“It’s an outdoor bar and grill. Used to be just a bar, but it’s been renovated the past few years, and now it’s a place to go listen to music, play washers, drink beer and eat nachos and wings.”
“I like beer, nachos and wings,” she said. “Six thirty, then.” She looked in the rearview mirror. “Depending on if the tow truck shows up by then.”
CHAPTER2
What was she doing? Espy was not usually a flirt, especially not with law enforcement. But he was a cutie, with his dark wavy hair, soulful brown eyes, a granite jaw with just the slightest amount of razor stubble. And those shoulders. That had been the first thing she saw when she poked her head out of the engine bay, those incredible shoulders that arrowed down to a narrow waist and hips.
The cowboy hat he wore that made him even more imposing, but now caused those curls to flip up around his ears.
Then she’d caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of his mirrored glasses and had gotten self-conscious.
But then he’d spoken, his tone gentle, and she’d regained some confidence. And now she was flirting and asking him to dinner. He didn’t seem shocked or put-off, though, so she was going to count that as a victory.
She expected an awkward silence after her invitation, but he started telling her about the town where he lived, Broken Wheel, where the tow truck was coming from.
“I’ve lived there all my life with my mom, well, I went to college at Angelo State. Pretty small, like I said, three restaurants including The Wheel House, a diner, and the taqueria. There’s a motel there that’s been recently remodeled, if you need a place to stay. Some people may need to double up, because Sofia, the owner, has turned some units into apartments. So I don’t know exactly how many units she has available.”
“I’m sure we can figure it out, if we need to. We usually try to stay in bigger name brand hotels, but I guess we’ll go with what we got.”
“I mean, it’s an old motel, but it’s nice. I promise.”
“So why do you stay in town if it’s so small?”
He lifted a shoulder, looking straight ahead, but before he could answer, the tow truck appeared in the distance and he jumped out of the car as if he’d been shot, waving down the tow truck as he walked toward the van.
Okay, then. Maybe he didn’t want to answer. She got out of the car more slowly and followed.
She kind of liked that Sergeant Saldivar didn’t try to explain to the tow truck driver, a big bearded guy in a sleeveless plaid shirt, what was wrong with the van. He let Espy do that, and she appreciated that he didn’t try to be all manly about it.
The driver, who was introduced as Tommy, nodded wordlessly, then backed up his truck.
“Hang on!” she said before he hooked it up to load it. She popped open the door to grab two bags, and cradled them against her as she looked back at the bemused patrolman. “My road snacks,” she said.
“You can climb on into the truck,” Tommy said.
She nodded, then looked back at Sergeant Saldivar. “Thanks for keeping me company while I waited.”
He touched a finger to his hair, like he meant to salute her, then he pivoted and strode back to his car.
“Miss?”
She turned back to see Tommy motioning her to the truck, and she bounded toward it, her keychain pepper spray in hand, her bag of snacks tucked under her arm.
Angelica was waiting impatientlyfor her when she reached the town. Tommy dropped her off in front of the diner, where she noticed the other van parked, and then towed the other van away. Espy watched it go, then turned back to her sister. Espy didn’t see their clients, and her stomach dropped at the tense expression on Angelica’s face.
“Where is everyone?”
“Exploring this jewel of a town, what do you think?” Angelica tossed her hands up to the sky. “They’ve gone to the diner to eat.”
Espy looked around the square, the playground there, the diner behind Angelica, the hardware store, the grocery store, the movie theater that—was it even open? The movie listed on the marquee was from last decade. The motel that Javi had mentioned was on the farthest corner, just off the square.
It looked like dozens of other towns that they had been through over the years, half alive, kept that way because of the people who wouldn’t leave. This town was neater than most, though. The buildings had fresh coats of paint, planters spilling over with drought-tolerant plants sat on the sidewalk beside the pillars holding up the sidewalk covers.
“Did you eat?” Espy asked her sister.
“No, I’ve been busy getting them checked into the motel, and they didn’t have enough rooms, so you and I have to double up. The woman who runs the place was very apologetic, but you know how I hate sharing a room.”
She did. The two of them had grown up together, and since Angelica was older, she’d known independence before Espy was born, and had to sacrifice it from the moment Espy was brought home from the hospital.