Page 93 of Denim & Diamonds

“Except you gave them two-hundred dollars when the bill was under fifty.”

I nodded.

She rubbed my arm. “How often do you do that?”

I opened the door of my truck and placed the grocery bag on the seat. “It’s the least I can do for them. I know they’re struggling to keep it open.”

“That’s really sweet,” she said as she hopped in.

After I started the engine, I explained further. “Well, I owe Mr. Reynolds, actually. When I was a kid, he used to let me get away with stealing candy.”

“Aw, really?”

I nodded. “He caught me once and didn’t say anything to my mother because he knew we were going through a rough time. You know what he told me?”

“What?”

“He said, ‘Kid, all you had to do was ask. I’ll give you the candy so you don’t have to steal it.’ And from then on, he did just that.”

“Wow. What a nice man.”

“Yeah. I never forgot that.”

After a moment, February snapped her fingers. “And that was your good deed of the day. Am I right?”

I shook my head. “Actually, my good deed of the day was getting you away from that worksite before you damn near killed yourself.”

We both got a good laugh out of that. But then my phone chimed. It had been sitting on the console between us.

February looked down at it. “You just got a text.”

“Who is it?”

She picked it up, and her face turned crimson. “It’s Nina. Your ex.”

I clenched my jaw.

For fuck’s sake.

The calls had stopped, and I’d thought we were over this. Today had been going so well...

“What does it say?” I asked.

February swallowed. “She’s at your house and wants to know where you are.”

CHAPTER 20

February

“Oh my God.” I pulled down the passenger-seat visor and checked the mirror. I looked like a hot mess. And we were just down the block from Brock’s house. “Can you slow down a little? Drive slower.”

Brock looked over with his brows drawn. “You change your mind? I can drop you back at the diner or take you over to the cabin? I told you I didn’t think you should have to deal with this shit.”

“No, I want to come. I just want to fix my hair and wipe off the mascara smudges under my eyes. I can’t see your ex-girlfriend looking like a total disaster. Why didn’t you tell me I was such a wreck?”

He shrugged as he pulled to the curb and shifted the truck into park. “I think you look great. But do whatever you need to. I’m in no rush to deal with Nina.”

I patted down my hair and used my fingers to swipe away makeup. “You really didn’t know she was coming?”