“Yeah, me too.”Freddy reached across Ry’s ankles to pat the dog.“See you later, Chloe.”
“Chloe,” Dexter said, nodding.“That’s it.That’s her name.”
“What about Duane?”Ry asked.“Has he been here long enough to remember the trucking company?”
“No, but Belinda has.”Freddy jumped up and headed for the kitchen.
“I’ll come with you,” Ry said.
But to Freddy’s disappointment, Belinda had been too busy with cooking chores back then to take note of the removal of the drums.
“Let’s drive in and see Ballesteros,” Ry suggested as they left the kitchen.“Maybe he’d take a notarized statement from you.”
Hope filtered through her gloom.“You think so?”
“It’s worth a shot.”
“Okay.”She took her leather purse from a bottom drawer of the desk.“Let’s go.”
Ry looked surprised.“That’s it?You don’t have to fix your face, or anything?”
She paused in confusion.“Why, do I have a smudge of dirt on my nose?”
“No, you’re perfect, but I’ve never known a woman who’d walk right out the door without taking time to primp a little.”
Freddy hooked her purse over her arm and grinned at him.“That’s because you’re used to city girls.Welcome to the country, greenhorn.”
ChapterSeventeen
They took Freddy’s truck into town.“Let’s hit the drugstore first,” Ry said.“I don’t want to forget the most important part of this trip.”
“As if you would.”
He loved the warm color on her cheeks and wondered if he could intensify it.“Actually, there’s no chance I’ll forget.There is a chance I’ll try to seduce you somewhere along the way, and I want to be prepared.”As he’d hoped, she blushed even pinker.
“Ry, for heaven’s sake.It’s broad daylight and were heading into the heart of the city.”
“Which presents a challenge, I’ll admit, but I’m getting used to that with you.”
She wheeled the truck into the parking lot of a strip shopping center that contained a chain drugstore.“Okay, Mr.One-Track Mind.If you’ll make the purchase, I’ll use that pay phone to call Ballesteros and tell him we’re on our way.It’s getting close to lunchtime and we don’t want to sit and cool our heels waiting for him.”
“Good point.”
Moments later, he returned to the truck with a small plastic bag.“All set with Ballesteros?”
She leaned one arm against the steering wheel and gave him an assessing glance.“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you planned this, but I guess it would have been virtually impossible, even for a man of your imagination.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“Ballesteros has left for lunch, and after lunch, he has an appointment that will keep him occupied until two.”
Awareness flickered in his blue eyes.“Really?”
“We could drive home and come back, but that would take almost an hour by itself.”
“I see.”Ry turned casually and peered down the road.“I could take you to lunch.”
“That’s a possibility.”
