodbye to Jonah, and right before he walks away, Jericho calls out his name.
“By the way, the bum who used to live in my house was just in there too.”
“Really?” Tiny wrinkles appear in the corners of Jonah’s eyes. “Well, let me go find and say hi to him.”
We watch him disappear down the street before we continue our walk back to the car.
When we arrive, he starts the engine and puts the radio on, leaving it on the country station I like. I know he’s a fan of hard music, which is why I switched the channel the moment I sat down—I don’t think I could take a ride of screaming andheavy metal.
“I don’t want to be mean, but how on earth do you stand that music you usually listen to?”
“Which one?” He glances at me curiously.
“That yelling and screeching I sometimes hear from your open windows.” I wince, recalling the last time I heard the sound coming out of his cracked open window while he was also drilling something in the house at the same time. “I would never peg you as a metalhead.”
He lets out a surprised laugh. “What would you have pegged me for?”
I wince, embarrassed. “Well, maybe it was a poor word choice, but I see you as a soft country boy driving your truck with your arm sticking out of the open window.”
He sends me a quick look with a raised brow up to his hairline. “Soft?”
I giggle. “Not likesoftsoft, but your music choice doesn’t match, well,” I wave my hand at him, “you.”
“How so?”
“You know what I mean!” I nearly cry out, feeling like I should put a foot in my mouth rather than open this can of worms.
“I don’t,” he chuckles.
“Jericho,” I growl. “C’mon. Stop torturing me.”
His loud sigh darkens the mood of the day. “That music drowns everything out better than anything else does.”
“Oh.” It’s all I can manage to say, wondering what could trouble him so much. And I’m not sure if he’s talking about drowning out literal sounds or something that haunts a person in their own mind. I want to ask more, but he’s already parked in his driveway, and neither of us make an attempt to leave the car.
“I should…” I start.
“Yeah,” he says, too fast.
More silence until it becomes clear that nothing will behappening, and staying here is asking for more embarrassment. So I grab the handle?—
His hand lands on my shoulder, and he turns me around and pulls me to him. I instantly lick my lips in a silent invitation, and his eyes dip to my mouth.
I taste him a moment later. Our breath mingles, becoming one. Coffee, warmth, and crisp winter air.
