Page 74 of The Morning After (Savannah 2)

“When and where?”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Johnny B’s Low Country Barbecue on I-80. It’s about a mile, maybe less, before you reach the bridge to Tybee Island. You know where it is?” In case she didn’t, he gave her the address.

“I’ll find it,” she said, writing down the name of the place on a scratch pad. “Seven-thirty.” She clicked off, felt a sense of elation and started to place the phone in her purse when she felt something. A change in the atmosphere, a cooler breath of air. Glancing over her shoulder she found Kevin, barely six inches from her. “Geez!” She jumped, knocking over the rest of her soda. “What is it with you always sneaking up on people?” She looked down at his crepe-soled shoes as she righted the can and dabbed at the spilled puddle of Diet Coke with a tissue she found in her purse.

“You were on the phone. I didn’t want to bother you.” For a second he looked wounded. But a second later, she saw a shaft of defiance in his eyes before his bland expression slipped into place. She’d always thought he was doped out, on something to keep him a little off; now, she wasn’t so sure.

“It’s all right. Let’s go upstairs. On the way, you can tell me about the computer.” Tossing the wet Kleenex into a wastebasket, she started for the steps. She didn’t want to be trapped down here with the weird guy a second longer than necessary.

“It’s working again.” Which was all she wanted to hear, but, of course, Kevin didn’t give up, began talking techno-speak all the way up the stairs to the newsroom floor. She couldn’t shake him as he followed her to her desk, then spent the next twenty minutes telling her in minute detail what he’d done to fix the damned thing. She wasn’t interested, but made a mental note to learn more about the machines so she didn’t have to depend on him. Maybe a class, or a copy of some basic manual like the Idiot’s Guide To All Things Tech-inc.

“Thanks, Kevin,” she said as he finally ambled off. He flashed her a smile that seemed boyish rather than diabolical and she called herself a fool for letting her imagination get away from her when it came to Tom Fink’s nephew.

Trina looked over the top of her cubicle. “Never leave me alone with that guy again.”

“You weren’t.” Nikki scanned the rest of the newsroom where reporters were plugged into their stations.

“He’s off, Nikki. All the while you were gone he was humming and singing to himself, oddball lyrics that didn’t make any sense. Kinda like kids’ poetry. I kept thinking he was talking to me.” She shuddered. “If you ask me, he’s more than a couple of cans shy of a six-pack.”

“I know, but he fixed my computer, that’s all I care about.”

“Well, next time don’t run and hide.”

Nikki flashed a smile. “Hey, Norm was at his desk. If Kevin put the moves on you or started acting strange, you could always rely on Metzger.”

“Oh, God, this place is a looney bin.” Trina’s eyes suddenly widened.

“Uh-oh, looks like you’ve got company.”

“What do you mean?” But she turned in her chair and spied Sean Hawke, all six feet two inches of him, standing at the front desk, leaning close to Celeste, while the flustered receptionist pointed toward Nikki’s desk. Sean caught Nikki’s eye and started walking toward her station. The years hadn’t hurt him. He was still fit and handsome, his hair still brushing the collar of a leather jacket, a goatee decorating his chin. Though he was inside and it was December, he was wearing tinted glasses that, she suspected, were more for effect than vision. The rest of his outfit included khakis, a tight sweater, black boots and a killer smile.

“Oh, my,” Trina said, and from the corner of her eye Nikki saw her friend pretend to fan herself. “That boy’s hot.”

“That boy’s trouble,” Nikki said under her breath, then stood as Sean reached her.

“I figured I’d find you here.”

“So, now you’re a detective.”

“And you’re still as sassy as ever.” He swung one leg over the top of her desk, pulling his jeans tight in his crotch, then grabbed a paperweight on her desk and began tossing it and catching it. That’s always the way he’d been, a bundle of nerves wrapped up in a sexy, masculine skin.

Nikki introduced Sean to Trina, who nearly melted at the sight of him. Just as Nikki had years before.

“You haven’t been returning my calls.”

“Sorry—no, that’s a lie. I’m not. I’ve been busy, Sean.”

“Too busy for an old friend.”

“One who dumped me twelve years ago.”

“Ouch.” He visibly winced. “My mistake.”

“Maybe not. It all worked out for the best.”

“Did it?” He looked up at her intensely with eyes that shifted in color. Years before, her heart had thumped wildly under his scrutinizing stare. Now, it bothered her in a different way. Once she’d found him sexy, now she found him troubling.

“What is it you want from me?”

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