Page 40 of Waitress at the Shadow Ridge Inn
Chuck laughed. “Of course I do. Come on. I’ll show you what I’ve got.”
We walked around to the back, and Chuck showed me his version of a used car lot. There were half a dozen vehicles. Three trucks, one Jeep, a compact, and a base model sedan that wasn’t much different than the one I’d been driving. While the sedan seemed like the most obvious choice, I was drawn to the Jeep. There was something rugged about it, something that said it could handle just about anything. I found that appealing. My guardian angel must have thought so, too, because the back of my neck tingled every time I walked by it.
“I want this one,” I confided to Steve.
“Can you drive a stick?” he asked, peering inside.
“Yes,” I answered simply.
My father taught me. He said if I could drive a stick, I could drive anything. Of course, the Jeep was slightly different from my dad’s Jaguar F-Type, but the principle was the same.
Yes, my father had taken me out on a private course and taught me how to drive on a luxury sports car—because he was awesome like that.
Steve grinned. “Yeah, I can see you as a Jeep girl. And you’ll appreciate the four-wheel drive in the winter.”
My heart twisted at the thought of spending the winter here. Of seeing the mountains covered in snow. Shadow Ridge would be a winter wonderland—I was sure of it.
“It seems a little pricey for something with nearly a hundred thousand miles on it though,” I mused.
“Jeeps are made to last a hell of a lot longer than that. Plus, we can get him down on price. Chuck loves to haggle.”
“I’m not much of a haggler,” I admitted.
“How attached are you to your sedan?” he asked, lifting his chin toward the bay.
“Not at all,” I answered honestly. It was a means to get from point A to point B as unobtrusively as possible.
“Do you trust me?” he said with a mischievous glint in his eye.
“Of course.”
Fifteen minutes later, I was shaking hands with Chuck, sealing the deal on my used-but-new-to-me Jeep. Steve had worked out a sweet deal, involving a trade-in of my accordion car and a reasonable cash price.
“Can I pick it up later today?”
“You can take it now,” Chuck said.
“But I haven’t paid for it.”
Chuck glanced at Steve, his eyes twinkling, and shrugged. “I’m not worried.”
Still, I didn’t feel right about driving away in something I hadn’t paid for and said so.
I turned to Steve. “Is your offer for breakfast still good?”
“It is.”
“Do you mind if we make a quick stop along the way?”
“Not at all.”
With a promise to return later, Steve and I climbed back into his truck and left.
“There’s an IHOP in the next town over, about thirty minutes out. That okay?” he asked.
“Perfect.”
15
