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veterinarian. I was checking on her horse when you ran into me the other day.”
    He waved and walked away so abruptly I had my mouth open and wasn’t sure how to respond. A veterinarian? Vets don’t look like that, do they? They wear Wrangler jeans and cowboy boots, and shirts with snaps instead of buttons. He wore Levis and t-shirts. I looked at his feet. Well, not cowboy boots, but still boots.
    I spent the next two evenings in class, soaking in his voice. It grew so comforting that I knew I’d hate it when the class was over. Fortunately, I had been so concentrated on his words I aced the written test. I had his words memorized, gilded into memory. They slid right out of my fingers onto the paper like silk. When I left on Friday, all that remained were two Sundays of driving lessons. It bothered me. And I didn’t like that it bothered me.
    I was almost riding a motorcycle, which was apparently my Dad’s dying wish. Personally, he should have picked a loftier goal.
    Sitting on the trunk of my car in deep fog on Sunday morning, I felt isolated. Deep in my own personal little world that was separated only by lack of visibility. A shadow approached and I knew I was no longer the first one to arrive. Another student’s talk dark silhouette glided toward me in the mist.
    Only it wasn’t a student.
    It was Colton.

Chapter 4
    “Hey, you’re early.” He didn’t crack a smile just walked up and stood there. Staring.
    “I was up a little late last night and set my alarm wrong. So, rather than risk missing it, I just got up.”
    “So, you really do want this then?”
    “I’m doing it for my Dad. His bike is in my garage and he wanted me to use it.” I wasn’t about to tell this man my family drama so left it at that.
    “Well, maybe after today that’ll change. It’s nice that your Dad talked you into it though. Want a bagel? I have an extra.”
    He held out a white bag and opened it for me to peek in. A quick glance showed raisins and cinnamon, my favorite.
    “You really want to share those?” I asked because if it were me, I wouldn’t.
    He hesitated. Ha. Caught ya. “Of course. There’s cream cheese ,too.” He didn’t have to tempt me, I was already on board, but I didn’t want to eat his breakfast. He tore the bag apart, laid it on the car next to me, and opened them up. I soaked in the smell of cinnamon and hot bread, as he lathed sour cream over both halves. Then, rather than just handing it to me, he held it up. All the way to my mouth. He watched and waited patiently for me to open my lips.
    “You don’t have to feed me.”
    “I didn’t think you’d take it if I didn’t.”
    I yanked the bagel half from his fingers, feeling the warmth of them against mine. A burst of cinnamon wafted up as I bit into it. Heavenly. I licked the cream cheese from the corner of my mouth and looked up. He was still staring.
    “Thank you.”
    Colton grabbed the other half and slid up on the car next to me. “No problem.”
    I took another bite and turned toward him. “If you’re a vet, why do you do this? Surely you don’t need the money.”
    “It’s a long story, but the gist of it is that I promised a friend I’d teach this. So, here I am.”
    “This is your first class? Us?”
    “No, actually it’s my third. We do them once a month. So, what kind of story did my grandmother feed you the other day?”
    He had kind features, rather rugged but not harsh. Not exactly friendly either though. There was little or no resemblance to the woman I’d met on the carriage. He was stiff, closed off.
    “She mentioned a grandson with absolutely no sense of humor who ran over people on a motorcycle.”
    “Did she now?” He arched a brow.
    “Yeah, she mentioned a bunch of crazy stuff he did as a kid.” Colton’s face turned red. Interesting. Maybe I should ease up. “Gotcha.” I laughed and stuffed the last of the bagel in my mouth.
    He smiled and raised a knee to rest his arm on it. It had been hard to get the