Page 10 of Long Hard Road

“Go ahead.” Madison stepped back just enough for me to squeeze past her, but I misjudged the amount of space and accidentally brushed her chest with my arm. Even with layers of fabric between us, I could feel the swell of her breasts shift against my bicep.

“Sorry,” I muttered as a tightness pulled low in my belly.

She took another step back. “It’s okay.”

Maybe our accidental touch was okay, but my visceral reaction to it was not. The interior of Madison’s car smelled like the ocean breeze and I looked around for an air freshener but didn’t find one. The noise was muffled inside the car, so it wasn’t coming from the mechanics in the dashboard.

“That’s weird.” I turned off the car and the noise stopped. Then I turned the car back on and got out, letting my ears lead me around to the back of the car. The noise sounded like it was coming from the muffler, but it wasn’t a normal muffler noise. “Can you turn it off again?” I asked.

Madison hurried to do as I asked while I crouched on the ground next to the rear tire. “I think your muffler might be loose,” I said, eyeing the snow-covered asphalt. “I need to get under there to take a look.”

“You can’t get on the ground. It’s wet and dirty.”

“Wet and dirty, huh? Just the way I like it,” I joked.

“At least you didn’t add quick to that list.” Madison looked a little startled by her own joke and that only made me laugh harder.

“Never.” I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. “Lou’s is right there. I’ll drive it over and take a look at it. Why don’t you go to Amelia’s and grab something warm to drink while you wait? I’ll bring you the keys when I’m done.”

Madison looked stricken. “Oh no. I can’t let you do that, Nate. This isn’t your problem.”

“It’s not a problem. I used to work at Lou’s. He’ll be glad to lend me a service bay for a few minutes. Your fancy car is in good hands, angel.” I couldn’t resist slipping in that term of endearment since I knew it would make her cheeks turn pink. “If you want to pay me back, I’ll take a hot coffee when I’m done. Deal?”

That earned me a smile. “Deal.”

4

MADISON

Iwas already feeling like a regular at Amelia’s when she knew my order before I could say anything. I asked her to add a second hot coffee to the order and then took everything to the table by the front window.

While I waited for Nate, I dared to check my phone. I stared blankly at over thirty texts that I hadn’t read and a dozen voicemails I’d been ignoring. Most of them were from my mother. Holly Moore was nothing if not persistent. My successful career was proof enough of that.

I read through the texts as quickly as possible just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything important. Everyone texting me always declared that their requests were urgent, but that wasn’t the same as them being important. That had been a difficult lesson for me to learn. People had been placing a lot of responsibility on my shoulders since I was a child. I used to think I had to do everything people asked me to do, but I didn’t feel that way anymore.

Before leaving my car with Nate, I’d grabbed one of my new books to read while I waited for him. Harper’s bookstore had been wonderful. It had every possible genre and such a variety. As a kid, I’d devoured books in the town library. It was just down the street from my childhood home, so I was able to walk there while my parents were at work. The librarians had always set aside books that they thought I would like.

I hadn’t had a lot of time for reading in recent years. Once my career took off, that had consumed most of my waking hours. It was nice to return to my roots, to the words on the page in front of me. I loved getting lost in someone’s fictional drama while blocking out my own very real problems.

“What are you reading?” When Nate dropped into the chair across from mine, I jumped. “Let me guess… a romance?”

“Horror.” I looked up.

“Kind of the same thing in my experience.” His gray eyes actually twinkled and a dimple appeared. “I haven’t met a lot of girls who read horror.”

“I read all genres, but I kind of like being scared. I like scary movies, too.”

Nate grimaced. “We are not the same in that regard. Life is scary enough. I don’t need to turn my fears into entertainment.” It sounded like he was only partially kidding.

“How’s my car?”

“Good news and bad news. The good news is that there is nothing wrong with your car.” He reached for his coffee and took a long sip, creating a dramatic effect. “The bad news is a little more complicated.”

“Just tell me.”

“Is there any reason that someone might have put a tracking device on your car?” He slipped a hand into his front pocket and when he pulled it out, he was holding a small square piece of plastic. “This was taped under your car. Part of the tape had come loose and when the car was turned on, the vibrations caused this to tap against your muffler.”

“A tracking device?” I held out my hand.

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