Just kidding!
Nope. Mr. Batman grunted at me again before his scowl deepened more. Then he pushed himself up from the floor in one fluid motion while simultaneously pulling Creeper up with him. Before I could wow him with further witty banter, he shook his head at me disdainfully (look at him playing hard to get) before pushing Creeper out through the front door without uttering a single wordoroffering to marry me and make me Mrs. Mr. Batman.
I watched as my future Daddy left, taking my heart with him, all thoughts of slushies and jerky gone with the wind. Or more accurately, gone with Mr. Batman and Creeper.
I couldn't believe it. I'd quite possibly met the man of my dreams. And he hadn't so much as asked for my name.
A soft throat clearing pulled me back to reality. I turned to find the cashier watching me with wide eyes behind a pair of slightly crooked glasses. "So..." she said slowly. "Did that just happen?"
I snorted and walked over, setting my water bottle on the counter. "I mean, you can pinch me if you want," I offered. "I'll confirm whether or not I just hallucinated the most attractive man I've ever seen in my entire life."
She laughed, shaking her head as she scanned the bottle. "Is this all you want?"
I leaned slightly on the counter, already recovering. "Nah," I said. "Tell me you've got a super-sized slushie situation going,and I'll make Mr. Batman out there name our first child after you."
3
Chapter 2
The pounding in my head wasn’t getting better.
It had started back at the gas station with Rhett.
Idiot thought he could slip out of my truck while I was filling it and make a run for it. Like I wouldn’t notice. Like ducking into a convenience store would somehow make him invisible.
I’d seen a lot of stupid over the years.
That ranked high.
What hadn't helped was the pretty little distraction standing in front of me, looking up with those wide, startled eyes like he'd accidentally wandered into the wrong movie.
For the briefest of moments, I thought he would hurt the boy with the clear green eyes and sexy dimples, and my heart had stuttered. Actually stuttered. I didn't like that. It was a new reaction for me, but something I quickly squashed down as far as I could so I could focus on the job.
Thankfully, after that, it was simple.
Drive.
Station.
Paperwork.
Done.
As always the paperwork took longer than the job.
By the time I got back on the road, I’d been awake for over twenty-four hours, and the headache had settled in behind my eyes. Not that I had time for a headache, or the nap required to get rid of it. I had another job lined up.
Milo Graves.
Last sighting put him about a day’s ride away from me, which meant I didn’t have time to waste. I’d call it in later, see if the office had anything new. For now, I drove. Drove and thought of that damned boy who'd waved—waved!—at me during a fucking take down. He had a fucking death wish, wandering blindly into situations like that with no awareness or sense.
I exhaled slowly as I focused on the road, letting Lynyrd Skynyrd soothe my soul. I would not think about him and all the dirty things I would do to him.
A figure appeared up ahead. He was walking at a casual pace, with a backpack slung over his shoulder. I barely spared him a glance at first.
Then I did a double-take.
No. Fucking hell, no!
