Page 2 of No More Heartbreakers

When the late news crew arrived, Kenley was actually still conscious, having made an amazing comeback thanks to several glasses of water, a Coke Zero, and a large order of Rock Bottom’s Famous Cheesy Bacon Fries. Nothing like a little grease to coat the stomach.

The two late show reporters were there, along with Tony, one of our few full-time photogs, and Allison, the ten pm producer. Even the married nightside anchor team, Dan and Janet came by for a few minutes.

They told us the weather and sports guys were on their way. It was fun to see everyone together. Kenley jumped up, screaming with delight and passing out hugs as each person drifted in and pulled up a chair to our corner table.

Our gathering of local “celebrities” was drawing the notice of the other bar patrons. The staring turned up several notches when our sports director Dennis came in, his large, muscular frame weaving through the crowd.

He’d been a high school football hero in a nearby town and gone on to play college ball before getting into sports casting. That was the equivalent of a full knighthood here in Georgia.

“Dennis!”

As he made his way to our corner, several men stood up to greet him and do a buddy-hug or back slap. He finally reached us and leaned over to hug Kenley.

That’s when I saw the guy standing behind him.

Everything stopped, as if someone had hit a giant pause button. No synthetic nineties boy band blaring, no friends’ voices, no loud male banter from the surrounding tables. No air left in the room.

I knew him.

Well, I didn’tknow himknow him. But I recognized him. I’d seen his ridiculously beautiful face on a TV screen in my boss’s office only a few hours ago.

And I was almost a hundred percent certain he wasalsothe jackass who’d nearly killed me earlier that day.

TWO

The Jackass

Earlier that day

My grandma used to say, “Fear is a lot like a Mississippi mosquito. It likes to sneak up on you and take a bite when you’re not looking. It starts out small but grows fatter the more you let it eat at you. And, given the opportunity, it’ll drain you dry.”

I slapped at the little sucker who’d landed on my arm, satisfied to have gotten him before he got me. Wiping the sheen of sweat from my top lip, I focused on the camera.

Okay, let’s try this again.

“Three, two, one… Officials say the amount of pesticide sprayed from the trucks is not harmful to children or pets, but it’s a good idea to keep direct exposure to a minimum, so little ones should not be allowed to follow the trucks during the spraying process tomorrow. In Peachtree Valley, I’m Heidi Haynes, WPVG News. Shhhh—ugar! Sugar, sugar, sugar.”

I stomped and spun around, tossing my notepad up in the air. I’d almost gotten through my whole script that time before a gust of wind rocked the camera and shook the lens.

For almost an hour now I’d been attempting to shoot my on-camera tag-out for tonight’s package on mosquito control.

First there had been a sudden cloudburst that send me running for the news car. Now it was the wind. The only thing worse than a ninety-nine-degree summer day in East Georgia was a ninety-nine-degree summer day with pop-up showers and high winds.

Marching forward, I readjusted the camera then stepped back in front of it, making sure my foot was on the curling strip of hickory bark I’d used to mark my spot.

The wind had plastered a section of hair to my damp cheek, and I peeled it away before beginning again.

“Three, two, one—”

A ringtone blared from my purse, which was sitting near my feet.

Dang it.I was never going to get this thing done.

I bent over and dug out my phone to silence it, glancing at the screen in the process. Mom.Great. If I didn’t answer, she’d only call back.

“Hi Mom. What’s up?”

“Hi baby. Are you okay? You sound flustered.”

---