“No problem. Talk to you later.” She rolled up her window and backed out of the driveway as I gave her a wave.

“Where’s Fisher?” Rory asked as we walked around to the back of the house.

“Still working. He took me car shopping this morning, so I think that put him a little behind today.”

“Oh, that’s right. Did you find anything?”

I shrugged. “I suppose. I just need to talk to Grandma and Grandpa since they have to approve all large purchases and transfer the money to my account.”

She opened the door. “So what did you find? I love my Outback. Did you look at Subarus?”

“Um … yeah, we actually test drove a Forester.”

“Nice. Was it in your price range?”

“Yeah, but I saw another small SUV that I liked too. We didn’t test drive it today, but I might another day.”

“That’s good. You don’t want to make a rash decision. It’s your first big purchase.”

“I know.” I unlaced my boots, slipped them off, and tossed my backpack onto my bed. “I’m going to grab a quick shower.”

“Okay. I’ll start dinner,” Rory called.

Chapter Twenty-One

I didn’t see Fisher again until Friday afternoon. He was buried in work, so Rory took me to the office in the morning and Hailey dropped me off after work.

Fisher texted me later that day.

I’ll give you a ride home. See you in twenty.

“Fisher’s picking me up,” I said to Hailey as I sat at Fisher’s desk, going through receipts submitted by subcontractors.

“Then, I am out of here. Tell Bossman I had to run to the post office before it closed.”

Eyeing her, I grinned. “You don’t have to run to the post office, do you?”

She winked. “I have a date. And I’d love a pedicure.”

“Have fun.”

“Oh, I will. Bye.” She floated out the door with a big grin.

Hailey deserved to grin. She had a date. Fisher had a date. Rory didn’t have a date, but she had a friend to hang out with on a Friday night. I had my tumultuous thoughts and crossword puzzles to build.

Just as I finished paper-clipping the last of the receipts, Fisher came through the door. His beard was a little scruffier than usual. His jeans a little dirtier. And he wore a baseball cap that looked pretty used and soiled as well.

“Hey,” he said, flipping through the pile of notes for him from Hailey on the corner of his desk.

“Hey.” I piled everything neatly in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet then stood and hiked my bag onto my shoulder. “I was surprised you messaged me. Hailey could have given me a ride home.”

“I had to knock off early anyway. Rory wants to leave by six.”

Eyes wide, I bit my tongue and nodded several times.