Page 105 of David's Proposal

“I will. Leave me alone,” I mutter under my breath, making sure no one is outside hearing me talking to myself.

There’s no one here.

The few rooms that seem occupied have dimly lit windows and drapes pulled closed to block the view inside, and they are quiet.

I walk to my left and check the cars first. Maybe I can get a clue there.

Nope.

None of the cars suggest David might be the owner. I’m not saying he couldn’t use an inconspicuous car.

It’s just that I don’t think any of them belong to him.

Someone must be at the front desk, so I swivel around and make a beeline for the entrance.

My eyes fall to the‘We accept credit cards’sign, and an idea pops into my head.

The door creaks open before I push through.

A small space with a worn armchair, a low coffee table, and a front desk enters my view.

A small lamp sits on the desk. There’s no one behind the counter, only a radio playing in the back.

As I move closer, I notice a cracked door and a well-lit room behind it. I inch closer, trying not to make much noise, and peer inside.

I see no one, although someone’s silhouette casts a shadow across the floor.

“Hello. Is anyone in there?”

“I’ll be right with you,” a woman says, and I go back and wait by the desk.

A few moments pass, and a woman in her sixties wearing black pants and a red sweater looks at me from above the rim of her low sitting reading glasses.

“How may I help you?”

I figure I don’t look like a casual traveler, so I don’t know where to start, and I don’t want to make this moment even weirder than it is.

“Do you have any rooms available?”

“Rooms?”

“I’d like a room for the night,” I say.

“Sure.”

Blood rushes to my cheeks.

“With a big bed,” I say.

Even if I spent the night alone––you never know––I’d like to sleep well.

It’s been a long twenty–four hours.

“Big it is.”

‘She’s going to ask you for an ID,’the voice mumbles in my head, and I stiffen.

Nothing of that sort happens.

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