I chuckled. “Proves my point. That’s a family thing to do, isn’t it?”
The wind picked up as we drove, buffeting the truck just enough to remind me how exposed this land was. There was nowhere to hide out here. I wondered if she felt it too, the way this place stripped you down to the essentials.
“I guess it is. If I had a house, it would be wide open to Zane and Steven’s kids.”
“Think they’ll have any?”
“Oh yeah. Probably not for a while, but for sure. They’ll be incredible fathers.”
“I see that.” I snuck another look at her. “Want me to keep going?”
“Please.”
“Phoebe and Deke Slater got married a few years ago and had Abigail. Deke’s a carpenter and Joy’s nephew. You know, of Joy’s Elbow Room. Actually, I don’t think you ever went in there.”
“I didn’t,” she replied. “I was too young, but I was always curious.”
I nodded. “You’ll have to check it out before you go home. It’s a dive, but the beers are cold, and the burgers are pretty fantastic. I’ve been known to win a game or two of pool there.”
“I never mastered pool. You’d certainly beat me if we ever played.”
The road ahead was straight as an arrow, not another car in sight, the sky stretching wide and pale above us. I let myself look at her longer. Her night-sky hair draped over one shoulder. Her gaze soft and bright as it rested on me.
We’d taken drives like this plenty before. Back when she was too young to have a license, we’d meander down the endless, empty roads outside of town, windows down, dust curling behind us, music blasting so loud it rattled the doors.
Then later, during my visits to Oregon, when things were grim and she needed to get out of her house so badly, she looked seconds away from screaming or bursting. We’d borrow her mom’s car and wander unfamiliar roads, rain streaking the windshield, neither of us caring we were lost. All that mattered was we were together, putting distance between us and everything else.
That wasn’t what this was.
But it was impossible not to feel the echo of it in my chest.
Instead of bringing it up, I said, “I could teach you.”
“Maybe I’ll take you up on that.” Then she nudged my arm, and the brief contact sent a ridiculous jolt through me. “You told me what your siblings have been up to. What about you?”
“Me? There’s not much to tell. I’ve been working a lot. Last year, I took over as the lead of hospitality operations. That’s taken most of my time and attention. You met Mrs. Keller—you can imagine the kind of extra tasks I have to pile on my already full plate. We have a dozen Mrs. Kellers a season.”
“Icanimagine. I know what it’s like to get buried by work and not take time for myself. I hope you’re at least making time for Victoria.”
I jerked so hard the truck drifted over the yellow line, tires humming in protest before I corrected. My heart kicked hard against my ribs. “What?”
She straightened in her seat. “Victoria…your girlfriend. Are you okay? Was I not supposed to know about her? If you’re keeping it a secret, her dragging you into your office was probably not the most subtle thing she could have done.”
She’d surprised me that day. Her behavior had been out of character and unprofessional. Allowing her an audience had been the only choice I’d had, but I hadn’t liked it.
She’d had some vague work thing she’d wanted to discuss—nothing I’d needed to be involved in. Then she’d asked me to have dinner with her.
As friends.
I still wanted to kick myself for allowing our short relationship to happen. I could only blame loneliness and a long dry spell.
“It’s not a secret. It’s not anything.”
“What do you mean?”
I pulled in a deep breath. “We dated for a short time, but it didn’t work out.”
“Oh.” She tapped her fingertips on her knee. “Does she know that? Because it seemed to me—”
