“You’ve got to keep in mind, these guys don’t get out much. Coming here to grab a cold one and complain about the same old women they’ve been strapped to since high school is about the highlight of their weeks,” he says. “Not making excuses for them, but you come in here looking like that and you’re going to see the worst of them.”
“Looking like that …” I echo slowly, one brow arched.
He smiles, flashing a pair of the deepest dimples I’ve ever seen. “You’re a beautiful woman, that’s all I’m trying to say.” He points at me, chuckling. “Don’t try to get me in trouble when all I’m trying to do is pay you an innocent compliment.”
Innocent compliment, my ass …
God, he’s handsome.
And now I’m blushing.
I can’t remember the last time someone made me physically blush.
Seth raps on the bar top to catch the bartender’s attention and motions him close. “She’s drinking on the house tonight. Anything she wants.”
I lift my mostly-full Corona. “Oh, that won’t be necessary.”
“You want some food?” he asks. “We’ve got jalapeno poppers, onion rings, mozzarella sticks …”
Waving my hand, I shake my head. “No, no. I’m good.”
Asa passes by, gawking at the two of us and daring to give Seth a dirty look. A bold move, if I say so myself. Seth peers down his nose, his serious expression never faltering until Asa stumbles out of sight, into a dark corner.
“He shouldn’t mess with you again,” Seth says. “But if he does, my office is just past the restrooms. Red door. Knock three times. I keep it locked.”
“Thank you.”
He eyes the back of the bar before looking back at me. “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Leighton,” I say, my fingers sliding down the wet glass of my Corona bottle.
“I’m Seth,” he says, again.
“You said that already.” I wink.
“I know. I was just testing you.” He flashes a huge smile that makes my heart do another somersault, and then he lingers for an extra second. “You passed.”
I laugh, soaking up his warm presence. I’ve been here all of three days, second guessing my decision to come here … until now.
“You’re going to come back, right? I’ll see more of you around here?” he asks. I steal a quick glance at his left ring finger out of curiosity, finding it bare. “Asa’s my best paying customer, but I’ll kick him to the curb if it means you’ll be back.”
“I’ll be back.” My hands wrap the beer bottle and I glance away, drowning in flattery. “I’ll definitely be back.”
Chapter Eight
River
“Morning.” Leighton is seated at the kitchen table, dressed and ready by six o’clock the next morning. “Thought you got up at five? I’ve been sitting here for the past half hour, wondering when you were going to make your grand entrance.”
I huff, shaking my head and lumbering toward the coffee maker. I don’t tell her I stayed up last night, waiting until I heard the crunch of her tires on the driveway and her headlights in the front windows.
For some reason, I couldn’t sleep until I knew she was home. These roads can be dangerous, especially late at night. And if anything happens, sometimes there isn’t anyone around for miles, no one around to see anything.
“Every day’s a little different around here.” I grab a mug as the machine heats and percolates. “What time did you get back last night?”
I pretend not to know.
“Around midnight. I ran into some people I went to high school with,” she says. “I was actually on my way out the door and they were on their way in. They recognized me before I recognized them. Apparently I haven’t changed as much as I thought.”
Standing next to the sink, I pour my coffee and gaze out the window. A blanket of fog covers the farm this morning, but it should lift by midday.
“Sounds like you had yourself a time then.” I take a drink, mentally scanning today’s to-do list.
“I did,” she says, coming my way. Her hand rests on the small of my back as she pours milk out of a cereal bowl and into the sink. “Even made a new friend.”
I’m sure she did …
“I need you to gather two dozen eggs from the hen house and run them out to Molly’s.” I clear my throat and change the subject because I’m small-talked out. “Baskets are hanging outside the coop. Mind your step. One of the hens likes to lay in random places. You can take the Chevy up the road. I recommend keeping the speed under ten miles per hour unless you feel like cleaning up egg yolks.”
I feel her stare, and I know what she’s thinking.
She wants to be friends.
She wants me to ‘let her in.’
I’ve seen that look before. She’s not the first, and she won’t be the last.
“Oh … okay,” she says, blinking.
“Keys are on the hook by the back door. Blue Warwick Motors key chain,” I say, finishing my coffee. “Molly’s in the big brick house a mile north of here on 146th Avenue. Can’t miss it.”
Leighton stops in the doorway, taking me in.
“What?” I ask, feeling the pinch of my expression.
“Nothing, River.” With that, she’s gone.
Chapter Nine
Leighton
“Oh, thank God.” Molly greets me on the back steps of her massive stone farmhouse. I don’t remember this being here twelve years ago, and it doesn’t have the patina of an older house, so they must have built it in recent years. “Just fried my last egg. You know we go through a dozen eggs every single day?” Molly shakes her head, her long dark hair styled in two Pocahontas braids that rest on her strong shoulders.
She’s beautiful, but she’s not the type who probably knows—or cares. With bronze, makeup-free skin, dark, hooded eyes, and a warm, contagious smile, she’s a natural-born stunner.
“These boys eat me out of house and home,” she says, waving me inside. “Come in. Sit for a while. Distract me from the chaos that is my life.”
Molly giggles, immediately putting me at ease and making me feel like I’ve known her all my life.
“I’m not going to get you in trouble with the boss man, am I?” she teases.
“I don’t know. He was kind of in a mood this morning.”
She wags her hand. “When isn’t he in a mood? You want something to drink? I have orange juice, milk, sweet tea …”
“Tea would be lovely. Thank you.”
Molly grabs two clear glasses with tiny blue flowers before plunking a handful of giant ice cubes in each one and pouring our drinks.
“Is he always like that?” I ask.
“River?” Molly laughs. “These days, yes. But he wasn’t always that way. He used to smile more.” She pauses, seeming lost in thought as she takes a sip of tea. “Life can be pretty hard.” She shrugs. “And sometimes it’s harder on some of us than others.”
“How long have you known him?”
“Since we were high school kids,” she says. “I grew up down the road from the McCrays. And I married his best friend. River introduced us actually.”