That had him pausing in the act of lighting his kindling with a lighter. “Evan Monroe? Why the hell is he calling you? I didn’t even know you knew him.” Well, of course she must have met Evan at some point given that Evan’s brother Elec was married to Tammy, and Ty had seen Imogen talking to Evan at the gym, but he wanted her to explain how she knew him.

“I met him at Tamara and Elec’s wedding, very briefly. Then again in the gym.” She pushed her glasses up. “He, well, has been pursuing me.”

Ty supposed it wasn’t anything he didn’t already know, but he didn’t like hearing it out loud. “What does that mean? He’s harassing you?”

“No, of course not. He’s merely asked me out to dinner, and this phone message was following up on that, offering specific time options.”

Then she said nothing else, bending over and riffling in his backpack.

Ty felt a wave of jealousy wash over him, but he took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. “Are you going to go? Do you like him?”

“I don’t know him well enough to determine one way or another if I like him. But no, I am not going to go out with him.” She pulled out a sweatshirt that had his car emblazoned across the front.

It always made him feel ridiculous to wear a shirt with his own car on it in his leisure time, but his mother had given it to him, which was sweet. So he put it to use for camping and hiking, where he wasn’t likely to encounter a ton of people. But for some reason, as Imogen pulled it on, he liked that sweatshirt a whole lot better than he ever had before. It swallowed her whole and she quickly cuffed the sleeves, and fussed with the hood, but seeing that car across her chest brought out those feelings again. Weird happy feelings, along with a healthy dose of possessiveness.

“So why aren’t you going out with him?” It was stupid to poke at her, especially given he might not like the answer, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

“I have altered the basis of my thesis. I was not finding it time effective, practical, or honest to pursue the dating rules myself. Instead, I’m focusing on interviewing both drivers and their wives about their courtship, whether or not stock car racing played a role in their meeting, and whether the path to marriage in any way resembled the rules laid out in the dating manual.”