Homesick Blues by Steve Brewer

Author:Steve Brewer [Brewer, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781540300720
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-11-30T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 32

Ellis McGuire fumed over his dinner, too miserable and irate to enjoy the enchiladas steaming before him. He'd already downed one king-sized margarita and was working on a second one. El Matador Restaurant was a hubbub of families and servers and canned ranchera music, but Ellis was oblivious, sitting in an angry bubble of his own making.

Why was Jackie Nolan being so difficult? Why didn't she recognize what Ellis was trying to do for her? How can a woman be so obstinate, fighting against what's clearly for her own good?

He'd had no luck turning her up, though he'd made phone calls all day and driven all over this godforsaken town. The spicy local cuisine was the one thing he liked about Albuquerque, but now he was too upset to eat.

He took another slug from the salt-rimmed margarita glass. Might have to switch to tequila shots, he thought. Margaritas take too long. The sooner he reached numbness, the better.

Ellis had never felt this way about a woman before. He'd had girlfriends over the years, plenty of them, but none had obsessed him like this. Maybe it was the aloof way Jackie kept her distance from him. So tantalizing. Sweet, ripe fruit, always just out of his reach.

Ellis rubbed at his eyes and ran his hands back over his bristly hair. He was tired and frustrated and far from home.

How dare Jackie run away from him! How dare she act so snooty, like she was better than him. She was a felon and a snitch, whose life had gone completely off the rails before she was whisked off to the safety of WitSec. She owed everything to the marshals who saved her from that life.

Ellis, on the other hand, was a prize catch, a man of authority, the long arm of the law. She should be grateful that he was even interested in her welfare.

If he could just talk to her face to face, things would be different. He could calm her down and show her she wasn't making sense. He'd remind her how well she'd had it in scenic Montrose and how dangerous her hometown was for her. He could make her see that the safest place was under his protection. He was the one who cared for her. He was the one who knew what was best for her.

"Sir?"

The gum-cracking waitress had reappeared at his table. It took Ellis a moment to focus on her round face.

"Is everything okay? You've hardly touched your food."

"It's fine," he said. "I'm just not as hungry as I thought I was."

"You need anything? Another margarita?"

He looked at the near-empty glass before him, sorely tempted, then said, "Some more water, please."

He couldn't find the answer to his problems in a margarita glass. Only one thing would resolve Ellis' woes: Locating Jackie Nolan.

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