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“Dan, this is Staci. Staci, this is Dan.”
They shake hands as they size each other up.
Dan speaks first. “So, you’re the girlfriend?”
A grin forms on Staci’s face. “Yep. That’s me. The girlfriend.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” He turns his attention to me. “We’ll all have to get together. I’ll send the kids to the grandparents’ house and maybe the four of us can get dinner one night.”
Maybe after all of this shit with Jared is dealt with.
“Yeah, for sure.”
“Well, I’ll let you two try to enjoy the rest of your day.”
“Thank you for getting my car before more damage was done.” Staci gives him a wave when he is about to climb back into his truck.
Staci and I watch the tow truck pull away with her car strapped to the bed.
Her smile disappears, and a frown takes its place. Her eyes become glossy with unshed tears, and it tears at my heart.
“Please bring me to the diner. I need food and happiness to turn the day around.”
“I promise to try my damndest to make this day better. A greasy cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake always help me.”
“Then let's go.”
She wraps her hand around mine and pulls me the entire way around the block to my car.
It might look silly to let someone half my size drag me around, but she seems to enjoy it and, in the end, her happiness is all that matters.
I unlock my doors and we get in.
Staci scrolls through the radio stations as I drive towards the diner. Luckily, the diner is in my county, so hopefully, we won’t have to deal with Jared.
Although, he did follow me while I was in this county and not his protected one.
I slow down as I drive over the set of train tracks. The car bounces from the elevated tracks.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I watch as Staci puts a hand over her breasts to keep them from bouncing out of her shirt.
Not like that could happen with her present attire, but a man could dream.
Blue lights flash as a police siren sounds from behind me.
Damn it, we just crossed over county lines, but this route is the quickest to the diner.
“Shit, I think we are being pulled over.”
Chapter Twenty One
STACI
My heart poundsin my chest as Marc pulls his car into an abandoned restaurant's parking lot.
Marc might not know, but we are back in my county and this is too much of a coincidence to actually be a coincidence.
Marc reaches over me to grab his insurance and registration from the glove box before getting his driver’s license out of his wallet.