Griffin’s brows pulled together as he let his hand fall away. I missed the touch instantly. The warmth of it. The weight. Like a thick security blanket. He searched my face, looking for what exactly, I didn’t know. “The house is coming along. But it’s pretty damn slow when it’s just me.”

I had the sudden urge to offer to help, but I knew it wouldn’t be received as the kindness I intended. “You’ll get there.” It might take a decade given the size of the home and the property, but somehow, I didn’t think Griffin would mind.

“I will.” He glanced over to the SUV. “I think we can open the hood now.”

I reached out a hand for the gloves. “I’ve got it.”

“I can do it—”

I cut Griffin off with a shake of my head. “Really. It’s my SUV.”

Hesitantly, he handed me the gloves. A spark of something flared when our fingers brushed—an astute awareness of the first time we’d made skin-to-skin contact. I sucked in a breath and forced my attention to the vehicle. But all I could think was that I didn’t want our stolen roadside moments to end.

5

Griffin

I pulled open the screen door of The General Store, and it slapped back into place behind me as I stepped through. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about my run-in with Caelyn. Our conversation and the one I’d overheard with Old Man Walters had replayed over and over in my mind. Caelyn needed a break. She’d devoted her life to three kids who would’ve been put into foster care without her, and she couldn’t even afford to get her SUV repaired.

A whole slew of images assaulted my brain, each one worse than the previous. They all painted a vivid picture of what could happen if something really went wrong with Caelyn’s vehicle. I swallowed back the bile that crept up my throat and forced myself forward. I made my way down an aisle until I reached the little kitchen at the back of the store.

Caelyn looked up from where she was sorting an array of supplies. “Hey. You’re earlier than usual.”

“I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Caelyn’s expression became guarded. “I swear Big Bertha is fine. All she needed was some coolant.”

That was far from all that death trap needed. It probably needed to go to the junkyard, but telling Caelyn that would get me nowhere. “I have a job proposition for you.”

Her green eyes widened a fraction. “A job?”

“Yeah. I was wondering if you’d be interested in some private chef work?” The idea had been running around in my mind since I’d first overhead Walters and Caelyn talking, I just hadn’t been able to figure out how to make it feasible.

“But I work here…”