Free Circle on Home (Lost in a Boom Town Book 5) by MJ Fredrick

when compassion is an obstacle.”
    “But anything like that, he’d have to be trained. I don't see that going well.”
    “And the oilfields aren't hiring?”
    “Not unskilled labor. Even Ben, who has experience, hasn't been able to get another job with them.” He glanced across the cab at her. “You probably picked the wrong time to come back home.”
    “Maybe. It’s the right time for me, though.” She shifted on the seat toward him. “What’s going on with Riley and a guy named Jackson?”
    “Who’s Riley?”
    She rolled her eyes. “One of my roommates. She owns the bakery.”
    He shrugged. “I don't keep up. Your mom would know. Or, you know, you could ask your roommate.”
    “I could, but I don't think she’d tell me. She was very careful of her words when I met him at the house.”
    “Then clearly there is something going on between them.”
    “Yeah, but what? Why is it a secret? Is he married?”
    “From what I recall, he doesn't live in town. So I don't know. I do know he helped renovate the Sagebrush Saloon and the Inn, and the bakery, too, I think.”
    “Huh.”
    “So what about you? Is there anyone in your life?”
    “You think I would have kissed you the other night if there was someone else in my life?”
    Well. She hadn't thought he’d bring that up. “You stopped kissing me. I wondered if guilt was the reason.”
    “No. There isn't anyone.”
    He left it at that, and she wasn't sure what to say next. Seemed only fair he should share since he knew about her and Damian, yet she knew nothing about what his life had been like the past fourteen years. That didn't seem fair.  
    She had him as her captive now. Maybe she could get him to open up. He’d volunteered to drive her, after all, and he knew she was a lawyer.  
    “But there has been?”
    “Are you asking if I’ve been pining for you for the past fourteen years?”
    Trust him to turn it around on her. “Not asking if you’re celibate, of course, but has there been someone serious?”
    “One. But I had too much baggage and it ended.”
    “Is she still in town?”
    “Nope. And most people won’t remember her if you go asking.”
    “That’s why I’m asking you. Were you together long?”
    “A little over a year.”
    That wasn't very significant considering he was thirty-two years old. He’d only had a relationship in high school, and a year-long relationship here? “Were you a wild child in college?”
    He shook his head. “Couldn’t afford to be. If I didn't keep my head down and study, I’d lose my scholarships.”
    No wonder he was so solemn all the time. He had too much weight on his broad shoulders. His father, his siblings, his career. She didn't know how to help him loosen up. He’d never been particularly happy-go-lucky, not with the home life he had, but he had known how to relax, and she needed to help him find his way back to that person. She didn't know why she felt the burden was on her, but no one had been able to do it so far, and it wasn't fair that such a good man should be so unhappy.  
    She needed to think about this.  
    “Is Selena excited about the Christmas festival coming up?” She’d heard nothing but details about the festival on the way home from San Marcos yesterday.  
    “We haven't told her about it yet, but I’m sure once she sees everything being set up, we won’t rest until we take her.”
    “From what Mom says, it sounds like it’s going to be better than ever.”
    “Hope the weather holds, for their sakes.”
    The weather was always a risk for the festivals, no matter if it was the Bluebonnet festival in April or the Halloween festival.
    “Maybe someday someone will build something so we can celebrate indoors in case of bad weather.”
    “I think something like that was on the table until the oil prices started dropping. Now most of the money’s going to the roads damaged by the tanker trucks. We do have a shiny new school and hospital, though.”
    “I heard. One of my