Heart-Shaped Hack(37)
“It’s okay,” she said. There was obviously a reason behind his reluctance to share his last name, but considering they’d been together for such a short time, it was no surprise he wasn’t quite ready to divulge it.
“Are you sure?” He gave her hand a squeeze.
She squeezed back and smiled. “Positive.” It wasn’t that she had doubts about Ian as a boyfriend, or even a person. Once they’d put their rocky start behind them, he’d been nothing but kind and generous. A true gentleman. But if one of her girlfriends had announced she’d met a great guy but he wouldn’t tell her his last name, Kate would have told her to run. She’d give Ian some more time, but if he didn’t eventually open up to her, she’d take her own advice. She only hoped it would happen before her heart got too involved.
Thankfully their waitress interrupted any further discussion when she appeared to take their order. They asked for bowls of wild rice soup to go along with their sandwiches.
“It’s definitely soup weather,” the waitress said. “It’s supposed to get down to ten below with the windchill tonight.”
“That is way too cold for my thin Texas blood,” Ian said when she walked away.
“You went to college in Massachusetts. Are you telling me you failed to acclimate to single-digit temps, ice, and snow?”
He shook his head. “There’s a reason I don’t live there anymore.”
“Tell me again how you ended up in Minneapolis. You said you were just passing through.”
“I’d spent the summer in Winnipeg and was making my way south when the Shelby broke down on I-94 right outside the Twin Cities.”
“Canada is awfully far north for an Amarillo boy,” Kate said.
“I have a friend from college who lives there now. He talked me into coming. Said the fishing was great.”
“You like to fish?”
“You sound so surprised.”
“It’s very outdoorsy.”
“I’m outdoorsy. Do you not remember our afternoon in the park?”
“I stand corrected. You are very outdoorsy.”
“I like to fish if they’re biting, and they definitely were, along with the giant mosquitoes that also live in Canada. I spent three months being eaten alive. Anyway, the Shelby is not a car that is quickly repaired. It took a week to get the necessary parts and get her back on the road. In the meantime, I explored the area and decided it was as good a place as any to hang out for a while. It was August, so the cold wasn’t a factor. The city was big enough, and I figured I’d be gone by the time the snow arrived. Then this beautiful woman crashed into me on the sidewalk on Halloween. I stuck around.”
“Aw,” she said. “That’s very sweet. If you hadn’t broken down, where were you planning on heading?”
“I hadn’t really decided other than I wanted it to be someplace warmer.”
“I feel compelled to point out that it’s only going to get colder here.”
He sighed. “So I’ve heard. I guess we’ll have to spend our time inside. I sure hope I can think of something for us to do.”
“Something tells me you won’t have any problem.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The sun hadn’t yet risen when Ian woke Kate up to tell her one of his clients had a problem that required his urgent attention. His phone had been on the nightstand, and she’d groggily remembered the call coming in and a few minutes later him kissing her good-bye and tucking the covers tightly around her. When her alarm went off at eight, she got out of bed, took a hot shower, and bundled up against the arctic air that seemed destined to stay until spring.
She sent the first text at nine, shortly after she arrived at the food pantry.
Kate: I missed you in the shower this morning. I actually had to wash myself, which is not nearly as fun as when you do it.
Half an hour later, she was still waiting on a response.
Kate: Really? You’re usually lightning fast regarding messages that contain even the slightest mention of my body parts.
She’d sent a final text around eleven.
Kate: Wow, they’re not letting you come up for air at all.
Although he often worked for hours without a break, his silence was unusual. It wasn’t like him not to check in with her throughout the day, and he’d never gone this long without responding. She ignored the slight prickle of unease and continued on with her day.
Her phone finally chimed an hour later.
Ian: Had to fly to DC. Not sure when I’ll be back in town. Probably won’t be able to call or respond to messages. Miss you already.
Kate had been under the assumption that Ian’s hacking was confined to the private sector. But if he’d flown to Washington, did that mean he was also hacking for the government?
Which he’d never mentioned.
Kate: Must be very important. Don’t worry about calling or texting. I’ll see you when you get back. Miss you too.
Kate had gone to Pilates after work. Now it was almost six and there’d been no more texts from him. The refrigerator held their restaurant leftovers from the night before, and Kate ate the rest of her pasta while sitting on the couch, her phone beside her.
So he had to travel unexpectedly for work. It’s not a big deal.