Page 66 of Rescuing Mary

A horn sounded from the parking lot and both men turned to look at the Highlander. Annie was smiling and waving at them again.

“Guess that’s my cue to get my ass in gear.”

“Five bucks,” Truck quipped.

“It only counts if she hears it.” Fletch grinned, then clapped his hand on Truck’s shoulder. “Thanks for being so great with her.”

“Wasn’t a hardship,” Truck said dryly.

“Thanks anyway. You made her day. Week. Month. See ya later.”

And with that, Fletch headed for his car and his little girl.

For a second, Truck was jealous of his friend. They’d all been single for so long, it hadn’t occurred to Truck that everyone might have found women to make their lives complete.

He felt left out. As if he’d been left behind. Which was stupid, but he couldn’t help the thought. And that led him to thinking about Mary and the nature of their relationship. He couldn’t deny he had feelings for her. But defining them was harder. A part of him felt as if he loved her. Which was crazy, since he didn’t really even know her any longer.

But another part of him was wary. As if his brain was cautioning him to go slow with her, to hold back for some reason. He had a feeling Mary could really hurt him. He never let women get too close because he’d been let down by them time after time. It was frustrating not knowing exactly what his relationship with Mary had been like.

But watching Fletch with Annie, and knowing he was going home to his pregnant wife, made Truck want that too. He wanted to come home to Mary. Wanted her to smile when he came through the door and welcome him with open arms.

Hearing his stomach growl, Truck smiled ruefully. Wanting things wasn’t going to magically make them happen. He’d been given a fresh start with Mary, and he was going to take it. Pretend as if whatever had happened between them in the past was just that…in the past.

He might never remember where they’d been, but he looked forward to seeing where they’d end up in the future.

Smiling, Truck shut his apartment door and wandered into the kitchen to make a late lunch/early dinner. He had time to get to know Mary before he had to go back to work, and that’s just what he was going to do. He’d spend the next couple of weeks going on dates with her. Talking. Getting to know her.

He’d either regain his memory or not. Either way, he wanted to have Mary at his side, as his girlfriend, when he went back to work.

Chapter Eleven

Mary stood in the doorway of the safety-deposit vault and warily watched the young man inspect it. She’d had her suspicions a couple weeks ago that something was going on at the bank, but now she was sure of it.

This was the tenth young man who’d come in asking about renting one of the boxes in the last two and a half weeks. They had all dressed in suits and ties, but they couldn’t cover up all of their tattoos. They were on their necks and the backs of their hands. Some even had a few on their faces.

She hadn’t seen the two men who had tried to hold up the bank a month or so ago. Last she knew, they were still in jail, pending a trial, but if she had to guess, she’d say that these men were in the same gang. She’d once again brought it up to her boss, Jennifer, who’d said that she didn’t think it was anything to worry about, but she’d look into it.

Mary didn’t believe her, but what could she do?

This young man was a bit more obvious in asking questions about the security of the vault and the boxes than the others had been. He also wanted to know who else had a key to the boxes and what would happen if he ever lost his key. She explained there were two keys needed to open each box. The bank had one and the owner of the box had the other. They had to be inserted at the same time and left in the box as it was removed. There were procedures in place if someone lost their key, but it took a couple days to make a new one.

It was impossible to open more than three boxes at once, because that was how many master keys the bank had on hand, but she didn’t tell the customer that though.

“What happens if there’s a fire?” the man asked. “Would my stuff be protected?”

“If you’re asking if the boxes are fireproof, they are,” Mary said as calmly as she could.

“Hmmm,” the man said. “And if me and my buddy wanted to get to our stuff at the same time, could we do that?”

“No. Only one patron is allowed in the vault at a time.”

“That’s stupid.”

Mary shrugged. “It’s company policy.”

“What if—”

“Mary!” Rebecca, one of the other tellers, yelled as she came down the hallway toward the vault.