Page 26 of Roots of Redemption (Hicks Creek #4)

Chapter Twenty-One

Wade

I pull her truck into my driveway. She doesn’t move to get out and neither do I.

“Hey, Sutton,” I say softly. “You got plans tonight?”

She brushes a strand of hair out of her face and narrows her eyes at me. “Why? You need a babysitter for Caleb?”

I throw my head back and laugh, shaking my head. “Not exactly. Thought maybe you’d like to head into town and grab something to eat.”

She blinks at me, clearly caught off guard. “What, like a date?” she teases, crossing her arms to mirror my stance.

“Exactly like a date,” I say evenly. “I want to date you. Is that okay? Plus, I’m starving, and I figure you’ve got to be, too.”

She hesitates, chewing on the inside of her cheek. Her eyes go soft a second later, and a smile tugs at that perfect mouth of hers. I spoke the words out loud and was nervous for a millisecond, judging by her face, I have nothing to worry about.

“Is the pizza place still open?” she asks, tilting her head.

“Girolamo’s? Why yes, it is. Is that a yes?”

“Sure. But if they’re out of pepperoni, it’s on you.”

“Deal,” I laugh. “Why don’t we both go in and shower, then meet back here?”

“Perfect.” She smiles.

I want to lean into her and kiss her softly, but I know that if I do that right now, I won’t want to stop.

An hour later, the drive into town is quiet. I’ve got one hand on the wheel, the other resting on the console between us.

I’m surprised she let me drive again, but I like that she does. It seems that she’s starting to trust me more than she did when she first arrived.

She’s half-watching the scenery blur by and keeps glancing over at me like she’s about to say something but keeps deciding against it.

“You’re awfully quiet,” I finally say, breaking the silence.

“Just enjoying the peace. You’ve been known to talk a lot, you know.”

I snort. “And here I was thinking you liked my sparkling conversation.”

“Oh, I do,” she replies smoothly.

She leans back against the seat, resting her head back and closing her eyes. I don’t say anything else.

“Why are you so quiet?” she giggles a few minutes later.

“I like seeing you relax for once.”

She rolls her eyes, but there’s no heat behind it.

“You had me pretty relaxed last night,” she murmurs as she looks out the window.

I chuckle, reaching over and lacing our fingers together. She looks back at me in shock.

“Didn’t figure you for someone who liked to hold hands,” she whispers, repeating the words she said to me that night in Texas.

“I’m full of surprises.” I smile back at her, lifting her hand up to my mouth and pressing my lips to her skin.

I can feel her gasp. My eyes flit to hers, and I see the tears there.

“Wade,” she breathes. “I can’t, I don’t…I’m not…I’m not used to that.”

“You’ll get used to it,” I tell her with a grin.

She doesn’t reply, just chews on her lip nervously.

I’m really hoping that when she figures out what’s going on with our cattle, and fixes the issue, that she doesn’t return to Billings.

I’m hopeful that she’s made enough progress with her dad, and that she sees she’s loved and welcomed here, that she won’t leave again.

I want her to stay in Hicks Creek, forever. It’s our first date, technically, but I already know that I want to be in a relationship with her.

I’ll just have to make sure she sees that I’m serious and that she belongs in Hicks Creek with me.

When we get to the restaurant, I tug on her hand and gesture for her to sit still, and she listens. I hop out of the truck, cross around the back, and open her door. I move so that I’m walking to the outside, nearest the traffic. I see her glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.

“Jeez, it’s exactly as I remember it,” she murmurs when we walk inside. “Nothing has changed.”

I chuckle and nod. The server comes up and looks between us, she cocks an eyebrow at me.

“Just the two of us.”

She nods, shooting me a funny look. I notice that some of the other patrons in the building are doing the same. It’s rare that I am out with a woman, so maybe they’re shocked to see it happening.

The waitress hands us menus and takes our drink orders.

“Guess we’re the entertainment for the night,” she mutters under her breath.

“Small-town love,” I chuckle. “Probably just jealous.

“Jealous of what?” she giggles as she rolls her eyes.

“Of me,” I drawl, sliding into the seat across from her. “Getting to have dinner with the most beautiful woman in town.”

She snorts, shaking her head as she picks up the menu. “You’re laying it on thick tonight, aren’t you?”

“Maybe I am, but it’s all true. Is it working?”

She doesn’t answer right away, pretending to be engrossed in the list of toppings. Finally, she glances up at me. Her cheeks are pink, but she smiles softly back at me. “Maybe.”

I grin widely back at her. We order a large pepperoni pizza and two sodas. I also place a to-go order for Caleb.

“What’s new in the exciting life of Sutton?”

She rolls her eyes. “You’ve been around all day. You already know everything.”

“Humor me,” I say, my lips twitching as I try not to laugh. “Give me the highlight reel of the last ten years.”

I shrug. “Same old, same old. Work, chores, more work. You?”

“Same old, same old. It seems we live a similar life.”

“Somehow, I doubt that.”

“What makes you say that?” I ask.

She shrugs and glances away quickly. The waitress brings us our dinner. I grab a plate and put two slices of pizza on one before I hand it to her. I do the same for myself.

“Really, though. I want to know what the last ten years of your life has looked like.”

“I graduated, got a job, worked the job.”

“Why are you being so modest? You’ve won a ton of awards.”

She shrugs again, sighs as she shakes her head.

“I graduated from A you didn’t, especially. You left to better yourself and the ranch, it’s a shame that he was too blind to see that.”

“Maybe I realize that now, but…back then, it was the worst thing you could say to an eighteen-year-old girl, you know? I mean, spite has always been my biggest motivator, so maybe it’s because of him that I am doing as good as I am.”

“Don’t give him that much credit.”

“Man,” she giggles as she leans back into the booth and looks around for a second. “It’s like Hicks Creek, especially this restaurant, is stuck in a time warp. I’m not saying that in a derogatory way, either. It’s…comforting.”

“Different than Montana?”

“Yeah, but only because I didn’t spend my formative years there to know if anything has changed, I guess. College Station, on the other hand—eight years of my life there.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Yes and…” She smiles. “I learned how to be an adult there, learned a lot about myself because I didn’t feel like I had a safety net. I learned to have a really good work ethic because of the ranch, and that spilled over to school. Perfect 4.0 GPA.”

“Damn, that’s impressive. What made you choose Montana?”

“Dr. Jameson. He was an advisor at A&M. He was impressed with my work ethic and grades, and he told us about his company and the work they were doing. He was an incredible mentor and very knowledgeable. When I learned that he was one of the top leaders in bovine medicine and disease control and he offered me a job, I knew it was where I needed to be.”

“Oh, is that…”

She puts a hand up to stop me. “Ronnie is his son, yes. Ronnie and I were in a relationship for about two years, and he wasn’t my boss until the last six months of it. I realized what type of person he really was then and ended it.”

“Yeah, he’s pleasant.”

She giggles and shakes her head. “Pleasant is the exact opposite word to use.”

“I was trying to be nice,” I chuckle.

“No need for that. Call it as you see it.”

“I like that about you. You’re very honest and accept the same from those around you. It’s nice.”

“Thanks for suggesting this,” she says softly.

“I really had a hidden agenda.”

She cocks an eyebrow and looks back at me suspiciously. “What’s that?”

“I just want to spend as much time with you as possible. We need to make up for the last ten years, because despite how I acted when you first got here…I haven’t been able to get that night out of my head.”

She doesn’t reply, but her face turns bright red. She ducks her head and focuses on eating.

So she’s going to play a little shy, I’m okay with that. As long as she knows how I feel, that’s all that matters. Maybe, I can get her to stay in Hicks Creek for good.