Page 52 of Survive the Night
“Be glad.” Reaching over, he gave her a teasing poke in the ribs. “Once it snows here, it never seems to stop until June.”
With a laughing yelp, she twisted away. When he dropped his hand, disappointment filled her, and she resolved to talk to him the next morning. She wanted—no, needed—more kissing.
Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, she glanced through the window again. Her view of the parking lot was narrow, but she could see a sedan parked in front of the store. The engine was running, judging from the stream of exhaust drifting from the tailpipe into the cold air, and someone sat in the driver’s seat. Her mind immediately went to Aaron, and she stiffened. Could he have called in someone else? Even with him, Logan, and Jeb locked up, she still didn’t feel completely safe.
“What’s wrong?” Otto moved around so he was between her and the window.
“I’m just being paranoid.” Despite her effort to make her voice casual, her words had a tremor. “Who’s in that car out there?”
Otto moved closer to the window, and Sarah’s throat tightened. What if it was one of Aaron’s lackeys, and he had a gun? Her stomach clamped as she imagined the bullet shattering the window and burying itself in Otto’s massive chest.
“Wait…” she said, going after him.
“Huh.” He sounded curious and much too casual for the driver to be a bad guy. Sarah’s knees wobbled with relief, and she moved back to the register so she could lean back against the wall behind it. “I haven’t seen him in a few months.”
“Who?”
“Norman Rounds.”
“Oh!” She instantly felt silly. Of course it was Norman. He’d just been shopping, so he’d gone out to warm up his car before driving away. Her paranoia was getting the best of her. “He was just in here.”
“Was he?” Otto turned back to face her. “Did he say anything to you?”
“Just introduced himself. Oh, and he asked if I was the Sarah living with you.” Heat crept into her cheeks. “I mean, staying with you.”
“Hmm…” His face was serious, making her wonder if she should worry. “Did he say anything else?”
Sarah mentally ran through their conversation. “Not really. Why? What’s his story?”
“He’s involved with the local militia leader, Gordon Schwartz. For a while, Rounds was a suspect in an explosion that destroyed Jules’s barn.”
“Oh!” Her eyes rounded as she thought of the innocuous man who she’d just introduced herself to, and his purchases—wire and batteries and motor oil and wool socks—became much more sinister. Except maybe the socks. It was hard to think of any nefarious use for socks, unless he put a bunch of nickels in one or something. “He’s a bad guy, then?”
“No, not a bad guy. He was cleared of the barn explosion, plus he almost died saving Jules’s life. When we tried to question him about it, he denied all knowledge and then disappeared.”
“So mostly good with a side of shady?”
Otto grinned. “I like how you put things.”
A pleased flush heated her cheeks as she smiled back at him. They were quiet, just looking at each other for a long moment until Otto cleared his throat.
“I should get that milk replacer.” His voice had a little more growl in it than usual.
“Right.” Sarah shook her head to clear it. More and more lately, she’d been caught in an Otto-related daze. Once again, she resolved to talk to him about where they were headed. “You need to get home and get some sleep. When are the chief and the rest of the officers back from training?”
“Four days—well, nights.” He yawned, covering his mouth with his hand, as if her mention of sleep had triggered it. “Then I get a week off. Can’t wait.”
“Me, either.” Her own sleep was still sketchy, even in the bunker with a full squadron of animals. The house felt so isolated and empty at night without any other humans in it.
Nan, the kennel owner, approached the register with a couple heated water bowls, and Otto backed away. “I’ll be right back.” He paused, as if he was about to say something else, but then turned and walked away.
With a small smile, Nan looked back and forth between Otto’s back and Sarah. “You and Otto, huh?”
Forcing a noncommittal smile, Sarah scanned the tags on the water bowls. She was hoping for a her-and-Otto, but they weren’t there yet.
“That’s great,” Nan said, obviously misinterpreting Sarah’s silence. “He has a huge heart. It’s about time he fit a person in there along with all those animals.”
Sarah’s smile became more genuine. She liked the image of her squeezed into Otto’s heart, surrounded by Xena and Mort and Bob and Bean and Hortense. What a wonderful place to be.
