Page 22
Story: Road Trip with Her Bodyguard
“Oh, good, good. Listen, that old friend of yours I’ve been dealing with – is he the kind of guy to cheat at cards if something important was on the line?”
There’s a slight grumble. “Oh, hell yeah. He’s a sneaky bastard, that one. Wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. Always ready to cut a good man’s throat to get himselfahead even one inch. You know… We go so far back that over the years I’ve been brushing things under the rug, so to speak. But protecting his kid is important. Everything is going well, I hope?”
“Very well.” Dane reaches out to stroke my hair. “Better than I could ever imagine, to be honest. She’s wonderful.”
There’s a loud snort. “Watch it, boy. Keep your pecker in your pants and your hands to yourself. That’s a classy girl, so don’t be getting ideas about?—”
“She can hear you, Dad.”
The next snort is less frustration and more amusement. “Well, she’s probably eager to get back to her fancypants California life. She’d be bored to tears out here. So you two just behave yourselves, keep your heads down, and wait until Gerald gives the all-clear.”
“That’s the thing, though,” Dane says slowly. “Is there really an all-clear to be given if Gerald made the whole thing up?”
I blink at the torrent of curses suddenly barreling down the line. “Shit. Bastard’s done this before. Made up all kinds of hooey just to get his name in the news. Or to get people talking about his company…whichever company he’s pulling out of his ass these days. I swear, that man wouldn’t know how to do an honest day’s work if the fate of the entire world depended on it.”
A flicker runs through Dane’s eyes. Maybe he doesn’t like that his father is insulting mine. “Thanks for the info, Dad. We’ll be in touch.”
“All righty. Stay outta the good whiskey.”
Dane ends the call and rolls his eyes. “I don’t care for his brand, anyway.”
I appreciate that he’s trying to keep things light. But it suddenly feels like rocks are weighing down my very soul.
“So… My father lied about this to get attention? Like a five-year-old?”
“Apparently so.” Dane guides me back to the table and sits me down, pushing the coffee mug in front of me temptingly.
“What do we do?” I ask.
“Well…” He leans back and rubs his neck, thinking. “Dad doesn’t allow any computers in his sacred country cabin, as you can imagine. But we could always visit Jim. We’ll use his computer with a VPN. Totally safe.”
I nod, sipping my coffee. It does nothing to fill the hollow feeling inside me.
“First, breakfast,” Dane says. “Then we’ll drive to Jim’s and get this over with. Okay?”
My fingers wrap around his wrist. “Thank you. Really.”
He simply nods, as if understanding I don’t have the bandwidth right now to get into a heart-to-heart about how much I appreciate him protecting me. It’s like we’re beginning to communicate with just a glance.
The idea sends my stomach into a slow spiral. If we click this much already, could he really be the one?
“I know this is rough for you, baby. But don’t worry, I’m going to take care of everything.” He kisses the back of my hand, then his eyes light up with a wicked grin. “Will you forgive me if I get angry with your father?”
My eyes narrow. “Are you kidding? If he really lied about this, I want you to kick his ass.”
12
DANE
I’ve known Jim for ages, from working on demolition and construction jobs together over the years. Since he just lives on the other side of town, we run into each other often enough.
He’s not surprised when we appear on his doorstep, asking to use his computer and for a little privacy…although I do notice that Jim gives Jorie a quizzical look when she tiptoes in with my arm tucked around her. He sets us up at his dining room table, then goes down to his workroom in the basement.
“If you don’t want to be here for this call, baby, you could take a walk around the back yard,” I suggest.
Jorie shakes her head. “No way. I want to know what’s going on.” She hesitates. “But maybe… Could I just listen, and not say anything?”
“Of course! But I’d like this to be a video call so I can watch his eyes.”
There’s a slight grumble. “Oh, hell yeah. He’s a sneaky bastard, that one. Wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. Always ready to cut a good man’s throat to get himselfahead even one inch. You know… We go so far back that over the years I’ve been brushing things under the rug, so to speak. But protecting his kid is important. Everything is going well, I hope?”
“Very well.” Dane reaches out to stroke my hair. “Better than I could ever imagine, to be honest. She’s wonderful.”
There’s a loud snort. “Watch it, boy. Keep your pecker in your pants and your hands to yourself. That’s a classy girl, so don’t be getting ideas about?—”
“She can hear you, Dad.”
The next snort is less frustration and more amusement. “Well, she’s probably eager to get back to her fancypants California life. She’d be bored to tears out here. So you two just behave yourselves, keep your heads down, and wait until Gerald gives the all-clear.”
“That’s the thing, though,” Dane says slowly. “Is there really an all-clear to be given if Gerald made the whole thing up?”
I blink at the torrent of curses suddenly barreling down the line. “Shit. Bastard’s done this before. Made up all kinds of hooey just to get his name in the news. Or to get people talking about his company…whichever company he’s pulling out of his ass these days. I swear, that man wouldn’t know how to do an honest day’s work if the fate of the entire world depended on it.”
A flicker runs through Dane’s eyes. Maybe he doesn’t like that his father is insulting mine. “Thanks for the info, Dad. We’ll be in touch.”
“All righty. Stay outta the good whiskey.”
Dane ends the call and rolls his eyes. “I don’t care for his brand, anyway.”
I appreciate that he’s trying to keep things light. But it suddenly feels like rocks are weighing down my very soul.
“So… My father lied about this to get attention? Like a five-year-old?”
“Apparently so.” Dane guides me back to the table and sits me down, pushing the coffee mug in front of me temptingly.
“What do we do?” I ask.
“Well…” He leans back and rubs his neck, thinking. “Dad doesn’t allow any computers in his sacred country cabin, as you can imagine. But we could always visit Jim. We’ll use his computer with a VPN. Totally safe.”
I nod, sipping my coffee. It does nothing to fill the hollow feeling inside me.
“First, breakfast,” Dane says. “Then we’ll drive to Jim’s and get this over with. Okay?”
My fingers wrap around his wrist. “Thank you. Really.”
He simply nods, as if understanding I don’t have the bandwidth right now to get into a heart-to-heart about how much I appreciate him protecting me. It’s like we’re beginning to communicate with just a glance.
The idea sends my stomach into a slow spiral. If we click this much already, could he really be the one?
“I know this is rough for you, baby. But don’t worry, I’m going to take care of everything.” He kisses the back of my hand, then his eyes light up with a wicked grin. “Will you forgive me if I get angry with your father?”
My eyes narrow. “Are you kidding? If he really lied about this, I want you to kick his ass.”
12
DANE
I’ve known Jim for ages, from working on demolition and construction jobs together over the years. Since he just lives on the other side of town, we run into each other often enough.
He’s not surprised when we appear on his doorstep, asking to use his computer and for a little privacy…although I do notice that Jim gives Jorie a quizzical look when she tiptoes in with my arm tucked around her. He sets us up at his dining room table, then goes down to his workroom in the basement.
“If you don’t want to be here for this call, baby, you could take a walk around the back yard,” I suggest.
Jorie shakes her head. “No way. I want to know what’s going on.” She hesitates. “But maybe… Could I just listen, and not say anything?”
“Of course! But I’d like this to be a video call so I can watch his eyes.”