Chapter 3
The Dirt Spoon Diner had blue vinyl booths, uneven wooden floors, and the most delicious scent of apple pie.
Warm air wrapped around Bianca as she followed Dawn inside, heavy with cinnamon and sugar.
The place was worn in a comfortable way with scuffed planks, humming lights, and the low murmur of conversation.
Dawn slid into a booth at the far back with Hawk following her in, and Bianca scooted in across from her, the vinyl squeaking softly. Adam settled beside Bianca, the booth dipping under his weight.
Their knees brushed under the table. Heat flickered in her chest and rolled low in her belly.
She shifted, not away, just enough to reassure herself she still had control.
Adam’s presence was solid and unassuming, which somehow made it worse.
She focused on the scarred tabletop, tracing an old groove with her fingertip.
How had she been maneuvered into a late dinner with Dawn Freeze?
The woman had sparkling blue eyes and an effortless warmth that drew people in without pressure.
Bianca already felt caught in her orbit, as if this dinner were less a decision than a current she’d stepped into.
Hawk was different. Quiet. Watchful. His gaze swept the diner before they sat, measuring the room with practiced ease.
A beat later, Bianca noticed Adam doing the same.
Definitely ex-military. One of her mother’s husbands had been a retired general, and Bianca recognized the stillness and hint of awareness that never shut off.
“We’re so glad you could make it to dinner.” Dawn grinned. “Mrs. Hudson wanted to ask you over, but I figured you’d want to see some of the town.”
Adam crossed his arms. “You and the Lady Elks need to leave well enough alone, Dawn.”
Hawk glanced sideways at his fiancé. “Please tell me you’re not involved in one of their schemes.”
Dawn patted his broad hand on the table. “Of course not.”
Instead of looking reassured, Hawk’s eyes narrowed. “Dawn Eleanor Freeze, I’m telling you right now—”
Dawn’s phone buzzed. She lifted it to her ear just as a waitress arrived and set down four plastic red glasses of water before passing out laminated menus with curled edges.
“Hey,” Dawn answered the phone.
The sparkle in her eyes dimmed, and her mouth tightened as she listened. “Wait—what? Is she okay? What’s happening?”
Hawk turned almost fully in the booth, broad shoulders angling toward Dawn. Adam shifted beside Bianca, his posture sharpening.
“What’s going on?” Hawk asked.
“Who’s hurt?” Adam said.
Dawn held up a finger. “Yeah, we’re on our way home.” She motioned for Hawk to slide out of the booth.
The big guy moved quickly, helping her out.
Adam rose as well, the table wobbling faintly. “Do you need help? Who’s in trouble?”
Dawn ended the call. “No. Leila fell off her horse.”
Hawk went still. “How bad?”
“Lisa said she’s fine,” Dawn said. “A little banged up. She wasn’t sure whether she should call us.” She glanced at Bianca. “Lisa’s a distant cousin who was babysitting.”
“But she’s fine?” Adam asked firmly.
Dawn shook her head. “Yeah, but I still want to go home.” Dawn looked at Hawk, who nodded immediately.
“Definitely. We’re going home and checking on her,” Hawk said.
Adam straightened. “If you need me, call me.”
Dawn reached across the table and squeezed Bianca’s hand, brief and warm. “Why don’t you come by tomorrow morning for coffee, and I’ll show you around a working ranch? We’ll have to take a rain check on the double date.”
Bianca opened her mouth to object to the wording, but Dawn and Hawk were already moving, the bell over the diner door jangling sharply as it swung shut behind them. The booth felt quieter without them, the air settling.
“You can go if you want.” Bianca looked up at Adam.
“No.” He slid into Hawk’s vacated seat across from her, crowding the table. “If Lisa said Leila’s okay, she is. Kids fall off horses all the time around here.” His gaze warmed. “I like the cowboy boots. You trying to fit in?”
“Definitely,” she said, the word coming too easily. Why not tell him the truth?
His eyes held the most intriguing shades of brown with gold flecks. “Rodeo means something different here than a drive.”
She rolled her eyes and fought amusement. Yeah, she’d spent some time on Rodeo Drive. That had been important to her mother, so why lie about it?
The waitress appeared again beside the booth, pen poised. “Adam and the movie star lady. How are you tonight?” She had bright purple hair and a lip piercing, and was dressed in jeans and a cute blue sweater that looked handmade rather than bought.
“Fine, and don’t gossip, Taylor,” Adam drawled.
The girl winked at him. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen and apparently had no problem ignoring the slight bite in his tone. “Right. Like everyone in town doesn’t already know you’re together on a date. It’s nice to see you with someone, Adam.”
Bianca bit her lip. Why not have some fun? “Adam doesn’t date much?”
Taylor leaned in. “Like, hardly at all. I mean, we thought he and Dawnie Freeze were dating, but she’s always loved Hawk, so that wouldn’t have worked out, anyway.”
Adam sighed. “Dawn sings at the bar sometimes, but we’ve never been on a date. Ever. Not once.”
Taylor patted his shoulder. “I know. It’s okay.”
Adam’s jaw set.
The oddest urge to laugh overtook Bianca, and she cleared her throat. “Well, he’s cute and he owns his own business. You’d think he’d be a fine catch.”
Taylor shook her head, tsking her tongue. “Right? I know of several women who’ve tried to lasso him, but no one is quick enough. He’s a stubborn one.”
Oh, this was hysterical. The look on Adam’s face, one of warning, tempted Bianca to change the subject. But she just couldn’t. “Maybe he doesn’t like women?” She lifted her glass to her lips.
Adam cocked his head.
Taylor sighed. “That would be totally fine, because I know Jamie Bobston totally thinks Adam’s hot, and he and Larry Jakob broke up almost a year ago, but only women have been sneaking out of Adam’s rooms above the bar early in the morning. You know? Walk of shame and all that?”
Bianca almost spit out the water.
Taylor grinned. “Not that it’s a walk of shame. That’s just a figure of speech, you know? Nobody judges. Everyone would just like to see Adam happy. In fact, he never takes anyone out to his ranch house to stay. He should.”
“Taylor—” Adam started.
Taylor held up a hand. “So, if you end up leaving the bar early in the morning, don’t be embarrassed, okay?”
Bianca set the glass down. Against her will, her cheeks heated. “Um, what’s the special here tonight?”
Taylor nodded, pen already poised. “Enchiladas.”
Bianca blinked, happy to have changed topics. “Are they spicy?”
“We can make them spicy,” the girl said, tapping the pad once.
“I’ll take the spiciest you’ve got.”
Adam’s grin was immediate and relieved. “I’ll do the same.”
“Perfect.” Taylor scribbled fast, tore the slip free, and bopped off toward the kitchen, calling the order as she went.
Bianca let her gaze drift around the diner. Several people from the council meeting earlier were filtering in, claiming tables and booths in small clusters. A few glanced their way, curiosity open and unembarrassed. “I like your town.”
“We like it the way it is.”
Ah. Okay. That was a warning. “We’ll be here for three weeks tops,” she said. “We’re not going to hurt your town.”
“That’s what they all say,” he murmured.
She studied him for a beat. “Believe me or not.”
He studied her right back, and she fought the urge to squirm. The guy had an intensity that didn’t go with the Montana drawl. Finally, he spoke. “You seeing anybody?”
Her eyebrows lifted. “That’s forward.”
He met her look easily. “Is it?”
“Yes,” she said. “I find it rather direct.”
Bianca considered that for a moment. Did she want to leave the rooms above the bar in the early morning hours with the entire town knowing about it? Um, probably not. Yet she couldn’t stop herself from flirting. “Why? Do you want to see me?”
“Yep. Briefly. Like for three weeks before you leave?”
Amusement slid through her before she could stop it. “I appreciate the honesty.”
“Ah, come on.” His gaze stayed steady. “You belong in Maverick County about as much as a wild steer belongs in a pen, darlin’, but we could have fun while you’re here.”
“So, you’re offering a no-strings affair?” she asked.
“Sure, if that’s what you want to call it.”
What the heck else would she call it? But she wanted more facts and wasn’t relying on what Taylor had said. “Are you seeing anybody?”
“Nope. Haven’t for quite a while, actually.”
She tilted her head. “Why? Don’t want to get attached?”
He shrugged. “Most of the single women around here don’t stay that way for long. I have a couple who work for me, but they work for me. I don’t cross that line. Ever.”
“What was your last serious relationship?” she asked, curiosity surfacing despite herself, which was a problem for later.
“Serious?” He thought about it. “It’s been a while. Since I was in the service.”
That seemed like quite a while. “I could tell you’re ex-military.”
A shadow passed through his eyes. “Really? How so?”
“The way you move. The way you watch.”
He tapped long fingers on the table. “All right.”
“How long have you been out?”
“Long enough,” he said. “Grew up in Wyoming but didn’t have anything or anyone to go home to after the service.
When I finished, I took some business classes afterward, came out here, and bought the bar.
Been working there since. I like the town.
I like the pace of a small town. That shouldn’t be changed. ”
She caught the rest easily enough. The guy thought she was a city girl who liked the action. She didn’t fit in here.
“Hey, Bianca.” Clancy paused at the end of the booth.
She blinked. Oh, crap. This was not the moment she wanted. “Hi.”
Adam angled his head. “Friend?”
She nodded. “Clancy Clark, meet Adam Ridgeway. Adam owns the bar in town.”