Eric let out a grunt, finally giving in. Then, he pulled out his phone, tapping away. After a few minutes of that, he gruffly said, “You’ve got an interview with Jane at eleven hundred. It’s at Mick Harrington’s office.”
Knox nodded. “Thanks for that. But can we do away with the military time? We’re not in the army anymore.”
Eric leaned back, his expression darkening. Then he got up and clattered his plate into the sink and stalked off.
It wasn’t that Knox had said anything rude. It was the way he’d said it that set Eric off. Every word was a dismissive growl, warning us to back off and keep our distance. I was good at that, so it wasn’t a problem for me.
Poor Eric was taking it personally, though. He wasn’t bonding with the new guy the way he’d expected.
Emerald popped up, her gaze skittering between Knox and me. “I should go check on him.”
And that left me alone with the surly one.
I had a late shift at Bookish tonight and nothing to do between now and then. My new friend Eliza, another transplant to the Ozarks, wasn’t free today. So I couldn’t count on her being my lunch date at the Hungry Rooster today.
The empty hours stretched before me. The Mountain Man Romance Book Club was scheduled to meet in the back room of the bookstore later on, so I imagined it would be a late night for me. The ladies were always a rowdy bunch.
“Would you like a ride to Mick’s office?” I asked him. “I’m heading that way at eleven.” Knox didn’t have a car yet. He’d taken a bus to Fernwood, then hitched his way here.
He grunted, “If it’s not out of your way.”
“No, they’re close to each other.”
He nodded, and I knew to interpret that as a yes.
Then we finished eating our breakfast in silence.
I didn’t mind a little silence. It actually made me feel more comfortable with him.
Unlike every other unattached guy who’d been at the party last night, Knox wasn’t trying to get in my skirt.
It was a little refreshing. There were too many single men on Red Oak Mountain, and some of them acted like they were starved for love.
But were they? Or did they just want to explore the heat between my thighs?
I guarded my heart closely these days. Emerald had spent the last six months trying to set me up on blind dates. She was on a mission to see me married off and settled, as though we were living in Victorian times and I was in danger of entering my old maid years.
It was cute, but entirely unnecessary.
My big plan in life was to rent an apartment with my co-worker Avery. Then wait for an opening at the hair salon. Iworked at the bookstore right now, but my certification was in cosmetology, and that was where my real passion lay.
The only part I wasn’t good at was the small talk that went along with being a hairdresser. But I figured there were quiet people like me, too. And maybe they’d want to get their hair done with a minimum of extra fuss. I could develop a following ofquietones. The in-and-out crowd.
After that? Well, I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.
When Knox was done eating, he took my plate and washed the dishes, all without saying a word.
After he was done, he met my eyes, gave me a small head nod and walked briskly out the door.
A man like that? I could dohishair.
He’d be quiet through the whole thing.
Eric might be having a hard time adjusting to Knox. But I was on his wavelength. I felt like we had an unspoken understanding between us.
I sat there trying to absorb the change in dynamics here at the house.
Emerald, Eric, and I had it down to a science.
