She started at his quick change of subject. “Checking out condos. I recently got a job there.”
A slight upward movement of her lips hit him right in the gut.
“What kind of work do you do?” His gaze returned to her lap, where her hands had relaxed. But she still hugged the door like she was ready to jump ship.
“I’m a nurse and certified midwife.”
“Impressive.” His attention returned to the road, his fingers tapping out a song on the steering wheel. After a few minutes, he took a quick peek at his passenger. She’d tightened the hold on her purse, tension radiating from her body. He was getting too nosy, making her nervous. She was probably afraid he’d stalk her like some internet loon.
“Here we are.” Damian turned the wheel and swung into the parking lot of The Lonesome Steer Honky Tonk. As usual at this time of day, cars jammed the lot. Two girls dressed in short denim skirts and cowboy boots entered the building. Music blared from the old jukebox inside, fading as the door shut.
Situated a couple of miles outside Amarillo, the familiar, weathered wooden building supported a large neon star with a flashing steer riding away from it. Over the years, it had become his home away from home.
“This is the closest phone?” Her deep red brows drew together.
“Well, no.” He threw the gear shift into park, then tugged the cell from his pocket. “Actually, this is the closest phone.”
Kerry’s mouth dropped open. “Then why did you drive me all the way out here?”
He grinned. “My mama would tear me up if she knew I abandoned a pretty young lady on the side of the road to wait for a tow truck.”
Leaving her to chew on that, he hopped down, and strode around the truck to open her door. She was out before he reached her, clutching her purse to her side.
“Come on. I’ll buy you a drink, and then call Boz to arrange for him to come get your car. He’s the local mechanic, but you can’t count on him doing anything more than dropping it off at his shop tonight.”
Kerry sighed and shifted her laptop case. “In that case, I’ll need a motel room.”
He pulled the door open and waved her through. “No problem. We have plenty of those.”
The noise of conversation, laughter, and music hit Kerry as she stepped into the dimly-lit room. She blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. As shadows turned into objects, she noted a worn dance floor taking out a chunk of the room’s center where several couples shuffled along, doing the Two-Step. Well-used, square tables surrounded the area, and off in the corner, two cowboys shot a game of pool on one of three tables. A long bar ran the length of the back wall.
A freshly painted sign announced Open-Mike Nights on Sundays and Karaoke on Thursdays. Kerry gazed around the room, amazed at all the people in a bar on a Tuesday night.
Don’t they have work in the morning?
Damian placed his hand on her shoulder and directed her to a table for two against the wall. Her stomach clenched at his touch, but she quickly shook off her reaction, and studied the colorful sign on the far wall advertising the Rattlesnakes scheduled to play for your dancing enjoyment come Saturday evening. Kerry smiled. If this was the way the honky tonk looked on a Tuesday, she could well imagine Saturday night with a live band.
“Hi, Gus.” Damian nodded in the direction of the bar, but when Kerry turned, all she caught was the back of a man as he entered a door to his left.
“Would you like something to drink?” Damian leaned close to her ear to shout over Miranda Lambert wailing from the old jukebox in the corner.
The scent of after shave drifted toward her, and his soft breath on her cheek dried up her mouth. “Any kind of pop.”
“Are you hungry? They serve great burgers here.”
She shook her head.
He sat back and studied her. “Do you mind if I have a beer?”
“No. Not at all.” Why would she care if he had a beer? Was he being a gentleman, or was something sinister going on in his mind?
Damian shot her a breath-catching smile, then signaled to a waitress.
Despite Cody being dead a year now, this was the first time Kerry spent time alone with another man. She glanced around the packed room. Not really alone, of course, and not that it was a bad thing. At first, she had no desire to seek male company, and then when she realized how little she even knew about dating, it had just seemed easier to keep to herself.
A short, stocky woman approached the table. Kerry realized after she got close that the stockiness was actually pregnancy. A very almost-at-the-end pregnancy. Poor woman, to have to deal with all of this on her feet and being that far along. The midwife in Kerry kicked in, and she quickly eyeballed the woman’s condition. Her slow, lumbering movements spoke of considerable fatigue. With all the extra weight she had to have sore feet, and most likely an aching back. Probably, or hopefully, at the end of her shift.
“Hey, Damian. I can always count on your smile to cheer up my day.” The waitress leaned her palm on his shoulder and rubbed her lower back with her other hand. “What’ll ya have?”