Page 46 of Need You
She laughed but added, “What you know about fashion could fit in a thimble.”
“I’ll concede to that.” It was fun messing with her. She gave as good as she got, just like his three brothers.
He dropped the shorts off at his house, got his truck out of the garage, and stopped in front of Delaney’s house to pick her up. By the time they got to the restaurant he was starved. Luckily, one of the owners showed them to a table almost immediately. He ordered a plate of naan to hold them over.
“You hungry?” he asked Delaney.
“I am.” She toed her purse under the table and Colt was momentarily distracted by her red shoe and one very shapely ankle.
They got their flat bread, ordered, and watched as a steady trickle of people flowed in. They’d been fortunate to get to the restaurant before it had filled up. TJ came through the door, spotted Colt, and made a beeline for their table.
“Shit,” Colt muttered under his breath. He didn’t want his brother giving him crap over Delaney, especially because this was the second time TJ had caught them together. His family was great, but they had an annoying habit of getting in each other’s business.
“Hey.” TJ came over wearing a grin the size of the Grand Canyon. Colt wanted to wipe it off his face. “What are you two up to?”
“Gee, we’re in a restaurant. Perhaps we’re getting a bite to eat,” Colt said, which only made TJ’s grin widen.
“Me too. Pickup.”
Good, Colt thought. The sooner his brother got it, the sooner he’d leave.
TJ grabbed the chair next to Delaney. “You have a good time white-water rafting with Colt the other day?”
“It was wonderful,” she said. “Initially I was nervous about it, but Colt made it seem effortless.”
TJ smirked. “Yup, you were in good hands.” He turned to Colt, who wanted to sock him. “We’re having a brief meeting tomorrow morning to talk about the races. Can you come?”
Colt shook his head. “Pond wants me to lead the police department’s team.”
“The police department doesn’t have a team.”
“We do now.” Anything Pond could do to get under Colt’s skin.
“Ah, Jesus.” TJ broke off a piece of naan and ate it. “He’s really trying to screw with you, isn’t he?”
Colt shrugged. Sure, it would break with Garner tradition to have him compete against his own family, but it was far from the end of the world. “It’s an amateur race. No big deal.”
“Don’t let Dad hear you say that.” Their father had founded the annual contest and to him it was a source of pride that GA won every year.
“He’ll get over it,” Colt said.
One of the owners came out of the kitchen with a sack for TJ.
“I better get going. Nice seeing you, Delaney.” TJ paid at the register and took off with his bag of takeout.
Delaney turned to Colt. “What do you think the mayor is up to? Is it possible he’s just getting into the spirit of the races and wants the city to be more involved?”
“The city has always been involved, just not the police department. I think TJ’s right; his intention is to mess with me. He knows I’m part of Team Garner every year. It’s a vindictive maneuver to get back at my family for rallying the town to support me over the picture on Facebook. It’s petty and stupid, but it’s easier for me to go along than fight it. And frankly, the police department should be involved. It’s a nice way for us to interact more with the community.”
“You’re a better man than I. As far as I’m concerned the mayor is a creep and I look to avoid him every chance I can.”
Their food came and Colt waited until the server left. “I know you said he made a move on you a while back. He hasn’t continued to pressure you, has he?”
“No. Once I made it clear I wasn’t interested, he acted like nothing had ever happened. What’s his deal, anyway? Has he ever been married?”
“Divorced twice, according to Carrie Jo. That’s all I know about his personal life other than the fact that he’s wealthy, or so he says.”
“You don’t believe him?”
