The Wanderer (16 page)

“Have a nice night, folks,” he said, following them to the door and locking it.

“Is it late?” she asked Cooper.

“Apparently it’s late for Cliff. My watch says ten-twenty.”

They drove back to the high school for his truck, talking and laughing. There were still cars in the well-lit lot, still music coming from the gymnasium, but not a soul around the parking lot. Undoubtedly, some kids had managed to escape from under the chaperones’ gazes, but there was still action in there. They got out of the car and gravitated to the front, leaning against the hood and gazing at the school. Sarah sighed. “Another thing to say thank you for. Even though things got a little whacko at Cliff’s, I could have been trapped behind a decorated pillar in there until midnight.”

Cooper crossed his arms over his chest. “That was a nasty business at Cliff’s, but worth seeing. Now there’s no question about what you’re dealing with.” Then he shifted toward her. “In spite of that, I have to say, Sarah, I enjoyed dinner.”

She turned so they faced each other and smiled. “Maybe I’ll take you out again sometime.”

He pulled on her arm and brought her closer, against him. “You’re a good date,” he said.

“You thought of it as a date?”

He nodded. “From the beginning.”

“Well, I have some bad news, Cooper. I’ve given up dating.”

He couldn’t help but grin. “Going to go old maid?”

She smirked. “I could change my mind in ten or twenty years. For now, no dating. No men.”

“Probably a very smart decision.” Then he leaned toward her and got his face close enough so he could feel her breath on his face. “Kind of a waste, though.” And then he touched her lips with his.

“Mmm,” she said, closing those large eyes.

He pulled her closer, tilting his head to kiss her. He cradled her head in one hand and held her firmly but gently against his mouth. After the briefest moment, she parted her lips slightly so that their tongues could touch. When that happened he inhaled sharply, damned pleased at the response. One arm around her waist pulled her tight against him, and he moved over her opened mouth hungrily. He kissed her long and hard, even though he thought he shouldn’t. When he finally pulled back just an inch, he said, “News flash. I’m a man.”

“Friend,” she said. “Just a friend with some common interests.”

“And one of them is kissing.”

She laughed. “I’m human, after all.”

“Give me five minutes. I could wear you down.”

“In your dreams.”

“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked.

“Laundry,” she said. “Sunday catch up. Monday is work.”

“Hmm. Want me to help with laundry? I’ve been doing my own for years. I’m probably really good with the dainties.”

She chuckled a little. “No, thanks.”

He kissed her again, a little harder. Deeper. He let his tongue loose to play. Her arms slid up to his shoulders and she held on, joining a little tongue dancing. Everything he tasted said yes. He pulled back. “Probably smart not to get involved with someone like me,” he said.

“Not to worry, champ. I’m not going to get involved with anyone.”

“Good. I tend to piss women off.”

And then she pulled him back to her mouth and went after him with steam and power of her own and almost brought him to his knees. How’d she manage to taste like honey and smell like flowers after dinner at Cliff’s? He pulled her hard against him and devoured her, unsure whether he was relieved or disappointed that she wouldn’t feel his erection through that long, heavy coat she wore. And then her hands were against his chest, gently pushing him away. Not shoving, just a little push so he’d back off. She smiled into his eyes.

“So far, the way you don’t get involved is made to order,” he told her.

“I’m going home now, Cooper. Thanks for helping out. And everything.”

“Sure,” he said, taking a step back. “Want me to follow you home?”

She shook her head. “I’m good.” She gently slugged his chest. “Drive careful.”

“Yeah,” he said, breathless.

When she turned to get back into her car, he followed. He held the door and then closed it for her. He waved her off. And then he stood by his truck for a little while as she drove off.

“Holy shit,” he whispered. “Damn.”

* * *

Landon and Eve left the homecoming dance with Downy and Ashley at about nine-thirty. They got a pizza in town and took it to Landon’s house because no one was home, thanks to Cooper. What a pal.

They snarfed down pizza and Cokes, laughing over stories everyone had to share. The second the pizza was gone, Downy grabbed his girl, lifted her up and said, “Come here, my girlfriend, and drive me out of my mind some more.” He carried her to the living room, where he chose the sofa for some rock-star-quality making out. After five minutes, he pulled her down the hall of the little house.

Landon was stunned, his mouth hanging open. “Is he doing what it looks like he’s doing?”

Eve smiled. “I prefer not to think about that too much. And of course, anything my best friend said to me is confidential.”

“Of course, yeah,” he said.

She grinned at him. “You have to wonder, though, right?”

“But he wouldn’t do the nasty here, in my bedroom, when my sister could be walking in anytime?”

“Probably not,” she said.

He smiled at her, knowing it was crooked. “Eve, I’m sorry you got stuck going to a big dance with a guy whose face is mashed in.”

She pushed back her kitchen chair and went to him, sitting on his lap. “You’re still handsome, even with your face mashed in. You got altogether too much attention from the girls, too.”

“That’s because of you,” he said. “They couldn’t believe I was with you.”

“Does your mouth hurt?” she asked.

He tilted his head and then slowly touched the place where his lip was split. “Just a little, right here.”

“Hmm,” she said, leaning forward and kissing him gently right beside it. Then she pressed her lips against his cheek. Then the goose egg on his forehead. Then his lips again. Then she smiled.

“I could heal up and be less interesting,” he said. “Think you’d go out with me again?”

“I could. But you’re going to have to ask me next time.”

“It’s kinda cool having the prettiest girl at school ask me for a date,” he said. “I’d really like to take you out tomorrow, but maybe by next Saturday night my face won’t look like I’ve been in a wreck.” He put his arms around her waist. “I want my lip healed, that’s for sure.”

“Oh?” she teased. “And why is that?”

“You’re not the only one who’s a good kisser, you know. I’m not bad—when it doesn’t make me bleed.”

She laughed at him. “When’s your birthday? Maybe for your birthday.”

“What a coincidence,” Landon said. “Next Saturday night is my birthday!”

She pulled away a bit, but put her arms around his neck. “I think you’re lying. You wouldn’t lie to me, would you, Landon?”

“And the Saturday night after that is my birthday, too,” he said, leaning toward her, his lips ready. “Go easy now,” he whispered.

And she gave him a light kiss on the side of his mouth.

“More,” he whispered, and she was happy to comply, treating him to sweet, soft kisses for a few minutes.

“When you first moved here,” Landon asked, “was it easy? Did you fit right in?”

“I fit right in with Ash, but we had some issues—like the girlfriends she already had had for a long time were jealous of me because Ash liked me. It took a while before that passed. When my dad took this job and bought the house, I didn’t want to come. I was in seventh grade and I gave him a hard time. He was more patient than he should’ve been, but Lou just about lost it. You don’t want to mess with Aunt Lou. You moved a lot, right?”

“Coast Guard. You’re gonna move, that’s how it is. But I loved Alaska. Even though I was just a little kid when we were in Kodiak, I hated to leave. I’d go back there in a second. I’ll go wherever a football team will cover my tuition for college, but if I had my choice, I’d head back to Kodiak.”

“I haven’t been very many places,” Eve said. “We’ve been on some cool camping trips, but if we can’t drive there, we can’t go.”

He smiled his lopsided smile and touched her cheek. “Nothing wrong with that, Eve. I like camping. So does Sarah.”

“In summer, sometimes a bunch of us camp on the beach,” she said.

“Really? All night?”

She nodded. “And we try not to notice the deputy’s SUV parked at the edge of the beach.”

He tightened his arms around her. “Guess there’s no zipping sleeping bags together....”

“Don’t worry, Landon. He probably nods off. At least that’s what he does in his chair every night.”

“So. There is a God.”

* * *

Gina looked around the colorful gymnasium, now almost empty of people. The teens who had driven their dates started to leave by nine or so; the chaperones followed suit as the number of kids on the dance floor thinned out. Lou McCain was among the first to leave; she wanted to check on Ryan and Dee Dee. Quite a few kids, maybe fifty, hung around the dance until the last dog died and they were herded out the door. Aside from the refreshments, there was very little cleanup. The kids who put up the decorations would be back to strip them down on Sunday afternoon.

Mac stood near the back door of the gym talking with one of the deputies, Charlie Adams. He rocked back on his heels and laughed—a good sign. Charlie must have stopped by to say the town was quiet with nothing much going on.

God, but he was perfect. Perfect-
looking.
As men go, Deputy Yummy Pants was an amazing specimen, but he was apparently a eunuch. Or gay. But either was impossible to grasp. In the four years they’d been good friends, there’d been those couple of times he’d kissed her with awesome, sincere passion...then backed right off on the excuse of parenthood.

She often wondered if he had some chickie buried somewhere out of sight, some woman he saw regularly who scratched his itch so that around town he could appear completely unattached. Maybe she was a terrible kisser and he came to his senses?

Men flirted with her regularly. She was behind the counter at the diner, after all. Nearly every man in town passed her way at one time or another, as did the occasional out-of-towner—the UPS guy, the beverage guy, the guy who delivered the meat. She’d grown up in this town. She’d known a lot of the people forever. After having a baby in high school and keeping her, living with her mother as she did, it had taken quite a lot to retrench her reputation and emerge as one of Thunder Point’s best-liked and most-respected residents. Back in high school, she imagined people whispered that she was a slut. Now they thought of her as upstanding, thanks to years of church, PTA and town meetings. Oh, and very little traffic with the opposite sex, though she had dated a bit here and there.

Not in the past few years, however. It seemed pointless.

Before she could brood any longer, Mac was walking toward her with her coat slung over one arm. She wanted to be angry with him for tying up her heart the way he had, but she couldn’t. He might not be her boyfriend or lover, but he was always there for her. Always. The best friend she’d ever had.

“Thanks,” she said, taking her coat and shrugging into it.

“I’ll walk you out,” he said, taking her elbow.

“Thank God the diner doesn’t open at five on Sunday mornings,” she grumbled. “I’m exhausted.”

“You need more days off.”

“I need bigger tips,” she said as she laughed.

“Yeah, me, too.” He opened the back door for her. “And a good time was had by all,” he said. “No fights, no accidents and, as far as I know, no illegal drugs or drinking.”

“Or they’re getting better at hiding it,” she added.

“Never saw a hint of trouble.”

“Oh, there was little stuff. Predictable stuff. A couple of girls crying in the bathroom. One over her date, who was acting like an idiot, raving about some other girl’s cleavage. There was one notable clothing malfunction that had to be pinned back into place—an entire breast escaped and every high school boy in the room claimed to have seen it. And then you have the mean girls—Patrice, Stellie and Harmony.” She sighed. “I think Harmony is the worst one. She just can’t live up to her name.”

“What did the mean girls do?” he wanted to know.

“Being a guy, you probably wouldn’t catch on. They stick together in a little clot, whisper, shift their eyes toward their victim
du jour
—some younger, simpler, more vulnerable creature—and then they giggle. That sort of thing. Lean toward each other on the dance floor, whisper and stare, laugh. Spread rumors, like saying Lindsay got her dress at the Goodwill until Lindsay—who did get her dress at the Goodwill—ends up in the bathroom crying, begging to just go home.”

He looked a little shell-shocked. “That’s
horrible!
”

“With all the things you see on the job, I’m surprised you’re surprised. People can behave very badly. Especially teenagers.” It didn’t even bear mentioning what her generation of mean girls had to say about her when she turned up pregnant at fifteen.