Page 22 of Shine On Oklahoma

“You ever gonna tell me the story behind yoursweet ride?”

“You won’t believe me.”

“Try me,” he said.

She sighed. “It’s the first thing I boughtwith my honestly earned-money.”

He frowned at her, because she was completelysincere. Not a sign of the mask other people couldn’t see through.And she sounded proud.

“Told you you wouldn’t believe me.”

“I…I kind of do.”

“It’s true. You play your cards right, Imight even let you drive it.”

“We can take it up on the back roads. There’sa spot up there makes a nice dirt track, if you ever want to burnoff some steam.”

“Yeah? You do that? Race around a dirt trackto burn off steam?”

“Better than drinking,” he said.

She smiled and it felt easy between them,somehow. “You heading home, too?” she asked, and then before hecould answer, “Where is home, anyway? I just realized, I don’t evenknow where you live.”

“I’m renting a trailer about a milethat-a-way,” he said, nodding in the general direction. “Nothingfancy. I’ve been kind of drifting here. Not sure where I was goingor what I wanted to do with my life.”

“And now?” she asked.

“Now, I know exactly what I want.” He lookedat her and smiled. “A goodnight kiss. You amenable?” He turnedtoward her, leaned down, expecting her to lean up.

Instead, she opened the car door and slidinside, started it, and drove away. Her window lowered and she gavea sassy finger wave back at him.

He stood there until her taillights vanishedin the distance.

#

When Kendra pulled into The Long Branch, theparking lot was packed. Yellow light and country music spilled outof the place like honey dripping from a beehive. She drove aroundback, where the owners and tenants parked. But she didn’t go up theoutside stairs to her room. Instead, she walked around to thefront, moseyed on through the batwing doors, paused and took a lookaround. Last night she’d listened to the success of this place.Tonight, she was going to see it firsthand.

Cowboys, locals, she’d bet, in their finestauthentic western wear, out to score a few tourist honeys, andthere were tourist honeys by the carload.

She crossed to the bar. A smiling blonde shedidn’t know was behind it, and brought her a whiskey almost asquick as she’d asked for one. Kendra slammed it, and tapped herfinger on the glass.

The waitress brought her another. “You okay?”she asked as she set the shot glass down.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

Her phone buzzed. She downed the second shot,and the bar chick held up the bottle and her eyebrows. Kendra heldup a forefinger for “just one more” and pulled her phone out of herjeans. She knew that number, glowing on the screen. It was the samenumber the bastard holding her father had called from before.Seeing it made her stomach clench. She tapped the green button,brought the phone to her ear. “Give me a minute to getprivate.”

She picked up the refilled glass, and said,“Can I take this one to my room?”

“Sure can,” the waitress replied.

So Kendra took the third whiskey toward thedining room and up those elegant, carpeted stairs that fanned outat the bottom. It was a damn pretty place.

Once back in her room, she figured less thanthe requested minute had passed. She sat on the bed, put the glasson the nightstand, and heeled off her shoes. It had been a longfreaking day. She was exhausted.

Twisting her mouth in distaste, she picked upher phone again. “Okay, I can talk now.”

“It’s about time. I want a statusreport.”

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