She wouldnotcry. Clearing her throat, she repeated, “It wasEd.”
Ryder might’ve laughed if the quick rising and falling of his shoulders was any indication. Though his lips, hardened into a straight line, didn’t bend. “Sure, blame the moose. I’m sure the mayor’ll love to hear that.”
“The mayor?”
“It’ll be up to him.” Ryder pointed at the fallen sign. “What to do about it.”
“Who is the mayor these days?”
“Lee Daniels.”
Kinley felt her heart sink into her stomach, crushing any hope that this incident stayed off the record. “It would be him, wouldn’t it?”
“He’ll probably expect you to pay for the damages,” Ryder offered, his words gentler than before. Almost as if he was extending a shred of sympathy for her craptastic situation. “Might have me issue a ticket.”
If Kinley had another encounter with the notorious Ed, she was going to let the moose have a piece of her mind. “Can you help me get my car back on the road?”
Ryder crouched down to look beneath the car. “Looks like you’re a bit stuck.”
“Really?” she snapped, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “Here I thought I was out of gas.”
“Not too late to write you that ticket, you know.” As he rose, she saw the first traces of a smile. A real smile. One that she remembered well from the summer when they were friends, untainted by high school popularity and the weight of other peoples’ opinions. “I’ll call Liam. See if he can’t make it out this way to pull you out.”
Kinley didn’t know who Liamwas, and was too wiped to solve that puzzle from memory. “Sure we need a tow truck?”
“Yep.”
Ryder stalked off toward his car to make the call, leaving Kinley to wait. A string of cars passed, each one slowing to gawk at the scene.So much for keeping this quiet.
“Liam’ll be here in about an hour,” Ryder said when he returned.
“Anhour?”
“He’s finishing up a job. He’ll be over after.”
“No one else has a tow truck?”
Ryder’s shoulders rocked with another laugh. “You forget where you’re at?”
Never.“Guess I could walk.” Fiona’s cabin was a little more than a mile down a dirt road, the turn just past the sign. But without another vehicle, she’d have to return on foot. She’d be eaten alive by mosquitoes before the ordeal was over.
“I’ll give you a ride.”
Kinley hated leaving the Buick as a spectacle for locals and tourists alike. She suspected it was the oldest running car in town, and therefore a highly recognizable classic. But she hated the idea of waiting here with the car even more. “Fine.”
“You could try thank you,” Ryder said as they walked toward the patrol car, lights still flashing, drawing additional attention. Cars slowed on the highway, passengers glued to their windows. Kinley ignored them the best she could, but the feeling in the pit of her stomach was the same one she’d felt too often growing up here.
“Thank you for the ride.” Her tone dripped with the sarcasm she couldn’t seem to shake. “Do I at least get to sit up front?”
“I don’t know.”
“What?” Fiona would have a mild heart attack if Kinley arrived in the back seat of a police car.
“Kidding. Lighten up, Kin. The sign can be fixed, and I’m not arresting you. The day’s notallbad, right?”
Dropping into the passenger seat of Ryder’s patrol car, Kinley remembered the scones. She debated whether to retrieve them from the car, considering all but one had stayedinsidethe container.
“What brought you back to town anyway?” Ryder’s question made the decision for her.
