Page 65 of Mountain Target

“Not like the ones at Pollo Loco, there aren't.”

“Pollo Loco? That doesn’t sound like a crêperie.”

He parked below the train tracks and together they walked carefully across the tracks and into the lower town.

“That’s a pretty good secret parking spot.”

“Don’t tell anybody about it. Are you sure you’re okay walking?”

“Why wouldn’t I—Oh, you mean my ankle? I’m okay.”

“Here we are,” he said a couple of minutes later, pointing at the narrow red and yellow entrance.

Her stare was comical.

“This is Pollo Loco?”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” he said. “What would you like with yours?”

Ten minutes later, they had their crêpes. The usual for him, beurre sucre, and Nutella banana for her, provided on a little paper plate, so they could take them with them.

Ren bit into it with a serious expression.

“Wow. This is really good.”

Beau couldn’t suppress a smirk. “I told you so.”

“Aunt Val would kill for this.”

“She likes crêpes?” he asked, aiming for a neutral tone of voice.

Ren laughed.

“I'll let you in on a secret. She loves Nutella. On bread. On anything.” Ren took another bite. “You know, Val likes you. You should take her out to dinner.”

Beau made what he hoped was a noncommittal sound and made short work of his crêpe.

“Is it okay if I finish mine in the car?” Ren asked, waiting for his nod before jumping inside.”

As he turned on the ignition, a woman’s voice came on the radio.

“Oh,” Ren said. “I love her show. She’s great.”

It took Beau a second to realize who it was. As usual, when he thought of Sarah Porter, he felt his cheeks redden with embarrassment.

Not so long ago, the night she’d first arrived in Chamonix, Sarah had locked herself in a gas station bathroom to avoid him, thinking he wanted to hurt her. Of course, that was before she and Jens had fallen in love. Beau had tried to apologize several times, but each time she’d seemed as embarrassed as him, so eventually he’d given up.

“You have a history with her?” Ren asked. She looked unhappy.

“God, no.” He didn’t know why, but it was important to him that Ren didn’t get the wrong idea. There was only one woman he was interested in. “We had a misunderstanding once, but she’s in love with a friend of mine.”

Ren nodded with the easy acceptance of youth.

“That’s cool. That you know her, I mean. Maybe you could bring her to school some day.”

“Maybe,” he said, wondering what he’d owe Jens and Sarah, already knowing he’d gladly pay it to make Ren happy.

Ten minutes later, he parked the car in the driveway. Valentina was coming out of the garage, looking so beautiful in jeans and a blue sweater it made something clench inside him.