Page 14 of Cold Foot Komodo

“Sounds like he and your mom were pretty far in your head.”

“Yeah. None of this makes me want to get into a relationship again. That hurt. I don’t want another man to have the power to do that to my head.”

“That’s fair.”

“What about you? Did you have all the girls visiting you in prison? Did you have pen pals? Did you write dirty letters back and forth?” she teased.

Reed laughed and shoved the trash into the bag, then stood. “A man should get a woman when he can take care of a woman’s needs. I couldn’t do that from Cold Foot. No girls for me. Not since I went in.”

“But before you went in, you had lots of girls.”

He gave her a cocky grin as he helped her up. “I used to know how to talk to women.”

“I bet you were so smooth,” she said, dusting off her butt, because this carpet looked really gnarly.

“Maybe once upon a time. Then life happened.”

“I bet if we went to a bar in town, you would be able to pull at least one of the four single women in town, for sure, on account of…you know…the hotness.”

“Do you just build up people’s egos everywhere you go?”

“What? No. I mean…maybe. I just say the nice things I think. I don’t blow smoke though.”

“You think I’m hot then?”

She pursed her lips and got quiet as heat crept into her cheeks. “I mean, if I was one of the four single women in town and I saw you at the bar, I would be hoping you would buy me a drink. Not because I need a man to buy me a drink, mind you. I can buy my own drinks, but I would hope that you would offer because I’m pretty sure that’s how people flirt in bars. I saw it on TV.”

The smile faded from his lips, and Reed’s eyes sparked with the intensity of whatever he was thinking of saying next. But when he parted his lips to speak, his phone rang from his pocket.

“Shhit,” he muttered, and then answered the call as he walked into the hallway and toward the living room. “Yeah? Yep. Okay, we’ll head your way now. No, we’re at a good stopping point. Yep, see you in thirty.” Reed twisted around as he hung up and asked Sasha, “Are you ready? Wreck said they’re waiting on us. Your sister is getting antsy.”

“Oh, yeah.” She looked around the chaos of the living and kitchen area, cluttered with boxes and grocery bags. The clock on the microwave was blinking 0:00 because of the lost power, so she had to check her phone to see the time. 7:00 p.m.

“Would you mind if I follow you up there in my truck? That way you don’t have to give me a ride back tonight too late.”

“I don’t mind giving you a ride back. Maybe bring a change of clothes in case your sister insists you stay at her place though. Bad weather is supposed to hit around midnight. I can bring you back down in the morning if you want, on my way to work. I start at seven.”

She considered his offer. She didn’t even have bedding on the dingy mattress in the bedroom, and kind of wanted to get a new one before she put her new sheets on there. She could go shopping for that tomorrow, after he dropped her off.

“That works. I appreciate you, Mister Awesome.”

He shook his head and walked away, but not before she saw a glimpse of the smile on his face. She might be annoying, but a part of him found her amusing too, and that was a win with a quiet man like Reed.

Quick as she could, she pulled her toothbrush, a change of clothes, and pajamas from one of her giant suitcases, shoved it all into a backpack, then locked up the house. Outside, Reed was messing with the tire on her truck that had been leaking air today.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Patching your tire.”

“Of course you know how to patch a tire.” She grabbed her jacket out of the truck and locked it up just as he was finishing up, and hauling his supplies back to his pickup.

She didn’t know him very well, but she just knew the tire was fixed. She trusted him, even if it was too soon for that.

Today had been wild, but she felt like she had a partner in crime. A friend. A hot buddy that knew what he was doing and where he was going.

A guide, of sorts.

A guardian angel, perhaps.

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