Everyone at the table burst out laughing at Cerise’s comment. Brodie picked up her hand and kissed the top of it, ignoring the looks he was getting from the guys. He’d much rather have kissed her on the mouth, but if he started he wouldn’t be able to stop. Her hand was a much safer option. “I’m sure Finn would love that. But I like the idea of you coming. Even if I have to work the event, I’m sure I’ll be able to spend some time with you.”
“It’s a date then.” She smiled and his heart skipped a couple of beats.
Brodie looked at his watch and saw the time. “Hey, we better get out of here. We need to get Finn from school soon.” If Cerise thought it was strange him using we, she didn’t let on.
“It was good to spend time with y’all,” she said as she opened her bag.
Brodie quickly stilled her movement. “Lunch is on me.” He then looked around at the other men at the table. “Including all of yours. And don’t even think about arguing.”
Dean looked like he was about to say something, but then he must have seen the look in Brodie’s eyes and pressed his lips together. “Thanks.”
Together they walked to the bar where Buck was wiping it down. “Everything all right?”
“Yep, just want to pay the check.” Brodie opened his wallet, pulled out his credit card, and gave it to Buck. The bar owner’s eyebrows rose a fraction but didn’t say anything. What was that all about?
He looked at his wallet. Shit, he’d used his black Reserve Card, the kind of card that only the bank’s elite clientele were given access to. He looked over at Cerise, but she was studying her phone.
God, why was he so worried about telling Cerise he had money? It wasn’t like she’d given any indication that she would be the type of person to get close to him just because he did. She was the most independent person he knew.
Buck handed the card back and he signed the credit card slip before slipping it back in his wallet. “Ready to get Finn?”
She looked up at him and smiled but it seemed a little strained, as if she remembered what had happened with Daphne and that her plans had been put on hold. “Yep. Let’s go get him.”
Ed Williams satin the far corner of the bar of Buck’s Roadhouse, seen by the barman but not noticeable to everyone else. He hadn’t had any plans to stop at Hunt before hitting Kerrville again and casing out Cerise Robinson’s house, but needing gas and food made him stop. Now he was glad he had, as his quarry was right in front of him.
It hadn’t been too difficult to find Cerise’s address once he had her name. The only good thing about living in bum-fuck, small-town Texas was that everyone was easy to find. And luck was on his side for a change. When he’d heard her name, as the douche asked if they could sit at the table with three other guys, he’d practically fist pumped the air. Once she left, he planned to follow her.
He wouldn’t make his move until the wildflower festival he’d heard them talking about. They hadn’t been very quiet, which worked to his advantage. A group of people was the best time to take someone. People got lost in crowds all the time, especially kids. But really, how crowded would the festival be? Probablynot very, but then again, as Cerise said, Texans loved their wildflowers.
Whatever. He’d make it work. Create a distraction or something. He had a couple of weeks to plan.
Poppy, the stupid bitch, thought he was in San Antonio for a job interview. He needed a break from her constant needy attitude. He’d told her that he wanted to get a job there so he could provide a better life for her. She was so fucking gullible. He could only stomach being with her long enough to get her to make a will and think their marriage was going to last for a lifetime.
He shrunk into the shadows when Cerise and the guy she arrived with came up to the bar. His eyes bulged when he saw the flash of black that the guy handed over to the bartender. He’d seen that type of card once, when he was bartending in Austin and some fucker had come in and flashed it around. Only the rich had cards like that.
Things just got a lot more interesting.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Brodie hasa black Reserve credit card.
The thought raced around her mind like a kitten chasing a laser pointer. She didn’t know a lot about credit cards, but anything that was all black and had the word Reserve on it wasn’t the type of card an average Joe could afford. Not to mention when he put it back in his wallet she’d spied what looked like a lot of money in it, more money than a ranch hand would make on a weekly basis.
Something wasn’t adding up. His truck looked more like a top-of-the-line vehicle than a basic model. Yeah, he’d said he gotten a good deal on it but even still, it would’ve cost a pretty penny.
“What exactly did you do before you came to work at Mitch’s family’s ranch?”
“I was a paramedic in San Antonio.”
“And before that?”
His sighed and his fingers flexed on the steering wheel. She wasn’t sure she was ready for what he was about to tell her. She didn’t like to think that he’d been lying to her all this time, but his reaction to her questions was pretty telling.
“Do you recall trivia night and that question about the successful app?”
Thinking back to that night, her thoughts immediately went to the kiss they’d shared in the parking lot, not to one of the questions that was asked. What relevance did it have now? “Yeah, but that’s not the best thing I remember about that night. What about the app?”
A small smile played across his lips. “I answered the question and told the guys which college they were from.”
