Page 101 of Turn the Tide
Chapter 3
Josh patted Marco’s back as he walked past, and Sanchez scowled. Was he really that transparent? He still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Sarah Dutton was back in town. She looked better than ever. She’d always been beautiful enough to make his throat go dry, but her biggest draw had always been her heart. Sarah was all about caring for people and fighting for the underdog, and apparently, that hadn’t changed.
When they became friends, and later more than that, some part of him had always wondered if she saw him as another project, another stray to take care of. He stiffened, just as he had in high school. He might be the son of migrant workers, but their family had worked hard, had looked out for each other and never taken handouts, no matter how bad things got. And they got plenty bad with his father’s drinking away what little they made in the fields.
She’d kept the photo.
Marco pushed that thought aside as he grabbed his helmet and handed it to her. “It might be big, but it should work.”
She gingerly placed it on her head, then fumbled with the straps. He brushed her hands aside and quickly secured it in place. The faster they got moving, the faster they’d get back. He figured they were all thinking the same thing, since everyone was unusually subdued as they checked gear and got ready to go. He’d have to deal with the mind-boggling fact that Sarah was back in town later.
He swung onto the ATV, motioned her up behind him. “Climb on and hold tight.” As she did, he scanned the sky again, felt the wind picking up, angry clouds moving faster, pressure changing. The weather was about to get ugly.
He glanced over his shoulder to where Sarah sat on the seat, a good foot of space between them. He reached back and tugged her closer. “Wrap your arms around my waist and hang on, or you’ll bounce off at the first pothole.”
He watched her eyes widen and her throat move as she swallowed. He realized she was nervous, but he wasn’t sure if it was about him or the weather. At least she was wearing tennis shoes with her scrubs. “Shouldn’t take long to get there. Hold tight and try to enjoy the ride. With the storm coming, lots of wildlife will be out feeding in preparation. It’s not the country club, but there’s some beautiful scenery between here and there.”
She rolled her eyes as he fired up the engine, and he warned himself to stop acting like the adolescent idiot he’d been all those years ago.
Sarah Dutton was back in town.
***
Despite what Marco had said, Sarah vowed to keep a respectable distance between them. That lasted until he gunned the engine and she almost slid off the back of the ATV. She grabbed the sides of his uniform shirt, slid forward to plaster herself against his hard back, and held on for dear life.
Ahead of them, Hunter, Charlee, and Josh, each on their own ATVs, took off like rockets, and despite the impending storm, they bantered back and forth as they raced through the Forest, dodging trees and acting like they were having a ball. Once she felt reasonably confident she wouldn’t fall off, she watched Charlee, envious of her skill and confidence on the big machine. Even though she grew up on a horse farm, Sarah had never really been a country girl. She preferred the energy of a big city: the museums and coffee shops, concerts and street fairs, going out for drinks with friends. Out here in the Forest, she felt oddly exposed, unsettled. Never mind that her body had decided it really liked rubbing against Marco’s hard back. Despite her conflicted feelings, he made her feel safe.
When he looked over his shoulder and grinned, she couldn’t help grinning back.
But then she remembered how he’d treated her in high school and her smile vanished. He’d broken her heart once. She wasn’t about to give him the chance to do it again.
***
Freddie loved the terror on the driver’s face.
“Please,” the man stammered. “Just let me out. You can have the car.”
Freddie laughed. “I already have the car.” He waved the gun and watched the man pale even more. He leaned closer and held the barrel against the man’s neck. “Shut up and keep driving.”
“Where are we going?”
Freddie cuffed the man with the gun, delighted by the thin line of blood that ran down the side of his face. “I told you to shut up and drive.”
As they headed east on SR 40, he thought about getting his hands on Patty, and suddenly, the perfect plan occurred to him. “When we get to Joe’s Diner, you’re going to park the car, go inside, and ask for Patty Thomas. She’s a waitress. Tell her to come outside. A friend wants to talk to her.”
The man nodded, white knuckles gripping the wheel.
Freddie pressed the gun into the man’s neck. “If you say anything else, to anyone else, I’ll shoot her. And then I’ll shoot you. Understood?”
The man gave one quick nod.
“Good. Keep driving. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
His smile widened as he pictured the shock on Patty’s face when she realized he’d come back to finish what he’d started. Just thinking about her hot little body writhing under him made him grin. He hadn’t had a woman in way too long, and it was all her fault. He’d get what he wanted and make her pay for that, too, both at the same time.
Life was looking better and better.
