Chapter 9
Out in the bright light of day, Chad scanned the parking lot in hopes of locating Rafael. How could he have been so foolish? The kiss, it was pure impulse, born by all the questioning of his involvement with Pearl. He liked the younger Pederos sibling, but not in the way her brother implied, and showing it sounded like a good idea in the moment. Had he overstepped his bounds? He meandered through the parked vehicles, failing to find his missing rancher. Apparently, Rafael had become quite adept at using his crutches.
Grumbling under his breath, Chad climbed into his truck. He figured one of two things happened. Either Rafael got a ride from one of the other patrons or he was attempting to walk home out of sheer spite; in that case he wouldn’t have gotten far. Chad started his t
