Page 74 of Tempting Fate
“Butch was that bad, huh?”
“Butch, my father, you name it. I won’t do it again.”
“What? Get married?”
She let out a mirthless laugh. “Never. But I was talking about getting attached. It’s not worth the pain or the trouble.”
“Hear, hear.” He checked his watch and opened his door. “I’m going to do another sneak and peek.”
He climbed the tower again and peered out over the pastures and trees with his night-vision goggles. Everything remained quiet, though he thought he spotted some movement on the border of the McCreedy spread and Raylene’s land. Gabe took a closer look and suspected it was Nugget PD surveilling the situation from that vantage point. It wasn’t as good as the water tank tower—not as high or as remote—but Gabe was an expert at scouting out prime locations for reconnaissance missions. He’d certainly done it enough times.
He sat on top of the tank for a while, keeping his eyes peeled. The cold was biting, but he needed the air. The inside of the vehicle had gotten a little confining. He wasn’t used to spilling his guts, though Raylene had been a good ear. Not too touchy-feely or pitying, yet comforting in her own way. At least they were simpatico on the commitment thing. Who needed all those emotional complications?
He did another scan of the area, hauled himself up, and scrambled down the ladder.
“It’s freaking cold out there.” He got in the truck and quietly closed the door. Sound traveled at night. “Give me some of that blanket.” Gabe pulled the quilt across his lap. Raylene moved closer so they could both huddle underneath it.
“You didn’t see anything?”
“All quiet on the Western front, as Rhys likes to say. You should hop in back and get some shut-eye.” He turned around and folded down the seat. She could use the other quilt for padding. It wasn’t the ideal bed, but he’d slept in a lot worse.
“I’m okay. Why don’t you go and I’ll keep watch? If I see anything I’ll wake you up.”
“Nah. I don’t want you climbing up on the tank in the dark, and you can’t see much from here.”
He expected her to argue, but she didn’t.
“Why don’t we both stretch out in the back? It’ll be warmer, and we won’t get cramps in our legs for sitting too long.”
It seemed like a good idea to Gabe, since visibility wasn’t any better from the front seat. Not as long as they were behind a water tower. The thing about surveillance in the boondocks is a vehicle parked on a country road stuck out like a sore thumb. Not a lot of places to hide in plain view.
“Crawl back there,” he said. “I’m gonna go through the tailgate.”
While he was out he took another look around, gazing across the field to where he thought he’d seen another vehicle. Nothing. But the night was young, he told himself, and joined Raylene under the covers.
“Did you ever used to go to drive-ins? This reminds me of that.” She snuggled closer to him and he slipped his arm under her head to use as a pillow.
“Nah, I don’t think we had any. We were all about the IMAX.”
“There was one in Reno, and we all used to pile into someone’s truck and go. We’d stretch out with blankets and watch the movie from the bed of a pickup.”
He bet she was something then. Still growing into her looks but turning the boys’ heads. She would’ve turned his, that’s for sure.
“Sounds fun.”
“Sometimes the Lamberts used to hang a sheet in their yard and show movies. We’d build a big fire and roast marshmallows and make s’mores.”
“Country living.” He laughed. They didn’t do shit like that where he was from.
“Did you have a lot of friends back then?”
She shot him a look and he realized how it sounded. “I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic, but…”
“I wasn’t the town pariah, if that’s what you meant. I was the most popular senior girl at Nugget High, I’ll have you know. Homecoming queen, Sweetheart of the Mountains, and Plumas County rodeo queen.”
“Impressive.”
She socked him in the arm. “What were you? JROTC geek of the year?”
