Leaping Hearts(78)

“You askin’ me on a date?” Chester asked wolfishly.

“I suppose I am.”

“You buyin’ or am I?”

“If you’re talking about the wheelbarrow, I am,” Devlin interjected.

“But what about food? If it’s a date, ya need food.”

“Probably not a lot of that at the local hardware store,” A.J. said with a grin. “Considering your days of eating nails are over with.”

“Well, I’ll pay for lunch if we go to the Pick a’ the Chicken.”

“Okay, but you should know, I don’t kiss on the first date.”

“Neither do I.”

They all laughed.

Before heading to the ring, A.J. ducked into the tack room and dug out the pills she’d put in a plastic bag and shoved deep into the pocket of her jeans. She’d taken two as soon as she’d gotten out of bed and she’d intended not to take any more until after the session but she knew she wasn’t going to make it through the workout without more.

Devlin walked into the room just as she tilted her head back to swallow.

“Hey, do you want to—?”

Caught by surprise, she choked and began coughing.

“Sorry,” she gasped, knocking herself in the chest.

Devlin gave her a strange look. “You okay there?”

As soon as she could breathe again, she said, “Fine. I’m fine. You caught me on the thin edge of a sneeze.”

“Well, if you need mouth-to-mouth, I’m the right man for the job.”

She went over to him, slipping her arms around his waist. “That so?”

“You better believe it,” he said before dipping her and catching her lips in a searing kiss.

“What I was about to say before you turned blue,” he murmured against her lips, “was how’d you like to go on a date tonight?”

“A date?”

“Dinner and a movie. Just the two of us. We could eat pizza and nuzzle in the back of a dark theater.” His tongue stroked her bottom lip. “I’ve heard the smell of popcorn is an aphrodisiac. Not that we need the help, of course.”

“I’d love to go on a date with you.”

“Good.” He kissed her again and left.

Alone in the room, A.J.’s shoulders sagged. She hated lying to him. Hated her injury. Prayed that she would heal fast.

Going to the windows, she saw the ring beyond, its multicolored jumps bright in the sunlight. She reached out a hand, putting the tips of her fingers against the cold, leaded glass that wrinkled the landscape. It was just until the Qualifier, she told herself. Then she would take a break and let the arm rest. Only a matter of weeks.

The thought didn’t reassure her much. Turning her back to the window, she straightened her shoulders. And prepared to soldier on.

After the training session, A.J. and Chester piled into the truck and rambled to the outskirts of town. First stop was the hardware store, where they found a shiny red wheelbarrow that fit Chester’s precise specifications. They loaded it into the back, tied it down with some rope and then headed downtown.

Although hardly a metropolitan standout, the city proper wasn’t without sophistication. There was a small but bustling financial district, two four-star hotels, a convention center and a tidy row of shops on the main street. All along the sidewalks, people were walking with gracious purpose, more friendly than those found in bigger cities but without the meandering gait of folks who lived in truly small towns.

Cruising down the street, A.J. pulled into a parking space in front of one of the antique shops. Chester shot her a quizzical look.

“I know I’m old and priceless but ya don’t have to get rid of me just yet,” he said.

A.J. smiled stiffly. “I’ll be right out.”

He watched her go inside with interest. Through the wide windows in the front of the store, he saw a well-dressed man come forward to greet her warmly and then observed the two disappearing into a back room. Sometime later, when they returned to view, A.J. shook hands with the man. It seemed like she was trying to reassure him of something. When she came back out of the store, a slip of paper in her hand, her face was grim.

“Everythin’ okay?”

She nodded but as she pulled out of the parking space, she almost sideswiped a car, and they were saved only by the horn of the other driver. As she recovered, Chester noticed her hands were shaking on the steering wheel.

“Sorry about that,” she murmured, shooting him an apologetic look.

Concerned, Chester found it difficult to respect her privacy as they pulled up to the local bank.

“This won’t take a moment,” she told him.

When she returned, she was tucking something into her back pocket. She didn’t offer explanations and he didn’t ask for any. This time, she was much more cautious as she pulled out into traffic. Silence reigned as they left town, unbroken until she turned into the parking lot of the auction house.

“We biddin’ on something?” Chester asked.

A.J. took a deep breath.

“No, we’re doing a little detective work,” she said, parking the truck.

“Concernin’ what?”

“Sabbath’s background.”

“I don’t know that y’re gonna like his rap sheet.”