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corners crinkle and I know he wants to laugh. My skin flushes.
    “I do have the capability to get out of a car on my own,” I say, politely removing my arms from his grasp.
    He looks over his shoulder. “Mabel would kill me if you did that. I’m not surprised Carter never held the door for you.”
    I didn’t need any more of Carter today. “A little warning next time.”
    He leans close to me and I step back, my butt bumping into the side of the truck. “Warning. Every time we’re in a vehicle together, I will open the door for you.”
    His eyes dance playfully and I can’t help but smile. “Thanks.”
    He closes my door with a grin and leads the way up to the store.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Will
    I don’t have to worry about holding the store’s front doors for Hadley since they automatically open in front of us. Her shoulders almost touch her ears as we walk into the air-conditioned store.
    I grab a shopping cart and push it towards the first aisle, completely out of my element. Someone calls out to Hadley and she waves to a girl at the checkout.
    “Do you have plans to go to school eventually?” Hadley says, bringing up that topic again.
    I busy myself pulling a loaf of bread from the shelf. “I don’t know.”
    “With your grades any school would be thrilled to have you.” There’s a hint of envy in her voice.
    “You sound like Mabel.”
    She smiles. “I’d like to meet her,” she says and then closes her eyes briefly.
    “You’d get along great.”
    She gives me a closed-lipped smile and tugs her fingers through her hair, not quite meeting my eyes. So much for not being uncomfortable.
    I switch to a safer topic as we head for the refrigerated aisle. “Do you know any of the kids that we have this year?”
    She nods. “We had a few last year in the group.” She takes a piece of paper from her pocket and unfolds it. “You remember the Yates twins?”
    Barely. “I think so.”
    “We had them two years ago, in the eight to ten group. Harry and Oliver?”
    “The mayor’s sons?”
    “Ex-mayor, but yes,” she replies. “They’re still insanely rich though and are big donors to the department. But the kids are very sweet.”
    “Who else?” I prod, tossing several bags of chips into the cart.
    She goes on about the kids. It’s safer for the both of us when she talks and we aren’t delving into my past. We hit the refrigerator aisle and her teeth start to chatter, wrapping her arms around her chest. I lean down and pick up a carton of eggs. I struggle to keep my eyes on the carton.
    She reaches over me, her shirt moves up, exposing a sliver of skin. I wonder if she’s as soft as I remember. I step back, removing the temptation.
    She hands me a carton. “A growing boy needs milk.”
    I chuckle and take it, our fingers briefly touch.
    She nibbles on her lip and starts for the end of the aisle. I follow her with the cart.
    Hadley rests her hand on the cart as we talk. “Tell me about the ranch.”
    I grab jars of peanut butter and jelly and drop them in to the cart. I lean on the handle, moving it forward. “Just like the movies, up a dawn and not coming in till the cows come home.” I exaggerate a Southern drawl and again she smiles. I turn away from her and the tightening of my chest. Why did falling back in our routine have to come so easily?
    I grab two boxes of cereal and toss it into the cart as I continue. “Mostly it’s a lot of repairs. She stables horses but we have several animals that need taking care of.”
    “Like what?”
    “Cows, pigs, goats. There’s also a pond nearby that we maintain.”
    “It’s a good thing you and your dad are handy.”
    I stare at my hands. “Yeah.” My thoughts drift to him and I know his hands are not like mine at all. Probably callus-free since he’s been in rehab. Those hands that taught me how to build and shape but also showed me how quickly they could tear things down. I shove away the thought of that weak man, but I can’t help but see him in