The Long Way Home by Kathy Altman

Author:Kathy Altman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kathy Altman
Published: 2023-06-19T00:00:00+00:00

- 10 -

DESPITE THE LONG SLEEVES of her hoodie, the cool night air made Parker shiver. Or maybe it was the lonely shadows pressing against her back. Whatever the reason, she appreciated the pale yellow glow that filtered through the motel room’s blinds.

She frowned at the pockmarked door labeled with a not-quite-straight number six. She tucked her hair back into its clip and knocked again.

No answer. A glance over her shoulder confirmed that Reid’s Jeep was parked less than ten feet away. Maybe he’d fallen asleep with the light on. As hard as he worked she wouldn’t be surprised.

She looked up the sidewalk toward the dimly lit office. Or maybe he and Joe were hanging out together, playing cards or cheering the sports channel. Her teeth sank into her lower lip as she looked back at the closed door in front of her.

Or maybe he was in the shower.

An unbidden image flashed in her brain. Slick, naked muscles stretching and bulging under a fall of hot water. Strong, beckoning hands and a steamy-eyed invitation. Her breath caught in her throat and her palms got damp. She fell back a step and dragged air into her lungs. Good God, where had that come from? She pressed cold hands to hot cheeks and counted her blessings that he hadn’t answered her second knock.

This could wait. Whatever Harris thought Reid needed to tell her, it could darned well wait. She whirled toward the parking lot.

She heard it as she stepped off the curb. A distant clanking sound. She looked to her left, and spotted a sliver of light in front of the motel’s very last room. The door had been left ajar.

Another sweep of the parking lot. Besides her car, Joe’s truck and Reid’s Jeep, the lot was empty. No other guest, then. Maybe Reid was helping Joe renovate? She hesitated. For some reason she felt unsettled. Maybe she should let well enough alone and wait until tomorrow to find out what it was Reid wanted to see her about.

Then again, Harris had said it was important. And that it had to do with Nat. Which was why he’d offered to stay with Nat while Parker went to see Reid. She sighed, fisted her fingers around her keys, sent a wistful glance toward her car, then headed for the end door.

More clanking sounds, punctuated with the occasional grunt. What the heck? She reached out a finger and pushed at the door to peek inside.

Reid was alone. Dressed in navy sweatpants and a faded gray muscle shirt, he sat on a bench facing a mirrored wall that reflected an impressive array of fitness equipment. His back to the door, his elbow anchored against the inside of his knee, he lifted and lowered a dumbbell with rhythmic precision. Sweat molded his short hair to his scalp and gleamed along his well-developed biceps. The occasional soft grunt signaled the effort each lift was costing him.

Need—immediate, flaming, audacious need—caught Parker by surprise and she gasped. She was halfway to her car when she heard him call out.

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