“Please be careful,” Casey said to no one. She needed to have a talk with Gizzy about not falling head over heels for a guy who would probably drop her when he went back to his home in Los Angeles. Gizzy was a small-town girl, a pastor’s daughter who went to church three times a week, while Jack was a movie star—and everyone knew what that meant.
She got to the truck as Tate and Jack were closing the back doors. Jack walked away with Gizzy.
“Thanks,” Casey said to Tate as she held up the box. “I didn’t realize you knew that I liked it.”
He was smiling, but she saw that it was without warmth. “You’re welcome. Are you ready to go?” He didn’t wait for her answer, just turned away.
“I’m sorry,” she said loudly.
He glanced back at her. “For what?”
“Being a Mean Girl. I know you and Devlin aren’t friends and I shouldn’t have mentioned him. But I’ll be honest and tell you that I’ve shared a couple of meals with him and I like him.”
“Like him how?” There was such a deep scowl on Tate’s face that she took a step back.
“We’re friendly,” she said. “That’s all. He talks about Emmie a lot.”
That statement made Tate snort in derision. “How the hell would he know about her? She—”
“You two ready to go?” Jack yelled. “Gizzy knows a place where we can picnic. Casey, did you bring enough food for lunch?”
“We could feed a town with all she brought.” Tate opened the side door and held it for Casey. “You’re stuck in here with me.”
She was glad that his anger seemed to have disappeared, but when she looked inside the truck, she halted. Half the seat was taken up by two huge boxes. “W
hat is that? A piano?”
“Just a few extra items Gizzy wanted,” Jack said.
“And so did you!” she shot back.
“Are you saying that you two filled the entire back of this huge truck and this is the overflow?” Casey asked.
“Well…” Gizzy glanced at Jack. “Kit did say his cousin Dr. Jamie and his wife are coming to help Dad out. They’re going to need furniture, and our sister needs some for her shop, and I saw a bed that Josh would love, and…” She shrugged.
“Looks like you’re going to have to sit close to me,” Tate said, and there was happiness in his voice.
“Hmph!” Casey said. “I just need to find the switch to turn off the electricity.”
“You didn’t see the switch on that first morning?” His face was all innocence. “Now, Mean Girl, you’ve really hurt my feelings. You didn’t see any switches?”
Casey’s face turned red but she couldn’t help laughing. “I can’t remember very clearly. Besides, what you do with soap is none of my business.” When she threw a leg up to get into the backseat, Tate put his hand under her backside and pushed.
As she went up, he said softly, “I’d like to show you what I can do with soap.”
When they got on the road, Jack and Gizzy began to quietly talk. In the back, by necessity, Casey sat close to Tate. Even if they weren’t actually touching, she could feel his warmth.
She looked away from him, across the boxes, and out the window. Now that it was quiet, she was beginning to think about what had happened. She remembered that little boy sitting on the edge of the roof and Gizzy dangling from a rope. As the images came back to her, Casey thought of her own part in the rescue. If Tate had let her go…
“Thinking about what happened?”
“Yes.” She changed the subject. “I’m glad we got all the things Stacy picked out.”
But Tate didn’t let her avoid the issue. “I know it was scary hanging down the roof like that, with your body supported by someone you hardly know. Have you ever done anything like that before?”
“Never. I’ll probably wake up at two A.M. in a panic.”
Tate looked serious. “I could stay with you tonight and…” He gave a suggestive shrug.