What the Heart Wants (What the Heart Wants, #1)(41)

“And don’t make anything for dinner. I’ll take you out.”

“Out? I-I’m not dressed to go out anywhere.” And she didn’t want to go out to eat anywhere. They might run into someone who knew her.

Jase laid his hand on her knee. “Relax, babe. Just for a hamburger.”

She let herself start breathing again. Fast food. That should be safe. Most of the chain restaurants were on the new side of town, and no one would recognize her over there.

Twenty minutes later they were in the car again, with Jase behind the wheel this time. To her surprise, he kept on going north instead of cutting over to the east.

“Where are we going? I can’t think of anything out that way.”

“How about Hardy Joe’s? I spotted it on the way into town. Couldn’t believe it was still there.”

“Sounds great. I used to go there a lot when I was in high school.”

Jase nodded. Of course, she’d gone to Hardy Joe’s. It had been where all the popular kids gathered, which had pretty much cut him out of the picture. He liked the idea of buying Laurel a hamburger there to make up for all the ones he hadn’t bought her sixteen years ago.

A low-slung building came into sight. On its roof, a neon fisherman was reeling in a giant neon swordfish. Jase laughed. “More than twenty years, and that damn fish still hasn’t been landed.”

It was a miracle the drive-in was still in operation, but times moved slower in small towns. In Dallas, ol’ Hardy Joe’s would’ve long since been knocked down for a parking lot—maybe one of his.

He swung Laurel’s Escort into the drive-in and ordered for them from the speaker.

Laurel took off her dark glasses and glanced around. “It looks like this is still a high school hangout. We must be the only adults here.”

“Not all the teenagers are customers,” Jase said, indicating a girl carrying a red tray and heading their way. She looked something like Lolly, blond, eyes of blue, five foot two—except that Lolly was barely five feet, much to her chagrin. He pulled out his wallet and extracted a credit card as the girl placed the tray on the stand beside the car.

She gave him the tired smile of someone who’d been toting trays in the hot sun all afternoon.

“Hardy Joe’s, home of the SuperBurger, hopes you enjoy your meal, sir. That’ll be twelve ninety-five.”

He signed the tab and handed her a fiver for herself. Having served his time in low-paying service jobs, he made it a point to overtip. And always in cash so the manager wouldn’t claim a cut.

Her smile perked up and her eyes sparkled. “Gee, thanks, Mister. Have a great day!”

“You too.”

He watched her as she walked back to the restaurant, then reached for their drinks and lifted the hamburger bags off the tray, passing Laurel her SuperBurger Special.

Mmm. Smelled good.

A teasing smile crossed Laurel’s face as she unwrapped her burger. “Did you ever bring a date here after a school dance?”

“I never went to a school dance.”

She looked shocked. “Why not?”

“I didn’t think anyone would go with me, at least anyone I was interested in.” God knows, he’d never allow Lolly to associate with the sort of bottom-feeder he’d been.

“Is this the first time you’ve been in Bosque Bend since high school?”

He eased around to face her. “I came back when my father died and a couple of other times to set up the house for rental. There wasn’t much reason to visit while he was still alive. Growler was never much of a family man.” He bit into his hamburger, chewing slowly to savor the taste. What was the big deal about the burger? It was okay, but didn’t match up to its aromatic promise—nothing really “super” about it. Must be the frustrated fisherman that drew in the customers.

Laurel took a sip of her drink. “What happened to your mother? She was Maxie’s sister, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, there were five girls. Hanna was the youngest, the black sheep. Lolly looks something like her. Hanna and Growler were quite a couple for a while, I’ve heard. I’ve seen old pictures, and my father was fairly presentable before the booze got to him. He was still on the wrestling circuit back then. Anyway, my mother was killed in a car accident when I was three, and Growler went even further downhill after that.”

She reached her hand out to his arm. “I’m sorry, Jase.”

“I survived.”

There didn’t seem to be much more to say after that. They finished their supper in silence and hit the road again. Laurel took over navigation, guiding him back south, toward town. Her first point of interest was the new Walmart. Jase didn’t have the heart to tell her he’d already noticed it the day before.

“They built it four years ago. You should have seen the grand opening. Daddy gave the invocation, the mayor cut the ribbon, and the chamber of commerce provided hot dogs and soft drinks. It was a big party. Everyone in town was there.”

“What’s the mayor’s name?” Getting acquainted with local officials was vital if he decided to invest in the area. Some places didn’t like new blood, and he wasn’t about to fight that battle.

“Larry Traylor.”

“He was one of your father’s pals, wasn’t he? I think I met him once, at a football dinner.”