I slammed the book closed and shook out my wet hand. “Who are you?”
“Harry. Short for Harriet.” She put her hands on her hips. Her gray hair was cut into a short pixie style. Her thick-framed glasses were the same color brown as her eyes. “Who are you?”
“Cal Stark. Though you already knew that, didn’t you?”
“Finally emerged from your cave.” She motioned to the bus. “About time.”
I frowned. “You must be Marcy’s mother.”
“I am.” She gave me a single nod, turned on the heel of her cowboy boot and walked away.
I leaned forward in the chair, waiting to see if she’d come back, but then a door slammed shut.
“Okay,” I drawled and swallowed the rest of my coffee. I was about to head in for a refill when Harry appeared, rounding the side of the RV with her own camp chair in tow.
Well, fuck.
So much for hiding.
She set up her chair beside mine, close enough that our arm rests were touching. Then she plopped down in the seat and let out a sigh.
I stared at her profile, waiting for her to speak, but she sat there, her eyes aimed at the grassy field that stretched behind the motel. “Did you need something?”
“Did I ask you for something?”
“No.”
“Then I guess you answered your own question.”
I blinked.
“My chair is better than yours,” she declared. It had a sturdy metal frame and folded in half rather than collapsed into a column. The material was a thick, gray mesh instead of my green canvas.
“So it is.”
“People tell me I’m blunt.”
I chuckled. “People tell me the same.”
“Small talk annoys me.”
“Same here.”
“If you give me any bullshit about the weather, I’ll walk.”
“Is that all it will take? Because today is beautiful. It’s supposed to get into the seventies. Ten percent chance of rain around five.”
“Smart-ass,” she muttered. “I like to sleep in, so don’t get too loud in the mornings.”
“Have I been loud?”
“Not yet. Let’s keep it that way.”
“Fair enough.”
She sank deeper into her seat, stretching out her legs and crossing one ankle over the other. Her Wrangler jeans were rolled into a cuff at the hem. “I don’t like visitors.”
I arched an eyebrow and nodded to her chair. “Neither do I.”
“We’re neighbors. That’s different.”
“Is it?”
“Entirely.” She said it was different, therefore, it was different. This was a woman who didn’t argue. Harry was a boss. “My daughter is busy.”
“Marcy?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “She takes care of a lot of things on her own. From time to time, I do some housekeeping to help her out. Summers are busy.”
“She mentioned that the other day.”
“You’re paying her to clean?”
“Yes.” I sat up straighter, unsure where this was going but sure I wasn’t going to like it. “She rented me the bus, like a motel room.”
“Ah.” Harry nodded. “Well, I volunteered to clean the Winnebago for her. Like a motel room.”
“You?” This woman had to be over seventy years old. There was no way I’d be able to sit back and let her scrub my toilet or mop the floors.
“Me.”
Fuck. I blew out a long breath. “Forget it. I’ll clean it myself.”
A smile ghosted her lips. Guess that was what she’d wanted to hear. And that was the reason for her visit. One moment she was lounging in her superior chair, the next she was on her feet, gone without another word.
“Nice chat, Harry,” I called as she disappeared around the RV’s corner.
“See you around, Cal,” she called back.
I shook my head and stood, leaving both chairs in place as I went inside for more coffee. The moment I stepped through the door, my phone rang. Pierce’s name flashed on the screen.
“Hey,” I answered.
“Hi,” he said. “You busy?”
“No. What’s up?”
“Nellie just called. Something’s wrong with her car. She was on her way to the office and it broke down. She called for a tow but I guess the driver’s out on another call. It’s going to be a while.”
And there probably weren’t a lot of other garages with tow trucks in Calamity.
“I don’t want her sitting on the side of the road for hours,” Pierce said. “I’d pick her up myself, but we just got to the hospital for Constance’s checkup. I’ll be a bit. I get that you two have . . . issues. But can you set them aside and go get her?”
The baby was crying in the background. Pierce had called me when they’d gotten home from the cabin but I hadn’t seen him since before they’d left. He sounded exhausted. “Yeah. I got her. No problem.”
“Thanks. I’ll text you directions.”
“’Kay.” I ended the call and dragged a hand through my hair. Damn. I wasn’t ready to face Nellie yet, but when Pierce asked for help, I helped.
So I grabbed my keys, forgetting the coffee. I shot Nellie’s diary a glare, leaving it on the counter, then headed for my car.
My phone dinged as I climbed behind the wheel. Then I followed the directions in Pierce’s text down First Street and to the highway, taking a few turns until I was headed down a narrow road bordered by a barbed wire fence.
Nellie’s silver sedan glinted beneath the sky. The woman herself was leaning against the driver’s side door with her arms crossed over her chest. Her hair was nearly a perfect white under the sun, like untouched snow. She’d curled the silky strands today and the waves spiraled down her shoulders and spine. Her lips were painted a sinful shade of red.
She pushed off the car and stood tall as I eased off the road and parked behind her. Her lips flattened when I stepped outside.
Guess she wouldn’t be greeting me with a smile today.
“Hey.” I jerked up my chin.
“I see that Pierce didn’t listen when I told him I’d be fine to just wait for the tow truck.”
“So I can go?” I hooked a thumb over my shoulder.
“No,” she muttered. “Could you give me a ride to the office?”
“That’s why I’m here. But you have to say please.”
She was constantly telling me to say please. To mind my manners. It was refreshing to throw that her direction for a change.
“Please.”
“Better.”
She rolled her eyes and turned, opening her door before bending inside. Her slacks molded to the curve of her ass. Her blouse rode up, revealing the dimples at her lower back.
My cock jerked. My hands inched for a touch. Just one. To grab those hips and palm that ass. This was not a safe direction for my thoughts, so I spun away and kicked a pebble across the pavement. “What’s up with your car?”
“I have no idea.” She hauled a tote bag from the car and slammed the door closed. The keys she tucked beside the gas cap. “The check engine light came on and then the engine revved before there was this nasty burning smell. I didn’t know what else to do, so I just pulled over.”