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“This was truly delightful,” Kayla said, finishing up her dinner.
“Being with you, it sure has been.” He was so glad they had been able to get away for the evening. He finished eating the last of his steak and paid the bill.
“Do you want to come home with me tonight?” he asked.
She sighed.
He knew that was a no. He sighed. She smiled, and they stood up, clasping hands. She kissed him before they left the restaurant, then they headed out.
“I don’t want to be with anyone else, you know,” she said. “I just have so much on my plate. I’m in charge of a wedding reception coming up and also a fiftieth wedding anniversary party for a couple.”
“Yeah. I know.” Which was why he wanted to propose to her right after her birthday celebration at the cabin, as long as she’d come with him there. They would have an uninterrupted week of fun. He wanted to mate her and be with her every night, no matter how busy their days were. He wanted to be there with her, for her so she could tell him all about her rough day and he’d help her to chill out, just as he knew she would be there for him during rough times.
“You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Nate. Truly. Don’t give up on me.”
“There’s no chance of that, honey.” He kissed her and then hugged her close. “Being with you has been life-changing.”
“For me too. We’ll be there soon for sure.”
“We will be.”
They left the restaurant, ready to head home. He removed his jacket and was putting it in the backseat when he heard gunfire down the street and breaking glass. What the hell?
He grabbed Kayla and got down between the cars for protection, holding her tight.
“Gunfire,” she whispered as if whoever was shooting might hear her words and would come for them next if she didn’t speak quietly.
“Yeah, at a business a couple of blocks down the street.” As a retired Army Ranger, he knew just what gunfire sounded like. And of course with their wolf’s hearing, he could place where it was coming from. “Come on, let’s go. I want to get you out of here.” He didn’t hear anyone headed their way that could be trouble. He got her car door, and she climbed in, and he shut the door. Then he hurried to climb into the car, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street.
“I bet you want to check it out, being a private investigator.” Kayla glanced behind her.
“No. I don’t want to run into someone who’s shooting up a store. And certainly not when I worry about your safety.”
They were just getting ready to turn onto the highway that would take them back to Silver Town when he saw a black pickup truck racing up behind them like it was going to run right over them. Nate didn’t have anywhere to pull off, and he wasn’t about to tear off at reckless speeds through town to avoid getting rear-ended.
A car was approaching them from the opposite direction, and that’s when the jerk behind him tried to pass them.
“What’s wrong with him?” Kayla asked, seeing the truck approaching in the sideview mirror. “He’s passing.”
“Yeah. I don’t have anywhere to go, and he’s not going to make it before the other car gets here.” Nate slowed way down so the truck could safely pass them.
The racing truck pulled around them, but he wasn’t going to have enough time to pass them before colliding with the oncoming vehicle. The truck was going, hell or high water. Nate slammed on his brakes. To avoid being rear-ended, he hadn’t done that earlier, but now he was trying to give the pickup time to get around them.
As if the driver was experiencing road rage, the truck cut Nate off, nearly hitting his front bumper. Nate swerved to avoid getting hit, and his tire struck the curb so hard it exploded. Instinctively, he threw his arm across Kayla to protect her from hitting the dash, even though she was seat-belted in and the seat belt caught her.
“Ohmigod!” she cried out, sounding a little rattled.
The oncoming car managed to move over enough that he avoided getting struck by the racing truck, thank God. The truck continued on its way, tearing down the road.
“Our tire just blew. No one was shooting at us.” Which had concerned him at first when he heard the tire blow. He turned off the engine and pulled her into a hug. “Are you okay?” He’d worried more than anything about Kayla getting hurt if the truck bashed into them.
“Yeah, you?” Kayla embraced him hard.
“Yeah. I’ve got to change the tire. Be back in a minute and we’ll get on our way.”
“Bastards,” Kayla said, getting out of the car at the same time he did.
He unbuttoned his shirt, and she smiled appreciatively as he bared his chest. He smiled and flexed his muscles a little. He shouldn’t have, considering the situation they were in, but she chuckled, and it seemed to lighten the mood.
