Page 20 of Bad For Me (Rock Canyon, Idaho 5)

Stupid idea, Silverton.

Callie seemed to recover, though, and said, “I thought I was interviewing Eddie Kendall.”

“I offered to take the interview.” Everett held his hand out as Ratchet came out from under the table to sniff it.

“I see.” Callie reached up to adjust her headband. Everett had a feeling he made her nervous, or maybe she just didn’t like surprises. Either way, she was fidgeting something fierce. “Well, have a seat, and we’ll have a little warm-up chat before we go back on air.”

Now, why does she have to make it sound like you’re about to pull her teeth out?

He sat down in the chair across from her and picked up the headset on the table. “So, Callie, where are you from originally?”

One of her eyebrows lifted. “I thought I’d ask the questions.”

Why was she being so cold? After the tire and the kiss on the cheek, he’d thought she might be pleased to see him.

“I thought we were gonna chat,” he said. He grinned, hoping to ease the strange tension. “Doesn’t that mean the conversation goes both ways?”

She didn’t smile back, and for a second, he thought she was going to kick him out; she looked so disgruntled.

“I’m from California,” she said grudgingly.

“Huh.” He bit back a laugh just as she looked at him sharply. Man, she was on edge.

“What does ‘huh’ mean?”

“Nothing. I’m just surprised they play country music in California,” Everett said. “I thought you all drove electric cars and listened to Depeche Mode.”

“Ha-ha, you’re a funny guy,” she said, and he could have sworn he saw a small smile.

“How come you don’t smile?” he asked abruptly.

She frowned at him. “I smile.”

“No, I think the most I’ve seen is your mouth twitch a little like this.” He demonstrated, stretching his lips a little, and she glared at him.

“Maybe I don’t like you.”

Everett stared at her for a moment, hostility surrounding her like a shield. What the hell had happened in the last few days to make her want to push him away? Just when he thought he was making headway with her, she threw up walls and emotional blockers like she was Fort Knox. She was defensive, rude, and if she’d been anyone else, he would have already walked out the door.

But he didn’t believe that she really wanted him to leave or to stay away. He just had to figure out how to

get her to let her guard down.

“Me? But you called me a hero. Everybody likes heroes.”

She coughed into her hand, and he knew she was covering a laugh. Satisfaction curled through him and suddenly, he sat forward, whispering, “I think you like me a whole lot.”

She stilled, her gaze wide and nearly panicked. “Why would you think that?”

“Because you wouldn’t fight so hard to be cool if you didn’t,” he said, wanting to crow when she blushed hard. Throwing her off balance was more telling than anything. When she was caught off guard, she revealed everything.

Especially that she did like him. So why was she fighting it?

“Whatever. We’re about to go on air.”

“Wait,” he said. She paused and gave him an impatient look. It almost made him lose his nerve, but he knew they would have no chance if she found out later.

“Look, I feel like I need to tell you that . . . well, that first day when we met outside Hall’s Market, I didn’t know how to tell you who I was. And especially not after we met on the trail—”