Page 3 of Driven Daddy

“Keeping it a secret?” I asked with a grin.

“Are you moving to the area, ma’—”

“Call mema’amagain, and you’re going to hurt my feelings.”

His cheeks colored slightly, and I couldn’t resist a larger smile. Was this how small-town men were built or was he an outlier?

I wasn’t sure what had gotten into me. I was a step away from flirting with this wall of gorgeous.

My gaze tripped down to his hand at his side and noticed a ring. Typical.

The thought of a fun little fling while I was in town had its merits. Hell, a flirtation felt beyond my scope at this point. I’d been a near shut-in for months now, and the rarified air of this small town had activated my libido. I was used to the smog and exhaust from Times Square when I actually left my apartment.

“Miss?”

“Rita Savage. I’m going to be in town for a few months staying at a cottage on Vista Way.” I waggled my phone. “GPS picks up nada on this thing. It’s practically a brick.”

I had blurted all my business to a near stranger. Also not like me.

“Ahh, Judy and Kelly’s place. You’re close, actually. Just follow Lakeview Road around for about two miles give or take. You’ll see a massive orange oak tree and the turn is just past that.”

I sagged in relief. So, I wasn’t completely lost. “Thanks, Officer…”

“Masterson.” He gave me a little salute with two fingers. “Welcome to Crescent Cove, Miss Savage.” He headed back to his cruiser with Crescent Cove Police Department splashed across the side. He paused before he opened his door. “Depending on how long you’re sticking around, the secret is AT&T.”

I laughed. “Good to know.”

“Tell Judy Christian says hello. And to keep Bruce on his leash.”

“Husband?”

He laughed. “You’ll see.”

I frowned and let out a huffing laugh. “I guess I will.”

He got in his cruiser and pulled away. Even used his blinker. I filed that away in the card catalog that was my brain. Seeingsmall town things firsthand might be just what I needed to get words to actually start flowing again.

I’d never been in such a drought. Even during a bout of burnout, it had only been a few months. Over nine months felt like a lifetime.

I climbed back into Betty and carefully backed down to the road. The new Sabrina Carpenter album was my soundtrack, thanks to my downloaded Spotify playlists.

It was well after three, and the sun was already getting low in the sky. Now that I wasn’t panicking about where the heck I was, I took in the startling foliage around the lake.

Bright yellows, fiery reds, and burning oranges dotted both sides of the two-lane road. Across from the lake were a number of developments with cookie cutter houses, which probably included two kids and a dog in most of the homes.

But each house had a yard—and not a small one from what I could see from my vantage point. So very different from Manhattan. The only grass we had were anemic patches around trees in the cement walkways or sports fields.

Central Park wasn’t exactly one of my go-to places.

Hell, I didn’t really get around much on the day-to-day. I traveled for research with… Nope.

I shook my head firmly. I wasn’t going to think about all the research trips I took with my ex-best friend.

I was here to forget about all that.

To find out who Rita Savage was without Jenelle Matthews.

I glanced down at my dash to see I’d only gone a mile. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to see a bigger orange tree than the seventeen I’d just passed.

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