"I'm sure the hotel will be fine," I said. "But thank you. It's sweet of you to offer."
Morgan elbowed Ryan. "I bet no one ever called you sweet before."
Ryan flipped him off. "You'd lose that bet, Hardwick."
"I didn't realise you came from here," I said. Although, what did I really know about Morgan Hardwick?
"I don't," Morgan said. "I have a house here. I get up here when I can."
"He's a tourist," Ryan said, giving Morgan a sly look.
"Ryan was born here and never left." Morgan returned the look. "I'd be surprised if he's been as far as where your car is."
"Fuck off," Ryan said darkly. "I've left Aurora Hollow plenty of times. I like it here, that's all."
Morgan patted his shoulder. "Nothing wrong with that."
"We should get going." Ryan jerked his head towards a red truck parked at the back of the gas station.
"Yes, please," I said. The sooner I had my car back on the road, the better. Then I could check into the hotel for the night and figure out a plan for tomorrow. And the day after that.
And, you know, the rest of my life.
4
RYAN
"Areyou planning to stick around for long?" I put the truck into reverse and pulled out onto the road.
"I hadn't really thought about it," Paisley admitted.
Hell, even her voice was smoking hot. Husky, each syllable carefully enunciated.
"It's a nice spot for a break from the world." I glanced over to her, then back to the road.
She responded to that with a bitter laugh. "Do I seem like I need one that badly?"
"No offence, but yeah. We all need a break sometimes. Especially when things don't go the way we think they will."
My best friend, Blaise, would laugh his ass off. Neither of us were good at the emotional, deep and meaningful stuff. But I got the impression she needed it. For some reason, I wanted to be the one to give it to her.
Yeah, that too, but kind words to start with.
"That's true, I guess," she conceded. "It might be nice to spend some time in a place where no one knows me."
Knowing Aurora Hollow, folks would try to get to know her soon enough. People in small towns tended to get nosy as fuck,especially around someone new. Of course, I wasn't going to tell her that. She might get in her car and head right back to the city.
"I'd be happy to show you around," I offered. "Saturday night at the Frosty Brew in summer is a lot of fun. Pretty much the whole town and all the visitors congregate there. Usually with live music. Sometimes we convince Morgan to get up and do a set."
"Morgan Hardwick live," she said softly, but with no enthusiasm.
I got the impression I stuck my finger in some kind of open wound.
"Not everyone likes his kind of music," I said carefully. "Kayden and his band play rock, mostly. If you like, I could tell Morgan not to play." I slid a glance her way.
"No, I like his music," she said quickly. "It's just… Never mind." She crossed her arms and looked out the side window.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend." Clearly I said the wrong thing, but I didn't know what or how.
