by Kadie Scott
Sneaking by without disturbing him, she returned to her sisters still at the table and dug her wallet out and slapped a couple bills on the table. “My turn.”
“We’ll come with you,” Lexi said.
Together, they wrapped up in their winter coats and headed toward the exit. Beth didn’t bother glancing over at Autry again, though she was still stupidly aware of the fact he was back at his stool at the bar. He’d probably already moved on to another girl, and his life was none of her business anyway. Besides, she had Dylan to contend with tomorrow. Twelve years old and bright as a newly polished tack, he was also struggling with school and a temper on a hair trigger most likely due to his life in foster care bouncing from one household to another.
If I could only help him. Beth had attempted several things—inviting him to join a club she sponsored, trying to talk him into one of the other clubs, suggesting he join the PALs program—but to no avail. The kid remained closed off and resentful. What he needed was a solid male role model. At least, that was her latest brainwave.
Out in the parking lot, Beth did her best to not stumble as she struggled to find purchase in the graveled lot while in heels. All the while, she fished around in her purse as she walked, Lexi and Juliet at either side. She was only half paying attention to Lexi’s chatter, her mind focused instead on Dylan. That and what she had next on her never ending to-do list, despite the exhaustion nipping at her heels.
“Ah-ha!” she muttered when she managed to lay her hand on the keys which had worked their way to the bottom of the pit she called a purse. She aimed the clicker toward her truck and pushed the button to unlock it.
Once they reached the vehicle she turned to hug her sisters. “Thanks for coming out. I really needed that.”
She got smiles in return. “You need to take care of you sometimes,” Juliet insisted.
Beth grinned. “That’s what I have you two for.”
Lexi shook her head. “Get some sleep,” she ordered. “The shadows under your eyes are turning into permanent marks.”
Beth rolled her eyes. “I’ll try.”
Lexi and Juliet walked away, and Beth got in her truck. She fished in her purse again and pulled out her cell phone. But when she went to click it into the holder attached to her dash, she frowned to find no holder where she’d left it.
“What the heck?” Her heart picked up its pace. Had someone robbed her? What else did they take? She whipped her head around and froze at the sight of muddy work boots in the back. Men’s boots.
Confusion had her head swimming. Some guy left muddy boots in my back seat? Who does that?
Wait a minute… In the dim light cast by the flickering parking lot fluorescents, she peered more closely around the vehicle interior. Beyond the boots, this truck was pristinely clean and smelled of leather and spicy aftershave or maybe cologne. Nothing like her truck, littered with papers and bags from takeout food, as well as the accompanying smells.
“Oh, my God.” She gasped. This is not my truck!
Beth jumped out of the vehicle like her shoes were on fire, hoping like hell that no one else was in the parking lot to witness this. As she hopped out, she did what she always did with her own truck and used the button on the door to lock it before she closed the door with a slam.
Even as she did, a fleeting thought crossed her mind. I hope the owner has his keys.
Too late now. A quick glance around the parking lot told her she was alone. Even Lexi’s car was gone. She quickly located her own vehicle—an exact replica of the tan Toyota Tundra she’d just been in parked only five spaces over and facing the other way. With a breath of relief that no one caught her in such an embarrassing situation, she hopped in, and drove away, happy to put distance between herself and what could have been extreme awkwardness.
Lexi was right… she definitely needed to get more sleep.
She stopped at the light that led out of the parking lot and onto the main road leading into town long enough to pop her cell phone in the holder. Then she reached for her purse to pull out her hands-free device, giving into the urge to call her sisters and tell them. They’d get a good laugh out of it.
Only… her purse wasn’t where she normally plopped it on the front seat.
Realization struck with all the subtlety of a bucking bull. Her heart might have stopped beating entirely followed by slamming against her ribs as adrenaline burst through her along with a healthy dose of mortification.
“No,” she muttered. “No. No. No.” Her mutterings escalated to wails. “I did not just lock my purse in some random guy’s truck.”
But the rock of dread now sitting in the pit of her stomach, combined with the unfortunate absence of her gray faux-leather purse—a recent gift from Lexi and Juliet’s boutique—told her she had.
When the light turned green she spun her truck around in an illegal U-turn and returned to the scene of the crime.
Please no. Please no. She mentally chanted the words as she pulled in next to the other truck and got out. She went up on tiptoes, cupping her hands to peek inside the window.
Her heart sank the rest of the way to the bottom of her feet.
Any shred of hope that she’d been wrong disappeared. The purse sitting on the passenger seat mocked her, glowing in the flickering overhead lights. Beth was well aware she’d locked the door when she got out a few minutes ago, but she tried it just in case. No luck. None of the other doors were unlocked either.
In a vain attempt at a miracle, she clicked the unlock button on her keys. Logically, she knew the owner had left the doors unlocked when they went into the bar and she hadn’t unlocked it with her key fob earlier, but she figured why the hell not? Sometimes garage door openers worked on other garage doors, right? Why not keys? No luck though, the truck stayed locked.
Beth bit her lip and debated what to do next.
She had her cell phone. Should she call a wrecking service to come unlock the truck for her? But it wasn’t her truck, so no, that wasn’t a good idea. She gazed over at the building where she’d just come from. Did she go make an announcements in Harry’s, looking for the owner? The problem with that was a few restaurants shared the same parking lot. What if the owner came out while she was in there and drove off with her purse? Not to mention extending her embarrassment to every person in the bar.
Beth glanced at her watch. “Dang it,” she muttered. Elementary school teachers didn’t cuss more than that, but she was tempted.
Not much she could do except wait. With a grrrr of irritation at herself, she retrieved her cell phone from her truck and then lowered the tailgate of her truck and sat, determined not to miss the owner when they returned. A shiver ran over her skin thanks to the brisk winter wind that carried the scent of coming rain with it. Beth pulled her legs up, adjusting her skirt to sit crisscross applesauce and cover the exposed skin as much as possible, warding off the chill in the air. At least today wasn’t miserably cold, given that winter was still in full swing. Except her heels were uncomfortable this way, so she pulled them off and tried to tuck her feet under as well. Much better.
She dropped her head in her hands. “Why do these things always happen to me?”
At least she had nowhere to be immediately. After drinks, she’d planned a thrilling night of grading math tests with microwave mac and cheese for dinner. Her lack of plans might end up being a good thing, because, in addition to the restaurants and shops, it occurred to her that a movie theater was also attached to this parking lot, which meant she had absolutely no idea how long she might be waiting. Although, while the practical side of her couldn’t wait for the owners to arrive, if she were honest, she didn’t mind delaying that moment of what was guaranteed to be pure humiliation.
Sure, other people had probably tried to open the door of a car that wasn’t theirs. She’d bet that happened all the time. Maybe they even got in it like she had. But she seriously doubted anyone else on the planet had managed to lock something of theirs in said vehicle.
Explaining this one to the owner was going to be interesting to say the least.
With a sigh, she picked up her phone and checked her emails before moving on to a game as she settled in to wait. A flash of light brought her head up and pulled another sigh from her. The unmistakable rumble of thunder, still a long way off in the distance, rolled softly over her.
“Just what I need,” she muttered.
*
Autry made his way to the parking lot, happy to be heading home early. Getting punched by Lawson Miller in a bar had not been on his agenda tonight. Not retaliating had been a feat of inhuman control he hadn’t realized he possessed. He rubbed a hand over his cheek and hoped like hell he hadn’t got Michelle in a heap of trouble. He’d say this for Larson, the guy could sure pack a hell of a wallop.
“I’m getting too old for this shit,” he muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face. The dark growl of thunder nearby agreed with him. Good thing he was leaving early. Maybe he’d avoid the approaching storms and get home ahead of them.
Back to the ranch, the house that was nearly his, and the general restlessness he’d been experiencing for months now. Like he was standing at a crossroads, but none of the roads had signs, so he wasn’t sure which way to go. He’d seen how happy his siblings were, settling down with one person who knew them like no one else and loved them. Not that he was ready to settle down, by any means, but take the ranch and build up the dreams in his head? That he could do.
But first he needed to win this damn bet.
Tell that to Stella Aikens, who’d sidled up to him at the bar, obviously tipsy. “I saw what Larson did. How’s your poor face?” Not wanting to be rude, Autry had thanked her only to be landed with a hand on his thigh way too close to his crotch and a whispered, “I hear you’re amazing in bed…”
Holy shit. What happened to flirting? A little effort? He wasn’t some sure thing.
Granted, once upon a time, he would’ve taken Stella up on the invitation. Not because he was all that interested. More like why say no to what she was clearly offering? But that had been a hell of a long time ago. Had the women in La Colina County not got the message that he wasn’t into a quick fuck anymore?
He flipped his keys in his hands in restless twirls, hardly registering the tinkling sound of metal on metal as he did. Or maybe Mom’s right and I sowed my oats. Now I’m figuring out what’s important in life.
Autry gave a mental snort. No way was he telling his mother that her homespun sayings had actually sunk in at any point.
“Um, hi, Autry.”
The slightly nervous female voice pulled him out of his musings and Autry glanced up to find Beth Cooper sitting on the tailgate of a truck parked beside his. She slipped her heels back onto her bare feet and hopped down, teetering for a second on the uneven ground.
Immediately he reached out to steady her and his body stirred with interest, a reaction he shut down as quickly as it started. Beth with her big blue eyes and sweet personality. He’d put her squarely in the “off-limits” box way back in high school. The woman was an elementary school teacher for heaven’s sake, definitely not the girl he took behind the bleachers in the gym and…
Autry turned off that mental image with a haste born of desperation. Off-limits. He also realized he was staring at her, not having responded to her greeting. Beth was giving him that look, one that said she worried about him sometimes. He’d caught that look from her before.
“Hi, Beth.”
“Is this your truck?” The edge of nerves made itself present in the way she fluttered her hand as she waved at the Tundra beside them.
“Yes,” he said slowly.
She grimaced and mumbled something like, “Of course it would be you.” Only he wasn’t entirely sure that’s what she’d said. Then she tugged on her skirt, a nervous habit he recognized from when they were kids.
“So…” She gave him a cheery smile. “I have a funny story.”
Autry hid a sigh. After a hell of a couple weeks, leading up to a hell of a night with Larson and then Stella, he didn’t have time for whatever Beth thought was funny. “Beth, I need to go home. It’s a long drive.”
“That’s fine. I get it. But I need to explain why my purse is… um… is locked in your truck.”
Autry paused as her words sank in, then had to stop himself from taking a couple steps back as shock skittered through him. Beth Cooper—sweet, innocent Beth—was… hitting on him?
When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “I was having drinks with my sisters. You remember them?”
Juliet and Lexi? How could anyone in La Colina County forget those two? Though he’d never really been interested in either of them. Funny, given they should’ve been obvious targets for his brand of fun. Autry nodded, but he was only vaguely listening, mind still spinning about Beth hitting on him, as she went on a rambling story about getting into the wrong vehicle and locking it as she got out.
No way was he buying this story. “If you always lock your truck when you get out, why did you think an unlocked truck was yours?” Autry wanted to smack himself the second the question was out, because the answer was pretty obvious.
The way Beth rolled her eyes, she thought so as well. “I was unlocking it with my key fob.” She pointed out in the uber-patient voice he’d bet anything she reserved for recalcitrant students.
“Right. And how did you mistake my truck for yours?” he wondered next.
“We drive the same model and color,” she pointed out.
He glanced at the back window of her truck then over at his own. “You have a hot pink bumper sticker that says I’m not short, I’m fun sized.”
She crossed her arms. “I don’t check for the sticker every time I get in. Besides, I approached it from the front.” She wrinkled her nose. “I guess we both pulled through.”
“You’re not backed in now.”
“I didn’t realize about the purse until I’d driven away and had to come back.” She was starting to speak through clenched teeth.
“I see,” he said without thinking. Then shook his head, having trouble focusing. All he could think about was the fact that Beth Cooper—the most prim and proper schoolmarm in town, an angel as far as most of the people in town were concerned—was hitting on him.
He ran his gaze over petite features and creamy skin, perfect even under the dim parking lot lights. Her pale blonde hair was ruffled in a way that gave her a little-girl-lost vibe he had to admit he was sort of into.
Autry’s body stirred in a reaction that neither Stella nor any other woman in that bar had engendered. Except Beth was off-limits and he had a bet to win. “Beth… I’m flattered that you’re interested—”
Her eyebrows scrunched down over those amazing eyes. “Oh, my God. I’m not hitting on you.”
He ignored the protest. She was getting shut down after all, of course pride would make her protest. “It’s definitely the most creative approach I’ve seen. If you’d asked me a few weeks ago, I would have taken you up on whatever it is you’re offering.”
Hands plonked down on slim hips. “Autry Aaron Hill, you’d be the last person I’d be interested in.”
“Oh, really?” He cocked his head, his customary flirtatious grin slipping into place with practiced ease. “You’ve never wondered even a tiny bit?”
Because he sure as hell had.
Her pink lips parted in a gasp. “Of course not. Listen, if you’ll just give me my purse, then we can both get going.”
Autry crossed his arms, a spark of mischief prompting him to not let that go. She might have been in the “off-limits” box but he’d also caught glances. If most any other woman had looked at him with that mix of curiosity and need, he would’ve walked over and whispered something naughty in her ear before dragging her off for fun. But Beth was too innocent, too much of a good girl to try those kinds of moves with her.
“I tell you what, Elizabeth Ann Cooper…” He deliberately mimicked her use of full name. “
I will give you your purse back on one condition.”
Narrowed eyes greeted his statement. “What condition?”
“A kiss.”
“What?” she squawked, arms flailing. “No way. It’s my purse.”
But even as she protested he could see the flush rising in her cheeks, despite such low lighting. She was definitely interested. One itty-bitty taste to satisfy his curiosity, then back to becoming the straitlaced, stand-up citizen he was determined to prove he could be.
“It’s my truck,” he shot back. “And you’ve insulted my manhood implying I’m not worthy of you.”
Her lips flattened and she shook her head. “Some things never change.”
Autry paused, though he didn’t allow his smile to slip. “What does that mean?”
“It means you had a one-track mind in high school, and years later, you obviously haven’t grown out of it.”
Damn. He’d forgotten Beth’s tendency to call him on his bullshit. Plus, he had that damn bet to consider. Regardless, he would never have made her do it. He might have a thing about teasing her, and he had to admit to kind of hoping she’d take the dare, but he’d never forced himself on a woman. Ever.
He dropped the smile entirely and turned to his truck to unlock it. “I’m just teasing you, Beth. Of course, you can have your purse.”
He grabbed a gray sack the size of a backpack, and just as heavy, from the passenger seat and handed it over to her.
“Thank you,” she said primly as she backed away from him.
Like he was a leper or his flirting might be contagious.
But then the dimples that had teased him as a youth came out to play, her eyes lighting with mischief. “I didn’t figure you for someone who gave up so easily. Guess I won this one.”
With a wiggle that had certain parts of him perking back up, she turned to her truck.
Autry stared at her back for all of two seconds, assimilating her words. Oh, hell no. This slip of a woman was not winning anything… whatever that meant.
He was around the truck to her driver’s side in a few quick strides. Beth squealed when he spun her around by the waist.