C9 Welcome to Woods Creek

"Hi. Welcome to Woods Creek . Your truck couldn't be in better hands - can I get you ladies something to eat?"

"Yes, please," I pleaded, my stomach rumbling with hunger. "I'll just have a burger loaded with fries."

"Same thing," Mary said to Luz . "And a side of onion rings. And chicken wings. Pile them on. You know me and my gut."

Luz smiled, shaking her head. "I'll never know where you put it all, Mary Henry."

The waitress hurried to place the order. Mary rubbed her hands together.

I smiled. It took little effort with her. "It's a relief that there's someone else who likes your food."

"What can I say?" Mary shrugged. "I'm all or nothing. Sometimes I get lost in cars and don't eat all day. But then I stock up for like a month."

"That I do understand. Thanks for asking me out tonight. I'll pay for this."

"No, you won't. You'll take the beers and leave the tip. The rest is on me."

"I'll pay half..."

Mary put a hand firmly on his arm. "I'll pay it. No arguments. You'll need your money to pay for the repair. I'm crazy about the price."

I relented. "I'm sure you're worth every penny. But thanks for the food. And the hospitality."

"As my mom says, being nice and polite costs nothing. And I can't even imagine how you feel right now, traveling alone, to another state, on your own. And falling apart..."

My cheeks reddened. I didn't know where to look. But I had a role to play.

Why does this hurt?

Usually this was the part I was good at; the acting, getting under people's defenses to get information. But with Mary , I felt disloyal, and felt every twinge of the lie. "You could say that," I replied sheepishly.

"Hey, don't be so sad. At least you were stranded near us. We'll take care of you."

"You already have." I took a sip of his beer. "Tell me about the place."

"The creek?"

I nodded my head.

"Sure." He shifted in the seat. "We're a small town, as you've seen. We have just about everything we need here. It may drown some of the younger ones, but few leave. Some go away to study, but they always come home. And we are a close-knit unit. We look out for each other."

"That's very good. Have you ever left?"

"Me? No. It's never crossed my mind. Sometimes I don't mind driving out, seeing what they have in other towns and in the malls, but it always seems too fast-paced. Everyone so focused on their own trip. Others so off their radar it hurts. I'm always glad to come home."

"I can understand that," I counter. "I always feel so lonely the more people there are around. I understand why you feel more comfortable with fewer, more beneficial connections.

"I'll pay half..."

Mary put a hand firmly on his arm. "I'll pay it. No arguments. You'll need your money to pay for the repair. I'm crazy about the price."

I relented. "I'm sure you're worth every penny. But thanks for the food. And the hospitality."

"As my mom says, being nice and polite costs nothing. And I can't even imagine how you feel right now, traveling alone, to another state, on your own. And falling apart..."

My cheeks reddened. I didn't know where to look. But I had a role to play.

Why does this hurt?

Usually this was the part I was good at; the acting, getting under people's defenses to get information. But with Mary , I felt disloyal, and felt every twinge of the lie. "You could say that," I replied sheepishly.

"Hey, don't be so sad. At least you were stranded near us. We'll take care of you."

"You already have." I took a sip of his beer. "Tell me about the place."

"The creek?"

I nodded my head.

"Sure." He shifted in the seat. "We're a small town, as you've seen. We have just about everything we need here. It may drown some of the younger ones, but few leave. Some go away to study, but they always come home. And we are a close-knit unit. We look out for each other."

"That's very good. Have you ever left?"

"Me? No. It's never crossed my mind. Sometimes I don't mind going out in the car, see what that they have in other towns and in the malls, but it always seems too fast-paced to me. Everyone focused on their own trip. Others so off their radar it hurts. I'm always glad to come home."

"I can understand that," I counter. "I always feel so lonely the more people there are around. I understand why you feel more comfortable with fewer, more beneficial connections.

Mary cocked her head, studying me, and I realized how lonely I had sounded, something that wasn't part of the act. I asked her another random, light-hearted question, so she wouldn't probe too hard.

Grateful when the burgers arrived, we thanked Luz and started eating.

"Ho-lee-shiiit," I groaned after taking a bite. "This tastes so good."

Luz laughed pointing at my face. "You got half of it on your cheek."

I didn't care. It tasted too good for me to care. But I reached for a napkin to maintain decorum and wiped it off. I pointed to Mary's mouth . You have ketchup on your chin." I took another bite of the delicious sauce.

Mary let out a laugh that made me burst. I tried not to spit the food onto the table, almost choking on it. That made Mary snort some more, and I almost lost it.

But then she stopped, looking behind me, and her face went from happy to angry in a second. I turned around, wiped my mouth and swallowed my food.

There were two muscular men. Two handsome men. One was raising an eyebrow in Mary's direction and twitching his lips. The other was staring at me. No, he stared at me to the point that I had to blink to break the connection. He looked familiar. Sexy as hell, with his sun-kissed hair and kissable lips, but also familiar. How could I have seen him before with him so far away from...?

Punch. Punch. Wallop.

The sketch.

The damn sketch Scott had given me.

I could barely breathe, my head was trying to come to its senses. His topaz eyes still wouldn't leave mine, and I couldn't believe my instinct had hit the nail on the head.

Paul Reed .

My reward.

A man who had walked into the bar and was looking at me in a way that made my heart pound hard and fast against my chest. But he had also struck gold. My uncle would be okay. I could fix him up.

The other man was chatting with Mary . He had shoulder-length blond hair and good looks, with a tank top clinging to his muscular chest. But he paled compared to the man next to him, who still said nothing.

Damn, he's big.

And my plan involved drugging him and somehow getting him back to Idaho?

"Lara." Mary drew my attention back to her, grimacing as the blond man sat down with us. "Sorry for the rude interruption. But it seems these two thugs can't wait to have our company. May I introduce Paul and Manala."

"Paul?" I stammered, still trying to pull myself together. I needed to keep my cool. The plan was spinning around in my mind, wobbling like a newborn deer, trying to find its way.

Paul sat down next to me and I noticed he wasn't wearing a wedding ring. That was good, wasn't it? I could go the seduction route and make him feel comfortable with me. But the very idea of doing something like that to a man like him was like a strong kick in the stomach with twenty shots of tequila to go with it.

He held out his hand for me to shake. "Paul Reed . I own this town."