Sidecar Crush

“No, he is not.”

“But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have other good qualities,” I said. “He’s just different from what you’re used to.”

“Leah Mae, I’ve seen the sorts of people you run with now,” he said. “Slick big city folk. Smooth talkers. I admit, I’ve never cared much for any of it. But it’s your dream and I am nothing but proud of you. And if this is what you want, I’ll be happy for you.”

“Thanks, Dad.” I squeezed his hand. “Listen, why don’t I take Kelvin into town and show him around. We’ll come back here with dinner for all of us before we go check in to our cabin. Do you need any groceries?”

“No, I’m fine.”

I didn’t believe him. I’d pick him up a few things just in case. “We’ll be back in a little while.”

I got up and found Kelvin on the front porch, typing something on his phone. Probably texting his assistant, asking her to look for wedding venues. I sighed again. That was Kelvin, always going at full speed. I figured I should be happy he’d let go of that silly run-off-to-Vegas idea so easily. He wasn’t always so quick to change his mind.

“Come on, let’s go into town,” I said. “We’ll bring back dinner.”

“Are we going to be able to find a place that’s paleo and gluten-free?”

I stopped myself from sighing. The chances of that were very slim, but I didn’t want to sour him on my hometown before he’d even seen all of it. He was just a bandwagon health nut anyway; it wasn’t like he had real food intolerances. “I’m not sure. I guess we’ll have to look around.”

We got back in the car and headed into town.

3

JAMESON

T he Pop In was crowded. That was normal this time of year, especially on a Saturday. Bootleg swelled with tourists in the summer, most of them staying in cabins around the lake. I slipped inside, planning to get in and out as quickly as possible.

My jaw felt fine today. Rhett didn’t hit all that hard. Hell, I’d taken worse from my brothers on more than one occasion. Wasn’t even any bruising.

I went through the store and grabbed what I needed. There wasn’t a line to check out, so I put my purchases on the counter and pulled out my wallet. Opal Bodine was working the cash register.

“Hey, Jameson,” she said.

“Opal.”

“This all for you?”

I eyed my purchases. “I think I could use something sweet. Got anything good?”

“You bet I do,” she said. “I’ve got two more cinnamon rolls if you’d like one.”

I thought about buying both and bringing one to Jonah, but he’d only tell me we shouldn’t eat so much sugar. Course, if I bought both and he didn’t eat his, I’d have no choice but to eat it for him.

“I’ll take both.”

“Sounds good,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

Someone brushed against me as they passed, and I winced. I hated it when people did that. The store wasn’t that small; there was no need for bumping into people. I glanced over, but it wasn’t anyone I knew, and he was walking out the door anyway. I shrugged it off and looked to see if Opal was coming with my cinnamon rolls.

A girl had gotten in line behind me and I did a double take when I saw her, my jaw dropping all the way to the floor. Or it would have if my jaw had been capable of such a thing. It was Leah Mae Larkin.

She was tall and willowy, with limbs that went on for miles. Her long blond hair was down and wavy. Honey-lemon skin with a few freckles across her nose. Bright eyes that were such a surprising shade of green they made you look twice.

I swallowed hard, finding it exceedingly hard to do anything but stare.

“Jameson?”

Her voice was soft and melodic, and when she smiled, I noticed the little gap between her front teeth. She’d always had it—and hated it—but it had become her trademark as a model.

“H-hey there, Leah Mae,” I said, hating how strangled my voice sounded. It was not unusual for me to get a little tongue-tied around a pretty girl, but this was something else entirely.

“Jameson Bodine?” she asked, as if she hadn’t said my name already.