Naomi gave a laugh. “You are.”
He pulled over to the side of the road when they reached the base of the quarry, the mountainside cut away to reveal the limestone beneath. He left Naomi in the truck, got the bag out of the back, and released the snake several feet off to the side of the road. It slithered away in a blink, taking refuge beneath some nearby scrub. There were lots of rodents here for it to eat and plenty of warm stone for it to sun itself on.
He tossed the empty bag into the back of the truck and climbed inside. “One snake successfully relocated.”
Naomi looked over at him, her eyes narrowed. “Your decision to help Rose—that was you being a warrior, wasn’t it?”
He liked that she understood. “Old Man taught me to take responsibility. The more people willing to step up, the happier and safer the community. Now what? I suppose we should head to The Cave. Maybe we can grab some lunch afterward, and then I can give you a tour of my workshop.”
They found Megs in the ops room listening to traffic on the radio. She smiled when she saw them. “Hey, you two. Lost hiker. Taylor and the other park rangers are in touch with her by cell phone and going to get her, so there’s no need for us to get involved. Did you bring those photos?”
Chapter 17
“Do you like tacos?”
Naomi stared over at Chaska. “Who doesn’t like tacos?”
“Good answer.” He drove them into town and parked on the street near a taco truck with the wordsTacos Sabrosospainted in bright red on the side. “The name means Tasty Tacos. Juana makes the best street tacos in Scarlet. They’re also the only street tacos in Scarlet.”
This made her laugh.
He helped her out of the truck then walked beside her, his hand resting against her lower back. “When you get rid of those crutches, I’ll finally be able to hold your hand.”
His words filled her with hope. “That will be five weeks from now. Are you sure you’re going to want me around that long?”
“Oh, yes.”
His answer, and the warmth in his eyes, chased her doubts away—for a while.
They ordered and paid, Chaska speaking Spanish to the woman at the window, presumably Juana. The sun beat down from a clear sky, and they were lucky to find a table in the shade, the street crowded with tourists. Chaska went back to get their order, returning with drinks, napkins, wet wipes, and two plates of tacos.
“These are delicious.” The chicken in Naomi’s tacos was tender, the sauce spicy enough to leave a nice burn on her tongue.
“Told you so.”
After lunch, they strolled down what served as Scarlet’s main street, passing small shops that sold everything from old fashioned hard candy to tourist stuff to handmade soap and candles. There was more than one empty storefront, big glass windows beneath false fronts with Victorian trim.
She found herself standing in front of the prettiest one. It was desperately in need of paint, but she looked past that to the delicate scrolling on the trim, the wooden floor inside, the interior brick walls.
Chaska nuzzled her ear, his hand coming to rest on her back again. “You know, if someone opened a jewelry store in this town, I bet it would do well.”
She looked up at him, surprised that he’d known what she was thinking. “You really think so?”
He nodded. “There’s nothing like that here, and your work is so good… You would become one of the reasons people come to Scarlet.”
He believed in her.
Chaska believed in her.
The entire world seemed brighter.
They went for ice cream after that. Naomi got a cone with butter pecan and strawberry, while Chaska got rocky road. She was licking drips off the sides of the cone, when she noticed that Chaska was watching her tongue.
Okay, she could have fun with this.
She licked her way up the mound of ice cream, swirling her tongue around the tip.
Chaska’s brows drew together, his eyes going dark.