“A ticket.” Lee leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap. If he were intimated by Kinley, his expression didn’t betray him. “You’re welcome to fight it in court.”
“You know I won’t be here to do that.”
Lee nodded to the seat, but Kinley refused to sit. Sitting would give the man more power than he already had. She sucked in a deep breath instead, realizing quickly that her erratic anger would likely bury her deeper in this hole.
She wasn’t certain about flight school anymore, but she didn’t want the option stripped from her. Her commander had warned her to keep her nose out of trouble while on leave or it could cause unexpected hiccups. Whether careless driving was a serious enough offense to make waves, Kinley didn’t want to find out.
“I’m doing you a favor, Kinley.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “How’s that?”
“I convinced the council to downgrade your citation from reckless driving to careless driving. In case you’re unaware, that saves you six points on your license and a possible arrest.”
“It was anaccident,” Kinley said through gritted teeth. She caught a glimpse of Ryder as he flew through the front door, but she ignored him. She could handle this battle on her own. “A moose walked into the road. I didn’t have a lot of options if I wanted tolive.” Hitting Ed with Fiona’s Buick at forty-five miles per hour didn’t promise survival. At the very least, it guaranteed several broken bones and a totaled vehicle.
“No one else saw a moose.”
“No one else wasthere.”
“Would you rather I stick you with the bill for a new sign?”
Kinley’s fists balled at her sides. Daniels could pay for a new sign and not even notice the dip in his wallet. His family had that kind of wealth. But Kinley, even now that she saved every spare penny, didn’t have the thousands to spare. She’d never wanted to be without options, like when she was growing up, and this would wipe her out.
Lee leaned forward, folding his hands. “I’ll tell you—” He stopped mid-sentence, staring at her neck. The first trace of emotion flashed across his face, but Kinley couldn’t make out what it meant. “Where did you get that necklace?”
Self-conscious, she covered the red-gemmed heart with her hand. “You’re not taking my mother’s necklace as some sort of collateral.” Kinley wasn’t a fool. It may not be worth what a new custom billboard sign would cost, but it wasn’t a cheap dime-store trinket.
Lee let out a heavy breath. “I’ll tell you what, Ms. James.” He ripped up the citation in front of her. “I’ll take another look at Ryder’s police report.”
Chapter Eleven
Ryder
Ryder pulled into Kinley’s driveway the next morning, unsure whether she still planned to ride along with him to Palmer. After she stormed out of the mayor’s office yesterday, she ignored every text and call. The Kinley he remembered, riddled with grief and anger, had made a surprise appearance after the citation was handed over. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but he hated being pushed away again.
“C’mon, girl,” he said to Rowdy, holding the driver side door open for her to jump out. “I need all the help I can get.”
After Kinley sped away from the city building in the Buick, Ryder stepped into Lee’s office. He was shooed out before he could help himself to a cup of coffee, but he spotted the ripped-up citation on the mayor’s desk before the door closed behind him.
Rowdy hopped onto the front porch before Ryder, and he heard the unmistakable hiss of the annoyed tabby from the other side of the screen door. Rowdy’s tail swished excitedly, more so when Fiona stepped into view, apology thick in her eyes. “I don’t think she’s going with you today, Ryder.”
No. He wasn’t going through this again.
He’d tossed and turned most of the night, hoping this would all blow over today. On the drive over, he warred with how to handle her rejection. Whether Kinley meant to or not, she’d stepped through his defenses. He wasn’t going to give up on her. Not while she was in Sunset Ridge.
“Can I talk to her?”
Fiona nodded, holding the door open. “Good luck.”
Rowdy darted inside, head high and nose snuffling with each rapid inhale. He suspected she was searching for Kinley.Good girl.
Ryder took deliberate but soft steps down the hall, stopping outside the door he’d watched Kinley dart into the day he’d dropped her off. The whole ordeal with the town sign and Ed—he accepted she was telling the truth about the moose—was unfortunate to say the least, but he wondered if he and Kinley would’ve reconnected without the incident. Would she have dodged him her whole visit back?
He tapped his knuckles on the door.
“Fiona, I’ll get something later. I’m not hungry,” Kinley grumbled.
“Good thing, because I fed Rowdy your breakfast.” Ryder waited for a response, resting his forehead against the wood. Heart thrumming in his chest, Ryder felt the viselike grip he’d perfected start to slip, feelings slipping through his grasp. As much as he hated the idea of coming home without Rowdy, he’d been looking forward to a day trip with Kinley since he brought it up. The countdown clock continued to tick tock their time away and Ryder didn’t want to miss a minute of it.
