“A little sore but okay. I doubled up on socks for extra cushioning when I went home to change and prep the store. Your face looks better today,” Penny said, shooting a side-glance his way as they drove toward Zeb’s.
“Uh, thanks?”
“Does it still hurt?”
“Only when I smile.”
“What? You actually smiled? And I missed it?”
He grunted and withheld the grin that wanted to break free as they pulled into Zeb’s driveway. Jaxson opened his door, surprised when Penny made no move to do the same.
“You’re not coming?”
“You go on,” Penny told him. “I’ll wait here. I need to answer some texts.”
It seemed odd that Penny had offered to remain behind, but perhaps her feet were bothering her more than she’d admitted. A renewed wave of anger on her behalf surged through him.
Jaxson took a deep breath and walked around to the back, his eyes drawn to a gorgeous Harley parked there. Zeb was talking with a tall guy with long black hair and mirrored shades.
“Jaxson, there’s someone I want you to meet. This here’s—”
“Kyle McCullough,” Jaxson finished, extending his hand. He recognized Kyle from the many custom chopper videos he and his father had watched years earlier. The guy was a certified genius and a legend when it came to bikes. “Jaxson Adams. I’m a big fan.”
“Nice to meet you,” Kyle said, shaking his hand. “When Zeb told me you had a special-edition Willie G, I had to see it for myself. Cherry ride, man.”
“Thanks. It was my dad’s.”
“Your dad had good taste.”
“He did,” Jaxson agreed.
“Sucks that this happened, but she’ll be safe here with Zeb. I can get new wheels for her, no problem. Just give me a day, yeah?”
“Of course. I appreciate it.”
Kyle nodded. “I gotta get back, but swing by Mo’s tomorrow, and I’ll hook you up.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Kyle climbed back onto his Harley, and with one powerful kick, he was gone.
“Nice guy.”
“Kyle’s the best,” Zeb agreed and then whistled when he got a good look at Jaxson’s face. “Someone really has it out for you, son.”
“Yeah, I make friends wherever I go,” he said, thinking of Penny’s words.
Zeb chuckled and then inclined his head toward the van. “Penny seems to have taken a real liking to you.”
“I think that’s part of the problem,” Jaxson muttered honestly.
Zeb didn’t seem surprised by that. “Probably. She’s worth it though.”
Inwardly, Jaxson agreed wholeheartedly. Penny was a rare kind soul who gave more than she took out of life. If he was interested—he wasn’t—and if he planned on sticking around more than a few days—he didn’t—he could see himself pursuing something with her. It wouldn’t be right, no matter how far she’d managed to slip under his skin in such a short time.
Outwardly, he shook his head in denial. “It’s not like that.”
“Hmm,” Zeb hummed. “You sure about that?”
No, he wasn’t, but he knew what was right, and that was more important than what he wanted.
“I’m only here for information, and then I’m gone. I’m not going to start something I can’t finish.”
“That’s what your dad said, too,” Zeb said quietly.
With that disconcerting thought, Jaxson returned to the van. His father had hooked up with someone somewhere to bring him into the world. He’d hoped Ilsa was the one, based on the letters. He and Sam potentially shared the same father, but as far as sharing a mother, the evidence didn’t seem to support that theory.
What other towns had his father hit on his post-service tour? It was a long shot, but perhaps Sam would know something that would point him in the right direction.
Penny was frowning at her phone when he climbed in. She quickly slipped it under her thigh.
“Anything wrong?”
“Nothing I can’t handle,” she said vaguely. “Did you get everything straightened out?”
He wasn’t happy with her non-answer, but she wasn’t his business. He nodded. “Kyle said he’d have new wheels for me tomorrow. How far is Birch Falls from here?”
“Not far. Forty minutes, tops. I could drive you down there after my deliveries.”
“You don’t have to keep helping me, you know.”
“I know. I want to. Meeting and helping you have been the most interesting things I’ve done in a long time.”
He opted not to think too much about that. Someone as vibrant as Penny should be doing interesting things every day.
At the town’s main intersection, Penny turned right to head up the same way he’d taken the day before. He would have preferred taking the curvy mountain road on his bike, but the drive to Sanctuary was nice, no matter the vehicle. It reminded him a lot of the mountains around Campbell’s Junction. Unspoiled beauty. Nature at its finest.
Penny was unusually quiet during the drive. He’d become so accustomed to her constant chatter that the silence seemed heavier than it would have with anyone else. He chanced side-glances at her every now and then during the thirty-minute trip, convinced by the way she subconsciously bit her lip that she had something on her mind. He wondered if it had anything to do with whatever she’d been looking at on her phone.
When they arrived at Sanctuary, she once again made no move to get out.
“Go ahead,” she told him.
“More texting to do?” he guessed.
“Yep. In fact, you can text me when you’re ready to go.”
If he’d suspected something was off before, he was certain of it now. Penny had bulldozed her way into everything else.
“You don’t want to be there when I talk to Sam?”
She shrugged. “That’s between you and Sam, although I’m pretty sure Steve will want to be there, too. Go on now. Don’t keep them waiting.”
“What about that orchard tour you mentioned?”
“Right. Yeah. I’ll be in, in a minute.”
She summoned a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Jaxson got out of the van and went up the wide steps. When he got to the door, he glanced back and saw her frowning at her phone again.
The door opened, and Matt Winston appeared. “Jaxson, come on in. Sam’s waiting for you.” Matt nodded toward the van. “Penny’s not coming with you?”
“No. She said she’ll be in shortly.”
Matt led Jaxson through a foyer and what had once probably been a lobby but now looked like more of a casual sitting room. Various hallways led out from there like spokes in a wheel. The place had a warm, welcoming feel—kind of an old money meets modern convenience vibe. If Penny hadn’t told him about the fire, he never would have guessed anything tragic had happened here.
They went into a restaurant size dining room—a bright, airy place with lots of natural light. Against a wall of glass panels, two people sat at a table. The man, Jaxson recognized as Steve Tannen. The woman could only be Sam.
She had her face turned away from him and was talking to Steve. All Jaxson could see was that she was much smaller than her husband and had a curtain of rich chestnut hair.