Page 26 of Major Love

The guy takes another drag on his cigarette, and without even looking at him I feel his gaze on my face.

“You new in town?” he asks suddenly.

I breathe out a laugh at that. “I’m the opposite of new in town.”

He looks me over and tips his chin, a silent request for me to continue.

I tuck my hands in the pockets of my jeans, blowing a curl from my face as I stare at the bar.

“This is my hometown. I haven’t been back for a while.”

“Why’s that?”

I slide him an amused look for repeating my earlier words back to me.

A grin tugs at the corner of his mouth as he takes another drag from his cigarette.

“I moved to Nashville,” I tell him.

The boy who I loved in high school joined the military when I was seventeen and I couldn’t bear the idea of waiting around for him in this small town,is what I don’t tell him.

He nods as he casually takes in my outfit – the big fluffy jacket, the pale denim jeans, and the pointed tips of my trusty cowgirl boots.

“Yeah, you’ve got Nashville written all over you,” he admits. He swipes his free hand through his hair and asks, “You back for good?”

I genuinely have no idea, so I just shrug and say, “Maybe.”

His mouth quirks into a smile and his eyes meet mine. “Lucky us.”

I breathe out another laugh at that and give him ayou wisheyebrow raise as I start to back away and head toward Casey’s truck.

He gives me a friendly wink and calls out, “Name’s Beckett, by the way.”

“Whatever,” I call back to him, rolling my eyes but still smiling.

I reach the truck, climb inside, and sit back for a moment, revelling in the whirlwind morning that I’ve just had, with about fifty million revelations in the space of four hours.

I kick the engine to life and gently ease the brim of my hat from over my eyes, shaking my head with a smile as Beckett tips his chin at me.

I laugh quietly as I drive past him and give him a small salute of my own.

Then I turn up the country song on the radio, thinking,God, I love small towns.

Chapter 6

Jason

“So, we’ve got the usual, the usual, the usual, and – oh, would you look at that? – the usual,” our waitress says with an amused eye-roll, setting down the final plate on the diner table.

The usual for Knox, Beckett, and me is whatever meat-and-carb special the diner’s running for their Friday afternoon menu, and the usual for Madden is two triple burgers with a large side of fries. At twenty-two, Madden’s the youngest guy working on the payroll, and what with his girlfriend being vegetarian he only eats meat when he’s with the crew.

He shoves an entire half of his first burger straight into his mouth and practically stops breathing for a few seconds as he savours the flavour.

Knox snorts at Madden’s expression and then flashes a wink to the waitress.

“Thanks Peyton,” he says, giving her a once-over as she turns around.

I cut a slice of meat, spear some green beans, and start eating.

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