Seeing her erased the tension from his confrontation with Travis. First, the man accused him of hiring the loggers without a contract. Ryder knew nothing of it. Then of ordering a hundred and seventy-five feet of cherrywood to restore the old fire tower. Was he crazy? His initial order for the tower was pine.
But sure enough, his name was on the invoice. He had no recourse but to deny it.
“Are you back in Hearts Bend?” Elizabeth said. “I thought you worked out west.”
“I was…out west. I came back.” He remembered Elizabeth as brilliant and ambitious with a clear view of her future. And beautiful. Always beautiful. Even under that Ella’s hat. “So, what are you doing here?”
“Another summer gig, if you can believe it. Working at Dorsey during the day, and Ella’s at night. I’m heading to the Wharton School in the fall.”
“Wharton? Good for you. I knew you’d get what you wanted.”
“Never doubt.” Her smile lacked a bit of light, which made him curious.
But wow, it was good to see her. How many Saturday nights did he sit at this very counter waiting for her to get off work? Then go to her grandparents’ basement to watch a movie, eating Ella’s burgers and falling asleep on either end of the sofa. Summer after summer, they stayed in the friend zone. Then the year she headed to college, the Dorseys threw her a going-away party, and when he danced with her under the outdoor lights, his pulse was a runaway train. All he wanted to do was to kiss her.
“Lucy said you wanted to see me?”
“Right, I did. Yes.” He pulled out of the past into the present. “An order I placed last week was canceled.” He showed her the receipt. “I’d like to place it again. It seems that the TWRA can’t afford a few chicken baskets with kids’ toys.”
Elizabeth’s fingers brushed his when she reached for the order form. “Does the TWRA need a few chicken baskets with kids’ toys?”
“I teach fire and wildlife safety at the Kids Theater. Food is a great enticement.”
“And our tax dollars won’t pay for it?”
Ryder tapped the order form. “Apparently not. Tina even gives us a huge discount.”
“This sounds like politics.”
She had no idea. “I’d like to reorder these, please. Pay out of pocket.”
“Ah, the riches of the humble park ranger.” She laughed softly, a slight blush on her cheeks. “I’ll put this in for you.”
“Here you go, Beth.” Ryder turned to see Jeff Simmons, Elizabeth’s cousin, walking toward them from the front door, jiggling a set of keys. “Four new tires with a spare in the trunk. You got the Tina Danner discount.”
“More than a discount.” Elizabeth reached for her keys. “She’s paying for them.”
“Yeah, well, Marty’s still trying to marry her, so my guess is she’ll never see that bill. Hey, Ryder, what’s up?” Jeff slapped hands with Ryder, the WMA officer, who actually had more authority in this town than Jeff.
“Ordering food for the kids tomorrow.” He glanced at Elizabeth and tripped into her sky-colored eyes. “Catching up with your cousin here.”
“Don’t get too close. She’s leaving in the fall.”
“Yeah, she said her plans were in play,” Ryder said. “Headed to the Wharton School.”
“Don’t be jealous, boys. I’ll remember you all when I’m sitting in my executive boardroom, running a Fortune 100 company.”
“I’m sure Granny won’t let you forget,” Jeff said. “Hey, Beth, can I get a burger plate to go?” He pulled out a money clip and handed over a twenty.
As she waved Lucy over to take the order, Ryder looked and listened in as she chatted with Jeff about her new tires, shades of his younger, more carefree days, cooling his ire with Travis.
“Did I need four new ones? I’ve only had the car a couple of months.”
“Your parents got ripped off with whatever tires they bought. You needed them.”
“Is Tina now obligated to marry Marty?” The best mechanic in Hearts Bend had been after Tina Danner for as long as Elizabeth could remember.
Jeff laughed. “Tina’s not marrying anyone she doesn’t want to marry.”
