Page 23 of Falling for Sierra
Heat pooled low in her belly. She moved closer, stretched up and kissed him. “Keep saying things like that and we’ll end up back in bed.”
“I do love getting you in bed, but I want to spend time with you out of it too. Come on. Let’s get our shoes on and go.”
CHAPTER 16
Blake sat in the passenger seat of Sierra’s little SUV, watching the scenery speed by. They’d been in the car for about twenty minutes and quiet for the last fifteen. He didn’t mind. He liked just being here with Sierra, they didn’t have to talk or try to entertain each other every moment. That was part of why he was drawn to her.
“Is there anything you want to do in town today?”
“I’ve been thinking about finding some kind of vehicle to use while I’m in Hawthorne. I’m not sure of the details on storage when I’m in Denver yet. And I’ll need to find someone who can either deliver it to the field where they land the helicopter when I come in, so I don’t have to bum rides to find you.”
“We can hit some dealerships if you’d like, see if they have anything you like.”
Blake nodded. He had no intention of wandering dealerships looking for what he wanted. He had Spencer researching vehicles. Looking for something that would work for the climate, landscape, and still meet his comfort standards. He’d spent long enough driving what he could get and hoping it would make it where he was going, to settle for anything less than exactly what he wanted.
He had sent Spencer a text shortly after they’d left the house to find out what dealership in Casper was capable of ordering what he wanted and let him know as soon as possible. If Blake had his way, they would spend under an hour at whatever dealership Spencer sent them to, and the vehicle would be delivered to Hawthorne for him when it was available.
“What do you normally do in the car to pass time?”
“Work.”
Sierra turned to stare at him for a moment then turned to look at the road again. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I spend a decent amount of time in the car. I decided a long time ago that most of it was wasted time. That’s when I hired a driver and started working in between wherever we were going. It’s made me far more productive and paid for the cost of the driver many times over.”
“Are you planning to do that here? Do you need to have enough room for your driver in the house?”
“No. I’m not bringing my driver up here. We agreed to no business on your day’s off, remember?”
“I do, and I didn’t intend to turn it into business, but it was something that popped into my mind when you said you have a driver. I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again, but I’ll do my best not to.”
“I understand, that’s just how it is sometimes. I’ll have some interruptions too, I’m sure. The key is to catch them as they happen and deal with them as quickly as possible, then push them back where they belong.” He turned and stared out the window for a moment. “I realized not long ago that life is passing me by while I’m so busy making money. Don’t get me wrong, money is great,” he turned back to watch Sierra’s face as he said the last bit, “but It's just money. It won’t keep you warm at night. It won’t keep you company when you’re lonely. It won’t fill your life with laughter. It’s just money. Sometimes people and what’s going on is more important than the job.”
Sierra glanced at him a couple times, but didn’t respond. Blake knew he was the last one to talk about taking time off work to enjoy life. Or he had been until recently. With Sierra next to him, he foresaw taking a lot more time off.
“You sound like you’ve given that speech before?”
Blake shrugged. “Only to myself, but I’ve heard variations of it for years from my dad. I guess some of it finally sank in because it’s what I’m trying to do.”
He watched Sierra, waiting to see how she responded, if she did but there was silence. She didn’t say anything, but glanced at him several times as she continued driving.
Was she thinking about his words? What was running through her head? He wished he knew.
* * *
By the time they’d finished with Sierra’s shopping, and had lunch, Spencer had gotten back to him with a possible vehicle, and while it was in the state it wasn’t in Casper. But Spencer assured him the Casper dealership could get it and arrangements could be made for it to be delivered to Hawthorne, if Blake so desired.
Blake desired, but only if they were willing to give him a decent price. He would pay a fair price for what he wanted, and he preferred to do business locally when possible, and was willing to pay a little more to support local business. But he wasn’t going to let people take advantage of him.
“Do we have enough time to stop by a dealership? It shouldn’t take more than half an hour or so.”
“Sure.” Sierra looked at him with one raised brow as if she thought he was slightly delusional, but asked which dealership and took him there without complaint. “Are you going to be getting something today or do you want me to wait?”
“I’m not taking anything home, not today. I shouldn’t be long.”
Forty-five minutes later, he walked out, satisfied. He’d made the deal to buy, not the Cadillac Spenser had been researching for him, but a GMC Sierra Denali Ultimate instead. It would be delivered to Hawthorne before the end of the week, Blake just needed to give them an exact address.
He'd asked for the salesman Spenser had been dealing with, planning to make a deal on the small SUV his assistant had found, but when the salesman heard it was for the Hawthorne area, he’d questioned Blake a little then made a different recommendation, including his reasoning. Blake had looked at the vehicle on the lot, then decided the salesman, Joe was his name, had been right. The Sierra was a better option.