Page 22 of Grimm County Wishes (Grimm County Lawmen #4)

A l waved goodbye to the crew and pressed the unlock button on his key fob. After sending home Judy (“I’m more of a movie kinda guy”) and Leann (“I’m just not feeling that spark”), all Al wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed.

Well, go home, take a long hot shower, and then crawl into bed.

Iona had practically mauled him during their time alone.

If the cameras hadn’t been there, he was sure she’d have tried to pull his dick out.

She was hot, no doubt about it. But he wanted to know a person before getting down to business.

Jeannie stood at the back of the parking lot, next to trailers. “Need a ride?” he called out.

“Why would you give her a ride?” Mercedes , causing Al to jump with her sudden appearance.

“Because she’s my neighbor and her car is busted?” Al said. He’d tried to patch her tire, but there was no patching a razor blade puncture and neither of them had had time to get a new spare from the auto shop.

Mercedes put her hands on her hips. “I don’t think you should drive some random puta around.”

“Hey, now,” Al said, not wanting to get into an argument, but not willing to stand by while Jeannie was called names. “That’s my best friend, and you need to get moving before you miss your ride back to the hotel.”

Mercedes opened her mouth to say something else, but Jazz dragged her toward the bus, shouting words in Spanish along the way.

“Well, that was intense.” Jeannie twirled her ponytail with her finger.

“But maybe it’s a good sign that she’s feeling so territorial?

” She watched Mercedes and Jazz enter the van.

“But I wonder if …” She shook her head. “Anyway, thanks but no thanks. I’m going out for drinks with the crew.

Shane will make sure I get home safe.” She turned and followed Shane to his car.

“Hey, Shane!” Al called out when they’d made it about halfway. “You got a second? I have a question about our next scene.”

Shane whispered something in Jeannie’s ear and raised his key fob to unlock the door of his ridiculous yellow Corvette. Leaving her to walk the rest of the way, he jogged over to Al .

“What’s up?”

“Just curious about your intentions with Jeannie.”

“My intentions? What are you, her father?”

“Her neighbor.” Al crossed his arms over his chest. “And we share a very thin wall. So, I’ll ask again. What are your intentions?”

“To get a drink with a beautiful woman.” Shane’s eyes narrowed, and he lowered his voice. “You aren’t getting greedy, are you? Are your women of interest not interesting enough? Better not let Lindsey find out your eyes are wandering outside the show.”

Al’s lips tightened. Fuck, he was right. “Fine. But you hurt her, and you’ll be hosting with a black eye.”

Shane grinned. “How about this? I promise to only hurt her if she’s into it.” He snapped his brilliantly white chompers together in a mock bite, then walked off.

Al’s body vibrated with anger. He ached for his bed, but he supposed he could drop in at Susie’s Bar after his shower.

But only because the crew was going and he was a team player.

And then he could bring Jeannie home, since they would be headed in the same direction.

He cracked his knuckles, feeling moderately better with his new plan.

Diane walked up to Al and rubbed his back. “What a day, huh?”

Al had forgotten Hunter’s family was so touchy feely.

“I guess.”

“You working at the station tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I go in at seven.” He continued to stare as Shane drove off with his muffler rumbling loudly. Poser.

“Then you probably need to get some sleep. You know, I’m heading to the bar with the crew. And Hunter texted that Snow’s in town for the rest of the week. I’ll get her and Fawn to come out, too.” She tapped his back. “We’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Oh, I’m not, I mean, she’s an adult.” Al shrugged, stopping himself before he sounded like an even bigger idiot.

Diane laughed. “She is, but neither of y’all are known for making great decisions.” She waved her hand around at the production crew.

Al’s head reared back. “Hey, now.”

“You head home. Get some sleep so you can show up to work on time tomorrow and not piss off Christian.”

Al considered her offer. Pulling an all-nighter before a shift was a terrible idea.

Not only because Diane was right and Christian would be pissed, but because the citizens depended on him to keep them safe.

If he was tired, his reflexes would be off.

He could make a mistake that could lead to someone getting hurt.

“Fine. Thanks, Diane.”

“No problem. We’ll make sure Jeannie doesn’t get into any trouble.” Diane laughed. “Unless she wants to get into trouble, if you catch my meaning.”

Al sighed. He caught her meaning, and that’s exactly what he was afraid of.