Page 44 of Don't Burn Bridges
Shane wasn't what she'd expected. Neither were Paige, Tucker, or any of the people she'd met since arriving.
Climbing back into her truck, she rested her hands on the steering wheel.
She was going to have to tell Shane the truth.
The only problem was that she still didn’t know how.
Chapter 18
Seth pulled into the parking lot of the Copper Kettle and cut the engine.
The restaurant sat on the edge of Wexler, tucked between a farm supply store and an insurance office. It wasn't fancy enough to make a person worry about using the wrong fork, but it also wasn't the type of place where folks showed up wearing work clothes covered in dust and manure either. In other words—perfect.
He'd worn his best black jeans, black boots, and a button-down shirt the color of bluebell flowers. Paige had ended his indecision about the latter by insisting the shade made his eyes stand out.
He glanced toward the passenger seat. Shylo sat staring out the window at the brick building, the skirt of her green sundress pooled around her knees while the early evening sun caught the dark strands of her hair. She studied the restaurant's sign and the flower-filled planters out front as if deciding whether his choice passed inspection.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Three weeks ago, he hadn't known she existed. Now, he'd spent most of the past two days looking forward to having dinner with her. The thought should've bothered him more than it did.
Normally, anticipation had very little to do with dinner. He’d always enjoyed women, flirting with them, occasionally taking them out, and of course, sharing their beds. Complications were what he avoided.
Shylo had become one anyway. Somewhere between helping her on the side of the road and the night they'd spent together, he'd stopped thinking of her as temporary.
That should've been a warning sign. Instead, he'd filed it away as a problem for another day.
The truth was he liked being around her, and that realization had become impossible to deny after she spent several days keeping her distance.
He'd called and texted her, more than he cared to admit. But aside from a handful of curt responses claiming she was busy, she'd all but disappeared.
Under normal circumstances, Seth would've taken the hint and moved on. Entanglements weren't his thing, and there had never been a shortage of women interested in spending time with him.
For some reason, though, he hadn't been able to do that with Shylo. The problem was that June's hay season didn't care about his personal life.
For several days last week, it'd been all hands on deck—one of the few times a year he worked out in the fields instead of handling repairs around the ranch. The harvest window was always a race against both time and weather. Once the grass was ready, there wasn't much room for delay if they wanted to preserve its nutritional value before summer storms moved in.
He'd joined Tucker, Shane, and the rest of the crew in long days spent mowing, raking, baling, and hauling hay from sunrise until dark. By the time he made it back to the bunkhouse each night, he was dirty, exhausted, and in no mood to drive into town searching for a woman who clearly didn't want to be found.
That hadn't stopped him from thinking about her.
When he'd finally walked into Bar None and spotted her, he'd half expected her to brush him off when he asked her out. Instead, she'd surprised him and said yes.
Now, she turned toward him and caught him staring.
“What?”
He considered answering truthfully. Unfortunately, if he admitted she looked beautiful sitting beside him or that she occupied his thoughts far more than any woman should after less than three weeks, she'd probably roll her eyes and call bullshit.
Which, considering some of the things he'd said to women over the years to get them into his bed, wasn't entirely unfair.
Instead, he said, “Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Her eyebrows arched. “Uh-huh.”
Grabbing the door handle, he grinned. “C'mon. Let's get some dinner.”
She continued to study him for another second. “You keep smiling like that, and I'm going to assume you're up to something.”
