Still confused but not wanting to make a big deal out of it, Bodie shrugged. “No problem. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

Except a quilt he’d folded and packed away inside the large duffel bag in his truck so Sarah wouldn’t see it.

“That’s what I was told,” she admitted, walking over to remove two glasses from a cabinet and flashing another smile that added a sparkle to her eyes. “Water?”

Quietly wondering if anyone had ever been blinded by the dazzle in a smile, Bodie nodded.

When she’d poured them both glasses, she put one of them in front of him and the other in front of a stool one place down from his. Having given him a burger and a box of fries, she sat down and unwrapped her own burger.

“I hear you’re so squeaky-clean that you’ve never even had a speeding ticket,” she said before taking a generous bite. “Mmmm, this is good.”

It was true—he didn’t have any traffic tickets. Possibly because since he’d turned eighteen, he hadn’t been in the country for more than a week or two at a time until earlier this year. And even then, it had been months before he’d been released to drive.

Fighting the heaviness that settled onto his shoulders at the memory of why he’d returned stateside, Bodie met Sarah’s gaze. He’d just met her in person the day before, but there was something about her that made it easier to pull himself out of the dark pit he’d wallowed in for too long. Maybe it was the quilt, or the joy-filled note she’d attached to it describing a life he’d barely been able to imagine. Having met Sarah, seen Pine Hill first hand, he knew her joy was real. Sarah Smith loved life and that love flowed from her.

She said, “I didn’t have you pegged as someone who so closely adhered to the laws of the land.”

Her tone was almost disappointed, as if she sort of liked the thought that he might have bad-boy tendencies. Interesting. He eyed her with renewed curiosity.

“Maybe I’m just good enough to not get caught.”

Her full lips curved. “I can see how that would be the more likely scenario.”

Whoa. Sarah looked at him with a light in her eyes that drew him in like a moth to a flame, making him want to know more, to learn what was beneath the surface, what she thought of him. Maybe someone really could be blinded by a dazzling smile. “Explain.”

Her big brown depths shining with something warm and inviting and full of interest, she eyed him as she slowly chewed the bite she’d just taken. “I’m not sure I can without sounding judgmental.”

Giving in to his hunger, he took a bite of his burger. It was so good that he would’ve forgiven Lou on the spot if there’d been anything to forgive. He didn’t blame Sarah’s friends for checking him out. For that matter, she’d been too trusting to let him into her home unsupervised without looking into his background first. Just because she was full of goodness, she seemed to expect that the rest of the world was, too. Bodie knew better. He’d rarely dealt with goodness over the past decade.