adjusted her helmet strap and balanced her weight as she got ready to mount the bike. The vision she made, all pink-power girl, made him smile as she backed the bike up until she could turn it around, aiming toward the open end of the hangar. His thoughts drifted, quite naturally, he thought, to other things he’d like to see her mount. The rear view, in particular, was extremely…inspiring.
“Well, we’ll talk again, one way or the other.”
He tugged the rag from the pocket of his jeans and wiped his hands, then shoved them both in his pockets when she glanced back at him, hoping she wasn’t noticing just how much he’d been noticing her. Plus, with his hands in his pockets, he couldn’t do something remarkably stupid. Like reach for her. He did something like that now, and he’d either be really sorry he’d pushed it…or she’d be really late for dinner. Neither possibility was a good outcome. So he kept his hands hidden…and other things hopefully camouflaged. “Sounds like a plan.”
She nodded, then turned her attention back to the bike, which wobbled quite dangerously when she launched off. He almost trotted after her, but she steadied herself after a few rotations. So he made himself stay where he stood, all the while wondering what in the hell had gotten into him, as he watched her ride until she was out of sight. In fact, he had to force himself to turn back to Betty Sue instead of wandering closer to the end of the hangar, where he could watch her pedal herself almost all the way back down to town.
“Right, because you don’t have about a hundred and ten things you need to be doing right now.” Didn’t stop him from thinking about her though. He slapped his thigh and called out for Hank. He heard a groan and a snuffling snort, then minutes later, his big old hound came shuffling over. “You missed her, you know. Not much of a watch dog.”
Hank stared at him with soulful eyes.
“You’d like her. She’s quite something to watch, too.”
In response, Hank wandered over and sighed deeply as he collapsed in a boneless heap by an oil drum.
“She’d like you, too, I think.” He smiled as Hank stretched out in a fading beam of sunlight. He turned and looked back through the open hangar door. And wished his life was simpler. At that moment, an afternoon spent stretched out under the sun sounded almost as intoxicating as racing five hundred miles an hour, barely a breath off the ground. Of course, the former option he wouldn’t have to perform solo.
“Yeah,” he said, wandering back over to his tools. “You’d like her a lot, Hank. Problem is, I like her, too.”
Chapter 6
Lauren smoothed her hair, then her shirt, then her hair again, for at least the hundredth time. She’d dressed casual-nice, despite the fact that, from what she could tell, the town at-large was almost universally casual-casual. Which normally would have suited her just fine. One of the things she’d immediately loved about quitting her job was not having to armor up every morning. But, when she was dressing for dinner, she decided she could use all the support she could get. She might not like the power suits and sensible pumps, but, in truth, she felt more in control while wearing them. Capitol Hill Lauren. Assistant to a powerful state senator, Lauren. Future-all-mapped-out Lauren.
Which was definitely better than newly jobless Lauren, no future plans Lauren, or wildly attracted to the local plane jockey Lauren.
No, what she needed to be was “ready to meet the man you can’t believe your mother married Lauren.” Yeah, that was going to take at least a few layers of well-tailored support.
Satisfied that she was as pulled together as humanly possible, she ignored the rampantly flapping butterflies in her stomach and pushed through the doors. She welcomed the cooler air of the restaurant and drew in a deep breath of it. But before she could even look for the table where her mother and Arlen were likely already seated, she was accosted by the hostess.
“Well, hello! Welcome to Ragland Gap. I’m Kim, your hostess.”
Kim, another naturally caffeinated denizen of Cedar Springs. Lauren might have worried that she’d landed in Stepford-ville, except they were all so sincere in their friendliness, it was hard not to respond in kind. “Hi, Kim. I’m meeting a party of—”
“Oh, I know. You’re Charlene Thompson’s daughter.”
It caught her badly off guard, hearing her mother called by her new married name. She’d never thought to wonder if her mother had changed her name. It just felt…odd. Okay, it felt downright wrong, but she was trying—really—to be the new and improved, less biased, more compassionate Lauren. Which was challenging enough without being known on sight to yet another complete stranger. “Lauren Matthews,” she said, introducing herself.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. George—he’s the owner—gave the mayor a private room so you all could reunite without any distractions.”
“Oh,” she said. Great. Everyone not only knew they were dining here, but it was also apparently common knowledge that it was also their first family meeting. Lovely. Well, she supposed she should be grateful, at least, for the private room. She had no idea how the next hour was going to go, but the less public the better. “Thank you.”
“I’ll show you the way. Follow me.”
Lauren was probably imagining that everybody was staring at her as she passed through the crowded dining room. Surely they were all whispering about something else completely, and there really wasn’t a hush as she approached followed by a sudden burst of conversation after she passed by. All in her head.
She tried not to make eye contact and just prepare herself for the imminent hellos, and felt entirely conspicuous as Kim nodded at any number of diners as they took what had to be the most convoluted path possible through the tables. She wondered if that had been on purpose, so everyone could get a good gander at the mayor’s new stepdaughter. After all, the place seemed unusually packed for a Thursday night.
Then Kim ducked them through an archway and paused outside a curtained-off door. “Here you are, Miss Matthews.”
“Lauren.”
Kim beamed. “Lauren. It’s a pleasure. Stephan will be here shortly to take your order. You have a great night.”
“Thank you,” she said, half wishing she could just stand out here and chat with Kim some more. Kim was an easy crowd to please. But the hostess bustled off—with a cheery wave of course—and Lauren turned toward the closed curtain. Another deep breath. After a six-month delay, it was suddenly showtime.
As soon as she ducked through the curtain, letting it fall shut again behind her, her mother immediately got up and came around the table, engulfing her daughter in a hug. “Lauren, I’m so glad you came, sweetheart. I’ve missed you so much.”
Lauren’s face was smooshed into her mother’s soft silver hair, so she couldn’t respond and couldn’t get a look at Arlen, but it felt so good, after so much time, and so much emotion and heartache, to be hugged by her mom that she simply hugged her back.
It was long moments later before Charlene finally set her back, but such a load had already been lifted from her shoulders with that one, heartfelt hug that Lauren felt a rejuvenation of hope that maybe this could all turn out far, far better than she’d allowed herself to dream.
Lauren pushed her own hair from her face
