Moving On (Rolling Thunder #7) - P.J. Fiala Page 0,70

and shook her hand. "LuAnn, it was surely a pleasure to see such a pretty young lady come through our doors."

Her cheeks burned. "It seems as though you have plenty of pretty women here, Gil."

He chuckled, "Darlin, most of them are local waitresses hired for this event."

Deep in her stomach, she felt better that Chase wouldn't be working with those gorgeous women on a day-to-day basis. She would have to be blind not to see the way women looked at him. He was simply gorgeous. It still boggled her mind that she didn't see it before. Then again, he looked different now. His hair was rich, and full and long, which brought out the brown of his eyes, while before she went to prison, his hair had been long, it had also been sort of stringy and bleached blond from the sun. He held himself taller now, more confident and it was sexy on him. All of it.

46

Driving back to the hotel he enjoyed seeing the town as the sun set. "Do you mind if I detour through town?"

"No, not at all, I'd love to see it."

Chase turned left at the stop light and they drove down what looked to be an older part of Main Street. It was picturesque as the orange sun set behind the mountains beyond the buildings.

"It's beautiful." LuAnn said as she watched the city.

"It certainly is."

They drove out of this part of town and just a couple miles away they drove past a lake. The water was smooth as glass, the orange waning lights of the sun shone brightly on the water which now looked like a piece of glass.

He heard LuAnn mutter, "Wow." And his heart filled. It was breathtaking here.

As they drove around the lake he saw the homes nestled along the shore; they were spaced far enough apart that they allowed each homeowner some privacy. He turned down the road that looked to follow the lake and they stared out the windows at the spectacular homes on the lake.

As they rounded the bend in the road, he saw the prettiest home. It was nestled in the crook of the road on what looked to be an inlet. It wasn't the expensive looking stone or brick of the other homes; it was a more western design with its wooden siding and the large stone so common out here. He stopped in front of it and stared at the home. It was moderately landscaped, but you could see slightly toward the lakeside of the home that the landscaping was more extensive. A long dock led out to the lake and there was a bench at the end of the dock. It looked as if a man was out there fishing.

"Are you interested in this house, Chase?"

He looked into LuAnn's eyes, which seemed confused. She tilted her head to the side, and he smiled.

"I guess for some reason it speaks to me. Is that stupid?"

She smiled. "No."

She looked down at her phone and typed something into it. He continued looking at the stone steps, the shrubs, the boat on wooden stands alongside the house to the left. Then he saw it. It was for sale.

LuAnn turned her phone toward him. She'd looked it up by address and showed him the price. With his new salary, he could afford it. His heart raced at the thought. He could sell his Green Bay home and they could move out here and live on a lake. It would be pure magic. A place to come home to after a day of designing and dealing. They could sit on the dock in the evenings and have a beer or two. He'd learn how to fish. His mind raced with all the possibilities of what could be.

He finally looked at LuAnn, who had turned her head to stare at the house.

"What do you think, do you want to see it?"

Her head swiveled back to him; her lips curved just slightly. "Don't you think we should make sure you'll like your job here? I mean, I'd hate to fall in love with this house only to have you not really like what you'll see at the shop tomorrow."

He put the Jeep in park and twisted in his seat facing her. "What is your gut impression of what you saw tonight? Don't think about it, just say it."

"Everyone seemed nice. Like they all got along. Happy."

"Yes, that was my impression too. What else?"

"They weren't sure we were coming though they could have