“Oh.” Buck’s anticipatory fortitude took a hit. He’d steeled himself for a confrontation, and now he’d have to wait?Shit.
“Yeah. She’s off until Thursday. If you’re looking to book something, though, I know she has a very comprehensive website.”
“Uh, thanks, but I’m actually an…old friend.”
“Oh.” The woman’s look became speculative as she sucked in her bottom lip. “You know, you look a lot like…”
“…the police captain,” Buck supplied, way ahead of her. “Yeah. I get that a lot. I’m one of his brothers.”
“Nice to meet you, one of his brothers,” she smirked. “My name’s Pamela.”
Buck found his manners. “Buck,” he replied, walking over with his hand outstretched. “My pleasure.”
“Listen,” she told him, firmly taking the gesture with a knowing gleam in her eyes that said she was imagining old, romantic entanglements.
Buck could only wish.
“If you’d like to leave Bobbie a note, I’ll make sure she gets it.”
Clearly, she was new to town sometime in the last fifteen years, and didn’t know any of Buck and Bobbie’s history. That was a plus.
“No. Thanks for the offer, though. I know where she lives. I’ll just head there and find her.”
It was the last thing Buck wanted to do. He didn’t have a single fond memory of her brothers, and seeing them this morning would surely ruin his day. But what choice did he have? He had to get this encounter with Bobbie out of the way, or he’d perseverate on it until his brain exploded.
“Well, good luck with that. And if you and Bobbie do, uh, get together, my husband and I are always up for making new going-out friends.”
“Thanks,” Buck answered with a smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Pamela looked like she’d be great fun to hang with, but Buck doubted if he and Bobbie would be double-dating any time soon. He’d be lucky if she just heard him out and offered him exoneration over what he was supposed to have done.Beforeshe told him she never wanted to see him again.
Bummer.
Buck gave a wave as Pamela opened her door, and hoofed it back to his vehicle where he got inside, tilted his cranium back, and stared at his head-liner with a sigh.
Really? He was going to have to see Drew and Jeff?
That’snothow he wanted to start the week. He had a list of things Spencer had tasked him with, not the least of which was heading south into New Hampshire to meet with a retired diver who had lots of equipment for sale. Although it would be nice to have all new gear, they needed to be frugal until they were making money, and besides, sometimes the older stuff was built better. Either way, it was worth a look.
Eventually, after the company started making a profit, they’d buy new, top-of-the-line stuff for themselves, as well as offering up rentals and sales of recreational grade equipment for students who took lessons from them.
Buck loved thinking about the future of their business, and it distracted him, somewhat, as he took the road out of town. Eventually, however, he was unable to stop himself from remembering previous, long-ago trips to Bobbie’s house.
At the start of their senior year, Buck had begun picking her up for school because she didn’t have a car and the Vo Tech’s busses didn’t provide service to her rural address. He’d become her daily chauffer, and he bitterly recalled exactly how that had come about.
On the second day of school, he’d inadvertently witnessed an altercation when Drew—who he hadn’t yet met—was dropping Bobbie off on the street outside their school. Buck had a few classes with Bobbie, and he’d already had his eye on her as a person of interest. The school grape-vine, however, had told him that for reasons not talked about, Bobbie was off limits, so he’d been biding his time.
Nothing about the vague warning had discouraged Buck. It had merely intrigued him
That morning, he hadn’t been able to hear what was being said between the two siblings, but he’d watched in horror as Drew leaned over and yanked Bobbie back into the car by grabbing a fistful of her long, dark hair. He’d continued giving her some kind of verbal hell as he shook her like a rag doll.
It became clear that Bobbie hadn’t responded to the abuse in the way Drew wanted, because he’d not only continued to rattle her brains, he’d smacked her hard on her thigh, causing Bobbie to yelp.
Buck’s visage had turned red. He’d seen enough.
He’d just been getting out of his vehicle to intervene when Bobbie managed to get away. She’d slammed the door behind her before Buck could reach the car and give the asshole a piece of his mind, then she’d slunk off, tears in her eyes as she attempted to pull herself together.
Her emotional hell hadn’t stopped Buck from approaching her after he’d made his displeasure known to the prick watching by sending him a dark, warning glance through his window. While Drew had scowled back, Buck had ignored him and gently taken Bobbie by the elbow, escorting her into school.
