Page 35 of His Road Dog

Chapter 13

Nicole

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ANOTHER KNOCK ECHOEDin the motel room. Nicole washed her hands and hurried out of the bathroom. Kristi wouldn't visit her without calling first unless it was an emergency.

She looked out the single window. A groan escaped her lips at the same time adrenaline zinged through her.

Priest stood outside, scowling.

It was an inconvenient time to see her.

He knocked again. She inhaled deeply and unlocked the door.

Priest came inside before she could even ask what he needed. She looked away from him, knowing she looked hideous.

"What's that shit all over your face?" He eyed her, putting a fast-food sack on the two-person table in the room.

"Um." She pressed her thighs together, only wearing a T-shirt after her shower so that she wouldn't get any of the facial concoction on her. Naked from the waist down, she realized it wasn't a good way to be around Priest. "It's egg whites, oatmeal, and honey."

He cocked his head. "Why would you put that on your face?"

"It's good for my skin. Any day, wrinkles could show up and putting this on my face once a week until it dries makes it so that day isn't tomorrow." She walked over to the table. "Why are you here?"

"I brought over dinner." He soaked her in, the corner of his mouth lifted, shifting his beard. "Go wash your face and then eat with me."

"Is that fries I smell?" She eyed the bag.

"Yeah." He took out a stack of napkins from the sack. "Big Macs, too."

She walked into the bathroom, leaving the door open. "I'll just be a minute."

Washing the half-hardened homemade concoction off her face, she patted her face dry. She took off the towel, unwinding her wet hair. It was impossible to brush the curls while wet, so she finger-combed the strands.

She left the bathroom, catching Priest eyeing her lower half. Making a detour from the table, she went to the dresser and slipped on a pair of cutoffs, skipping her panties. She'd almost stopped at McDonald's on the way back from the post office to mail a letter to her parents but had decided it was smarter to save the money she would've spent.

She sat down at the table. Priest slid the food in front of her. A smile filled her, but she wouldn't let it show.

She held up the burger and inhaled deeply. "You know what I did for my twenty-first birthday?"

He grunted.

"Instead of going into a bar and ordering a drink, I bought a Big Mac through the drive-thru and ruined a lifetime of veganism." She took a bite, closed her eyes, and thoroughly enjoyed the burger. God, that tasted so good.

"Rebel," he muttered.

She opened her eyes. "That was nice of you to bring food. Thanks."

He finished chewing. "You drive?"

With a French fry halfway to her mouth, she frowned. "Of course, I do. What brought that up?"

"You said you went through the drive-thru."

"Oh." She popped the fry in her mouth. "I do drive. I just don't have a car right now. About a month after I arrived in Missoula, the engine blew—I wasn't surprised. It was a piece of junk, really."

"Where's the car now?" He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "We have a few mechanics within Tarkio who could drop a new engine in with no problem."

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