Texas Lightning. Gerry Bartlett

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СКАЧАТЬ Is that really a slogan around here?”

      “People around here are proud that Austin is known for strange happenings. Where else would you have an annual bat festival? And I’m not talking about baseball bats.” King liked that she smiled at that nonsense. He reached for her elbow and steered her away from the bathroom entrance when a herd of women came toward them. “We need to move out of the way.”

      “Oh, yes.” She flushed. “About the shirt.”

      “Have lunch with me. That’s how you can pay for the shirt.” He moved her toward the door to the outside. She wasn’t exactly digging in her heels, but she wasn’t making it easy for him either, trying to put space between them.

      “I don’t think so.” She stopped dead and he obviously wasn’t going to move her without dragging her or picking her up. She shrugged into her backpack.

      “Let me start over. King Sanders.” He held out his hand, trying not to stare at how the shirt molded to her breasts. Oh, boy. To his relief, she shook hands but was quick to pull free.

      “Anna Delaney. Thank you for saving me. Really.” She dug a twenty-dollar bill out of her jeans pocket and thrust it at him. “Here. For the shirt. Now I’d better be going.”

      He wasn’t about to take her money. “Look at the time. It’s after noon, and I bet you’re hungry. Hot and hungry. No wonder you were about to faint.” He ignored the bill she waved at him and stayed with her as she headed for the exit at a pretty fast clip for a gal who’d been down for the count just minutes ago.

      “I’m okay now. That cold water helped a lot.” She spared him a smile but just kept going.

      “Let me at least walk you to your car.” He should give it up. She wasn’t interested. He’d been shot down before. No big deal. So why wasn’t he giving up?

      “I don’t have a car. I’m going to catch a bus.” She stopped next to the guard station where tourists had caused a temporary roadblock. Security guards had a protocol, running backpacks and purses through scanners similar to those at an airport before anyone could be allowed inside. They didn’t scan people who were leaving but there was still a logjam near the exits.

      “You’re kidding me. A bus? Where do you live? Let me give you a ride. My truck’s just outside.” King followed her when she took advantage of a break in the crowd and scooted through. Outside, the unseasonal heat hit him in the face. He saw Anna stop and take a breath.

      “Look, it’s hot. Even in that new shirt you’re going to feel it. Where’s the nearest bus stop?” He looked around. There was no way a city bus would be allowed anywhere near the building. Security was tight.

      “Three blocks away.” She said it quietly, as if gathering her nerve. Her shoulders drooped but she started walking. “I’ll be all right. This shirt makes it easier. Thanks again, Mr. Sanders.”

      “King. Seriously, I swear I’m not a serial killer, or desperate to abduct you for nefarious purposes. I’d just like to make your life easier. A ride. Lunch. Whatever you’re willing to agree to.” He waved over a nearby policeman who’d been stationed next to the circular drive. “Mike, can you vouch for me to this pretty lady?” And she was pretty—wild black hair, white skin that probably never saw the sun, and blue eyes the color of the sky. He’d be damned if he was going to let her get away without a fight.

      “Well, I don’t know, King. What do you want me to say? I wouldn’t call you harmless, pal. You do like the ladies.” The guard grinned when King gave him a look that said “Knock it off.” “Ma’am, King’s well-known here. The lawmakers run when they see him coming because he usually wants something for that ranch of his out west and the people of the town near there. Gets it too, because he’s damned persistent. And I know for a fact that he raised a bit of hell at the University of Texas when he was there. Of course, that was a few years back. Rumor has it he’s settled down some since then.”

      King laughed, then elbowed the cop with a bit of force. “Thanks a heap, Mike. You were one of the guys who raised hell with me, if I remember right.”

      “Those were the days. My wife broke me of that.” Mike grinned. “Truthfully? He’s okay. I’d trust my daughter with him. Of course, she’s only five.”

      Anna examined King like he was a rattlesnake who’d crawled out from under a rock. Then she smiled and he knew he’d made some progress. “I, uh, don’t know what to say about that. I wasted my college years studying instead of raising hell.” She shook her head and aimed her smile at his friend in uniform. “You’d really trust your child with him?”

      “Sure would. He’s a good guy. He gives you a problem, let me know. Give me your phone.” Mike held out his hand. When Anna dug hers out of her backpack and unlocked it, he punched in his number. “There you go. Backup. I’m a Texas Ranger, a member of the Texas Department of Public Safety, at your service.” He tipped his cowboy hat as he gave her back the phone.

      “Well, thanks.” Anna’s smile turned into a grin. “I guess I’ll take you up on the ride then, King. You can’t know how much I dreaded getting back on the bus. I had to change three times. It would take forever to get back to my apartment.”

      “Nice to know I beat out that torture.” King laughed when Anna flushed. “Hey, I’ll take it.” He knocked fists with his buddy. “I owe you, Mike.”

      “You bet you do. You two taking off now?” Mike nodded toward the truck parked at the curb. “Because if you don’t, King, I’m going to have your vehicle towed.”

      “Fixin’ to move it now, Mike. Sorry it took longer than I expected. Thanks for watching it for me.” King slapped him on the back. “Come fall, you’ve got tickets to the Longhorn game of your choice. Text me.”

      “I will. Never doubt it.” He waved them off and turned to talk to a man in a business suit.

      “Here we go.” King eased Anna toward his truck illegally parked at the curb. It paid to have old friends in convenient places. He was lucky that way, always had been. “I was just running inside to pick up a man for lunch. That got canceled, so I’m free to take you home or to lunch then home. How about it, sugar? Will you have lunch with me?” He held his hat over his heart.

      She appeared to think it over for a beat, then nodded. “Why not? I told you how bad the ride here was. Obviously I got so overheated I couldn’t even enjoy my sightseeing once I got here. And I am hungry.” Anna looked over his truck. “This is a fancy one.” Then she looked him over. “Nice suit too. So I suspect you can afford to buy me lunch.”

      “I do all right.” He opened the passenger door and put out his hand, waiting while she took off that pack she guarded so carefully. “Let me help you up and in. It’s a pretty high step.”

      “I can manage.” She grabbed the bar to pull herself up into the cab, obviously determined to prove something.

      It was a tall order for a little woman. Not that Anna was so short, about five feet five if he was any judge. But his truck was high enough to make it tough. He got a nice view of her rounded bottom while she climbed in. He could give her a boost but figured she wouldn’t appreciate it.

      He took off his suit coat and tie and tossed them, along with his hat, into the back seat before he settled behind the wheel. “If you haven’t explored Austin much, let me treat you to one of our famous downtown СКАЧАТЬ