Broken Strings

Two

Travis rubbed his jaw, the skin on his palm scratching against the stubble of his chin. "Probably. But that's with no breaks so if I stop it'll take me a bit longer."

Ginger opened her mouth, about to say more, but was side-tracked by an elderly couple sitting in the far corner of the diner. They flagged her over but she paused long enough to say to Travis, "Be right back," before flitting away.

Travis watched her go, smiling when the couple said something that made her laugh. Ginger had a nice laugh – infectious – and it was one of those things that changed her entire face when she did it.

They'd been going out for a few weeks. Nothing serious but Travis could see it heading that way if they let it. Ginger was a nice girl. Friendly and personable. She had a bit of a temper but Travis liked that. There were a lot of strong women in his life – his sister and his mom were only two examples, but hell if they weren't great examples – and Travis had never envisioned himself with someone who was meek and quiet.

He liked to be challenged. Someone like Ginger, who had a bit of fire to her, was exactly the kind of girl that he ought to end up with.

"Sorry about that," Ginger said as she popped back over. She flicked a speck of dust off of her green diner apron and propped a hip against the counter.

"Don't worry about it. Technically, I am interrupting your workday."

"You're right. If Annie comes in here and gets mad at me for slacking off, I'm blaming you."

"Do your worst, Lacroix," Travis said, grinning.

Ginger winked. "Oh, I will, Grant. You can be the one to deal with Annie Eckhart when she's in a state. We'll see if you're still laughing then."

He leaned back in his stool. "Come on. Annie's not that bad. She's a sweetheart."

"She is," Ginger agreed and a fond look crossed her face. "Unless I've forgotten to sweep and mop at closing because someone decides to come in right as I'm closing up shop and completely distracts me."

"Now, who would do a thing like that?" Travis looked aghast.

She rolled her eyes and leaned in. For a second, Travis thought that Ginger might kiss him and his heart lurched in his chest. But she only breathed, "You are so full of shit, Travis Grant."

"Maybe," he said, laughing as she pulled back, a hint of humour on her face. "At least I've got the good looks to make up for it."

"And you've got that dark, edgy, bronc rider attitude going on. That's hot. Much better than being a lowly vet."

"I'll make sure that my brother knows that you think his career as a veterinarian makes him less hot than me."

Ginger stared at him with amusement before she was once again forced away. She darted to the kitchen window where a few plates had just been set down. Expertly, Ginger piled them onto a serving tray and dashed past Travis towards a young family that had stopped in at the diner for lunch.

Travis watched her go, taking a moment to admire her. The warm brown skin with undertones of gold and red. The brown eyes set within the heart-shaped face that were above the straight, slightly rounded, nose and the soft lips.

It wasn't the features on her face; however, that made Ginger's beauty stand out. It was the way that she animated them. How her lips stretched in a smile as she laughed, the way that her eyes lit up when she was excited, and the gentleness that softened her face when she was languidly happy.