Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
“At least you picked a pretty day to get stuck in the mud.” Small talk. She would make some small talk and put him at ease. It was what she did. At first she’d been tempted to tease the guy and offer to rescue him in exchange for him playing tour guide. Then she’d realized that was a little creepy and her rescue of his person shouldn’t come with restrictions. “It rained so hard the last couple of days I was worried I wouldn’t see the sun at all.”
He sat up suddenly and turned his head her way. “Yes, it rained a lot. Hence the mud. The rain is exactly why I got in trouble today, so I should have picked a day much later in the month to jog. Or a better place to jog. Like on a treadmill. Except lately the treadmill would likely explode or gain higher intelligence and take over the world, killing everyone, starting with me.”
He was a very pessimistic deputy. And that was a shame because he was gorgeous. She wasn’t sure why he kept pulling down his T-shirt. He had great legs. And honestly, those undies of his weren’t any more revealing than a speedo, and she’d seen guys in plenty of those. LA was full of dudes who liked to show off their glutes.
He sighed and sat back. “Sorry. I just realized the keys to my house are back in the mud.”
She hadn’t thought about that. It was definitely a problem. “Do you have a spare somewhere?”
“My dad has it.” He sighed again, a resigned sound. “Had it.”
“He lost it?”
“Yeah. It’s probably someplace crazy. He used to put his cell phone in the fridge. Once I found it in the toaster.” He said it all with a deep weariness that pulled at her. “It was also over a year ago that we realized he couldn’t find his key. I should have made another and left it with a friend, but time got away from me.”
His father was sick. She knew what that felt like. She’d watched her mother struggle when Nana Jo had been dying. “I’m sorry about your dad.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Thanks. Uhm, there’s a turn coming up. Left will take you into town, and right leads to the bay. There’s a good restaurant and marina there. I’m pretty sure that’s where the siding came from. We need to turn left off the highway.”
She did as he instructed, and she could see the beginnings of a small town up ahead. The road was shaded by huge trees covered in Spanish moss. It hung low and looked like tendrils coming off the branches. Like fingers brushing as low as they could. Like the tree wanted so badly to brush the earth below. She could already see how the colors would come together. She would have to be careful or she wouldn’t capture the delicacy of the greens and browns.
She was fascinated with this place.
“I guess I’ll break a window or something.” He stared forward.
“Do you have a garage?” She’d noticed some of the homes had covered spots for cars and no attached garage. They seemed like older homes, though. She wondered where a guy like Major would live. Apparently not with a wife or girlfriend. Unless he didn’t like them to be able to lock doors. He didn’t have a ring and his watch had survived, so he probably hadn’t lost a ring in the mud.
She was not thinking of Deputy Grump that way. Nope. She liked happy guys. He wasn’t her type.
Did she actually have a type? She’d spent so much time working, being on sets, traveling. She hadn’t really had time to have a real relationship. She’d dated off and on, usually when she was working on a show, but it wasn’t like she had tons of experience. So how did she know Deputy Grump wasn’t her type?
“Yeah,” he replied. “But the remote is in the SUV, which I also can’t get into, though there’s another set at the station house. I guess we’re going to have to go there.”
He didn’t want to go to his workplace without pants. That was clear. She could understand saving face, and she bet the guys he worked with would give him hell. “Does it have a pad and a code?”
That got him sitting up straighter. A spark of hope lit his face. “Yes. I didn’t even think of that. I know the code. I can get in my garage.”
Most people didn’t think of opening their garage that way, but she’d played a teenaged detective who’d once had to sneak into a suspect’s house to find a stolen poodle. “Excellent.”
Major sighed. “But I’m pretty sure I locked the door between the garage and the house. So, that won’t work.”
Oh, he had so little faith. “Are you a crazy, paranoid dude who has a deadbolt on that door?”