AllFreeNovel
Share Us
****
Loaded with a sleeping bag, pillow, and knapsack, Janie kissed her mother and hopped into Anne Mills’ minivan.
“Have fun tonight,” Anne shouted from her window. She winked and blew exaggerated kisses, then drove away.
Charged with energy, Jenna rushed through the house picking up whatever items were strewn about—junk mail on the kitchen island, laundry yet to be folded, and hoodies draped over the newel post on the stairs. Chills nipped her skin and a buzzy sensation trailed from her throat to her stomach. She poured herself a glass of wine and went up to bathe. Goblet in hand, she sank into a froth of bubbles, the heady essence of vanilla settling her nerves.
Hopefully the night would tell her what she needed to know. Her heart insisted Eric was the same man she had loved, but hearts were too often misleading. They enticed, and lied, and swept away reason. Hearts told you what you already wanted to hear.
Jenna stepped from the tub calm enough to grapple with the buttons on the blouse she’d picked out. She applied makeup, smearing and blending to make the cosmetics look like the result of nature. A little less gloss, she decided as she blotted her lips. Nature only made themthatwet in the rain. She fluffed and flattened her hair and changed her outfit three times.
“What are you doing?” she said into the mirror. “He isn’t the captain of the football team, and you aren’t sixteen.” She took a deep breath. “That’s better.” Then the doorbell rang and she felt an urgent need to pee.
Eric was there on the porch. He was wearing jeans with knife sharp creases, a shirt starched into an origami project, and topsiders. He shrugged. “Ina ironed me.”
Jenna burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. I’ve just never seen you look so…so—”
“Much like the big nerd on campus. Keep laughing. There’s a corduroy blazer in my truck that belonged to her husband. I’ll put it on if you don’t stop.”
Jenna continued to giggle, and Eric winked. “You said we had to go somewhere low-key or I would have worn a suit.”
She brought a finger to her bottom lip. “Nah, jeans are a better look for you.”
He dipped his head and made a slow journey from her feet to her face. The ardent appraisal stopped at her eyes, but the heat of his stare pushed past the simplicity of flesh and bone. Jenna felt his gaze meander deep and intimate.
****
A static interrupted voice bleat through the police radio at Willy Park’s house. “That pickup you wanted is parked on Redbud Road.”
“Damn it,” Willy swore under his breath before pressing the button to answer. A two-inch thick sirloin sizzled on the barbecue, and a vat of potato salad sat on the patio table. He ground his words into the mike. “You were supposed to radio me when he first left Mrs. Cummings, not after he already made it through town.”
“Sorry, Chief, but I got a call…kids loitering in the park.”
Five pale ales were already slogging behind Willy’s “Kiss the Chef” apron. He snapped at his officer. “Kids are always loitering in the damned park. I wanted you to stop him.”
“Should I pull him over and hold him for you now?”
Willy belched into his hand and flipped his steak hard against the grill’s grate. Hot fat sprayed his arm. “Shit!”
“Should I keep tailing him?”
“No. Just do your fucking job, next time.”
****
Eric pulled into what was more of a field than a parking lot. His truck’s thick tires crunched over gravel as he pulled between another pick-up and a grassy shoulder. Neon beer signs lit the area blue and orange.
“The place isn’t very fancy, but they have great wings, and it’s dark inside. I ate here my first night in Cromline.”
Jenna’s expression held a look of unease. “Did anyone recognize you?”
“Just the barmaid. I called and promised her a hundred bucks for a private table in a dark corner. She guaranteed no one will bother us.”
“That’s a pretty big tip.”
“I used to work for tips. Remember?”
“Of course I do.” Jenna’s voice dropped and she lowered her head, her sight at her twined fingers. “What’s it like for you?”
