Anna stiffened. “I’ve heard they’ve had a dry autumn and late winter snowfall over there, so I shouldn’t be surprised. But I still worry when he heads off to parachute.” She shuffled her feet. “He left his dog here this morning?” She pressed her lips together.
Heather rolled her eyes. “Yes, okay? We’re grownups and all of that.” She banished thoughts of wildfires and what could go wrong with parachutes. Then she caught sight of the dark circles beneath Anna’s eyes. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” Anna took a deep gulp of her coffee. “I staked out Jack’s motel room last night because I figured he’d need to meet with the person he hired to impersonate you, and nobody showed up. I thought you might like to tail him with me today. I have Nonna Albertini on him right now, but she’ll probably try to interrogate him with a wooden spoon to the head, so we should take her place.”
Heather jerked. Wooden spoon? “Yeah, let’s go.” It was better than just sitting in her house worrying about Quint. “Can Zena come?”
The dog lifted her head.
“Always,” Anna said. “Come on, girl.”
The dog bounded across the room and licked Anna’s hand before running outside to take care of business in the snow.
Heather drew on her jacket and hobbled on the crutches outside and down the porch to the walkway, which Quint had shoveled that morning before leaving. The snow continued to fall, however. Slow and soft this morning.
Anna opened the passenger side door of a black Ford truck. “I usually drive a Fiat, but it had some trouble earlier this year and I prefer Aiden’s truck on the snow.” She helped Heather inside and tossed the crutches in the back seat before the dog leaped inside. “Settle down, Zena. Good girl.” Then she crossed around and lifted herself up into the truck. “Did Quint feed Zena before leaving?”
“Yeah,” Heather said. “He left the whole bag in my kitchen and asked if I’d keep her while he was gone. It’s nice to have the company.”
Anna nodded. “I agree. Zena is wonderful to have around. Both Aiden and I have hectic schedules, so we just can’t take care of an animal right now. Sometimes I borrow Zena, and I know Aiden likes her, too.”
“Aiden seems like a nice boyfriend,” Heather said, curious about the couple.
Anna ignited the engine and drove down the icy road. She winced.
Heather bit her lip. “Sorry. Was that a bad thing to say?” Maybe they were having problems.
“No.” Anna chuckled. “It’s just that the word ‘boyfriend’ doesn’t fit Aiden, you know? He’s a badass and I can’t figure out what to call him. Friend, partner, or lover all sound wrong, too.”
Heather held her hands closer to the heat bursting from the vents. “How aboutyour‘badass?’”
Anna turned down another road through town. “That’s better than ‘boyfriend,’ but it’s still a little off. I’m not sure. Either way, he’s mysomething.”
Quint didn’t seem like a ‘boyfriend,’ either. Not that it mattered. Last night was just last night, although the imprint of his teeth was still on Heather’s left buttock. She hid her smile behind her latte cup and took a drink. It took her a second to realize she was softly humming Christmas songs.
Anna slid on the icy road and then corrected. “You’re in a good mood.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Heather said, unable to hold back the smile.
Anna shrugged. “It’s your choice, but you and Quint seem like a good match, at least to me.” She slowed down to let a couple of fawns run across the road up ahead. “So long as you can deal with his job and understand it’s part of him. He’ll always want to be front and center with saving people and risking himself to do it.”
Could Heather handle that? Was she strong enough? “Chrissy seemed like a nice person, but she couldn’t deal with his job?” Not that it was Heather’s business.
“No. She was needy and always calling him for reassurance, and I think when he’s on a job, he has to concentrate solely on that job.” Anna glanced toward Heather. “Probably like you when you write and illustrate a story. I imagine you get lost in another world.”
That was an excellent way to put it. Although, friend zone? Heather turned toward her new friend. “I’m not sure about anything right now. I’m just getting settled in town, have an ex stalking me, and have the law waiting to arrest me. Quint was clear that he just wanted to be friends—albeit with benefits—so talking about anything more is just fantasizing.” But after one night with him, she had a lot to fantasize about. Quintino Albertini knew how to kiss…as well as do everything else.
Heat filtered through her body.
Anna drove to the far end of the parking lot to Molly’s Motel, which was just off I-90. “Anyway, no matter what happens, I’m glad we’ve become friends.”
“Me, too,” Heather said, settling comfortably into the heated leather seat. She had friends already. Life was definitely looking up.
The motel was painted a bright red and white, and cheerful blue Christmas bulbs lined every eve. A larger than life blown up Santa stood by the main door, his hat covered with real snow and icicles extending from his arms and wide nose.
“Jack is in room 12 on the first floor.” Anna pointed.
“I recognize his car out front.” Heather took another sip and studied the snow-covered SUV that now had key marks and dents all over the metal.
