Page 82 of Quinton's Quest

Your nuts are going to freeze.

Yeah, that.

Leo’s SUV was two rows over, and watching it—then following—somehow felt like stalking.

I started my vehicle.

Right. Like going to his house isn’t also the definition of stalking.

Well, that might be true. He might also head to a local bar to drown his sorrows. He might pick someone up and take them to a hotel room. Hell, he might even bring them home.

He’s never brought anyone to his house except for you.

True…but there’s also never been anyone else.

My internal monologue huffed at that one. It hated when I was right about something.

Still, I backed out of my parking spot. Once out of the hospital parking lot, I directed my SUV north. To Mission City.

As I crossed the Mission-Abby bridge, I had a moment to contemplate my next move. Obviously, I was going to Leo’s house. I had enough of a charge to run my SUV for a while, so staying warm wasn’t a huge issue. The rest? I just didn’t know.

Fast food or…fast food?

I ran through all the options in Mission City—and there were many for such a small town.

In a tossup between A&W, Wendy’s, and Fifties, the latter won out. Yes, I’d have to wait longer for the food. But Leo wasn’t going to race home. Or maybe he would and I’d arrive with the fresh food and—

What?

I still didn’t have an answer for that.

Sarabeth’s sunny smile nearly undid me as I stepped out of the chilly night and into the warm diner.

“Your friend joining you?”

I shook my head. “To go.”

She yanked out her pad and took my order. I chose way too many things, but I couldn’t even begin to figure out what Leo might eat. Hell, he might refuse food altogether.He might refuse to let you in.Well, yeah. That too.

I sat at the counter and scrolled through my phone as I waited. Luckily, the diner wasn’t too busy tonight, and the food was ready quickly. Barely enough time for me to pick out the color scheme for my St. Patrick’s Day party. Emerald green was a given—but I liked to add in other colors. More of a rainbow palette of complementary shades. More bold than pastel. I’d leave pastel for Easter. Sure, celebrating Easter was a little macabre. But many of the people in my life were singleand needing a place to be social. To my knowledge, only a few attended church services.

“You okay?” Sarabeth helped me put the containers into the cloth bag I’d brought in from the car.

“Are you off work on the eighteenth?”

“Of March?”

I nodded.

She yanked out her phone. “Yep. I’m working the five days before that to the seventeenth and then the nineteenth through the twenty-fourth. Why?”

“Come to my place for the St. Patrick’s Day party. I know it should be the seventeenth, but that’s a Thursday. I’m hoping if I hold it on a Friday, that more people will have the Saturday off and can enjoy the blast I plan to throw.”

“I can be there. Sounds like fun.” Her blue eyes lit with obvious excitement.

Should have invited her sooner.After all, she’d been legal to drink for several years now. “Great.” I grabbed the bag. “Thanks for this.”

She shrugged. “I had Cook put a rush on it. I won’t ask, but your expression says rough day, and a rough day for you is always ten times worse than anything that might happen to me.”