back of my brain twitching and jumping. And that interest caused a whole different level of discomfort. I was in no place to be interested in anyone.
"It's fine," I said casually. "I'll figure it out eventually."
She snorted while she reached up and yanked her hair down from the knot it'd been twisted up into. Yeah, she reminded me a lot of Angel, all right. There was something feline about Angry Girl, in the way she arched her neck as she attempted something a bit neater and more contained with all that hair. The way her eyes tilted and took everything in, at her own pace and only when she deemed it necessary. Like the world was simply there, waiting patiently for her to take notice.
"Small town perks, eh?" she said.
"Oh, that's one on a long list. Like picking up stranded strangers without a second thought, bringing them where they need to go without expecting anything in return." I gave her a meaningful look.
I saw it, quick and then gone, the tiniest start of a smile. Then she glared again, like she suddenly remembered that I was public enemy number one.
Remembering something I’d shoved in my glove box, I murmured an “Excuse my reach,” and flipped it down.
I heard her suck in air at the sight of the granola bar as I grabbed it.
Her mouth hung open as I snapped the compartment shut. But instead of handing it to her, I lifted the probably-stale, older-than-I-wanted-to-eat snack up to my mouth.
With my teeth, I ripped open the side of the wrapper and took a giant bite. Her mouth fell open even farther as I chewed.
Maybe I’d lost my mind, but the way she stared daggers at me, chewing away at that oat and raisin granola bar that I wasn’t all that hungry for, was the most fun I’d had in a while.
“Oh,” I said around the last bite, then swallowed, and slid my sunglasses down the bridge of my nose so she could see my eyes, “where are my manners. You didn’t want that, did you?”
Angry Girl rubbed a hand over her mouth, like it could help her keep whatever foul words were stamped clear as day across her pretty face.
I swallowed a laugh.
We drove through downtown Green Valley, a stretch of road I knew by heart, lined with small shops and brick buildings, waving to a few people as we did. On the corner, waiting to cross the street, Scotia Simmons peered into the cab of my truck with narrowed eyes, and I grimaced.
All I could do was pray her cell phone battery was dead so that the news of my unfamiliar passenger wouldn't reach too many ears in the next hour. If it did, I'd hear about it from more than one person in my life, that was for sure. In fact, by the time I dropped her off at Fran and Robert’s, I'd bet my phone would already be ringing.
First from Magnolia, second only to my father, if there was anyone to beat her to it.
We drove the rest of the way to the Buchanan's place in silence, and I noticed the way she started fiddling with her fingers after she dropped her combat boot-clad feet down onto the floor. It was the first flinch of nerves I'd seen out of her, and that ratcheted my interest another notch or two.
"You from Francine or Robert's side of the family?" I asked.
She sighed. "I'm a Buchanan."
Finally, an answer given freely, without rancor or heat behind it. I nodded. "They're good people."
When the road curved and the Buchanan's house came into view, she sighed audibly in relief.
That brought another smile to my face. "Ready to be rid of me, Angry Girl?"
"Yup." Her knee started bouncing as I pulled into the long driveway.
Their house was large, with shiny black shutters against crisp white siding. Blue morning glories crawled up the side of the wrap-around porch, and brightly colored stalks of astilbe popped against the side of the house. Set at the back of the driveway was the renovated garage apartment where Levi used to live, though he had recently moved out to Seattle.
Connor and his wife, Sylvia, lived down the road in a small ranch house. One I’d helped them move into just before they got married, because I felt bad that I couldn’t make it to their wedding. Nice people, kind and true and welcoming, and as I puzzled over this entire interaction, it wasn’t very easy for me to place