He’d noticed how often she flinched when the military airplanes flew overhead, how she went quiet whenever friends from the base showed up. Had the man who fathered her child been in the service?
“I can honestly say I can’t recall ever having been to one before,” she rambled nervously, her cheeks pinkening to match the flowers on her shirt. “I’m sure they have Merlot there. We can save Tacoma for another night.”
Another night. Another date. But not a date. Surely spending his last few evenings away from the intimacy of the motel would be wise.
He ignored the niggling sense that he was deluding himself and making a mistake, a big one. They were about to take a step forward that couldn’t be backtracked if the bottom fell out later. “All right then. Dinner at the base.”
Dee smiled, another curve of hers he’d come to enjoy viewing.
Just a simple night away from the Lodge, Jacob reminded himself.
He backed up a step. “Give Chase’s mom a call if he doesn’t show soon.”
“I will. And, Jacob?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful.”
Jacob nodded and bolted out the door, wondering how a tiny scrap of a woman had him on the run when he’d faced down enemy threats twice her size.
Dee settled in for a slow night. No tour buses were scheduled, and the weather forecast would deter most impulsive travelers. Which left her with all night to think about what she’d asked Jacob.
Man, she had the munchies.
The vending machines called to her. At least she could feed one hunger without risking more than a couple of extra pounds. She scrounged in her pockets for loose change. After coming up with nothing but two quarters, she hit pay dirt with a one-dollar bill.
She still couldn’t believe she’d actually asked Jacob out, not that it qualified as a date, really. Just a friendly evening out. A nice, safe step toward starting a new life for herself. She didn’t plan to give up on the old one, but it could be years before she remembered. Meanwhile, she needed to create a life for herself outside the constant wondering and worrying, or she truly would lose her mind. Then she would be of no use to her child or herself.
After she’d bought a bag of sour cream and onion chips, Dee fed the dollar into the soda machine. It disappeared…and rolled back out. She flattened the bill and tried again.
No luck.
A quick trip to the cash drawer built in under the counter left her with change in hand for another try.
The red Sold Out light glared on both Coke buttons. Dee sighed. She really wanted a Coke. She could always raid Jacob’s kitchen and pay him back later. Heaven knew he’d extended the offer often enough when she’d helped at the desk before.
As she snagged a can from his refrigerator, Dee heard the front door to the lobby blast open. She swallowed a sip and hollered, “Hold on a minute. I’ll be right out.”
Dee nudged the refrigerator door shut with her hip. In the lobby, she found Chase hovering behind the counter. “Sorry, Chase, but they had to go on without you. Jacob said for you to meet them at the base. If you leave now, you can probably make it before the ground crew heads out.”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” He jammed his hands in his pockets, his baggy camouflage pants riding low from the extra pressure.
She waited, but he didn’t move. “They’re only about ten minutes ahead of you. Maybe you can call on the cell phone and ask them to wait.”
“I’ll just skip this one.”
Dee chewed her lip to keep from dishing out a lesson on following through with responsibilities. “You could hang out with Emily. I think Madison is already asleep.”
Chase shuffled from foot to foot. “Nah, no need. I’ll just hit the road.”
Her bottom lip was getting a real workout tonight. Rather than argue with Chase, she decided to phone his mother after he left. “Good night, then.”
“’Night.” He brushed past, his hip bumping the half-open cash register drawer.
Dee stared at the drawer, trying to deny what she knew to be true. She’d closed it after making change. She wouldn’t have been so careless as to leave the drawer hanging open.
Chase couldn’t have possibly…She cast a furtive glance at the teen crossing to the door.