“You’re such a jerk, Chad.” She stomped off to her car. “Coming, Dylan?”
I glanced over at her. “You bet.” But first I had something to say to Mr. Perrine. “You come around her one more time, you’re going to find yourself a guest in my jail. It comes to that, you’re going to be real impressed by all the things I’ll be able to think of to charge you with. Capisce?”
His eyes glittered with hatred, and I wondered if he was going to turn into one of those stalkers that can’t stand not having the woman he’s fixated on. He walked away without answering, and I hoped he believed I wouldn’t hesitate to make his life miserable if he didn’t leave Jenny alone. The idiot spun his tires, throwing up gravel, as he left the parking lot, and I shook my head. “How old are you anyway, dumbass?”
I walked over to Jenny. “You okay?”
“No, I’m furious.” She glanced up at the sky. “If I go home now, all I’ll do is stomp around my apartment half the night, calling Chad every bad name I can think of.” She paused again, looking out on the road thoughtfully. “There’s someplace I go when I need to think. Would you come with me?”
“I’m all yours.” It was definitely an honor to be invited to her special place. I followed her to her car, sliding onto the passenger seat. She rolled down her window, so I did the same. The night wind felt good. Although I was curious where she was taking me, I didn’t ask. She had the radio on an oldies station—something on satellite since apparently it was impossible to pick up the Asheville stations where we were. As we drove away from town, the radio blaring and the mountain air blowing in, it almost felt like I was back in high school and on a date. Except the girl was driving. Surprisingly, I liked it.
“Where’s a good place to get doughnuts around here?” I asked.
She glanced over at me, then burst into laughter.
“What?” I gave her innocent, wide eyes, but I was pretty sure I could guess the reason for her amusement.
“Cops and doughnuts.”
Yep, I’d called it. I couldn’t stop a grin. “Hey, it’s a thing.” It had been a long time since I’d been this relaxed and happy. It felt good.
“Mary’s Bread Company has doughnuts every morning except Sundays until eleven. They’re amazing.”
“I’ve seen the place.” It was a nondescript building about the size of my living room, easy to miss if you weren’t looking.
“Mary makes great coffee, too. What’s your favorite doughnut flavor?”
“There’s only one kind of doughnut worth eating. Glazed.” Sprinkles and icing were just wrong.
“Then be there any time between seven and eight if you like them hot.”
“Seriously? She has hot glazed?” At Jenny’s nod, I moaned. “I might have to marry Mary.” That set off another round of laughter. “Now what?”
She shook her head. “You’ll see.”
I was intrigued, and the first chance I got, I’d be showing up for my hot doughnuts and a look at Mary. We turned onto a dirt road that curved its way up. Not used to mountain roads, I gripped the window ledge. I also considered praying we didn’t go over the side, but I was going to trust that Jenny knew what she was doing.
“Thank you for not going all macho and knocking out a few of Chad’s teeth, by the way.”
“I figured you’d ask if you wanted me to butt in.” But I’d sure as hell wanted to.
“Definitely. After tonight I don’t think he’ll bother me again, but I’ll get a restraining order just to be safe.”
Finally. “That would be wise.”
“Here we are.” Jenny slowed the car and cut the engine.
The headlights were still on, illuminating the flat surface where we were parked. Off to the left were waist-high boulders, and to the right, the land disappeared.
Jenny opened her door. “Come on. You’re going to love this.”
I wasn’t so sure about that, but I followed her to the back of her car. She opened her trunk, grabbing a blanket and flashlight. Being a city boy, communing with nature wasn’t high on my bucket list.
“Are we going hiking in the middle of the night? Like through the woods? Aren’t there bears?” I had my gun on me, but maybe I should have studied up on bears. “How many bullets will I need to take down a pissed-off bear?”
She laughed. “You’re hilarious.”
“Wasn’t trying to be funny, Red.” I trailed behind her to a boulder near the edge. “What are you doing now?” I asked when she turned on the flashlight, illuminating the rock.
