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Annie and Trixie nodded in unison.
“I speak for my dick when I personally thank you for sharing your tips with Mallory.”
“Oh my go–sh,” Mallory said, slapping her hands over her face, as if that was going to make her disappear.
“I assume since you’re not in custody that the charges were dropped?”
“Yes,” I said into my fingers.
He nodded. “Good. We need to go. The plane is waiting for us to return to Hunter Valley.”
I dropped my hands and stared at Theo. Of course he took his plane to get here.
“You came to give me a ride back to Hunter Valley.”
He nodded.
That was the reason he was here. A ride. Maybe it was generosity, or chivalry. But it wasn’t concern. Or worry. He didn’tcareabout me, only that I got back safe. It was the doctor in him. Right?
“Plane?” Annie asked. “Mal, you hit the jackpot on the first pull.”
“I’m driving back,” I told Theo.
He shook his head as if I was crazy. No one turned down a private plane for a thirteen-hour car ride. “I have the plane.”
“Theplane,” Annie repeated, nudging Trixie.
“I have my car here. I can’t leave it here. I have to drive it back.” And I didn’t want to take anything else from him.
Theo considered something, then nodded. “Looks like it’ll be a road trip then.”
Um… what?
49
THEO
We werean hour outside of Vegas in a remote section of Nevada that looked like a sandbox. Dusty brown hills. Not a spec of water or greenery, except for small patches around popup motels or fast food restaurants clustered at the highway exits.
I stood in front of a clump of this greenery, squinting against the bright sun at a random palm tree. Mallory had made me pull into a truckstop so she could change out of the dress clothes she wore to court, to grab snacks and take a bathroom break. She was inside now choosing processed snacks loaded with salt and hydrogenated palm oil while I baked in the hot sun. I’d planned to be in Vegas long enough to grab Mallory. Back and forth from Montana in a few hours. I wasn’t even dressed right for the hot weather.
“You’ve never been on a road trip before, have you?”
I spun around at Mallory’s voice, took in the food she hugged against her body. Chips. Candy. Drinks. “That stuff is going to kill you.”
She glanced down at the stash, then back at me. She wore sunglasses, so her pale eyes were hidden. “Yeah, no road trip for you. Snacks are a requirement. How old are you? Forty?”
I gave her a steely look. “Thirty-six.”
She paused, studied me. “You seem much older.”
“Thirty-six,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Well, I can’t believe you made it this long without one.”
“I have a plane.”
“Right.” She reached out and handed me sunglasses I hadn’t noticed since her arms were so full. “Here.”
