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over, and went back to sleep.

Chapter 5
    N ice of Lina to tell him that she’d moved back to Nugget, or at least was spending the bulk of her time here, now that she’d been accepted to the University of Nevada. Instead, he’d had to hear it from Owen, who’d found out about it from Darla, who’d gotten the story from Maddy while cutting her hair at the barbershop.
    It pissed Griffin off.
    Just another example of why she was too immature for him. That’s the reason they’d broken up in the first place. He’d wanted to give her space to be a college student and she’d misinterpreted that as him not being into her enough. Ridiculous.
    Next month was her twentieth birthday—still too young for a twenty-eight-year-old man. He polished the chrome on the new bike he’d finished building. The owner, a corporate attorney from Reno, was scheduled to pick it up today and drop off a check for the remaining fifty thousand dollars he owed Griff. His custom motorcycle business, repair shop, tow service, and gas station had flourished since he’d bought the Gas and Go. Griffin wished he could say the same for Sierra Heights.
    Morris, his financial adviser, had warned him that selling off the million-dollar homes in the gated community would take time. But Griff just wanted to enjoy living there without the hassle and upkeep of the whole development. When he sold most of the houses, the association fees would cover the maintenance and an elected board would enforce the covenants, conditions, and restrictions of the community. Although he could certainly afford to do it on his own, he didn’t want the headache. He’d prefer to have more time to focus on the Gas and Go.
    Watching as three vehicles lined up for the automated car wash, Griff thought that had been his best innovation yet. It didn’t make money, but it got people to fill up their tanks for the free wash voucher. He started to head into the garage when he spotted an old International Harvester Scout pull up to one of his gas tanks. Lina’s truck.
    He could ignore her or take the bull by the horns. Since it was just a matter of time before they ran into each other, he decided to get it out of the way now, rather than later.
    He walked over to the pumps, took the gas nozzle out of her hand, and proceeded to fill the Scout’s tank “Hey. Heard you were back.”
    She looked as beautiful as ever bundled up in a ski jacket and knit cap.
    â€œSort of. I live in Reno now.”
    â€œYeah, that’s what I heard.”
    She shifted from one leg to the other. “I heard you’re seeing someone. . . I’m glad for you.”
    He wasn’t seeing anyone, at least not anymore. Dana was a terrific woman. Smart, beautiful, good at her job. But he just hadn’t felt that zing. They still occasionally got together for a movie or drinks, but just as friends. Griff didn’t say anything, though. Last he’d heard Lina was involved with a student at USF. Someone more age appropriate. Maybe the guy would follow her up to Reno.
    â€œI’m looking for a good used car,” she said, and motioned at the Scout. “This thing isn’t very reliable.” Sixteen months ago, when she’d left for college in San Francisco, he’d put a new transmission in for her. “So if you hear of anything, could you let Rhys or Maddy know?”
    Not her. God forbid they talk to each other .
    â€œYeah, sure.” The nozzle clicked. He pulled it out of the tank, hung it back on the pump, and put her gas cap on. “Drive carefully.”
    Griff walked away, climbed the stairs above the convenience store to his office, which formerly served as the old owner’s apartment, and buried himself in paperwork. At about four his client showed up with his wife, to pick up the bike. She’d driven him so he could ride the motorcycle home. Good evening for it, Griffin thought. Although the temperature