But she could easily imagine Cody, intense and so bound and determined to do the right thing, being there for his mother, endlessly, but not being the one that she wanted by her side.
No wonder he was guarded.
No wonder he didn’t want anyone to see the deepest parts of him.
A red barn came into view as they crested the small hill and then began to walk back down toward it. “This is as rural as it gets,” she said, ready to lighten the conversation.
“Yeah. Sure is.”
“The truck is just around this way.”
“You know, I realize that my survival instincts are pretty poor,” she said. “I really don’t know you, and here I am, walking off with you.”
“I am your boss.”
The reminder was a good one. Because she had almost been flirting.
Had she ever flirted in her life? She wasn’t actually sure.
She had met Aiden when she was so young that all it had taken was for a mutual crush to create a relationship, and she certainly hadn’t flirted with anyone since then.
But that was what that was. She needed to stop.
“Yes,” she said. “You are. And therefore trustworthy.”
He arched a brow, turning to look at her, his expression filled with skepticism. “I wouldn’t go that far. But I’m not going to murder you in the wilderness.”
“Good to know.”
They walked around the back of the barn, toward the left side, and there was a light blue truck with a chrome stripe from the hood all the way down to the taillights. It was definitely older than Lila. It was probably older than Cody.
“Wow,” she said. “This is aclassic.”
“That’s a fancy way to call it a beater.”
“I’ve never had a truck before. I don’t actually think I’ve ever driven one.”
“Really?”
“No. My first car was tiny. I used to zip around on the two-lane roads in Vermont like a menace.”
“I can see you being a speedy menace. You might have trouble getting over thirty in this thing.”
“I’m not going to buzz around the ranch at top speed. Especially not when there are guests.”
“I’d better open it up and make sure there are no rodents inside.”
She stopped walking, and he kept going. He opened up the driver’s side door and opened up the glove box. “No mice in there.” He reached inside and pulled out a set of keys. She was still keeping her distance.
“What are the chances there are mice in there?”
“The chances are low, but never zero. This is a ranch. Thatmeans it’s a rodent haven. We’ve got mice, we’ve got rats, we’ve got voles.”
“Voles?”
“Yeah. They’re like mice, shaped a little bit different. Shorter tails.”
“I know what a vole is,” she said. Though had she been pressed on the difference between a mouse and a vole, she wouldn’t have been able to give a comprehensive statement on it. She wasn’t a huge fan of small mammals. She didn’t like their little claws.
