Page 28 of Tumbleweed Temptation
“Janine picked it. She said she remembers you eating those all the time when your mom was the cook there.”
He looked at the sandwich and nodded, smiling. “Yeah, she made the best.”
She relaxed her shoulders. She wasn't sure what his reaction would be. “It’s not on the menu anymore, but maybe it should be again.”
“So tell me about your life here,” he said, opening a ketchup packet for his fries. “This is a terrible lunch for a doctor, by the way.”
“Yeah, well, the diner could keep you in business for years to come.”
“Not the way I want to do it.” He cut his sandwich in half with the plastic knife Janine had packed. “So tell me. What have you been up to the past few years?”
“Few years?” She hadn’t seen him since before high school graduation, which he hadn’t attended anyway. “I’ve been—well, you’ve seen it.” She hooked a thumb in the direction of the diner.
“Bull. I know you, Ginny Scott. That’s not enough for you. If you stayed, I thought you’d at least be a teacher or something, challenging the next generation or whatever.”
“At least a teacher? Don’t let Poppy hear you say that.”
“Wouldn't dream of it. Really though. I know that’s not enough for you.”
She studied her burger really hard. She wanted to say something snarky. But she held her tongue.
“No, really, what’s going on with you? I mean, breakfast waitress and that’s it? No other life?”
“No other life.” She dragged a fry through ketchup. “And you? Med school and no other life?”
“No, I had a life. I liked it. Hard to leave it, actually.”
“Did it include a girl?” Man, she’d been editing too many romance novels if she wanted an answer to that.
“A couple, over time. Not at the end, though. I mean, it’s not like I left anyone behind. I didn't want to get involved because I didn't want to drag anyone out here with me, you know. So I made conscious decisions not to get involved at the end. What about you? Seeing anyone?”
“Engaged for a while. Not anymore.” She waved her left hand back and forth before grabbing her burger again.
“He the reason you stayed?”
“Nope.” She’d stayed and had nothing else to do, so she’d started dating Brian from high school, and things proceeded as romances did—with a lot less excitement than the novels she edited—and she’d found herself planning a wedding she didn't want to attend.
“You still see him?”
She shook her head. “He moved up to Midland and was working in the basin the last I heard.”
“So what do you do for fun? And didn't we used to be better at this?”
“Maybe because we already knew each other’s weaknesses.”
“Ouch. Why would you—I’m not looking for your weaknesses, Gin.”
“No, I know. I just guess I’m better at shielding myself these days.”
“From what?”
From letting anyone get too close. It was a trap, wasn't it? And she’d learned that the hard way.
“So Javi pulled me over last night,” he said after she didn't answer, finally figuring out, probably, that she didn't want to talk about herself. “I mean, I saw him at the party at the Wheel House, but I still don't recognize him. What did he lose, a hundred pounds?”
“He kind of stopped eating after the bus accident. He said nothing tasted good to him after that. He worked on the McKay place, too, with Con, so he got in shape that way. He remains really careful about what he eats, though it’s been years.”
“And he stayed, too?”
