“I’m not, but hang on…”
“You’re hurting me, Scrawny-Conan…”
“I’m trying to keep from dropping you… and Conan? Did you just call me Conan? Really?” he chuckled, perking up at her insult. He was taking her words in the wrong way… and then grunted again, hefting her up once more.
“This is ridiculous…” she snarled, rolling her eyes.
“Not exactly how I pictured meeting my sole-mate…”
“We arenotsoulmates!”
“Sole. Sole – as in shoes?” he chuckled again, hefting her up a little higher in his arms.
“Oh, I see. Someone’s got jokes…”
“Someone has a poor sense of humor…”
“Because Officer Hillbilly is assaulting me… or is this a kidnapping?”
“If you wanted to know my name – all you had to do was ask,” he chuckled as he set her down in the grass beside the rear door of the patrol car. Turning, she plopped down into the seat inelegantly and crossed her arms.
“Shut up,” she glared at his grinning face – trying to ignore the way it made his eyes crinkle at the sides in the best way possible. She was a sucker for laugh lines, and this man had spent some time in the sun, working on growing those lines like a madman. “And my name is Heidi – and I don’t want to know your name at all. I want to be left alone.”
“Well, Miss Heidi… I’m your Chance,” he said with a mocking bow as he leaned on the open window frame, smiling at her.
“My chance at what?”
“Happily ever after… Heidi.”
“You’re dreaming.”
“Nope,” he chuckled once more, smiling with an arrogant, smug look that grated on her nerves in the worst way. “I’m Officer Jack Chance with the Fate P.D… and I’m about to take you away.”
She did a double-take at his words.
Did he just actually admit his name was… Jack Chance? As in ‘this man had jack chance of impressing her’?
“Come… again?” she managed to choke out.
“I am taking you into Fate for a new pair of shoes, my sweet and foul-smelling little Cinderella – and then we can figure things out once we get your ‘carriage’ a few new ‘shoes’ while we’re at it… and soap,” he chuckled, holding up his hand sheepishly causing her to rear back once more at the mud, filth, and other things on his hand from forcibly removing her shoe.
“That’s what you get,” she snapped just before he reached into the car and caused her to shrink away once more. “Don’t wipe that on me!”
“I’m not,” he chuckled, holding up a roll of paper towels that were on the back dash of his cruiser. “I’m just trying to make sure I don’t smear any ofthisall over my steering wheel… or me.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“Should I leave you here?” he asked, taking a seat in the police cruiser and looking at her in the rearview mirror. Instead of answering him, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from his gloating expression– and those eyes. “Thought so. Heidi, we’re gonna have to work on your pillow talk.”
Two
JACK
Nothing ever happened in Fate…despite his best attempts to cause a ruckus. One main road, a smattering of houses, one wishing well, a whole bunch of friendly busy-bodies with nothing else to do – and him.
Well, not just him, but most people left Fate long behind when they realized that the same kids who picked on them were now asking them out on a date. There was no spark, no excitement, no element of wonder in the relationship… for example, if you knew that Becky Sue Hollis dated Terry, kissed Tommy, had Matt’s baby, was engaged to marry Everett – but quietly cheating on him with Jimmy… and every woman in town was pining for Rory to look their way – including Becky Sue.
Again – not him.
