Page 22 of Tempted By the Single Dad Mechanic
The pre-K is a cheerful yellow building with a playground out front and children's artwork displayed in every window. Casey parks and gets out to unbuckle Riley, who immediately spots a friend and races toward her.
"Riley! Coat!" Casey calls after her, but she doesn’t seem to hear him. He sighs and tucks it under his arm. "I'll give it to Miss Amy."
I follow him inside, where a woman in her fifties with kind eyes and graying hair greets us.
"Good morning, Casey. And who's this?"
"Morgan," Casey says. "Friend of ours. Morgan, this is Miss Amy."
"Nice to meet you," I say, shaking her hand.
Miss Amy's eyes sparkle with unmistakable curiosity. "Friend, hmm? Riley sprinted past me and was very excited about a princess coming to stay."
Casey's ears turn slightly red. "Her car broke down. She's staying in our guest room while I fix it."
"How kind of you." Miss Amy is definitely filing this away for later gossip. "Well, Morgan, welcome to Blackwater Falls. I hope you enjoy your stay."
"Thank you."
Riley appears long enough to hug Casey goodbye and get her coat before disappearing into the classroom.
Back in the truck, Casey lets out a long breath.
"Sorry about that. Miss Amy means well, but she's also the town's primary information network. By lunchtime, everyone will know you're staying with me."
"Is that... bad?"
"Not bad, exactly. Just... people talk in small towns. They'll make assumptions."
"About us?"
He glances at me, then back at the road. "Yeah."
"What kind of assumptions?"
"The kind where we're dating."
"Oh."
"I can set the record straight if it bothers you," he says quickly. "Tell people the actual situation."
"No, it's—I don't mind. I mean, I'm not going to be here long enough for it to matter, right?"
"Right."
There's a pause that feels loaded with something neither of us is saying.
"For what it's worth," Casey adds, "most people here are friendly. Nosy, but friendly."
"That's nice," I say, meaning it.
We pull up to the shop, and Casey kills the engine but doesn't get out immediately.
"So, about the job thing," he says. "There's a diner in town. Murphy's. Old guy who runs it, been there forever. He's usually looking for help, especially with the breakfast and lunch rush."
"Murphy's," I repeat.
"Yeah. Fair warning, Murphy can seem a bit suspicious at first. Gruff, doesn't say much, watches people like he's trying to figure out if they're going to steal the silverware."
