Page 20 of Snow in Texas

“Nobody’s seen him anywhere,” Jinx said. He took a long drag on his smoke and leaned back against the couch cushions. “I checked at his old haunts, talked to his old girls, and he ain’t been seen or heard from.”

“Tiny miracles,” Candy said with a sigh. In his mind, the best way to keep Riley away from Jen was to keep track of the bastard, and since his release, that had been impossible.

“You still wanna head over to the Armadillo?”

Ah, the Armadillo. Good place to have an overpriced drink; good place to find a girl to sit in your lap. Good place to slide into a back booth and get information.

“Yeah. Lemme check in with Jen first.”

Jinx nodded and propped his boots on the coffee table, content to wait.

Jen had headed to the sanctuary almost an hour ago, and he found her in her room, with the door open, in her bathrobe, combing out her hair as she sat on the bed and watched a video on her laptop.

“Any boys allowed in here?” he asked from the doorway.

“Certain boys.” She set her brush aside and began separating her wet hair with her fingers, preparatory to braiding it. He’d never been close enough to any woman in his life to predict her little evening routines. He knew his sister’s; maybe that meant he wasn’t a total drifter. “What’s up?”

“I told Colin I’d take him to find a bike tomorrow morning.”

Her brows lifted. “Big step. Guess you’re not sending him back to the swamp?” It was hard to tell if there was hope or regret in her voice; either way, there was a spark of interest in her eyes that proved she wasn’t indifferent.

“Guess not,” Candy agreed. “He’s been doing a good job at Gabe’s? Watching out for you?”

She looked back at her computer. “Yeah.”

“No complaints?”

“None that would matter to you.”

He chuckled. “Do you like him?”

She didn’t answer.

“Jen,” he pressed.

“I don’t like anyone. You know that.”

“Right.” He pushed away from the jamb. “I’m heading out. Be back in a bit.”

“Okay.”

Just before he walked off, he said, “It’s a shame, though, you not liking anybody, ‘cause he sure as shit likes you.” With that happy bomb to keep her awake long into the night, he walked away with a laugh.

~*~

Colin

Colin woke before dawn, feeling stupid that he was too amped up to sleep, but unable to affect a change. His eyes had snapped open, the wordbikeechoing through his brain. He hadn’t felt this way since the Christmas he’d asked for a BB gun. He’d been eight; he’d gotten a .22 instead.

When the sky beyond the window began to gray, he rolled out of bed, dressed, and headed outside. By the time the sun was up, he’d washed all the club trucks and was thinking of starting in on the bikes, the sleeves of his hoodie wet to the elbow, boots powder coated in dirt.

“Damn, son,” Candy said when he walked out and found him. The VP was grinning broadly. “Don’t you make a pretty car wash girl?”

It was the sort of remark that, had they been on equal footing, would have drawn a “fuck you” in response. But Colin could only grind his teeth and say, “Morning.”

“Morning,” Candy returned. “Grab your purse, princess, we’re going shopping.”

~*~

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