Rowan dusted off his hands and turned to her, his expression unreadable behind his sunglasses. “You good?”
She nodded. “Peachy.”
He hesitated, like he wanted to say more, but instead just jerked his chin toward the cab. “I’m starving. We’ll do a diner stop before we go home.”
Home. It felt right. Home had always been her father’s house. She wasn’t sure when the lines had blurred, and The Stronghold had become home. “Awesome, I hope they have lemon meringue pie.”
The drive to the diner was short, where you could have walked if you were feeling patient, but she wasn’t going to complain about not having to move more than she had to, until her back forgave her for making it work. Enya rolled down the window, letting the wind tug at her hair. She’d tied it back in a messy braid that morning, but strands had already escaped, sticking to her neck.
Rowan glanced at her, then away, his fingers tapping restlessly against the steering wheel. “We can ask Nora-Mae if she has lemon. She texted back at the house that she’s got peach cobbler for sure.”
Enya raised an eyebrow. “You did the feedstore run because Nora-Mae texted you that she has peach cobbler?”
“Damn straight.” He smirked. “If one of the boys came in, they wouldn’t bring me home any, and then I’d have to shoot ’em for pissing me off. Makes it kinda awkward with the sheriff if I have a stash of bodies filling up the gullies around here.”
Enya bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at his consternation, as if having to refrain from shooting the people she knew meant a lot to him was an inconvenience. “I can see how that would be a problem.”
“Right. Nora-Mae’s peach cobbler might just be worth the jail time, though.”
She laughed, the sound surprising her. It had been a while since she’d laughed like that—light, unguarded. Rowan’s mouth quirked up at the corner, just a little, but enough that she knew he’d heard it, too.
The diner was a squat, whitewashed building with a neonOpensign buzzing in the window. It looked like it had probably been there since the fifties and would still be standing long after they were all gone. Rowan held the door for her, the bell above it jingling as the scent of coffee and fried grease wrapped around her like a hug.
A woman with her hair piled into a bun and a name tag that readNora-Mae,looked up from behind the counter. Her face split into a grin when she saw Rowan. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite pain in the ass. Thought you’d forgotten about me.”
“Never,” Rowan said, sliding onto a stool at the counter. Enya followed, perching beside him. “Just been busy.”
Nora-Mae’s sharp eyes flicked to Enya, assessing but not unkind. “And who’s this?”
“Enya,” Rowan said. “She’s staying with us for a bit.”
Nora-Mae’s gaze softened. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. What can I get you, honey?”
Enya hesitated. She hadn’t been in a diner since—well, since before. Since everything. The menu was laminated, the edges curled from years of use. “Are we eating, eating or just having pie?”
“Eating,” Rowan said. “I’d be tempted to eat one of our horses if they came a little too close right now.”
She understood the feeling. Her stomach growled in agreement as she picked up the menu and scanned it. “Uh. Burger, I guess, and some fries.”
“And a slice of the best peach cobbler,” Rowan added, like it was a foregone conclusion.
She poked him in the side. “Lemon meringue, if you have it, please?”
“I sure do, honey.” Nora-Mae smirked. “Coffee’s comin’ right up. If you’re wanting one of those fancy flavored latte ones, you’ll have to wait a few minutes for Lila to make it for you, though.”
“Drip is fine, as long as you have some creamer or milk for it.”
“I sure do.” Nora-Mae called over her shoulder, then pushed open a door that led to a kitchen. “Earl, I need two burgers loaded with everything, and fries for Rowan and his girl, Enya…”
His girl?
“What?”
Rowan visibly winced and shot her an apologetic look. “Nora-Mae…”
“Shush.” Nora-Mae waved a hand at Rowan and hustled to the coffee pot. “You haven’t brought anyone in here since Sally Johnson in the week before you and Gael left for boot camp, and we all know she didn’t wait a month before taking up with that city boy from Atlanta the second your back was turned.”
As Rowan groaned in either embarrassment or annoyance, Enya noticed the tips of his ears were red as if he was blushing. “Sally Johnson was a fool.” She didn’t know why she’d said that, but the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
