On an afternoon as dreary as today, he was surprised to find business as steady as it was. It was sunset and the clouds were thinning to the west, a sharp contrast to the blanket of gray, endlessly dripping clouds overhead. With any luck, this wet spell was finally about to break.

After being caught midembrace, and sensing that Olivia was worried about the ramifications she’d face in a rural area like this, Gabe wasn’t eager to suggest they eat in his truck. Instead, they sat side by side on the dry half of a picnic table under a narrow awning near the walk-up window. Aside from him and Olivia—and Samson, who planted himself attentively between them in the event that even the tiniest morsel fell to the ground—everyone else was taking their food to go.

As he bit into the burger, Gabe stifled a groan of pleasure. They’d prepared it just as he’d asked: cheese, lettuce, pickle, ketchup, and mustard. “Damn.” He swallowed and took another bite before shaking his head. “Worth a much longer drive if you ask me.”

Olivia mumbled in agreement and wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin even though nothing had been there. Had there been, he’d have been tempted to swipe it off with his thumb. Any excuse to connect with that mouth again.

“I know,” she agreed. “I make it a point of stopping by every time I come home.”

“I can see why.” He swallowed a few more bites and washed them down with a mouthful of root beer. “How far away is your family?” She’d been visibly tense on the drive here, but she seemed to be calming down. He wanted to keep the conversation away from what had happened in the truck, but he also wanted to know more about her. A lot more.

Olivia nodded in the direction of the road toward the west. “My grandparents’ farm is another ten miles away. It’s where I grew up. My parents didn’t get a place of their own until after my sister and I moved out. It was a different upbringing than most of my friends had, but it worked for us. My parents lived in town a year or two, but last summer they moved into a prefab house on one corner of my grandparents’ property. They aren’t the best at adulting, I guess you could say.”

“There are all sorts of normal anymore, if you ask me. So, your grandpa’s the real thing? A full-time farmer? Growing up in the city, I can’t say I’ve known anyone who’s managed to make a living that way.”