Page 85 of The Last Second Chance
Jax moved on to double-check that the flashlights at the barn entrance had working batteries and then loaded the gas cans and Waffles into the Jeep and fired off a text to Joey before heading into town.
Taking Waffles with me to town.
Joey responded immediatelyand Jax chuckled.
Sure. Leave me the horse-sized one and the walking fart cloud. What does Carter feed this thing?
How about I pick you up something special at the liquor store to make it up to you?
I will accept your apology with nothing less than a good bottle of tequila.
See you in an hour with apology tequila.
Ninety minuteslater he considered just opening the bottle of tequila and drinking it while he stood in the checkout line. If the grocery store had been a nightmare—with a fistfight almost breaking out over the last bottle of kombucha—the liquor store was the third circle of hell.
Everyone in town was stocking up in anticipation of the storm. The line snaked around the register and up and down the last three aisles of the store. Bill Fitzsimmons was currently holding up the line trying to decide which pineapple-flavored vodka was superior. He’d been having a heated discussion with Mildred, the clerk, for the last ten minutes and the townsfolk were ready to revolt.
Jax caught Taneisha Duval’s eye. Blue Moon’s long distance running star rolled her eyes at him. “I will pay for your tequila if you get him the hell out of here,” she said, jerking her chin in Fitz’s direction.
“Deal.” Jax handed over the bottle and stormed the front of the line. “Is there a problem here, Fitz?” he asked.
Fitz, looked over his reading glasses at Jax. “Oh good, weigh in here, would you Jax? I was leaning toward the Highland Pineapple, but saw this one was on sale. Now Mildred tells me—”
Jax yanked the bottles out of Fitz’s hands and placed them on the counter with a little more force than necessary. “You should do a taste test. At home. My treat.” Jax fished his credit card out of his wallet and handed it over.
“Well, that’s very generous of you,” Fitz said. “But I still need to pick out my mini liquors. I always like to treat myself to a little something special. Now, let’s see…” He leaned in to examine the register’s display of little plastic bottles.
The line behind him groaned and Jax swore under his breath.
“And now it’s snowing,” someone called from the back of the line.
“We’re gonna get snowed in here and there’s no TV.”
The grumbling got louder.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Jax swept the entire mini display off of the shelf and dumped it into a plastic bag. “Now you don’t have to choose.”
Fitz looked like he’d just hit the lottery. “Well, if you insist—”
Mildred swiped Jax’s credit card so fast he thought he saw sparks. The crowd cheered as Fitz staggered out of the store under the weight of his haul. He waved cheerfully.
“My hero,” Taneisha called from the middle of the line.
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Joey rode Apollo hard, setting a grueling pace around the upper meadow trying to burn off the energy that she knew would turn stubborn sassy mounts into destructive dicks when locked up for a few days. She was thankful the indoor riding ring would give them some room to exercise in the coming days.
The air was thick with the onset of snow.
She thundered back into the yard at the stables, Apollo’s sides steaming from a good run. The flakes were already coating the grass and drive. She’d lived through enough New York winters to know that this storm was going to be the doozy that was predicted.
But they were as prepared as they were going to get. Animals secure, food supply stocked, and every precaution for a deep freeze and a mountainous dig out had been taken.
She dismounted and, flipping the reins over Apollo’s head, led him toward the stable. Joey was almost looking forward to the storm. A cozy night in with man and dogs, fire and food.
The Jeep eased up the lane, windshield wipers flying to clear the fat flakes from the glass. Waffles stood with his front paws on the dashboard playing four-legged navigator. She caught Jax’s smoldering look at her through the driver’s side window.
It would seem she wasn’t the only one planning for an interesting evening.
