Harlequin Superromance August 2013 - Bundle 1 of 2: What Happens Between FriendsStaying at Joe'sHer Road Home

by Beth Andrews

  Joe looked at Noble. “It is a python, right?”

  Noble removed his hard hat and passed a hand over his bristly white-blond hair. “Burmese,” he said, his expression avid. “You can tell by the color—brown with gold markings. Unless it’s a caramel. Either way it can grow to more than twenty feet, weigh a couple hundred pounds.”

  Joe heard a feminine gasp behind him. Before he could react Burke moved to Allison’s side and murmured in low, soothing tones. Joe glared, then realized if he had to be pissed at someone, it should be himself. Why couldn’t he stifle the urge to look out for her? She sure as hell had never looked out for him.

  When he realized how pathetic that sounded, he scrubbed a hand over his mouth and wondered how many beers he had left in the fridge.

  “I’ve read about cases like this.” The second firefighter, a thin man with thick auburn hair, cracked his knuckles. “Happens all the time. Idiots think it’s cool to own a snake until they realize it eats like a lion and shi—er, craps like a horse. So they release it into the woods, figuring it can take care of itself.” He shook his head in disgust. “It doesn’t even occur to them that pythons aren’t native to Pennsylvania.”

  Noble scratched his head. “That snake’s been having a field day, chowing down on all them mice you got in there.”

  “So how come I still have mice?”

  “Just think how many you’d have if he weren’t hanging around.”

  “Good point. All right. No matter how it got in there I have to get it out. Call me crazy, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t be good for business. So what do you suggest?”

  Noble looked at the firefighters and they looked back at him. Noble nodded. “I’ll get my .45.”

  “No!” When everyone turned to stare, Allison flushed and hiked her chin. “It’s not the snake’s fault his owner didn’t want him anymore.” She gazed at Joe, hazel eyes entreating. “Please don’t let them kill it.”

  He tried not to resent the compassion she was showing for a damned snake. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t you the one screaming loud enough to rattle the windows?”

  Her expression changed, and carried a clear message. Want me to announce how a spider had you squealing like a little girl?

  He winced. “You’re not saying I should keep the thing.”

  “Of course not. But he doesn’t deserve to die.”

  “Neither do we.” This time everyone looked at Noble. The big man’s cheeks turned as red as the geraniums hanging in the motel lobby. “I mean, c’mon. That thing is frickin’ huge.”

  Allison shoved her hands in the pockets of her coveralls. “What about the zoo?”

  A faded red Jeep careened into the parking lot. A few seconds later, Snoozy, the usually slow-moving bar owner, hurried around the hood toward them. Joe raised a hand in greeting. “Wonder what he’s doing here.”

  “Probably heard it on the scanner. Looking for something to do, since the bar don’t open for a couple hours.” Noble turned back to Allison. “Zoo’s not a bad idea. But most of ’em have all the reptiles they can handle because of situations like this. I’d say call in a trapper but I doubt we could find one specializing in Asian pythons.”

  Burke frowned. “Meanwhile, the thing could make a break for it and start killing pets. Or worse.”

  Oh, hell, no. “I won’t be responsible for that. Let’s call the vet.” Joe reached out and squeezed Allison’s arm. “The kindest thing would be to have him euthanized.”

  “Don’t you dare.” Snoozy charged into the middle of the group. “Where is she?”

  “She who?” Joe exchanged a look with Noble. He hadn’t seen Snoozy so worked up since the big bar fight. “You mean the snake?”

  Snoozy nodded eagerly, his eyes more red-rimmed than ever. “Show me.”

  “You sure? Could be dangerous.”

  But Burke had already pointed to #5 and Snoozy, his droopy moustache quivering, tugged Joe toward the room. At least they had two firefighters and an ass-kicking giant nearby, in case anything went wrong.

  They stepped through the doorway and Joe opened his mouth to warn the other man to keep his distance but Snoozy scurried right up to the open wall, hands clasped at his chest. “Mitzi,” he cried. “Oh, Mitzi, it really is you.”

  Noble crowded in beside Joe. Mitzi? he mouthed. Joe moved forward, gaze locked on the python. He—she, apparently—had moved since he’d seen her last. She was still coiled in between two studs, but not as tightly—her tail hung nearly to the floor. And he could see her head now, about the length of his hand and half as wide. She didn’t seem aggressive, but what the hell did he know?

  And Snoozy, standing too damned close to the thing, continued to croon, his voice quivering with emotion.

  “Snoozy, man.” Joe hoped like hell that thing had already eaten breakfast. “Is that your snake?”

  The bar owner turned and nodded, eyes wet. “My ex-wife ran away with the bastard who delivered our upright freezer. But before she left, she turned Mitzi loose.”

  Ouch. “How can you be sure it’s Mitzi?”

  Snoozy glowered at him. “You’d know, if you had children.”

  Noble scratched his belly. “So what do you want us to do, Snooze?”

  Snoozy turned back to his snake. “I want you to help me find a big box. And then I want you to help me put her in it.”

  Joe exhaled. Somehow he’d known that was coming. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said, and squeezed past Noble and the firefighters. Allison waited farther up the sidewalk, eyes as liquid as Snoozy’s. Joe felt something shift in his chest as he walked toward her.

  “How long ago did his wife leave him?”

  “Six, seven years.”

  “And the snake’s been here all that time,” she said, mostly to herself. “Are you going to help him...you know...contain her?”

  “Long as I get to handle the end that doesn’t bite.”

  She managed a smile then looked away, toward the string of pine trees that separated his property from the vineyard next door. “It’s really something,” she said. “The way the people in this community look out for each other.” She peered back at him. “You fit in here.”

  He could see it in her green-flecked eyes. She knew that once he went back to Virginia, it wouldn’t be for good. Wise girl.

  A pine-scented breeze danced past, and she brushed silky hair out of her eyes. “Want me to help you find a box?”

  He gave his head a quick shake, like a boxer who’d failed to dodge a mean left hook. “There’s no telling when that snake last had a meal.” He forced a grin. “What I’d really like you to do is keep an eye on my cat.”

  * * *

  “YOU DO REALIZE I’m never going back there.” Allison’s hands were fisted in her lap, her shoulder blades pressing into the back of the booth as she willed herself to stop shaking. But her muscles didn’t pay any more attention than Joe did.

  “I’ll have the vegetable soup and a grilled cheese,” he was saying, to a stick-thin girl in an oversize black polo shirt.

  Allison ground her teeth together. How could he eat at a time like this?

  “How can you eat at a time like this?” she demanded.

  “I’m hungry. And in Cal’s Diner, if you don’t eat, you better be ready to explain why.” He surrendered his menu to the waitress. “Any cinnamon rolls back there?” She gave him a reverent nod and tucked the menu under her arm. Joe rubbed his palms together and leaned back. “We’ll take two, please. Thanks, Rachel.”

  She tore her gaze away long enough to dart a wary glance at Allison. “The regular kind?”

  “The regular kind,” he agreed. Instantly Rachel’s shoulders relaxed and she let loose a giggle. The teen had one hand splayed over a jutted hip while the other toyed with the tail of a neat French
braid. Adoring brown eyes clung to Joe’s face, tighter than a gob of gum clinging to the bottom of a shoe.

  Somehow Allison resisted the urge to drop her face into her hands. Had she ever tittered at Joe like that?

  Probably.

  Definitely.

  Dear God in heaven.

  “Hey, Gallahan.” An older man sitting at the lunch counter swiveled his stool around and faced their booth. A sly smile creased his sun-reddened face. “Got a good one for ya. Why’d the two pythons get hitched?”

  Joe grinned as Allison shuddered. She pressed her palms to the seat on either side of her thighs and let her fingers take up a steady drumming.

  “I don’t know, Harris,” Joe said. “Why did they?”

  The old man slapped his knee. “’Cause they had a crush on each other!”

  The entire diner exploded in laughter. And that’s when Allison realized the curious glances they’d been collecting weren’t so much because she was a stranger, but because of how they’d spent their morning.

  “This is big doin’s in our town,” Joe drawled, leaning across the table so she could hear him over the uproar. “Next year this time they’ll probably be holding a festival in Mitzi’s honor.”

  “I bet I can top that!” A teenage boy in a bright orange shirt and board shorts shouted from across the diner. “What do you do if you find a snake in your toilet?”

  A few ewws and muffled squeals, then the diner quieted, taking on an expectant air.

  “What do you do?” someone prompted.

  “You wait till he’s finished!”

  A second eruption of laughter. The kid sat down amidst a flurry of back slaps and wet, rattling thwacks as plastic tumblers full of chipped ice collided in celebratory toasts.

  “All these people know each other?”

  The level of noise meant Joe hadn’t heard Allison’s question. He slanted forward and turned his head. She leaned in and repeated herself, then lost track of her words as her gaze roved his tanned, unshaven cheek, the tips of sun-kissed hair curling around his ear, the determined push of his chin.

  Easy, Allie. For God’s sake, she shouldn’t have to constantly remind herself to back off the guy. Was she so hard up she’d consider putting the moves on the man who had single-handedly derailed her career?

  She had to be careful. With all that she had going on with her mother, her job and now Joe, she was feeling...unsettled. Something Joe wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of. He’d proven that the night before.

  With a soundless groan, she collapsed against the back of her seat. Here she was, already preparing to blame Joe for any hanky-panky that might happen between them—in essence giving herself carte blanche for a hookup. Could she be any more shameless? Or mercenary?

  Or desperate?

  That particular hookup would never—could never—happen.

  Joe’s mouth formed a sardonic curve. “It’s a small town. You live here and sooner or later you’ll meet everyone in it.”

  Oh. Right. She’d asked a question. Luckily he didn’t seem to notice her distraction.

  “You think this is crazy, you should have seen the place after that cow Priscilla Mae won the crown in the Miss Lilac competition.”

  Allison stared. He didn’t...did he...? He just called some poor girl a cow. She shot upright and filled her lungs with outraged air, but then he laughed.

  “Priscilla Mae, dairy cow. Pride of the county. Must have netted a dozen blue ribbons at the state fair.”

  “She has beautiful eyelashes.” Rachel was back. Empty-handed. And judging by the annoyed look she tossed to her left, Allison wouldn’t be getting her coffee anytime soon. Damn it, she needed that coffee.

  “That was awfully brave of you, helping to pull Mitzi out of the wall and everything.” Rachel blushed as she stared down at Joe. “They say snakes aren’t slimy like they look. What’d her skin feel like?”

  Joe looked over at Allison and she went still. She knew that expression. She exhaled, welcoming the resentment that sparked to life inside her chest.

  If only she could decide who deserved her bitterness more. Herself, for feeling the least bit gratified by his “you doing okay?” face? Or Joe, for thinking her so fragile she couldn’t handle a little verbal rehash of their adventure?

  Then his frowning gaze dropped to the edge of the table—her side of the table—and she realized why he was concerned. Oh. Huh. Who knew fingers tapping on vinyl could make so much noise?

  She wedged her hands beneath her thighs.

  A waitress a few years older than Rachel, with flawless skin as dark as her coworker’s was pale, paused at the teen’s elbow. “I hate to interrupt, but you’ve got orders up. And you need to refill your drinks.” The woman hurried away while Rachel rolled her eyes.

  “Duty calls,” she said to Joe. “Maybe you could tell me about Mitzi later.” She angled away from Allison and lowered her voice. “My shift ends at nine.”

  Allison hid a cringe, her own embarrassment forgotten as she agonized for the smitten teen. Being in love was hard enough. Being in love as a teenager? Brutal.

  Joe’s skin had browned over the past year, but there wasn’t enough tan in the world to hide the flush creeping up his throat. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong impression. Listen, why don’t you ask your parents to take you by the bar one day before it opens for business? I’m sure Snoozy would love the chance to show Mitzi off.” He smiled carefully. “Oh, and do you think we could get our coffee now, Rachel?”

  Reluctantly she backed away. “I’ll bring it as soon as it’s ready. You like it young, right?” She stumbled to a stop, mouth gaping open, cheeks flushed fire-engine-red. “I mean, fresh. You like it fresh. Coffee drinkers don’t like to drink—” she swallowed a squeak “—stale coffee.” She clutched the menu to her chest. “Do they?”

  “You’re absolutely right. They do not. Make that decaffeinated, okay?” When she left he looked at Allison. “You’re jumpy enough.”

  She couldn’t help it. She rubbed her palms up and down her arms—she’d shucked the coveralls but hadn’t been brave enough to return to her room to shower, let alone change her clothes—and forced her mind away from the image of a V-shaped head and the blank-eyed grip of sharp teeth.

  She snatched up the ceramic box jammed with packets of sweetener, dumped the contents onto the table and started organizing. “I’m not going back.”

  “I heard you, slick.” His gaze fell to her hands. “How about we talk after we eat?”

  Her fingers slowed then went back to arranging. It may have been a year since she’d last spent any time with Joe but she knew that tone. Business would not be discussed until he was good and ready. Fine. But the moment they were alone she’d tell him exactly what he could do with the nickname “slick.”

  There. All done. She patted the neat row of packets and pushed the sweetener away, averted her gaze from the question in Joe’s eyes and studied the diner’s counter, currently swollen with customers. The L-shaped structure was fronted by a row of stools upholstered in alternating mustard-and ketchup-colored vinyl—a bright contrast to the black-and-white floor. On the Formica countertop, newspapers, coffee cups, elbows and polished-steel napkin holders jockeyed for space. A pair of black-lacquered wrought iron stands bookended the longer stretch of counter, offering an array of pies and—Allison craned her neck. Were those brownies?

  Then she spotted Rachel and her tidy French braid. The teen was bent at the waist, facing away from the booth, her head lowered into what looked like a chest freezer. The other waitress hurried over, said something and Rachel thrust a brightly wrapped ice cream sandwich up behind her back without lifting her head.

  Allison linked her arms and leaned forward, elbows on the table, teeth scraping across one corner of
her bottom lip. She couldn’t help feeling bad for Rachel—was there anything worse than humiliating yourself in front of a hot guy?

  She turned back to Joe and caught him staring. The intensity in his eyes made her thighs go tight, her stomach shimmy. She dropped her gaze to his chest, couldn’t help but notice his loose-fitting T-shirt did nothing to hide his intriguing new muscles. Stop that.

  “I thought getting away from the motel might help you relax,” he said slowly. She glanced up, saw him looking at her hands and realized she’d reclaimed the sugar container. She pushed it away.

  “The price you pay for a vivid imagination.” She jabbed her chin in Rachel’s direction. “You handled that well, by the way.”

  His mouth quirked, but at least he didn’t call her on her clumsy attempt to change the subject. “She’s a sweet kid,” he said. “We got along great until her boyfriend dumped her and she decided to try for someone older. What can I say, she has excellent taste. She’s just ahead of her time.”

  She hated herself even as she asked the question. “Anyone special in the here and now?”

  He lost the grin. “Not since you.”

  * * *

  NOT SINCE YOU.

  He hadn’t meant to say it like that. Like he had regrets.

  Those were beside the point.

  Allison’s cheeks were the same pink as the packets she’d reorganized, what, seventeen times? But her gaze remained steady on his.

  “Do you ever regret it? Your decision to move here?”

  Maybe not so beside the point.

  Rachel chose that moment to arrive with Joe’s soup and sandwich and two cups of coffee. Wordlessly she emptied the tray. When he murmured his thanks she dropped into a small curtsy, froze, gave a small whimper and fled.

  Poor kid.

  He picked up his spoon. “I have regrets. Moving here isn’t one of them.”

  Greedily Allison wrapped both hands around her mug and Joe frowned. He’d assumed her trembling was a delayed reaction to finding herself nose-to-nose with a ten-foot-long reptile. Maybe there was something more to it....