Page 13 of A Very Merry Mistake

She pulls her beanie off her head and puts her dark auburn hair back in place before repositioning it. “Could you please direct me to the ladies’ room?”

Hank points over her shoulder, down the small hallway. “It’s a shared bathroom.”

She gives him a smile, turns on her boots, and walks away. I hear the door clicked closed, and Hank stares at me.

“How do you know her? She some mail-order bride?”

I roll my eyes. “Shut up.”

“You said over drinks you were thinkin’ about it.”

“I was kiddin’,” I whisper-hiss. I imagine Claire will be in there for a little while, considering she looked as if she’d hitch a ride out of here with aliens if they showed up with a working vehicle. “I picked her up off the side of the road.”

His mouth falls open. “How is that better?”

“What?” Then I realize what he’s suggesting. “No. Not like that. She’s not a prostitute, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”

“You’re sure?” He looks at me, concerned. “You’re gullible as fuck.”

“No, I’m not.”

“With a last name like Jolly, how could you not be? If someone is lyin’ through their teeth, you’d believe them.”

I shrug. “Innocent until proven guilty.”

Then I think about what Hank is suggesting. “It wouldn’t matter if she is or isn’t.”

“Are you taking her back to your place?”

I meet his eyes. “Yes.”

“Oh, God. She’s going to take you for everything ya got! I’ve read stories about this type of scam on the internet. Let me guess, she was walking into town and has no place to stay.” He glares at me.

My mouth falls open. “Fuck.”

“Please tell me that’s not what happened.” Hank waits for my reaction, and all I can do is purse my lips as I breathe in deeply. I avoid his eyes and shove my hands into my pockets.

“Jake. You can’t take her home with you!”

I point at him. “Shut the hell up! You’re bein’ too damn loud!”

“What are you gonna do?” he asks in an elevated whisper instead, but it’s not any quieter.

“I don’t know. The storm is rolling in, and she has nowhere else to go.”

He shakes his head. “Nice knowin’ ya. I’ll make sure when you go missing that I tell your parents a pretty brown-headed girl was walking into town and had no place to stay, so my dumbass best friend picked her up and brought her home with him!”

Claire clears her throat behind us, and I shoot him my best I-hate-you look then turn to greet her with a smile. “You good?”

“I’m fine. Are we almost done here?” She glances at Hank, then back at me. I don’t answer, because the stupid thoughts my best friend put into my head are still floating around.

Claire’s gaze returns to Hank. “Did Jake give you the keys?”

“To what?” Hank asks.

“Oh yeah.” I dig into my pocket and pull out the fob. “You think you can tow this truck in and let us know what’s going on with it? It’s about nine miles outside city limits on the shoulder.”

There’s only five minutes left before he can officially leave for the night. Hank glances back at the clock.

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