Page 8 of Pucks, Lies, and Sticktape

Please don’t wreck it…

Please be careful…

“What’s your name?” Matthieu began and saw her look at him nervously. “I’m not going to hurt you, but I do want to have a conversation. Are you hungry? I’m starving. Where is some place you like to eat – my treat.”

“McDonald's has a…”

“No,” he chuckled. “I would kill for a burger right now, but…” and saw her flinch. “Oh. Um, bad choice of words. I’m sorry. I’m just starving right now and after the morning I’ve had – I want the biggest, nastiest, meatiest…”

“Meatiest?” she interrupted, laughing tearfully. “Is that a word?”

“I want the meatiest and cheesiestrealburger in the universe,” he chuckled, looking at her carefully with a watchful eye. “Do you know someplace good?”

“Harry’s,” she admitted slowly and looked at him. “The burgers are like eighteen bucks, but they are worth it. I can make one last for two meals and…”

“It’s my treat,” he replied again. “Let’s eat and talk.”

She nodded, pushed up her glasses, and glanced at him.

“I’m Jeannie.”

“Matthieu,” he said simply, watching her carefully. There was nothing extraordinary about her with that white T-shirt, blue jeans, and cropped hair, but when you put it all together, she was pretty in a plain, sedate sort of way.

“And you’re sure about Harry’s Burgers?”

“Yup – and I hope they have onion rings.”

“Oh my gosh,” Jeannie sighed, rolling her eyes. “Do they ever…”

“Then yes – let’s go.”

3

JEANNIE

Okay,if I win the lottery, I’m officially buying one of these cars, Jeannie thought solemnly of the luxury vehicle. It had been three years since she’d driven anything, but this car made it feel like a breeze. It would pull her back in the lane, if she didn’t brake fast enough, it made the adjustments for her, and there was obviously a massage setting on the seat because her lower back was getting rubbed by rollers under the leather.

As she pulled into the parking lot for Harry’s, she parked as far away from the building and other cars as possible. She was afraid to damage the car or look like a fool in front of the guy who’d saved her from Jim’s pawing. Not to mention, she was intimidated because just looking at him, she saw anger and frustration, like some avenging angel disappointed he was having to deal with such a situation beneath him – and that was not a good feeling deep in her soul.

“Come on,” he said simply.

“I think I should go…” she replied, feeling extremely nervous and wary. Sure, his mother had covered for him, but wasn’t that what a parent should do? Maybe notherparents, butmostparents would or should protect their child and… “Who isFeller?” she blurted out at his back as he was getting out of the car.

He turned, looking at her over his shoulder, and hesitated.

“How do you know about that?” he asked quietly and then sighed. “My mom?”

“Yes.”

“Feller… I’ll tell you over lunch.”

“Tell me now because I don’t know if I’m going in there or not,” Jeannie said, remaining in the driver’s seat and unsure how far she could push the situation. She didn’t know this man and had only seen one side to him. she needed more info before she could make a decision to run – or to trust him as he’d requested.

He sighed, turning slightly in his seat, and looked back at her.

“Feller was a dog,” he said quietly watching her. “My dog, a yellow mutt I found when I was twelve years old. He was just a puppy and had gotten entangled in some wire,” he paused, swallowing, and then smiled to himself almost like he was lost in the memory. “I was so scared to leave him, so upset, so I sat there and untangled that wire from his legs… and I don’t know how long it took, but I carried him home.”

He closed his eyes, resting it against the headrest as she stared at his profile, listening.

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