Page 74 of Untouchable

Me

Sounds good. Glad you guys made it back alright. Took you long enough to check in.

Bodine

Aw, you love us.

Mikey

Shhh. You’ll scare him off. He’s like a squirrel with his emotions.

Bodine

Would rather throw himself into oncoming traffic than catch them?

Mikey

I meant skittish, but that may not be too far off.

Me

You both are idiots.

Bodine

We love you too.

Katarina shuffles down the stairs and when I look up to see her, she’s wearing one ofmyAce Automotive T-shirts and is running her fingers through her wild hair.

“Good morning, Katarina. Did you sleep well?”

“I sleptverywell, thank you.” She smiles when she stops in front of me, her lips begging to be kissed. I lean down and press my lips to hers, holding her hips to pull her closer. “You’re up early.”

“Yes, well. Bodine and Mikey finally decided to check in. They got back to Nashville this morning. They said Tabitha really is okay and that she’s going to stay with them for a bit. They’re supposed to go with her to get some of her things fromy’all’s place tonight when she gets off work.” She visibly relaxes when she exhales and a soft, but genuine smile spreads across her face.

“Good. That makes me feel a lot better. I wonder if the police have any idea who did it yet.” She chews on the inside of her cheek as she thinks. “I know some of our neighbors have doorbell cameras, I just hope they think to ask them. Maybe I should text Tabs and see if she’s thought about it.”

“You do that, then get dressed. We’re hitting the road early today.” I kiss her temple and she grins.

“Are we Wyoming bound?” she asks excitedly.

“We’re Wyoming bound.” She squeals and claps her hands a couple of times then rushes to the stairs.

“I am so excited. I need to make sure I have a clear SD card and batteries charged because I’m going to photographeverything.”

I can’t wait.

We’ve been on the road for a couple of hours when Katarina taps my arm and points at an antique shop. I pull off and she looks around in awe.

“I hate that we don’t have more storage space on the bike because Iloveantiquing.”

Of course, she does.

We walk into the store that smells like old books, historical armchairs, and mothballs, and Katarina looks like a kid in a candy shop.

“Wow. Look at this.” She points to an armoire, opening the doors carefully as she runs her fingers carefully over every knob. We walk through the store as she points out everything she’dtake home if she had the capability—which is an absurd amount of items—until she stops at a glass case upfront. I walk up beside her as she silently stares at the vintage Polaroid camera.

“I can’t believe it. It looks brand new. Like it’s never even been used. What a crime,” she muses.

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