when the silence became uncomfortable.
“What?” She frowned.
“At the lawyer’s office. You said you had an errand to run. I’m asking if you had a long wait for me to finish up.”
She shook her head. “Sorry. My mind was miles away. No, I was only there a couple of minutes, and Flossie kept me company.”
“You don’t have to go with me. Drop me off at the inn and I’ll go on in my truck.” After seeing Reuben, he wanted to wrap Jolene up in his arms and tell her that he’d protect her.
Are you stupid? Jolene has been taking care of herself for years. She doesn’t need your protection. She needs your support and friendship. Melanie’s voice was loud and clear in his head.
“Partnership,” he muttered.
“What was that?” Jolene asked.
“Nothing. I was just thinking of my first partner,” he answered.
“Are you ashamed to be seen with a woman driving you?” she asked.
“It makes me uncomfortable,” he admitted. “My first partner on the force drove me crazy. She wouldn’t use the cruise control and she talked nonstop, using her hands to tell a story—both of them, most of the time, and driving with her knee. My next partner and I made a deal—if he’d let me drive, I’d pay for our first cup of coffee every morning. I’d as soon be behind the wheel as sitting in the passenger seat.”
She pulled off on the side of the road. “Then you drive.”
“Are you serious?”
“We’re partners, aren’t we? So you’re afraid of spiders, and you like to drive. I hate mice with a passion, a rat will send me into cardiac arrest, and I enjoy sitting in the passenger seat. It’s no big deal. Partners take care of each other,” she said.
“Sounds good to me.” Tucker got out and walked around the truck and let Jolene slide over. He adjusted the seat and pulled out onto the highway. “And I got to tell you, I got the same feeling about Reuben that you did. He was so nervous, I thought he might pass out right there. I bet he was bullied, and he did those mean things to you so he’d have some power and feel less insecure. I kind of felt sorry for him until he badmouthed you and your mother.”
Jolene nodded. “He sure knows how to ruin any sympathy, doesn’t he?”
“Oh, yeah.” Tucker pulled into the last remaining parking spot in front of the lumberyard. He would have been a gentleman and opened the door for Jolene, but she was halfway to the building before he could undo his seat belt. When he made it inside, she was nowhere to be seen.
“That cute little blonde that just asked about the bathroom fixtures with you?” Billy Joe asked. The salesman pointed toward the back of the store.
“Yep, that’s her.” Tucker nodded. “I’ve got a big list. Think y’all could make a delivery to Jefferson today? Actually, it’s pretty close to the county line, not in town.”
“Sure thing. We’ve been slow all week. What are you doin’?”
“Remodeling the old Magnolia Inn. I bought half interest,” Tucker answered.
He’d thought that he’d feel something like happiness or maybe even elation when he was the owner, but it was just another day. He wondered, as he handed the long list off to Billy Joe, what kind of emotions Jolene had that moment. Now they were bound up in this partnership until one of them got tired of it. Was she happy to have the money to bring the inn into the modern world and keep its charm at the same time? She could have said something—anything—but she hadn’t.
“Hey, what do I need to do now?” she asked as she walked up behind him.
“Go look at all the bathtubs and shower units.” His hand brushed against her shoulder when he pointed, and there was definitely a spark. Not a big, overpowering one, but it was there and it worried him. “Basically, that’s all we have to pick out today. The rest of the list is already in Billy Joe’s hands.”
“Who?”
“He works here. I do a lot of business with all of the employees,” he answered.
When they reached the display, she stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. “There’s not a lot of difference, is there? This one is the cheapest.”
“And there’s a reason it’s the least expensive. We’d be replacing it in a year if we have a lot of guests. They’re lined up by price. Keep going all the way to the end and feel the