Gunner took her arm. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” She removed her helmet and tried to fluff her hair. She’d curled it this afternoon, which was stupid. It wasn’t as if it mattered what she looked like. Would Craig see their likeness? He was more likely to see her resemblance to her mother.
“You look great,” Gunner said. “Beautiful.”
She soaked in his kind words. Maybe he was only trying to bolster her courage, but she appreciated it nonetheless. “I’m gonna tell him who I am.”
He gave a nod. “All right. How can I help?”
“Just go in there with me.” She let out a mirthless laugh as she glanced at the building. “I might need you to prop me up if my legs give way.”
“You’ve got this, Charlie.”
She drew two steadying breaths and stared at the garage. “That poor man has no idea what’s about to hit him.”
“He’s a lucky guy. If he’s any kind of man, he’ll feel like he just hit the lottery.”
Her heart softened as she met his gaze again. He said the sweetest things. “All right. I think I’m ready.”
When she headed toward the door, Gunner followed.Please, God. Please, God.It was as far as her thoughts would go. The only plea she could articulate at the moment with her head spinning and the pressure in her chest crowding out oxygen.
She stepped into the cool space to find Craig standingbehind the desk, talking on the phone. He acknowledged them with a nod as he spoke to someone about pistons and internal combustion engines.
While Craig was too distracted to notice, she let her gaze rove over his face. This time she passed over his eyes. Gunner had been right. She had gotten her cleft chin from him. He wasn’t frowning at the moment, so she didn’t see those familiar furrows between his brows. His hairline had receded a bit, but he still had plenty of hair. She didn’t see much of Gavin in him, but she knew from the photo her mom had left that he’d had thick black hair once upon a time.
Craig glanced over and caught her staring.
Face heating, she turned and walked toward a bulletin board by the entry that boasted business cards and flyers. Gunner stepped up behind her. She was grateful for his steady presence. No matter how Craig Burton received her, Gunner was here to help her with the fallout.
“Sorry ’bout that,” Craig said a moment later. “Sometimes it gets crazy around here since there’s just one of me.”
Charlotte’s smile wobbled as she approached the desk. “No problem.”
“Everything checks out with your Tahoe. The filter was still in pretty good shape so I didn’t replace it.” He rattled off the total.
Charlotte fumbled through her wallet for her credit card. Finally she had it in hand. She rubbed her lips together as he rang up the purchase.
“Go ahead and insert your card.”
Charlotte did as he requested and selectedOkayfor the amount. She signed with the stylus. Her gaze bounced offGunner’s as Craig stapled the receipt to the work order. His expression said,You got this.
“Here you go. Keys are in the vehicle. There’s a 10percent coupon right there. I hope you’ll come back for your next service.”
“Thank you.” Charlotte took the papers. “Um, do you actually have a few minutes to talk?”
Craig glanced at his watch. “Sure. You got another vehicle I can help with?”
“Not exactly. I, uh, I’m not sure how to say this...”
Craig’s gaze grew wary as it toggled between Gunner and her. “What’s this about?”
“Do you remember a Connie Simpson? She used to live in Riverbend Gap.”
His eyes widened with surprise. Or maybe a flicker of recognition. “Yeah. Sure. Oh... Simpson. You must be a relative. How’s Connie doing these days? I haven’t seen her in years.”
“She’s, uh... I’m afraid she passed last year.”
His smile fell. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m real sorry to hear that. She was a nice lady. She owned a ranch outside of town, right?”
