Page 154 of Music City Diaries

“What’s those if not escape routes?” Bubba argued, pointing at something.

“They lead to dead ends,” Brooks said patiently.

“Shit.” Bubba frowned, squinting as he surveyed the area we’d hunkered down in. We’d been here for an hour already sweating our asses off. We needed to move before we became sitting ducks.

I scanned over the code again, repeating it in my head when something clicked. Bolting upright, I grabbed the map from Brooks and searched it until I spotted the area.

“Brooks, you’re a genius!” I grabbed his face and kissed him smack dab on the lips, making a big wet sound.

“Um, thanks?” he asked, staring at me dumbfounded.

“I know where the asset is. Let’s go. I got a girl to kiss.”

“Speaking of… that’s not a thing, right? I love you, Brother, but not like that.”

I waved him off. “You wish my lips were for you, but hate to break it to ya, they’re only for Darcie.”

“But… you… I…” Brooks stuttered. Clearly, my kiss was so powerful it had rendered him speechless.

“Ignore him. He gets touchy-feely at the thought of being reunited with his hair products,” Bubba teased, patting Brooks on the shoulder.

I flipped them both off over my shoulder and headed down the road. Their footsteps sounded behind me until they caught up, trusting me as they followed me to a diner. This was where I’d shine.

“Stay here,” I ordered, stepping into the AC and sighing happily. First, I visited the restroom and splashed water on my face. The cool water was a welcome relief on my flushed skin. After a quick wipe down of my pits and face, I wetted my hair and tousled it, praying it was enough. When I stepped into the diner portion, I bypassed the young girl batting her eyes at me, and headed straight for the older woman.

The girl pouted, but I knew who to charm to gather information, and it wasn’t her. She got attention from every male who entered this place, while the older lady was ignored and tolerated. Yet she’d be the one to have overheard any gossip. I guaranteed it.

I smiled and leaned against the counter. “Something tells me you’re more than a pretty face.”

The haggard lady sighed, stopping her task of wiping down menus, and graced me with a look so cold I could feel it in my bones. “Your charm won’t work on me, boy. Try that one.” She pointed vaguely in the direction of the younger girl.

“Nah. I’m not looking for a girl. My heart’s already owned by someone.”

That made her pause, and she eyed me closer. “What you want then?”

“Like I said, you strike me as the person in this town who knows everything. I’m sure there’s plenty you could teach meabout life and love, and one day, I’ll come back and let you fill my head with it over a piece of your best pie. Because let’s be frank,” I glanced at her nametag, “Margie, we both know you got a stellar one.” Her shoulders relaxed, and her eyes softened but her frown didn’t lessen. “I’m on a critical mission and need your help to succeed.”

She eyed me, taking in my features closer this time. “I’m listening.”

Smiling brightly, I gushed poor Margie’s ear off about Darcie and wanting to impress her dad, and the only way to do that was to locate a rare item dear to his heart. By the time I finished my tale of woe—including being stranded with no phone, money, or transportation—not only did I have Margie smiling and blushing, but I had an offer to borrow her husband’s truck if I could get it started.

“It just so happens I’m a mechanic. As payment for your kindness, I’ll fix it before I return it,” I said around a mouthful of pie. Oh, yeah. She’d also given me pie. And it was fucking amazing.

She patted my hand. “You’re a good boy. You’ll make your girl proud.”

“Thank you, Margie. I hope so. She’s the best.”

Once I finished a second piece—which I only felt marginally bad about—Margie showed me to the back. There was a box of lost and found and a donation box of clothes that had never made it to drop off. After finding the three of us different clothes and looks, I headed to the front, where Bubba and Brooks waited.

Whistling, I watched as they took me in. I’d donned a flannel shirt, a trucker hat, and the ugliest pair of cargo pants I’d ever seen, but they were clean.

“I don’t even want to know,” Bubba said.

“You’ll thank me later. Come on. I got us some wheels, but it needs some TLC, and I need more than one set of hands.”

The truck took a little more work than I’d anticipated, but Brooks and I managed to get it up and running. Margie had come out to meet my friends, offering them refreshments and their own piece of pie. I tried to act heartbroken about sharing the pie, but Margie swatted me off with a stern look that I was too afraid to challenge.

Bubba smirked the whole time he ate his pie and I had to keep myself from shoving it in his face. Only because it would be cruel to the pie to be wasted.

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