“Looks like you two are helping yourselves, you ask me. I got off work and thought I’d drive down and see if you were able to save the dog.”

“We got him out of the pen,” Gabe said, ignoring the loaded comment, “but he took off. We’ve been driving around looking for him.”

“Have you, now.”

It was a declaration, not a question, and it was sharp and stinging. Gabe tensed enough that Olivia could count the muscles in his jaw.

She could hardly summon the courage to look the man in the eye but recognized that hiding wouldn’t help this not become the talk of the town. “There are a couple deer in the woods,” she offered over Gabe’s shoulder. “We think the dog might be drawn to their scent.”

“Hound, was he?”

Olivia had presumed so, but Gabe spoke up. “A pointer. German shorthaired, if I were to guess. Reddish-brown face and ears and a flea-bitten look to his coat. Pretty sure his tail was docked.”

The man nodded and ran his tongue along his front teeth. “I’ll be on the lookout for him.”

Gabe popped open his door and hopped out. “Got a pen and paper? I’ll give you my number in case you spot him.”

With Gabe blocking her view, Olivia sat back in her seat and released a tired breath. Conversations with her parents and grandparents were already playing out in her head. The same way she could hear Ava telling her she had a knack for creating chaos. Her muscles tensed in reaction to words that hadn’t yet been spoken. It wasn’t true. She really wasn’t one to cause chaos. Except for calling off her engagement less than a month before a wedding this entire town had been anticipating, perhaps.

Besides, she could make out with Gabe—or anyone else, for that matter—any day of the week and not be in the wrong. She’d broken things off with Trevor six months ago. With the exception of one major fail of a blind date that Ava had talked her into, she’d not so much as thought about dating. Or climbing onto some really hot, amazing guy’s lap hours after meeting him for the sexiest make-out session she’d ever had.

As Gabe stepped back into the cab, Olivia waved a humiliated goodbye.

“You okay?” he asked after shutting the door.

“Yeah… He, uh, keeps in touch with my grandpa pretty regularly, I guess.”

“Sorry about that. If you think it would help to put a face with the gossip, I’m happy to stick around and introduce myself.”

Olivia folded her hands on her lap. “It don’t think it would. Thank you though.”