Touch Slowly (Red Light: Silver Girls series) (20 page)

"So, Nick." Nova grinned at her cousin from the safety and comfort of Emmett's lap. "Any special lady I should know about?"

"Hell, no." Nick set his empty beer can on the ground and stretched his long legs out in front of him. "I work too much."

"Bullshit." She laughed. "You've been out here partying for the last five hours, at least. You've had plenty of time."

"Maybe, but no desire to waste my time." Nick stood up. "I'm going in."

Nova sat up in alarm. Emmett pulled her back down and whispered, "He broke up with his last girlfriend right before you arrived. He needs time."

She sagged against him. "I didn't know."

The connection with her relatives ran deep, but she'd stepped away from what they deal with every single day. The relationships, the hardships, the joys, and even the changes that came to all of them, she only viewed their lives from the outside.

Shayla moved her chair closer. "I didn't know he was even seeing anyone until Marla broke up with him. He always went to her place on the other side of the park. I heard rumors, but you know Nick. He's always played around. But Marla forgot to tell him she was only separated from her husband and when the man came back, she left Idaho with him."

"God, that sucks for Nick." Nova sighed. "No wonder he's been extra quiet since I got here. Now I feel bad for teasing him. I'll apologize and try to talk him into a good mood."

"Nah, let it rest." Emmett yawned.

She looked at him. "Your long nights are catching up with you. I should go anyway. It's almost four in the morning. I need my sleep, too."

"I'll take you." Emmett worked his hand up under her hair and palmed her neck.

"That's okay. You go in and sleep. Shayla will take me, won't you?" She turned to her cousin.

"Sure," said Shayla.

"I got you." Emmett stood, placing her on her feet. "I parked the 'Cuda behind her car blocking her in and need to move it out of the way."

Nova cast Shayla a pleading look. Too many excuses would have Emmett wondering what she had to hide, so she nodded. "Let me go inside and get my purse, and then I'll be ready."

She hurried because Emmett taking her to town meant a longer walk back to Red Light after he dropped her off at Federal Inn. Wide awake now, she stressed about getting inside the establishment and sneaking out the back. Not one to continue bad behavior more than once, she hoped she'd make a clean break without drawing anyone's attention.

Returning to Emmett's side, she hugged Shayla. "Night, cuz."

"Night." Shayla kissed her cheek. "I'll call you tomorrow."

She slipped into the passenger seat, threw her purse in the back, and put on her seat belt. Emmett was right. The temperature had dropped significantly.

Rocked by the ride back to Federal and sedated by the heater in the car, she became aware of Federal Inn in front of her when the car slowed down. She took off her belt, leaned over and kissed Emmett good night and good morning.

She pulled away reluctantly, knowing she'd have to go without seeing him until late tonight and today was her day off. "Go home and sleep."

"I will." Emmett kissed her again. "Do you want me to walk you to your room."

"No." She opened the door and stood outside the car. "I'm running right up to bed and snuggling under the blankets. Thanks for a great night."

Emmett dipped his chin.

She shut the car door and jogged to the glass sliding doors of Federal Inn. Inside the lobby, she breathed a sigh of relief. The front desk was vacant of any workers. She slipped out the back and hurried around the building, knowing something had to give. Constantly uptight and paranoid, she couldn't wait until her job at Red Light ended.

T
he gas pump hummed. Emmett held the nozzle and watched the price rise as he filled his car. His lack of sleep to blame for the empty tank he noticed on his way to open the store. Usually, he kept a half a tank of gas in the 'Cuda at all times and topped it off twice a week.

The pump clicked off. Sixty-eight dollars.

"Damn," he muttered, putting the nozzle back in the station.

He screwed on the gas cap and spotted a dark package sitting in the backseat of the car. Shutting the hinged door, he peered through the opened driver's side window and recognized Nova's purse. She must've left it in his car when he dropped her off at the inn.

Having prepaid at the pump, he checked his phone for the time. He had a few minutes to spare before he had to unlock the auto parts store, and hopped in his car to head to the inn.

He tapped his thumb against the steering wheel. The excuse to return Nova's purse gave him a chance to see her again. They'd parted ways only two hours ago, and he already missed her by his side.

Hell, he hadn't wanted to drop her off.

After she had confessed to trying to work things out with her boss to stay longer in Federal, he wanted to spend as much time as he could with her to keep her focused on him.

He pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car in front of the doors in the drop off line. Reaching behind the seat, he grabbed her purse, wound the strap around the bulk of it and palmed the bag like a basketball and headed inside.

A young woman stood from the chair behind the front desk. "Good morning. Welcome to Federal Inn."

"Morning." He set Nova's purse on the counter. "One of your guest, Nova Kinsley, left her purse in my car, and I'd like to return it to her."

"Certainly." The woman moved over to the computer. "Kinsley?"

"Yes." He gazed around the lobby. A different employee at the desk a couple of weeks ago told him she couldn’t find a Nova Kinsley checked in at the Inn. He'd forgotten to ask Nova if she used a different name to register her room. Maybe the lady this morning would have better luck.

"I'm sorry. Maybe I'm not spelling it right. K-i-n-s-l-e-y?"

He nodded. "Right. Her first name is Nova, like the car."

"No, I'm not finding any Nova Kinsley checked into the Federal Inn." The woman smiled. "Could she be staying at the Ryan Hotel or the bed and breakfast down the road?"

"No." He fingered the strap on Nova's purse. "She's definitely staying here."

Two times he'd come here looking for Nova and each time, they had no record. She had to be checked in under her boss's name.

"She's about this tall." He held his hand up to his chin. "Long blonde hair. Beautiful. She's here on a work vacation, so maybe she checked in under her boss's name."

"What would his or her name be?" asked the woman.

He shook his head. "I don't know."

"Well..." The woman pursed her lips, looked at the screen of her computer again, and clicked her tongue. "No, I'm sorry. We only have seven of our rooms occupied at the moment. Of course, our daytime receptionist might know the visitors better by description. Most of them are sleeping when I'm working."

"Were you working at the counter about two hours ago?" he asked.

"Yes."

He hesitated. Nova had to carry identification in her purse. If the woman could see a picture of Nova, she'd remember her walking through the lobby after he'd brought her to the inn.

Unzipping the purse, he gritted his teeth. His mom and sister taught him never to look inside a woman's bag, but Nova could need whatever she kept in her purse today, and he'd be at work and unable to run it back to her.

He found Nova's wallet, opened the snap, and showed her license to the woman. "Here's a picture of her."

The inn worker studied the picture. "No, I definitely would remember her. She's very pretty and young. Our guests that are here this week are attending the Gyro Festival and all appear to be retired individuals. I would check the hotel. She's probably there."

He put Nova's wallet back in her purse, wrapped the strap around the bag, and had no choice but to leave. "Thank you."

Bothered by the lack of information he'd received, he tossed the purse back in his car and headed to work. He'd dropped Nova off at the Inn three different times. Even without a name, how could they not recognize her? She left late, came back early, and yet the women working at the desk hadn't seen her.

He pulled into his parking spot behind the auto parts store wondering why Nick's truck was parked on the street out front. Unlocking the door, he walked between the racks of parts and out to the front of the store to open the door for business.

Nick hopped out of his truck. "You're late."

"Yeah, rough start to the day." Emmett held the door open. "I figured you'd be sleeping all morning before you had to go to work."

Nick worked an overlapping schedule at the silver mine. Not quite full-time, because he couldn’t get forty hour weeks. He topped out around thirty which disqualified him for any benefits, except for medical coverage while working.

"Woke up and figured I'd come to town and grab a few things for the truck." Nick sat down on one of the bar stools in front of the counter. "I need a new radiator cap, a C-clamp, and another gallon of antifreeze."

Emmett walked over to the rack. "Is it still running hot?"

"Yeah. It doesn't like to climb the mountain pass to the mine. I changed the thermostat out, so I'm hoping it's a faulty cap, and that'll fix the problem. I'm getting fucking tired of hauling water in the back." Nick swiveled on the stool. "Are you working alone today?"

"Yep, Steller is down to working three days a week now and is close to finally deciding he wants to retire." Emmett returned to the counter and rang up his order. "Has Nova ever said anything about the Federal Inn?"

Nick frowned. "Only that she's staying there."

He handed Nick his change. "She's not."

"What are you talking about?"

Emmett rubbed his hands over his face, knocking his Snap-On cap crooked on his head. "Nova's not staying at the Federal Inn. She left her purse in my car this morning. I tried to take it back to her before work and found out they have no reservation for anyone under that name staying there, so I showed the employee Nova's driver's license and the lady said the only people staying at the inn were old people here for the festival this weekend."

Nick planted his elbows on the counter. "But, she's here, in Federal. That doesn't make sense."

"A lot of things don't make sense," he muttered.

Nick studied him. He sat down on the stool behind the cash register. He'd given Nova the benefit of the doubt in hopes she'd come around to opening up to him. The more he made progress with her, something new popped up and had him questioning how much Nova was telling him.

"I know you guys are getting close. You see more of her than Shayla and me lately." Nick paused. "Have you asked her?"

"About where she's staying?" Emmett dug the sole of his boot in the rung of the stool. "Yeah, and I've dropped her off at the inn a few times. I've picked her up twice, and she always waited under the viaduct for me, clear across town. I never questioned why she waited for me there, because the fact that she was coming to spend time with me was more important. It's always late at night, too. I get that she's also working while on her vacation, and I'm busy working during the day, but you'd think that she'd come over and hang with Shayla during daylight hours at least."

Nick leaned to the side, removed his phone from his pocket, and tapped at the screen. "Hang on."

Bud McConnell walked through the front door. Emmett glanced at Nick one more time and walked around the corner, lifting his chin in greeting.

"What can I help you find today, Bud?" he said.

Bud shuffled his feet down the center aisle. A few days over eighty years old, Bud drove an old, baby-blue Continental in top shape from the early seventies. "Did you get the piece in for my exhaust?"

Emmett picked up a bottle of transmission fluid, knowing Bud would need his weekly fill-up. "Yep, let me grab it out of the back."

"Ah, you're a good man, Mr. Parker. Go ahead and take it out to the trunk and I'll meet you back at the counter." Bud shuffled away.

Emmett went in the back of the store, passing Nick—who sat texting on his phone, grabbed the part, and walked back through the store and out the door. He put the two items in the Continental and went back inside.

Once he rang Bud up at the cash register and the front door shut and he was alone with Nick, he said, "What's going on?"

"Shayla." Nick held up the phone. "Here, you can read it."

Emmett set the phone on the counter in front of Nick and looked up at his friend. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"Hell if I know." Nick grabbed his cell and shoved it in his back pocket. "Looks like we'll have to wait until tonight. If I hear differently, I'll give you a call."

"Thanks, man," he muttered, staying at the counter.

Nova opened up to him every single time she came to visit. Last night left him sated, and yet hungry for more. It was rare to find a woman who took things slow, waited for sex until the timing was right, and had him feeling pretty fucking good. He curled his fingers and thumped the counter with his fist. A dream girl.

He'd spent too many years chasing tail and finding himself disappointed. Nothing he received back from all the women he'd hooked up with made him any different than their previous boyfriend or their next boyfriend.

He wanted substance.

He wanted real.

He wanted sex with a woman who'd put everything into the relationship and settle down with him. Disappointed over the turn of events, he kicked the stool and watched it crash into the car magazine rack. He'd let himself fall in love with a woman intent on playing games.