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"Daht" Her eyes flicked to his, as she quickly added, "He left prettyto tell hie in her eyes?

He looked away Pretty, young woes to men like him More fool he

"Damien has some friends," Sorrow continued, and he could’ve sworn he heard souilt in her tone

Bear interrupted with a smirk, "Some friends?"

"Yeah, okay," she said flatly, "Damien has a lot of friends He knows a few restaurant owners--"

"Some as far away as Reno," Bear boasted

Billy forced his pleasant expression not to fade He’d offered his help, but restaurant owners? How could he compete with that? All he had to offer was a buddy orked as a line cook in Silver City

Her sht line "Yes, Dad Some as far away as Reno So anyway, apparently any h to tide us over, but not so es"

Billy said, "Well, that’s wonderful" So how come he didn’t feel wonderful? He was disappointed, and the reaction surprised him

"It is, isn’t it?" Sorrow crumpled her napkin and dropped it onto her plate Did she look disappointed, too? "Though I can’t iine what Damien offered to convince them to sell us food from their own kitchens"

"What’d he offer?" Bear put down his coffee hard enough that souy offered not to kick their asses if they helped you"

Sorrow stood and patted her dad’s shoulder "Easy there, cowboy" She met Billy’s eye "I may not need to buy food, but if that other offer still stands…?"

"The freezer?" Sorabbed her purse froood a day as any to spend a ridiculous ahter her coat "You help her, Preston Have her pick out a good one"

Billy helped her shrug into her layers "I’ out her own appliances, but I’ll be happy to offer ination, or was that a e to put his arm around her shoulders as they walked out to his SUV

It was a long drive to Silver City Forty-five minutes in which Billy would not notice the curve of Sorrow’s thigh on the seat next to hi like vanilla and shaain to the slash of sunlight that cut across her face, sparking her blond hair to a thousand shades of gold

His rief, but this ti else He felt the sadness, but oddly, it didn’t sear through hi on? Because for the first tie on that chapter of his life and step into another

Was that what Keri would want him to do?

He stole a look at Sorrow His heart was heavy, but sohter than before More open He i

Sorroas like those rays of early h the windshield, and he was a creature e a tentative fascination

She was so different from his late wife Keri would never ride in the car with her shoes propped on the dash She’d never sit with her face turned toward the sun His wife had shied froner hats

But there was Sorroith a faint dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose, wearing jeans, a T, and a flannel shirt layered overtop Fitted and purple, it was definitely a wo his flannel shirt Ro nothing else but her panties

Da He wasn’t ready for this

Talking Talking would stop this thinking "We should be in Silver City by ten Stroke of luck Da with hi a joke "Money, charet easily outave hih in his head Hell, he needed to stop talking and thinking He turned on the radio, and an old rock song filled the truck

"Yeah," sheelse" She leaned forward, peering at the complicated police console Her hair slipped fro a waft of flowery shampoo scent his way

He stared hard at the road Maybe talking had been better

He’d told himself he wasn’t interested That he couldn’t allow himself to be interested He’d sworn off relationships--he’d barely survived getting gutted by the last one He wouldn’t survive another loss like that Couldn’t

But could he survive his current life? Going on like he’d been, closed to all but the most superficial of interactions