Page 9 of Three Steps Behind

Lovely? She could barely look at her own battered face in the mirror, but he saw through it all enough to call her lovely? Deck didn’t flatter; he called it like it was. So he seriously still found her lovely. A twinkle of warmth flitted through her. “We could just have some of Riley’s peppermint cocoa,” she offered. He had enough on his mind. He didn’t need to worry about getting her a milkshake.

“Nope. I promised you a milkshake, darlin’, and we only have”—he glanced at his watch—“a half hour left.”

Darlin’ . . . She liked the sound of that coming off his lips.

Riley’s voice emanated from the kitchen on a sob.

“Is she going to be okay?” Harper asked.

“Grey’s got her, and he’s exactly who she needs right now.”

She and Deck raced through the storm and hopped into Deck’s truck. He cranked up the heat and swished the snow from the windshield. Soon heat poured out of the vents in waves. There was so much more she wanted to ask Deck about their dad, but they weren’t forcing questions on her, so she’d return the courtesy.

He reversed, the truck’s wheels slipping on the ice for a second before gaining grip. He shifted it into drive, and they made their way off the ranch to the paved road leading down into Jeopardy Falls. “Cool Whip is tough. She’ll come through this.”

She hoped she’d come through her sorrow too.

Twenty minutes later, they were heading back along the rutted Second Chances Ranch drive, milkshakes in hand—the cold making her colder, but she didn’t care. Kreger’s peppermint milkshakes were everything she’d hoped they’d be—creamy, thick, and the burning-lung-twinge of peppermint. Best. Milkshake. Ever.

Deck pulled into his parking spot, already sprinkled with thick snowflakes during the short time they’d been in town.

He gave her a soft glance, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

If this were any other moment, if she hadn’t gotten screwed up in Syria, she’d be aching to kiss those lips. Instead, she asked, “What?”

“Nothing.” His smile widened. “I’m just glad you enjoyed the shake.”

She took another sip but only air came. That’d gone fast. He was right. She had enjoyed the treat.

He angled to face her better. “And?”

She arched her brows in a playful motion, feeling happiness for a nice break in the hurt. “And?”

He swallowed, then cleared his throat. “I missed you.”

She hadn’t seen that coming, then the words left her mouth in a whoosh before she realized what she was doing. “I missed you too.” You have no idea how much.

He smiled. “Well,” he said after a long stare that flushed her entire body, “I best get you inside, darlin’.”

She bit her bottom lip at the endearment she far too much liked slipping off his lips, then fought back the blip of pain as her teeth hit a scab.

“You ready?” He held the door handle.

“No.”

Surprise flashed in his eyes. “No?”

“It’s just so pretty out with the snow. Could we sit and watch a little bit?”

“Of course.” But then he cut the ignition, hopped out, and moved around to her side.

She opened the door, and he offered his hand.

“I have an idea.” He smiled.

“Oh?” Curiosity nipped inside her.

Five minutes later, Harper was wrapped in a wool blanket on Deck’s covered porch with him in the rocker beside hers, just as wrapped up as her.