Samantha's Gift

“Want to tell me why you’re so jumpy?” he asked.

“I’m not jumpy.”

There was nothing to be gained by arguing with her. “Okay. Sorry.” Sean smiled. “Maybe you’re just hungry. Personally, I’m starved. What do you say we grab a pizza or something while we wait for your car to be fixed?”

Rachel nodded without taking her eyes off the distant roadway as the truck rumbled closer.

Sean decided to test her. “Your treat.”

“Sure. Fine.”

His resultant laugh finally got Rachel’s attention. She frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“You are. I could have asked you anything just now and you’d have agreed without hearing a word I said.”

“Don’t be silly.”

“Okay. We are on for dinner, then?”

“Dinner? Oh, sure. Only around here, dinner is what we eat at lunchtime. The evening meal is called supper.”

“I’ll remember that.” He saw the tow truck slowing. Inside the cab, its driver was grinning from ear to ear. The man’s eyes were shadowed by the brim of his baseball cap, but it was still evident he was concentrating on Rachel.

“You know him?” Sean asked.

“I told you. Everybody knows everybody around here.”

“Let me put it another way,” Sean said quietly. “Do you dislike him as much as I think you do?”

She huffed and managed a momentary smile. “Actually, Craig and I used to be engaged.”

“Engaged? You were going to marry him?”

“Yes.” Her frown returned. “Why is that so surprising?”

“I don’t know. I guess he just doesn’t look like your type.”

“Why not? Because he drives a tow truck?” The Slocums owned several lucrative businesses in Serenity and the surrounding area, and Craig drove the tow rig because he liked to, but Rachel wasn’t about to explain all that to Sean.

“Listen, Mr. Bates,” she said firmly, “if a man does an honest job and is proud of his work, I see no reason to put him down simply because he may not have a college degree like you and I do. If you choose your friends by their level of formal education, you’ll miss out on a whole lot, especially around here. There are plenty of very smart folks who haven’t had the opportunities you and I have had.”

Sean was grinning at her. “You through?”

“I just don’t like stuck-up people, that’s all.”

“Neither do I.” He chuckled softly, shook his head. “I was talking about the smug, know-it-all look on the guy’s face. I didn’t think you’d put up with that kind of attitude for a second. Since you two broke up, apparently I was right.”