I wake up for work the next morning and start to get ready when I realize I have no way of getting to work. My car is still stuck at the bottom of the hill. And I don’t have Easton’s number. My only option is to call Ivy and ask for it. Just as I’m about to call her, I hear a honking from the driveway. I run to the front door and pull the curtain to the side.

Easton is sitting in his truck yawning. He sees me and waves. I hold up my finger to tell him one minute. I can’t believe he came here to pick me up. I can only assume he knew I was working since Trace and Ivy are out of town and it’s only the two of us at the café. I change into work clothes relatively fast but am very aware of what I am putting on. I don’t know why it matters, I don’t have feelings for him!

At least that’s what I keep telling myself. I find a cute navy sundress that might just show my boobs a little more than I’m used to. I throw a yellow cardigan over it, put on my white gym shoes, grab my purse and run out the door.

“Mornin’ sunshine,” he greets as I get in the truck.

“Morning. Thanks for the ride. I should have asked you yesterday. But then with all the commotion and everything I completely forgot. I thought I was going to have to walk.” I realize I’m rambling. I never ramble.

“Don’t worry about it. Knew you had to work since Trace and Ivy are tryin’ to make more babies or whatever. And I should go into the shop early anyway to get some work done and get your car out of the mud.”

He pulls out of the driveway and we head into town. We don’t really talk much, but at least this time the silence isn’t awkward.

Just as we pull up to the diner, he says, “Sorry I’ve been kind of a dick to you. I just am sometimes. Can’t really help it.”

I look over at him and shrug. “It’s fine. I’m used to assholes.”

He reaches over and grabs my hand, “No. It’s not.” I look down and see his hand on mine. He pulls it away abruptly like he didn’t mean to do it.

“I don’t know anything about you, other than you’re getting divorced. I’ve been through that. It sucks the life out of you. And you don’t need me around makin’ things worse.”

My eyes meet his. This is the first time I heard him say anything personal about himself other than when I was eavesdropping and it’s like his whole demeanor has changed. He doesn’t seem like a pompous asshole. Even his eyes draw out some remorse.

“You don’t make things worse,” I mutter. I turn my body toward him, looping one leg under the other on the seat. “I just—I don’t really know how to act around people. You are all so different here.” His eyes narrow and I realize I probably sound like a bitch. “Not different in a bad way. Different in a good way. Where I’m from we just keep to ourselves. No one talks to strangers unless it’s to benefit themselves. And I guess—I guess I am just trying to adapt to it here.”

I fold my hands into my lap and look down as I fold and unfold my thumbs. This time when his hand goes back to covering mine and I look at him he doesn’t pull away. “Sometimes it feels easier to keep everything inside you.”

It’s weird to see this side of Easton and I don’t know where it came from. The last few weeks I’ve only known him to be the flirty, fun guy. Never serious. I take a deep breath and ask, “When did you get divorced?”

“Five years ago.”

I exhale and can’t believe I am admitting this to him. I barely even told Ivy how I feel except for the anger. “It hurts.” I pause. “It’s so much harder than I thought it would be.” I keep my eyes locked on our hands.

He grips my hand tighter, rubbing his thumb over mine. “I thought I was making the worst decision of my life when I decided to separate from Ashton. Looking back, it was the right thing.” He grabs my chin and raises it to meet his eyes. “You’ll get through this no matter how much it hurts.”

I nod and break away from him and his hands. It was beginning to feel too intimate and I needed to breathe again.

He clears his throat, he must have gotten lost in the moment, too. “I’ll come by when the diner closes with your car.”

“Thank you.” I open the door and climb out of the truck.

“Hey,” he says. I look up at him before closing the door. “Don’t let your feelings stay heavy today. I shouldn’t have said that stuff so early in the morning. Have a good day.”

I nod, shut the door, and walk into the diner. It was easy to push Easton away when he was being a prick, but now that he has a heart I feel like my life just got a lot more complicated.

Work went by quickly today and before I know it, it’s three o’clock. I make quick work of wiping down tables and restocking the napkin holders. Luke tells me he finished the kitchen and asks if I want any help, but I tell him to enjoy his Saturday night. Once I have all the prep work done for tomorrow, I shut off the lights, grab my cardigan and purse, and head to the door.

I look up and see Easton leaning against a dark green pickup with his arms folded across his chest, one leg crossed over the ankle in tight ass jeans, cowboy boots, and that damn cowboy hat. He looks sexy as hell standing there, his muscles bulging out of his black t-shirt but that isn’t what is making me feel like the temperature just jumped ten degrees. He’s staring at me like he could devour me. His eyes scream sex and I feel like he might jump me when I walk out the door.

I successfully walk outside without being jumped and turn around to lock the door. I’m surprised he is still leaning on the truck when I turn around. “New truck?”

“Kinda.”

“Where’s my car?”

He uncrosses his legs as he removes his hat and runs his hand through his hair. “About that. I had some trouble getting it outta the mud and I did some damage to it.”

Are you kidding me? I take a deep breath and try not to explode. “I assume you are going to pay for the damage you caused.”

“Of course, darlin’.” He just grins at me and I want to rip that grin off his face and shove it up his ass for causing Blue Betty more damage than she already had.

“What’s so funny?”

He pushes off the truck and closes the space between us. “You know that dress does an excellent job of displaying your goods.”

Great. We’re back to flirty Easton. Out of habit I look down and realize my boobs are exploding out of the top. It must have been from leaning over and refilling things. Maybe I should have worn a different dress today. I casually adjust them, so I don’t look like a porn star. “So what’s with the truck?”

“Well, I had to give you something to drive while you’re here.”

“You’re kidding,” I say in disbelief.

He pulls the keys from his pocket and goes to drop them into my hand. “Nope. All yours, sweetheart. It was just lyin’ around the shop. Supposed to fix it for someone. They didn’t have the cash. So I bought the title.”

I wait for him to give me the keys but he pulls his hand back. “Maybe I shouldn’t give these to you yet.”

I tap my foot on the ground. “And why’s that?”

“I wanna show you what kind of fun you can have in a truck.”

I glare at him and he clarifies, “Not the truck bed.”

“And what if I don’t want to know, what if I just want to go home?” I cross my arms over my chest then realize that’s only going to make my boobs more hookerish.

“Suit yourself,” he says, tossing the keys to me. “If you don’t wanna have fun and would rather just sit at home and mope around that’s fine with me.”

I push past him and move toward the driver’s side. He follows me and before I can open the door, he holds it shut with his hand. “You chicken?”

I roll my eyes. “No. Maybe I am just tired and want to go home.”

“Or maybe you just don’t like having fun.”

I guffaw. “Of course I like having fun, who doesn’t? I can have plenty of fun on my own.” I realize what I said a second too late and feel slightly mortified.

Easton looks me over with lustful eyes. “I bet.”

“God that is not what I meant,” I argue, pushing against his arm, a blush flooding my cheeks.

“Then why are you turning red?” he presses.

I feel my cheeks and chest getting warmer by the second. Damn it. I hate that I embarrass so easily. I also hate that this man evokes so many emotions and knows exactly how to press my buttons. I don’t even know why I am arguing with him. It’s not like I have anything to do. My plan was to go home and clean the kitchen counters for the third time that week, followed by a fourth dusting of the living room, and possibly pulling weeds in the yard. Wow, I really did know how to have fun.

“Fine,” I acquiesce.

His hand falls from the door. “Fine as in you want to have fun with me?” he asks, excitement lighting up his face.

“Yes, let’s go do whatever it is you think is so fun you want to interrupt my Saturday night alone,” I answer sarcastically.

He pumps his fist in the air in a small celebratory dance then rips the keys from my hand, “I’m drivin’.”

I nod in agreement and walk over to the other side of the truck and get in. The interior is nice for a truck I can tell is an older model. It isn’t flashed out with chrome. It seems like a classic Ford, no back seat, gear shift at the steering wheel, and no automatic windows. The stereo system has been replaced by a new model along with a GPS screen.

Easton starts the engine with a shit-eating grin and floors it. I fly backward scrambling for my seatbelt.

“Better buckle up, sweet cheeks,” he tells me as he puts his seatbelt on. “Oh and the wind in your hair might feel nice right now but you might wanna roll the window up. Might get messy.”

I look over at him in confusion trying to figure out what the hell he could be talking about when it hits me. I know exactly what we are doing. And I start to get excited. I have always wanted to go off-roading but living in cities my whole life has never given me the opportunity.

We drive to the outskirts of town and turn onto an old state highway. We pass a few cornfields before we reach a stop sign. The road to the left is clean and paved, but the road to the right is muddy and rough.

“This is my friend Brett’s dad’s property. He owns all this farmland but this back area doesn’t drain right and gets too wet when it rains. He and his dad tried to fix it when we were younger, but it never worked out, so they said fuck it and let it grow out. It’s always been our go-to spot for off-roading and parties.”

We turn onto the road and right away I can tell it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Easton was probably happy I had this dress on and agreed to come out because I am sure my boobs will be bouncing all over.

“How much land do they own?” I ask as I look over the neverending fields to the right and the huge expanse of open land and forest ahead of us.

“They have about seven hundred acres. About seventy of ‘em they can’t grow on.”

As we bounce down the dirt road, mud splatters the windshield. “Seems like a big waste of space. They really can’t fix it?”

He turns the wheel in a hard left causing a huge spray of mud to splash over the windshield. “Nah. Costs too much money. Plus his dad thought it better we had land to hang out on while we were teenagers. Knew it was safer we were drinking and partying here than somewhere they didn’t know about. Always made it back to their house.”

I grab on to the dashboard as we fly over a huge bump. “Don’t tell me, you guys had like cornfield parties and used your headlights to light up the field?”

He glances over at me and laughs. “Solo cups and all. You know we country boys like to have a party.”

“So all those country songs are true. Dirt roads and field parties and dancing under the stars?” I ask my curiosity getting the better of me.

“Someone here listens to country music?” he questions me with a grin.

“It’s catchy,” I mutter.

“There’s hope for you yet,” he says just as we go through a huge puddle completely covering the windshield with mud. He turns on the wipers and I can’t help but laugh as we hit another puddle right after and the whole thing is covered again.

We drive around the “back seventy” as he calls it for thirty minutes before we pull out onto another road and coast down the highway. I roll the window back down, wanting to feel the wind in my hair, and catch myself smiling in the side mirror. I’m caught off guard because it’s the smile of the carefree girl I used to be, the one who didn’t care what others thought and was always looking for fun. It felt good. I don’t know how long it had been since I felt this way but it was a feeling I missed and one I wanted more often. Maybe if I stayed here longer than anticipated, it would be a feeling I could experience all the time.

“You should smile like that more often.”

I look over at him only half surprised he was watching me. I feel like he usually does. “You put this smile on my face. I haven’t had this much fun in who knows how long.”

His face cracks into a huge smile, “I knew I could put a little country in you!”

I smile then look back outside, one arm hanging out the window letting the wind flow along my hand. The country is beautiful, and these roads bring a sense of peace to my mind.

We drive around for another hour before we make it back to my place. We both jump out of the truck and I start to walk toward my house when he stops me. “Wait, you need to see the best part about off-roading.”

I turn around and look at the truck. It is completely filthy. There is barely any of it that’s not covered in mud.

“Best day for that is right after a rainstorm. Fresh mud, dirty truck. It’s like a work of art,” he says. I look over at him and see he’s staring at the truck like it’s a thing of beauty. I turn back and try to picture it. I guess the country hasn’t grown on me enough yet because all I can think about is how long that thing is going to take to get clean.

I shake my head and walk toward the door. I unlock the door and turn around because I can feel Easton’s presence right behind me. “Thank you for today. I really needed that.”

Easton grins from under his cowboy hat. “That’s why you need a truck. Think of all that fun you could be having.”

I point to the filthy thing and I say, “That’s going to take a long time to clean. I’ve been in this town almost a month and have not seen a carwash. Not even at the gas station!”

“That’s the other half of the fun. Cleaning that baby up and getting’ her shiny again.”

“Yeah, probably just to get it all dirty again,” I mumble under my breath.

Apparently, he heard me because he answers, “That’s the point.”

I don’t really know what to say after that and feel a moment of awkwardness. So I do what I kept telling myself not to do because I know he won’t let me live it down and it’s exactly what he’s wanted me to say, “Hungry? I can make us some dinner.”

Okay so that wasn’t really what he wanted me to say, but I chickened out. “Starving,” he answers.

So I say it, those three little words I hope I won’t regret, “Wanna come in?”