Page 102 of The Meeting
“You and Derek have seemed to hit it off.”
She smiled. “Yeah, he’s a nice guy.”
“Do I need to be worried?” he asked jokingly. He trusted both Kailynn and his brother and knew it would never be an issue.
She laughed. “No. We aren’t each other’s type.”
“Why do you say that?”
Her comment piqued his interest. He knew there wasn’t any interest there, but the way she said it seemed to hint at more.
She looked over at him. “Maybe you should ask your brother that question.”
He gave her a strange look before shifting his eyes back to the road. He thought back on his brother’s relationships. Derek hadn’t been in any since high school—at least not that Chase knew of. And every relationship Derek had seemed to end quickly. He couldn’t even peg what kind of woman would be Derek’s type, and there weren’t a lot of options in their town.
They arrived at the diner to find Cindy working once again. She gave them a pointed look as she led them to the same booth they had sat in the day before.
“You two pulled a fast one on me yesterday.”
Kailynn hid a smile behind her menu, but Chase looked at Cindy. “I would say sorry, but it was kind of funny.”
Cindy raised an eyebrow and snapped her gum, staring him down. Chase only leaned his arms on the table to meet her head on as Kailynn watched from above her menu.
Cindy cracked first and laughed before smacking him lightly on the arm.
“It was pretty funny. Holler at me when you kids decide what you want.”
Kailynn looked at Chase with wide eyes. “I thought she was legitimately pissed at us.”
Chase leaned forward conspiratorially. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure whether or not she was.”
They settled into their booth and looked over the menu. The rest of breakfast went by without a hitch and soon they were walking hand-in-hand through the small strip of stores.
“This is my favorite store,” Chase said, walking up to a door and pulling it open for Kailynn. “But don’t tell anyone I said that,” he whispered. Choosing favorites in the town could backfire on him. He didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but he had a soft spot for this place.
She smiled and stepped inside. Kit’s Korner had been his favorite growing up since it held Montana trinkets plus random items from around the world. When he was young, he enjoyed coming in there to see what new items were in stock. The store never failed to keep a fresh selection of products on the shelf. The Pritchards had owned it for generations and were the town travelers—always visiting new places and finding amazing items to stock.
“Welcome to—” A man’s voice started, but immediately stopped when recognition lit his face. “Chase! Welcome in! It’s been so long since we’ve seen you in here.”
“Hey Mr. Pritchard! How are you?”
“I’m doing well. You know, same old town.”
Chase nodded. “This is my girlfriend Kailynn.”
“We’ve met, actually. I spoke with her at the party the other night. How are you doing, Kailynn? Enjoying our small community?”
Kailynn smile. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Pritchard. I am. It’s very nice here.”
A slight hint of apprehension in her voice gave way to the little fib she told. Chase inwardly cringed that she would have to lie about enjoying herself in his hometown. But he couldn’t blame her. Not after everything that went down with his family and the circulating rumors.
“Take a look around and let me know if there’s anything I can help you with,” Mr. Pritchard said.
Kailynn walked over to a display of postcards and thumbed through them. Chase stepped up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her neck.
“This one has always been my favorite,” he said, taking a postcard of a landscape off the rack. It was a picture of mainly farmland with a stream trickling through the property and a farmhouse in the background that looked similar to his parents’ place. It reminded him of home.
“I can see why. I’m going to get it.” She smiled back at him and walked over to the counter where Mr. Pritchard messed with a display.
