piercing. Alberta and her husband danced in Good Riddance’s dusty street. Further down, the couple who ran the dry goods store drifted out and began to dance, as well. The man and woman who’d been walking on the opposite sidewalk took advantage of the music, too, as Jefferson segued into another song.
There was a romantic, surreal element to it all. The dusty street in the middle of the Alaskan bush, the notes of the saxophone weaving a spell, the dancing couples, some in evening wear, some in work gear, snow-topped mountains and evergreens serving as a backdrop.
A truck pulled to a stop in front of her, startling her until she realized Lars sat behind the wheel. He got out and rounded the front. Sunlight glinted in his short, military-cut hair. He’d exchanged his dress uniform for blue jeans and a Super Bowl T-shirt from a couple of years ago. It was rather disconcerting how simply seeing him set her heart rate galloping. Was it those broad shoulders or that wicked glint in his eyes when he smiled? Or perhaps it was just that general sense of attraction she’d felt for him from the very beginning. Either way, her pulse had moved into hyper mode.
“Hey, you,” he said, and for some goofy reason, it struck her as incredibly romantic.
“Hey.” She felt lost in his gaze, but lost in a good way.
“Street dance?” he said, nodding toward Jefferson and the couples.
“It’s turned into that.” Good Lord, but she wanted to kiss him again.
He motioned with his right hand. “Would you rather stay? We could check out Mirror Lake another time.”
“No. This is great but I’m looking forward to seeing Mirror Lake.”
He smiled and her tummy seemed to somersault. “Me, too. Ready to roll?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
He opened the passenger door for her.
She stepped off of the sidewalk and climbed in. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” she said when he got back in the cab, “but I wasn’t expecting you to be driving.”
He flashed a grin her way. “It’s a bit far out of town to walk, so I borrowed Bull’s truck. He offered to let me use it while I was visiting.”
“Nice.” The sun slanted through the windshield, illuminating the fine lines bracketing his eyes. A small scar ran along his jawline. A light dusting of hair ran along his forearms. His biceps bulged impressively. However, it was the man himself, his air, the whole package, that sent a prickle of gooseflesh dancing over her skin. Excitement...anticipation hovered between them.
A delicious tension pulsed in the cab. Slow down, she reminded herself. She threw out a safe topic. “How was dinner?”
Trained to notice details, as details often meant the difference between life and death, Delphi saw his smile take on a tense edge. “I don’t know.”
His response surprised her. So much for dinner being safe. “Didn’t you eat with your family?” At least that’s what he’d said he was doing.
“Sure did.”
He wasn’t making sense. “So, how can you not know how it went? Have you been drinking?” She had to ask. She didn’t ride with anyone who’d been drinking. She’d seen too many drunk driving victims come in on ambulance stretchers.
They left the town behind, evergreens flanking the road before them. His driving seemed fine but she could easily walk back if she needed to. They both could if he’d overindulged. For that matter, she was fully capable of driving.
He shot her a sidelong look, a frown furrowing his brow. “Of course not. I have more discipline than that.”
“No need to get all huffy. I just don’t get how you wouldn’t know if something was good or bad.”
He rubbed his hand over his head. “What the heck? You already know more about my family than you probably wanted to.” She waited. “You know how we talked about my mom earlier?”
“Yes.”
“Tonight at dinner was more of the same—it was all about her. Not once has she asked about me. And she won’t. She’ll offer an opinion on what I should do and how I should do it but it’s all based on bullshit. Because she doesn’t know a damn thing about me. Sorry, it just pisses me off.”
She understood his vehemence. It really sucked to be manipulated. “No apology necessary. What happened?” If he told her it was none of her business, well, then it was none of her business.
“Tonight at dinner, I called her out on her behavior. I’m tired of letting her get away with this crap.”
“And...?”
“It kind of felt good,