Also, Teller had scored himself a pop star girlfriend. I’d heard all about it in articles and videos online. While I was here perusing the gourmet offerings of a tiny convenience store for my holiday meal.
The man behind the register grunted, “Happy Thanksgiving,”without looking away from the football highlights on his phone.
“You too,” I said as I considered what to eat. There was a tiny machine rotating two hot dogs that looked drier than the Colorado desert in summer. But I grabbed one dog anyway, stuck it in a bun, and slathered it with ketchup.
Again, not the worst I’d ever had.
Next I selected a bag of chips, an overripe banana, and a few granola bars, along with a big bottle of water, and brought it all to the counter. The man rang it up without much comment, but when I held out a few wrinkled bills to pay, he scrutinized me.
“You look familiar. Got family around here?”
I figured the man recognized the features I shared with Ashford and Callum. Maybe I’d even known this guy back in the day, but my memory drew a blank. I decided not to identify myself.
I assumed every old timer in Silver Ridge knew the name Grayden O’Neal, and I didn’t want to deal with that tonight.
“If I did, I’d be eating better food tonight than this. No offense.”
“None taken,” he grunted.
I accepted my change and dropped half of it into the tip jar before taking my bag.
Then it was back out into the snow. Which was a blessing. Yes, it was cold out, but the snow would cover the windows in my truck before long, almost like curtains. Nice and cozy.
Made me think of the warmth I’d glimpsed through the windows of Gracie’s house. I loved that she had a nice place like that. A man who adored her.
Callum had Zandra, a strong spitfire who could keep him in check. I smiled as I thought of the trouble my youngest brother used to get into as a kid.
And even though Ashford had looked at me like something he’d scraped off his shoe, I was so damn proud of theway he’d talked about his wife and daughter. Like he would sacrifice anything for them.
Ashford might be surprised, but I would do the same for the people I loved. Sacrifice everything. Ihaddone it. With devastating consequences.
I hadn’t earned back Ashford’s trust yet, but I would. I just had to be patient. A skill I’d gotten very good at over the years.
Couldn’t wait to meet my niece Maisie, though. Grace had sent me a photo via text a few months ago, taken on Ashford and Emma’s wedding day. Maisie’s smiling face had been front and center. She looked so much like Ashford. And, I guess, like me. I got choked up whenever I looked at it.
The old hinge of the door to my truck fought me, but this Dodge had made it all the way here from Seattle, so that was yet another thing to be grateful for. I settled into the backseat, taking off my snow-dusted hat and ruffling my hair. Time to dig in to Thanksgiving dinner.
Then headlights swung in my direction, making me squint. The vehicle parked right in front of me, nose to nose. Like it wanted to keep me from leaving.
You gotta be kidding me, I thought.
The car was low slung. Could be a state trooper or something. The cops had found me already? Shitty fucking luck. Unless…could Ashford have called and reported me? Given them the description of my truck?
I immediately started to sweat, heart kicking. It was an involuntary reaction when dealing with police after my history. The moment any cop ran my driver’s license, he could find out that I had a record. Computers and nationwide databases worked at light speed these days.
But you’re the idiot who decided to take the risk of sleeping in your truck this close to town.
I had nothing to hide though. I hadn’t done anything wrong, and I could say I just wanted to relax and eat before I kept driving. Couldn’t be a law against that, right?
Unfortunately, I doubted it would matter. If the cops wanted to make trouble for me, they could.
There was a knock at my window. My pulse increased.
But when I saw the face through the glass, my heart tripped over itself in a different kind of way.
It was the pretty blond from outside Grace’s house.
What in the world was she doing out here in the snow? It was getting late.
