by Ellie Danes
“Nathan?”
His eyes popped open before I pulled my shirt on, and I saw the instant fire in his gaze. “Good morning,” he said.
I shook my head. “It was morning about an hour ago. We’re almost past brunch time here. What are you doing?”
“Can’t I relax? Couldn’t you help me relax?” Nathan asked.
I swatted his hand away as I dug my shoes out from under the motel bed. “You were the one who told me we had to get going today.”
Nathan groaned. “Since when are you the morning go-getter?”
“Since you decided to be the lazy bed hog.”
He sat up and caught my hand. “What would your perfect morning be like?”
I kept my smile in place but it was a painful question. Our mornings had been the same for so long now, and there was no sign of them changing, so why would I want to tease myself?
“My perfect morning would be fresh coffee, a long run, a hot shower, and brunch,” I told him.
“A run?” Nathan looked horrified.
“Then how about we just stick to the morning we know. Get in the shower, and I’ll try to brew a decent cup of coffee out of the vending machine,” I said.
I heaved him off the motel bed and escorted him to the shower.
“Sure you don’t need to join me?” Nathan asked.
“I just showered.” I slipped out of his hands and waved on my way to the motel room door. “I’ll give you fifteen minutes and then I’m packing the car.”
When Nathan emerged from the shower, I noticed the dark circles his flirting had covered up before. He looked exhausted and worried.
“How about I drive?” I offered.
Nathan barely nodded as he settled into the passenger seat and pulled out our stack of road maps. “Do you care what route we take?”
“No.” I put our coffees in the console and shut my door. “Why do you ask?”
“I was thinking we should head west a bit. Go from there.” Nathan’s eyes were searching the maps and wouldn’t meet mine.
Now what wasn’t he telling me?
I drove us about twenty minutes down the road before I couldn’t take it anymore. Whatever it was had Nathan so worried he wasn’t sleeping, talking, or touching his coffee.
I pulled into the next turn-out and killed the engine. “What’s going on with you?” I asked.
Nathan blinked and looked up. “Why’d we stop?”
“Because I need to know what is wrong. We’ve talked about this, Nathan. You have to tell me everything.” I turned in my seat to face him completely. “Are you having second thoughts about digging into Maggie’s case?”
“No,” he said. “I know it’s the right thing to do. It’s just, I was thinking, maybe we should head west first.”
“Instead of El Paso? You’ve said over and over again that the only piece of hard evidence we have is this postcard from El Paso. Why do you want to head west now?” I asked.
“I can’t get it out of my mind,” Nathan said. He squeezed his forehead with both hands. “I just can’t get it out of my head.”
“What? Did you remember something?” I leaned closer to Nathan but the hot coffee was in the way. “Are you okay?”
Nathan’s eyes were squeezed shut. “I’m sorry, Bree. This is all so crazy. I should have told you to stay back at the diner.”
I hitched myself up, clear of the hot coffee, and slipped into Nathan’s lap. “You could have tried. I’m here now.”
Nathan released his forehead and laid his hands gently on either side of my face. He kissed me lightly at first, his hands a little shaky. I wriggled deeper onto his lap and kissed him hard enough to tip his head back against the headrest.
“It’s just crazy, Bree. I’m sorry.” Nathan pulled back my head and held me there.
“Just tell me, Nathan. Please.”
Nathan’s lips screwed up in a rueful smile. “I had a bad dream, and I just can’t shake it.”
“About Maggie?” I asked.
“All of it, I think. It was a dream, you know? All weird and people were animals and then not. We were at the San Diego Zoo,” Nathan said.
“At the zoo? Where Maggie was taken?” I asked.
Nathan hugged me close. “She was trying to protect us. She was a lion.”
“Good.” I stroked his hair. “That means she’s strong and brave. We can help her.”
“She said she had something she had to do. She didn’t want me to take her home until it was done,” Nathan said.
I kissed him, little seals to remind him that I was still with him. “We’ll find her.”
“Bree, why are you so good to me?” Nathan asked.
My fingers popped loose the top button of my sweater. I wanted to distract him, anything to not have to talk about my reasons. “I wasn’t good to you this morning. I should have showered with you.”
Nathan licked his lips. “See? This is exactly what I mean. I act all crazy and tell you I’m having messed up dreams and you’re still here.”
“I am.” I rocked myself over his lap and felt his response building. “I’m right here.”
“Don’t you want that perfect morning, though? The fresh coffee, the run, the brunch? All of it? I can’t offer you any of those things,” Nathan said. “You should be off finding a good man, one who can give you that every day.”
“What if all I want is you?” I asked. I hoped my sultry tone and buttons opening would soften the meaning of those words.
Nathan didn’t need a lovesick waitress right now. He needed support, comfort, and a little physical distraction. Something to help clear his mind.
He kissed me, his tongue insistent and doing the tickling twist that always elicited a lusty moan from my lips. “I’m glad you’re here, Bree. Thank you.”
“Too bad you can’t thank me here,” I said. A large van rattled by, and we saw three rows of curious faces looking in on us.
“I can fix that,” Nathan said. He reached an arm into the backseat and pulled out a towel. “Hang that in the window and then get back here.”
I leaned over, unrolled the window, and put up the makeshift curtain. Then I felt Nathan’s hands on my waist. He guided me back to his lap, his desire harder against me as I straddled him again.
“I’m here.” I kissed Nathan and whispered those words against his lips again and again.
His hands guided my hips back and forth over his lap, the friction heating us both up. Soon the towel didn’t matter because the windows were clouded with steam.
“Here is good but the backseat would be better,” Nathan said.
He helped me over the seats and then joined me. I giggled when he kissed me like a teenager. I peeled off his shirt and then I pushed him down on the seat.
“My turn,” I said.
I leaned down and dropped a trail of hot kisses down his chest all the way to his waistband. I tickled him with my fingertips and then pried open the button of his pants. I tugged them off and was about to kiss my way back up his thighs when he grabbed my arms and dragged me back against his hard body.
Between our pressing skin, Nathan popped open the rest of the buttons on my sweater. He moaned his approval when he saw I wore nothing underneath but my black lace bra. I raised myself up and brushed his lips with the lace, my nipples rising to meet his hot breath.
Nathan peeled off my jeans as he nipped at my taut nipples. Then he crushed his mouth to mine again. We tangled ourselves up in the backseat until neither of us could take one teasing caress more.
I arched up, and Nathan’s hands raised up to meet me. He dragged them down slowly, cupping my breasts, teasing my nipples with his thumbs, until his hands squeezed my waist. Then he plunged me down on his pulsing manhood.
The pleasure was so intense that Nathan bucked. I lifted my hands to the roof of the car and used it to ride his passion. The car’s suspension creaked but that only fueled Nathan’s arousal.
He sat up and wrapped his arms around me. We were so tightl
y intertwined that I felt the second he started to come. The warm throb set off fireworks inside me, and it was a long time before the sparks settled.
We collapsed on the backseat of the car. It was peaceful, with only the occasional car whizzing by us. When I finally had the strength to raise my head and look at Nathan, I saw that the worried crease was gone from his forehead.
I might not have had any suggestions for what route to take, but I knew now that Nathan needed me as much as I wanted him.
Chapter Forty-One
Nathan
We drove into El Paso through the Hueco Mountains. Bree drove, one hand on the wheel and the other one tapping her thigh. The song on the radio was making her sing in little off-key bursts. It was good to see her finally relaxed.
I couldn’t believe I had worried her over the dream. I should have just told her what was bothering me in the first place. I felt stupid worrying over the meaning of a dream, but it had been so vivid. I could still feel my heart pounding when Maggie turned to defend us. Bree had been so comforting; I knew she was the only reason I could still string together a cohesive thought.
Without Bree, I knew I would be spiraling out into a strange world full of signs and paranoia. She kept me grounded, kept my head clear, and kept me optimistic.
It was hard not to be hopeful when Bree muttered out another verse of the song and laughed at her own singing. “Sorry, you’re stuck with me. I sing in the car. And I’m not going to be able to break that habit.”
I laughed but my own habits were a sobering thought. I was still chasing the little facts that I knew around and around until they didn’t make sense anymore. Then I only slept in ragged bits and had nightmares in between.
To stop the circling thoughts, I looked out the window. Sure, I was studying the landscape in hopes that I would recognize something, but it was a pleasant task. The Hueco Tanks State Park sign flashed past, and I felt a fist close around my lungs.
The sign seemed familiar, as if I had driven past it before but going in the opposite direction. I twisted in my seat and looked at it again.
“Yeah, I’m ready to get out and stretch my legs, too,” Bree said. “Have you ever been to El Paso before? Where should I go?”
I looked out the window as a line of tall, skinny conifers whipping by. The sparse trees on the outskirts of town were always a surprise. I furrowed my forehead at the odd memory and wondered again when I had been to Texas.
“I’ve been here a dozen times or so,” I laughed. “There’s a base down here where the Navy Seals sent us for training. Not my favorite stuff but I remember the city was fun.”
I directed Bree and then looked back out the window.
The urban sprawl was getting tighter as we headed toward El Paso, but none of it felt familiar anymore. There were faded memories of my visits to the base but those were all glossed over like they belonged to someone else’s life. I would never be welcomed on base again.
I saw a little bungalow that looked familiar and almost jumped out of the car. Bree hesitated at the intersection but shrugged when I didn’t say anything. Halfway through the intersection, I spotted another bungalow exactly the same as the first. They were a regular feature in the large developed neighborhoods.
“Are you remembering things?” Bree asked.
I slumped back in my seat. “No. Nothing helpful. Plus, there’s no way to tell if what I’m thinking is remembering or just wishing.”
“What you’re doing is overthinking it.” Bree pulled the car over to a gas station.
“What are you doing?” I asked. Bree was confidently sweeping together the contents of her purse and fixing her hair.
“I’m going inside to buy a postcard,” Bree said.
I ripped off my seatbelt and leaped out of the car. “A postcard? You can’t send it to anyone.”
Bree shot me a pained look. “I know.”
I caught up with her and looped my arm over her shoulders. “We still have to be the Cramers, remember? You can’t be sending anyone a postcard. Even anonymous.”
Bree shrugged off my arm and fluffed up her hair. “Well, Mr. Cramer. It just so happens that I was going inside to see if that postcard you’ve got is a common one or if we can narrow down where it came from.”
My hand snaked out and grabbed Bree’s wrist. She swung around and bumped into my chest. “Thank you,” I said, then I kissed her.
We walked arm and arm into the gas station and checked out all the postcards in the wobbly metal display rack.
“Are these your only postcards?” Bree asked the clerk.
He nodded.
I turned her around and walked her out, before the security camera could sweep past our faces. “Let’s try the visitors’ center next, honey,” I said.
The clerk called out the directions to the visitors’ center and hoped we had a good day.
“Wow,” Bree said when we reached the car. “They really are that friendly in Texas.”
“Or maybe men are just that friendly to you,” I pointed out.
We drove about five miles east to the visitors’ center. It was a long, squat stucco building painted with bright murals. We stopped to admire the bold colors and the local history before stepping into the cool interior.
The hot Texas sun had us blinking for a few seconds before we could navigate the inside of the center. There was the obligatory rack of local brochures and a long row of vending machines.
“Oh, look, they have cave paintings at that state park we passed.” Bree snatched up the brochure and then spotted the postcard display.
“Welcome to Texas, miss,” a man in a cowboy hat said with a wide smile. He leaned on a stool behind the information counter.
“Thanks.” Bree was unaware of the man’s continuing gaze as she turned the postcard rack around and around. “You have any postcards of the missions?”
“Mostly just vistas. They sell postcards at the missions themselves as a way to raise a little money. Those old buildings take a lot of upkeep under the Texas sun.” The cowboy tipped his hat back and checked Bree out more thoroughly.
“So, do you have a map of the missions?” I stepped up to the counter and stared him in the eye.
“Sure. Poster on the wall,” he said. Then he pulled the brim of his hat back down and ignored me.
I hooked my arm firmly around Bree’s waist as we turned toward the back wall. She found the small icon of the mission and tapped it with her finger.
“That’s the one on the postcard.” She leaned up and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Looks like the east side of town.”
“Is there a good hotel on the east side of town?” I asked the man behind the information counter.
He shook his head. “A decent motel’s about all you’re going to find.”
Bree laughed. “I’d say we’re stuck in a rut but at least it’s a new town.”
“Try the Armadillo Inn. Tell Maureen I sent you over and you get free WIFI.”
“Thanks!” Bree waved at the cowboy and spun us toward the visitor center doors.
I could still feel his gaze on Bree’s behind as we crossed the parking lot. “At least he wasn’t looking at our faces,” I said.
“What?”
“I’m just saying, it’s a good thing your ass looks great in those pants. No one’s going to recognize our faces.” I laughed as Bree swatted my arm.
“Here, you drive.” She tossed me the keys.
We headed toward the east side of El Paso, and it wasn’t hard to find the Armadillo Inn. A neon blue armadillo strolled across the neon sign and then flashed as headlights appeared above it. It was blinding as we pulled into the motel.
“Don’t worry, you can’t see it from the rooms. Too high up,” the clerk called from the front steps of the motel lobby. He stood up and dusted off his hands. “Maureen called to say some travelers were headed our way.”
“We just need a room for the night.” I pulled into the front parking spot and turned off the car.
“We’re about halfway full up but come on in and pick what room you want off the map.” The motel clerk held the door open for us.
“Is there a pool?” Bree asked.
“Most certainly.”
I stopped the clerk before his imagination made him drool over the idea of Bree in a swimsuit. “How about food? Anywhere deliver?”
The clerk snapped his eyes back to me. “Sure. Though your best bet is to head to the barbecue shack down the street. Best sauce you’ve ever tasted.”
“How about that and a few beers?” I asked Bree.
“Sounds like heaven. I’m starving,” Bree said.
The clerk gave us the room key and didn’t even glance down as I wrote ‘Cramers’ in the guest book. “Tell ‘em I sent you from the Armadillo, and they’ll give you extra greens.”
Bree waited until we got to the motel room and then gave my arm a squeeze. “I don’t mind if you want to go check out the mission tonight. You don’t have to put everything on pause because I’m hungry.”
“What if I want to see you swimming in that pool?” I asked.
“It’s shaped like an armadillo. Plus, I don’t have a swimsuit.” Bree flopped down on the motel bed. “I’m not swimming in anything that looks like roadkill.”
I sat down on the edge of the bed. “Armadillos are amazing animals.”
“So are cows. Mmm, barbecue sounds really good to me,” Bree said.
“Really?” I flopped down next to her. “I think you might be the perfect woman.”
Bree propped herself up on one arm. “And I’d be happy to make a beer run.”
“No way. Those cowboys like the look of you too much. I’m sticking close to what’s mine,” I said.
“So, you really don’t want to go straight over to the mission?” Bree asked.
“It’ll be there in the morning. We might as well settle in for the night,” I said.
I didn’t want to tell Bree how exhausted I was. The dream had nagged at me all day. I think she knew, though, and she was quick to take care of everything.
After three beers and countless mouth-watering ribs, it was impossible to hold my eyes open. That’s when I realized it had been Bree’s plan all along. With my stomach full of Texas barbecue and my head swimming with beer, there was no way I wouldn’t sleep through the night.
