Читать книгу Wild Horse Springs - Jodi Thomas - Страница 13
Оглавление1 a.m.
Wednesday
A LITTLE AFTER closing time at the Nowhere Club, Dan walked out to his Jeep. The midnight wind blew sideways, pounding tiny balls of snow as hard as gravel against his face, but he barely noticed. His evening with Brandi Malone wasn’t over, and that was all that really mattered.
The only person still parked out front was the big guy who’d sat next to Dan during Brandi’s last performance. He looked like he was sleeping off a heavy drunk in his old one-ton rig that took up two parking spots. He didn’t move when Dan walked within three feet of his window, and the sheriff was glad. The last thing he wanted to do tonight was arrest a man for stalking Brandi. Hauling the drunk in would ruin both Dan’s and the drunk’s night.
The trucker’s engine was idling, so Dan doubted he’d freeze even if he ran out of gas. Hank usually made sure the parking lot was cleared before he did the final lockup. The manager said once that drunks were like fish—they smelled if left out overnight.
Dan started the Jeep. It might not look like much, but the engine never failed to turn over. He pulled around the back of the bar, and Brandi darted out. She jumped in, squealing about the cold, and Dan laughed as he made a wide circle around the truck out front. He didn’t know what it was about this woman, but she made him feel free, like no troubles would find him as long as she was riding shotgun.
“You worried about leaving your van?” he asked, hating that he sounded like a cop. He pulled a blanket from the back and covered her.
She cuddled the wool all the way to her chin. “No, I’m not worried. I left it unlocked. If someone steals it, I’ve got insurance. If one of the drunks wants to see what’s inside, they’ll have to go through dirty laundry and a dozen fast-food bags to learn all my secrets.”
“You have secrets?” Dan didn’t turn on his lights until he pulled onto the highway. The snow fell thick and heavy, making it hard to see, but he knew the road back to Crossroads.
He hadn’t asked her which motel she was staying in. There was only one within twenty miles of the bar.
She tugged a multicolored knit hat down over her ears. “Everyone past puberty has secrets. I figured you’d already know that, Sheriff. You tell me one of yours, and I’ll tell you one of mine.” She grinned as if they were playing a game.
“Right now, you’re my secret. Not that I care if everyone knows we’re going out, if that’s what you call this thing we’re doing, but just for a while I’d like to keep you to myself.”
“Any others?”
“Ladies or secrets?”
“Secrets. A man who hasn’t been kissed since New Year’s Eve a few years ago has no ladies tucked away.”
He figured he must seem pretty pitiful. Brandi probably had a lover in every town. “Nope. I’m pretty much an open book. No secrets or lovers, except you.”
