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toward the head of the trail. She said nothing when he caught up and walked beside her. The crisp morning breeze teased at the tendrils of hair that had come loose during her run, lifting them from her neck.
    “I saw your new car around town. Looks good.” The fact that he could actually say her pink Volkswagen looked good was pretty impressive. So was his persistence.
    She cracked a slight smile. “Thanks.”
    “So business is going well?”
    She nodded. “People are really responding to the idea of having food delivered.”
    “How are you handling being in the bakery and delivering?”
    “That’s a work in progress. I have ads out for delivery drivers on a part-time basis. I was hoping a teenager or college student might apply for extra cash, but so far I’m stuck.”
    “Well, I guess too much business is a good problem to have.” Ugh. That adorable dimple appeared as he gave her a half grin.
    “I hear you and Dylan are running quite the company.” Why? Why was she getting sucked into conversation with Aiden? She had just told him off, and now she was letting him walk with her and she was asking about his life. The dimple.
    He shrugged. “The Mobile Mechanic really took off, and we work well together.”
    She knew he was being modest. The two of them had been featured in countless business publications around the country. “Well, I’m happy for you,” she said as she stopped and turned toward him, ignoring the blood she felt dripping down her leg. “How’s your dad feeling?”
    He ran a hand over his jaw, and her stomach did a little summersault. “He’s okay. Probably wouldn’t tell me if he wasn’t.”
    She shifted from one foot to the other to give her sore knee a break. “It’ll go by fast. You’ll see. Then he’ll be fine.”
    The sheen and vulnerability in his blue eyes made her breath catch. Oh God, he was worming his way back into her heart. Memories of him confiding in her about his home life flooded her, rushing through like the river current after a heavy spring rain. His home life had been awful. He’d never had the kind of family she’d been blessed with. Yet, there was always a deep kindness to him…a bad boy with a tender heart of gold.
    Run fast, Nat.
    “Thanks, Natalia,” he said in a really low, deep voice. He took a step toward her, and she backed up. No way, she needed to stay immune, no matter how endearing he was making himself. Her chest felt heavy, weighted down by the memories of them together, by what they could have been. It hurt to stand so close to him and know that it was all over.
    She looked away from his intense gaze. “I’d better get to work.”
    He gave her another nod, and she turned and started running back to her car. Week three always tripped her up.

Chapter Five
    Aiden settled into the booth at The Roadhouse, waiting for his buddy Jake. God, when was the last time the two of them had been out together? Well, the last time he was in Red River…so a decade ago. The trouble they’d gotten into…but they were both still here, both had made something of themselves. Jake had gone down the whole married-with-kids path. Aiden was happy for him. That was the path he had planned for himself. But of course, he’d screwed that up.
    He let his gaze wander the room. Not much had changed here. In some ways, it was reassuring. It had been a few brutal weeks back and forth from the hospital. He and his dad barely spoke in the car, and when they did, it was the usual sniping at each other. He tried to remind himself that this wasn’t the time to get into it with his dad. What was the point, anyway? Some things were better left buried, because soon enough he’d be living his own life in Toronto and those issues would be fine tucked neatly under the rug.
    The bar was packed, which was how he remembered it on a Saturday night. The live band was local and seemed to mesh well with the late twenties to thirties crowd. He leaned back into the booth and extended his