Shadows jumped around the darkened motel room as Reggie’s eyes adjusted to the dimness. She felt better, but scenes from the day crowded back into her consciousness. Trent at her apartment, being shot at, the fire alarm, the bomb.
A bomb . Hard to imagine. It had to be a humongous blunder. Nobody wanted to kill her— a junior attorney and an orphan. Obviously, a case of mistaken identity. But she had to fix it before she could return to her life.
She’d never complain again about all the tedious paperwork or feeling like a lackey for the senior partners. She wanted to be bored again.
Hopefully, the police had caught the perpetrators already. She would call Alexis to see if she knew anything. Officer Ray was, no doubt, keeping her informed. Reggie smiled. Only Alexis would end up with a potential date after what happened.
Dylan. Her finger touched the spot where he’d kissed her. What a surprise Dylan turned out to be. A simple farmer…a former Marine. She sat up and sniffed. Pizza. Her stomach rumbled and her mouth watered. Her nose led the way.
****
Dylan looked up when Reggie walked in. She was a beautiful woman even with tousled hair and puffy eyes.
He had to stop thinking like that. Reggie was in serious trouble, God had put her in his path for a reason—and it wasn’t to seduce her when she was vulnerable. Keep your mind on the job at hand.
He waved at her. “Hey, sleepyhead.”
“How long did I sleep?” Reggie attempted to smooth down her hair.
“Not long. Not even an hour.” He gestured at the bed. “We’ve got vittles. I ordered pizza, but the take-out place had Chinese, too. So, I thought some Chinese vegetables and rice would be good and I had them throw in some egg rolls, too.”
“Are you sure you got enough? Did you already eat?”
“No, it just got here a few minutes ago. The smell’s probably what woke you. The motel owners assure me, it’s the best place around.” He handed her a plastic plate and grabbed one for himself. He scooped food and she did the same. She picked a diet soda and set it on the nightstand.
“You must have a great metabolism. The way you eat. Do you work out?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s called farming. I call it God’s workout. It keeps you fit and healthy and pays the bills at the same time. Can’t ask for more than that.”
“I guess that’s better than paying for a gym membership you never use.” She tore open a packet of hot mustard, squirted it onto her plate, then dipped her egg roll and took a bite. Her eyes watered. “Mmm. That’s good. Just the way I like it.”
“Liar.”
“Am not. Did you get some rest, too?”
Dylan ate his eggroll in two bites. “Not really. I called my mom and told her I’d be gone for a few days. She and dad will take care of the farm while I’m away.”
“Oh, Dylan, I’m sorry I got you involved in this. You have your own life to take care of. You don’t ne—”
He gently placed his hand on her chin and lifted her face. Their gazes met. “This is exactly where I want to be. Stop worrying about me.”
Reggie nodded. “Did you tell her…what happened?”
He shook his head as he shoveled half the slice of pizza in his mouth. “No reason to make her worry.”
“I guess I should call Alexis and let her know we’re OK.” Reggie took a sip of her diet pop.
“Already did, but you can call her if you want. She’s at the office with your boss. They’re going through the files trying to figure out if this has anything to do with your work.”
She blinked several times. “Wow. You’ve been busy. It almost makes me feel guilty for sleeping like a baby in there.”
“It shouldn’t. You needed to rest.”
“I couldn’t think but I’m better now. Did you tell them where we were?” She pulled a slice of pepperoni off the pizza and popped it in her mouth.
“I thought it was better to keep the information to myself. We can keep in touch by cell phone.” He shook his head
“What happened with the bomb?”
“Cleveland called in the FBI and they’re checking for fingerprints or any other forensic evidence. So far, nothing. They found a bomb on your rental, too.”
“I can’t believe what’s happened to me today.” She stood, threw her plate in the trashcan and took another sip of her drink.
“Did you eat enough?”
“Yes.” Reggie changed the subject. “How did you get to be a farmer?”
He shrugged. “By default, I guess you could say. My dad’s a farmer, His dad was a farmer and so on. My brother had no interest in farming, so that meant me.”
“I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“He lives in Chicago. When my dad had a heart attack and needed some help, I cut my time in the Marines short and here I am.”
“The Marines let you do that?”
“Hardship. This country needs its farmers. I had planned to make the Marines my career but I’ve grown to love farming.” It hadn’t been his first choice at the time, but God’s plan was the right one.
“But it sounds so hard, so unreliable. Look at what happened to those people you know who are losing their farm.”
“The Starks. They’re good people, but they didn’t manage their farm the way it should have been. I’m not blaming them, but they made a few mistakes.”
“But I thought it was the drought.” She picked up the eggroll, but set it back down without taking a bite.
“The drought was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
“So, your farm’s not in trouble?”
“Not at the moment, but farming isn’t for the faint of heart. There are government regulations, the weather, low prices, and anything else you can think of.”
“Doesn’t sound like an easy life.”
“It’s not, but I love it.”
“How long have you been farming?”
“Is that a sneaky way to find out how old I am?” He winked at her.
Reggie’s face turned pink and she tilted her head and smiled. “Maybe.”
She tugged at his heart. She acted tough, but vulnerability was well hidden. “About four years. Enough about me. My life’s boring. Tell me about yours.”
“Well, my life is anything but boring.” Laughing felt good. “What a mess, will we ever figure it all out?” Reggie pointed at her laptop sitting on the small round table beside the bed. “What were you checking on the computer?”
“Just catching up on email and business things. Farmers are hi-tech nowadays, you know.” He drew out the words in a ridiculous hillbilly drawl.
Reggie stuck out her tongue as she cleaned up their mess. Her eyes landed on a pack of cigarettes. She picked them up. “What’s this?”
“I know. I know. I ordered them in a moment of weakness but I didn’t open them. Yet.”
“Good thing. I don’t want to be responsible for you starting again. Of course, smoking’s probably better for your health than I am.”
“You may be right.”
“What should I do with them?”
“Throw ’em out.”
“Good choice. What now? It’s probably too late to go to a gun shop or where ever you go to buy bullets.”
“It’s never too late for one of the super stores.”
“Which one?”
He named one, “You’ve heard of the place, haven’t you?”
“Of course.” She rolled her eyes. “After that, what then?”
“Then, we’re going to come back here and get a good night’s rest. One thing’s for sure, we can’t figure much out if our brains are so tired they won’t work.”