Page 12 of Daybreak

“Twelve, and the only bat girl Crossroads baseball team ever had,” she said, then realized she was still hugging him and let go. “Sorry. I got a little carried away.”

He touched the tiny little scar on her forehead. “I seem to remember you getting on the wrong side of a fly ball and dropping like a dead fly out near the dugout.”

“Yes, and you picked me up and started running toward my mom and dad who were watching the game from our truck, dumped me in Mom’s lap, and told them to get me to a doctor. I believe you also told them they better not let me die, because I was the best bat girl they’d ever had.”

Gunner grinned. “You were. It’s great to see you again. Do you live in Dallas?”

“Yes, and the real estate office I work at is in Dallas, too, but I work all over the metroplex,” she said.

“You sell houses?”

“I take a listing occasionally, but my main job is keeping up with all the paperwork regarding buying and selling, and verifying deeds for the other Realtors. What about you?”

He pulled back the front of his jacket, revealing the weapon in his shoulder holster and the detective badge clipped to his belt. “I’ve been with the Dallas PD from the start of my career, but the last eight of those years in Homicide.”

Her eyes widened. “Awesome. Can you still run like the devil is chasing you?”

Without thinking, he lifted a wayward curl from the corner of her eye.

“Yeah, only now I’m the one chasing the devil and his cohorts. Are you married, dating, attached in any way, etcetera, etcetera?”

She grinned. “No to all, even the etcetera. What about you?”

His eyes narrowed as he watched the expressions coming and going on her face, and he made a knee-jerk decision that was very unlike him.

“My only attachment is my job. Want to trade phone numbers?” he asked.

She yanked her phone out of her pocket without bothering to answer. They traded numbers and one last hug, and then she pointed down the aisle behind him. “I still have shopping to do. Don’t forget me.”

“That’s never gonna happen. Have dinner with me… If you’re not busy,” he said and then nearly choked on his audacity. He wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment kind of man.

Holly beamed. “You mean now?”

“I guess I do. Like as soon as we finish shopping…before either of us go home. Somewhere nearby. I have a rare need for some company, and I would love to catch up with you.”

Holly was trying not to giggle. “I would love to. There’s a little Mexican taqueria just a block from here… If you’re in the mood for that.”

“I’m in the mood,” Gunner said. “Thirty minutes?”

She threw back her head and laughed. “Thirty minutes it is. I’ll shop fast.”

“I drive a black Mustang GT,” Gunner said.

“White Chevy SUV. Meet you there,” Holly said.

Gunner watched until she was out of sight before he made himself refocus and finish what he’d come to do. Today had been rough, but this unexpected meeting and asking her for a date before they’d barely said hello could be excused because of their past relationship.

Granted, she’d been the pesky little kid who trailed his every step, but she was no longer a pesky kid. She was drop-dead gorgeous. At that point, all of his walls went up and his warning system kicked in. It was no big deal. Just a meal with someone from home.

* * *

Gunner was at the taqueria when Holly entered the parking lot. She made one sweep through the cars before finding a place to park, and then tried not to run when she went to meet him.

“This is the best thing that’s happened to me in ages, and I can smell that grilling meat from here,” she said.

“Smells like a Texas barbeque,” Gunner said as he took her by the hand and walked her across the parking lot and into the little café. They were seated quickly, handed menus, and turned in their drink orders, then took the time to look—really look—at each other.

“Sorry for staring,” Gunner said. “You’re just…so beautiful. I’m trying to find the kid I knew in that amazing face, and the only thing left that’s really familiar is your hair.”