A Town Called Valentine(5)

Tonight Nate had needed some peace. He knew Tony could be quiet, at least when he didn’t have a hockey stick in his hand. So he’d come to the tavern to enjoy the rest of the baseball game.

Until she’d shown up. Emily. Every other man at Tony’s had stared at her, however briefly, and he hadn’t wanted to be one of those. But she’d had this pink raincoat on, and when she’d taken it off at the door, her black sweater had ridden up an inch at her waist, and her long strawberry blond hair curled damply near her neck. She was short and curvy in all the right places, and when she’d looked around at the nearly empty bar with wide but tired blue eyes, something in him had paid a bit too much attention.

Remembering how he’d stared at her, unable to stop, he took another swig of beer in disgust. He was weak.

“That should be your last,” Tony said, leaning back against the shelf near the cash register. “You have to drive.”

Before Nate could take offense, Tony glanced with a frown at the door. “Maybe I should have stopped her, too.”

“Emily,” Nate said without thinking.

Tony grinned. “At least you got her name. Or did you get more?”

Nate winced and sighed. “Nope. Shouldn’t have been trying for more.”

“She seemed willing to me.”

“And tipsy. I shouldn’t have—”

The door jangled, and Nate automatically turned to look. Emily stepped back inside, rain dripping down her coat, her fingers gripping her purse.

Without looking at Nate, she said coolly to Tony, “My car won’t start, and I’m not certain who to call for a tow. Could you please give me a name?”

Tony walked to the end of the bar. “Sorry, but Ernie won’t come at night if it’s not an emergency.”

“Oh.”

Nate thought she looked blank for a moment, as if it never occurred to her that there were parts of the country where you couldn’t have what you asked for twenty-four hours a day.

She took a deep breath, still not glancing at Nate. “Then if you could call me a taxi, I’d appreciate it.”

“It’s too late,” Nate said quietly.

“Pardon me?” She met his eyes at last.

He felt a jolt of need. Damn, but she still affected him even though he regretted their little game and his lack of control. And then she bit her plump lower lip, making everything worse.

“Only one taxi driver in Valentine Valley,” Tony explained with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Let me guess,” Emily said with a touch of bitterness. “He only comes at night if it’s an emergency.”

“She,” Nate said reluctantly.

Her posture seemed to slump as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He’d smelled that hair, tasted the skin on her neck. He stirred on the barstool, wishing he could adjust himself. And it had been his stupid idea to head back to the pool room.

“Since you’re not from around here,” Tony said, “there’s a motel just down the block.”

Nate could see her jaw clench from across the room.

“I own a building in town,” she finally said. “I need to get there.”

Tony and Nate shared a surprised glance. Both of them knew just about everybody—and every building—in town. Who was this Emily?

“I can drop you off,” Nate offered. It was the least he could do.

She studied him, wariness in her narrowed eyes. “If you can tell me how to get—”

“You can’t walk there in this,” Tony interrupted. “You can trust Nate to take you, regardless of what happened in the back room.”

Her eyes shut as she grimaced. Ned and Ted Ferguson gave another matching set of snickers.

Nate frowned. He could see Emily’s blush like a beacon. He glared at the brothers, and they both hunched their shoulders and turned back to the game.

“But first,” Tony continued. “I’ve just brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Nate, how ’bout something to eat?”

He was just about to protest that he was not drunk, but then he remembered kissing a woman he didn’t know a thing about. “Sounds good.”

Emily perched on a chair closest to the door. “Thank you. I’ll wait.”

Tony served him some fajitas with the coffee, and although Nate offered her some, she didn’t leave the safety of her chair, making him feel even more like a monster. After a half hour, he quietly said, “Guess it’s time to leave, Tony.”