Page 52 of The Mountain Man's Mail-Order Mafia Princess

She laughed as I walked around the front of the truck.

We ate the sandwiches at a turnout above town. Talia sat on the lowered tailgate with her boots resting on the bumper.The view opened across a green valley marked by roofs, narrow roads, and dry slopes turning gold under the July sun.

She unwrapped her sandwich.

“Does everyone around here ask you to fix something unrelated to why they called?”

“Not everyone.”

“That means most people.”

“It means enough of them.”

“Do you ever say no before the third request?”

“I did today.”

“After I arrived.”

I took a drink of water. “Are you taking credit?”

“I’m willing to accept partial credit.”

“You haven’t been at the cabin long.”

“I work quickly.”

“You cleaned one wrench.”

“And now you’re saying no to generators.”

I smiled.

Talia leaned her shoulder against mine.

I didn’t move away.

We returned to the cabin late in the afternoon.

Cade’s truck was parked near the porch.

Talia stiffened against the seat belt, but she didn’t look away from him.

Cade got out before I stopped the truck. He wore the same work-worn clothes he always did, though his hands were clean and his mouth was set.

“I won’t stay long,” he said. “I closed the profile and forwarded the confirmation to your email. I also changed the password before I disabled it so nobody could log in again.”

“You could’ve called from town,” I said.

“I wanted to ask whether either of you had more questions.”

Talia climbed down after I opened her door. She kept one hand in mine until both boots reached the ground.

“I have three,” she said.

Cade faced her. “Ask them.”

“Did you send anyone a copy of Jonah’s identification?”