“No,” he chuckled. “Just time to go home.”
“Great,” I grumbled, getting up and shuffling toward the locker room so I could change before heading out.
We’d taken on several car accident calls the night before thanks to the blizzard that had blown in and dumped over a foot of snow on Dusk Valley in less than twelve hours.
Great way to start Thanksgiving.
Though, it was fine with me. It saved me from making excuses.
I had planned on going up to Boise to see my brother and his family, but I wasn’t about to drive in that weather, a convenient cover when I’d been about to cancel anyway. I only agreed to go to his house for Thanksgiving out of a sense of obligation—and because I genuinely loved my nephews. My sister-in-law didn’t like me much, and I was grateful for yet another chance to avoid her.
When I got back to the house, Lane was in the kitchen.
“Want breakfast before you lay down?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I’m wiped.”
“Long shift?”
“Quite a few car accidents because of the snow.”
I also had a tension headache that refused to go away. Nothing some Tylenol and a few hours of sleep wouldn’t cure.
“And I know how much you hate being out in this shit.”
“Yeah. I was supposed to head up to Sean’s today, but that’s not happening.”
Lane nodded in understanding. “It’s not supposed to let up until tonight.”
Groaning, I held up my phone. “I’m gonna go call him, then get some sleep.”
“Hey,” he said, stalling me before I could make it out of the room. “I don’t want you to be alone today.”
“Okay…” I said slowly, though everything within me went molten with his words, with their softness yet earnestness.
We hadn’t talked much since the championship game, and it was obvious in every interaction. Tension undercut every conversation, but not in a bad way. More like neither of us wanted to broach the subject of where we stood with each other, too afraid to burst this delicate bubble we existed within.
Addie was still a problem, albeit a different sort now. And while I could secretly admit I loved Lane, and I was confident he wanted nothing to do withher, that sure as hell didn’t explain how he felt aboutme. I wasn’t willing to put myself in the line of fire for amaybe.
“Come to the ranch for dinner.”
“Oh, Lane, I wouldn’t want to?—”
He held up a hand, cutting me off. “Mama would never let me hear the end of it if she knew you were by yourself today. Doyouwant to face the wrath of Birdie?”
I snorted. Birdie Lawless was the most even-keeled person I’d ever met in my life. I’d never even heard the womanswear. But from what I’d heard, her temper, when it appeared, was legendary.
And honestly, the idea of spending my evening alone on a holiday wasn’t particularly appealing.
“Fine.”
“Great,” Lane grinned, and I had to avert my gaze from the perfection of it. It was like looking into the sun when he turned the full wattage on me. “We leave at three.”
“Sounds good.” I hooked my thumb over my shoulder. “I’m gonna nap, then.”
“Right, sure. See you when you get up.”
“Night,” I said, then ambled out of the room, dialing my brother’s number as I trudged up the stairs.
