“Thanks, that’d be awesome.”
I make the mistake of looking at her, the smile on her face so genuine it hits me square in the chest. Pity to have her waste something that beautiful on me.
Still I engage when she asks my opinion about what she should be looking for. My responses are the bare minimum, but she doesn’t seem to mind. Before I realize it, we’re driving into the outskirts of Midland, a city much larger than the one thousand plus population of Beaverton.
I fight the urge to turn the truck around, not quite ready to end what had been a far too meaningful half hour with Robin. She seems surprised when I get out with her and follow her into the rental office, but Jimmy had asked me to make sure they gave her our preferred rate.
It takes about two seconds for me to want to put my fist in the face of the guy behind the counter, whose eyes never quite make it up to Robin’s face. Fucking sleezeball is so focused on her tits; he doesn’t notice me glaring until one of his colleagues elbows him in the ribs. The moment his eyes meet the murder in mine he blanches. He barely even looks at her after that, rushing her through the paperwork, and even throwing in an upgrade.
Within minutes, we’re back outside, walking around the SUV they’re giving her. I point out a few dings on the fender Robin missed, making sure they’re all noted on her contract. Leaving her with the keys, he disappears inside and I stand awkwardly beside her, my hands buried deep in my pockets.
“I appreciate you driving me all the way out here,” she says, turning her face up to me. All I can see is the warm light in her much darker blue eyes and the soft swell of her perfect lips.
“Not a problem,” I mumble, backing away before I do something I’ll regret.
“Wait,” she calls out when I turn my back. “Can I buy you a coffee or something? It’s the least I can do,” she adds quickly, as I look over my shoulder. A deep blush darkens her cheekbones as her question hangs in the air.
So fucking tempting.
“I’ve got shit to do,” I blurt out rudely, and watch that deep color bleach from her skin.
“Of course. Well, thanks again.” This time her words are delivered with a tight smile, and I feel the loss of her warmth as she gets behind the wheel.
I’m still standing in the same spot when she drives by me and pulls out of the parking lot.
Never even sparing me a glance.
Chapter Six
Robin
“And how did they react?”
I lean back on the couch and put my feet up on the coffee table, the phone beside me on speaker as I sip my morning coffee.
Shirley just told me she finally worked up the courage to contact her sons. We’ve been in touch a couple of times since I drove her to Grand Rapids a week and a half ago. I know Kim’s been checking in on her as well. No one has heard from Mike, who’d been released on bail and has apparently been keeping a low profile. Who knows, he may not even be in town anymore. Good riddance if you ask me, but I’m not so sure it’s the last we’ll see of him.
“Angry. Mostly at their father, but some at me.”
“At you? Why?”
“For not leaving him sooner.” She’s quiet for a moment before she adds, “For not talking to the cops. They want me to tell them everything from the start.”
My fist pump is silent but I’m so relieved to hear that. I’ve been worried she might end up going back to him, like so many women do. I don’t want her to become a statistic.
“What are you gonna do?” I ask her carefully.
“Tell it all.”
I hang up twenty minutes later, feeling better about Shirley than I did before. Her kids sound like decent young men wholeheartedly supporting their mother; notwithstanding the shitty example their asshole dad had shown.
I’m just cutting vegetables for the stir-fry I had planned for dinner tonight when my phone on the counter starts ringing. I suck in a sharp breath when Olson’s Automotive appears on my screen.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Tank. We may have found you something.”
I pretend I’m not disappointed it’s him instead of Gray calling. For some reason that man has made a lasting impression on me. One I can’t seem to shake, no matter how hard I try.
Tank had come into the diner the day after I picked up my rental in Midland. Despite Gray blowing me off, he’d apparently still talked to his boss about finding me new wheels. He asked me what I was willing to spend and said he’d keep an eye out.
“Really?”
“Three-year-old Honda CRV with just thirty-five-thousand miles. Decked out, comes with winter tires, and all within your budget.”
Since my budget is fifteen grand and I’ve done a little research myself, this sounds too good to be true.
“What’s the catch? Those things go for at least twenty-two K if not more.”
Tanks starts laughing.
“I told him you wouldn’t fall for it.”
“Told who?” I ask, but I’m not surprised when he mentions Gray’s name.
“Look, it was a leased car he picked up at the auction for a steal. The engine needed some work and there was a small ding on a rear fender. He was able to push out the dent and fixed the engine. In fact, he spent the past week taking it apart and rebuilding it.”
I’m struck silent, unsure what to think of that. The more I learn about this man, the more confused I get, and the more I want to know.
“How much for parts and labor?”
“He did it on his off time, Robin. You’re gonna have to take it up with him.”
“Wait a minute, if he’s the one who found me the car, why isn’t he
