The Mechanics of Mistletoe - Liz Isaacson Page 0,8

made her legs look even trimmer than they were.

She’d paired them with a dark blouse with brightly colored flowers on it. Blue and yellow and pink, which somehow brought out the color in her hair. He’d never seen Sammy wear jewelry on the job, but tonight, she had gold hoops in her ears and a thin gold band around her left thumb.

“Does that ring have a story?” he asked, hoping it was a good one.

“Sort of,” she said, twisting the ring now.

Bear turned around completely, rumbling past the homestead and Skyler Walker’s house on the left, and Micah’s on the right before Sammy spoke again.

“My mother got my sister and me rings when we were little babies,” she said. “She had Heather’s buried with her, and I just got mine a few months ago.”

Bear nodded, not sure what to say. He felt like he was navigating a minefield, where everything that seemed innocent definitely wasn’t. “I’m sorry about your sister,” he said. “That must be very difficult.”

“I have good days and bad,” she said.

“What’s today?” he asked.

“Today’s in the middle,” she said.

“You can just tell me if it’s a good day or a bad one,” he said, looking at her fully as he looked right to check traffic. “Heaven—and all my brothers and cousins—knows I have plenty of bad days.” He smiled, thrilled when Sammy did too.

“Okay, Bear,” she said.

“Okay.” He sure did like his name in her voice, and he got them moving back toward town. “Where do you want to eat?”

“Have you tried the new fish taco place?”

“No,” he said, transforming into a grizzly as he spoke. “I don’t think fish in the Texas Panhandle is all that appetizing.” He cocked one eyebrow and kept his eyes on the road.

“It’s not bad,” she said. “They have everything flown in from the Gulf of Mexico, day-of.”

It sounded like she wanted to get fish tacos, but Bear had heard through the grapevine that it was a fast-casual place. “That’s fine,” he said, because he just wanted Sammy to be happy.

“We could try The Library,” Sammy said, and at least she was talking now. “They’re really busy on Friday nights though.”

“Mm,” Bear said. “I don’t think I realized it was Friday.”

Sammy started laughing, the sound quiet at first. Bear glanced at her as she really picked up. “Is that funny?”

“Yes,” she said through her giggles. “Who doesn’t know what day of the week it is?”

“Ranchers work seven days a week,” he said. “But it at least explains the traffic.” Three Rivers was a growing, blooming town, and since Bear didn’t make it to town very often, he didn’t have to deal with traffic, construction, or lines.

He kept both hands solidly on the wheel, though he’d really like to hold Sammy’s hand tonight. He started thinking about that, and he missed the turn to go to The Library.

“It’s down there,” she said, and Bear pressed on the brake.

“Yeah, sorry.” He flipped around and got on the right street.

“What were you and Micah and Simone talking about today?” she asked, her voice a forced casual that Bear could hear from a mile away.

“Uh, just….” He sighed. He was going to have to tell her sooner or later. The weight of those eyes landed on him again, and he wondered if he’d always be able to feel it when she studied him.

He pulled up to The Library, getting a spot right in the front. “This could be a good sign,” he said. “Let me run in and see how long the list is.” He unbuckled and opened his door. “Hold tight here.”

“Okay,” she said, and Bear jogged into the restaurant, feeling very much like he was running away from the confession he needed to make. “How long for two?” he asked.

“Ten minutes,” the woman standing there said.

He gave her his name and took the buzzer she gave him. Back in the truck, he handed it to Sammy with, “Ten minutes.”

“Oh, that’s not bad at all,” she said.

“There are a lot of new places in town now,” he said. “They might not be as busy anymore.”

“Yeah.”

Bear took a couple of deep breaths, trying to even out his pulse before he spoke again.

“If you were talking about me,” Sammy said. “I’d rather not know anyway.”

Bear twisted in his seat to face her. “It wasn’t about you.”

She lifted her eyes to his, and Bear tried to judge how she was feeling, but Sammy was very good at hiding her emotions. He had no idea what was going