Where There's Smoke
“Your mama could catch us together. Then the shit would hit the fan.”
He was right on that score. But even her mother’s disapproval wouldn’t keep Janellen from seeing him. “We’ll make doubly sure we don’t get caught until we’re ready to make our ‘friendship’ public.” She grinned happily. “I’m ready to tell the whole world.”
“I’d postpone that if I were you.” He was as grim as she was ebullient. “Sooner or later, something’s bound to go wrong. I’m unlucky like that.”
“Everything’s changing for both of us.”
“Janellen.” He held her face between his hands again and peered closely into her eyes. “Are you sure about this? Are you absolutely sure? ’Cause being with me isn’t going to be a picnic for you. In fact, it’s likely to be hell.”
She covered his hands with hers. “Being without you would be hell. I’d sooner die. I love you.”
“I love you, too. And you can believe it or not, but I’ve never said that to another living soul.”
They kissed again, and she wore him down until he gave her his promise to come to her back door at midnight that night.
Heather Winston had absolutely no interest in the search for the Northwest Passage. Irritably, she set aside her American history textbook and gave her mind over to the much more important matter of keeping Tanner Hoskins in line.
She was on duty at the check-in desk of The Green Pine Motel, as she was every weekday night from seven till ten. It wasn’t hard work. It allowed her time to do homework and study for exams. But it also kept her from spending time with Tanner. Between cheerleading practice, the football team, and all their other extracurricular activities
, they had very little time to be together except on weekends.
She didn’t like it any better than he did, but he complained the most. “Lately your mother’s got you on such a short leash, it’s hardly worth going out at all.”
Heather was afraid he would soon tire of their situation and seek the companionship of a girl with a lighter schedule and a more lenient curfew. Just that morning she’d caught him flirting with Mimsy Parker at her locker between second and third periods. Everybody had seen them together. By the time school was dismissed for the day, it was all over campus that Heather was on the verge of being dicked.
She wouldn’t have it.
Recently Tanner had been elected student body president. He’d scored two touchdowns last Friday night. He was the most popular boy at school this year. She wasn’t about to let Mimsy Parker have him.
As she was devising various methods of keeping him faithful, a bowlegged man entered through the automatic doors, removed his hat, and surveyed the lobby.
“Hi. Can I help you?”
“Evenin’, Miss Winston.”
“You know me?”
“I’ve seen you with your folks. My name’s Bowie Cato.”
She recognized his name. He was the ex-convict now working for the Tacketts. Heather experienced a thrill of fear. Was he about to rob her? His darting eyes were wary and nervous. She was the only one on duty in the lobby. A waitress and a short-order cook were keeping the restaurant open, but they wouldn’t be of any help to her if Bowie Cato had armed robbery and murder in mind.
“You might think this is a peculiar request,” he said, after self-consciously clearing his throat. “But, well, I got, uh, kinfolks coming to spend the weekend. My trailer isn’t big enough to sleep them and me, too, and anyway, these kin are kinda persnickety. So what I’m looking for is a place for them to stay. One night, maybe two.”
“I’ll be happy to make a reservation for you, Mr. Cato. Will they be here this weekend?”
“No, no, I don’t need a reservation. What I mean is, I’m not sure what day they’ll be getting here. They’re sorta unpredictable.”
“Oh.” Heather was at a loss. He appeared harmless. She saw no sign of a weapon, although he could have a gun concealed inside his denim jacket, she supposed. He wasn’t menacing, but she couldn’t account for his jitters. “When you find out their date of arrival, you could call us and reserve a room. This time of year, we usually have vacancies.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Seeming reluctant to go, he looked through the brochures and state maps in the cardboard rack on the counter. “Uh, actually, I wondered if it would be possible for me to see a room. Like preview it, check it out. Your nicest room,” he added quickly. “They like things fancy.”
Heather laughed. “You want to see if our rooms are fancy enough for your relatives?”
“Meaning no offense, Miss Winston.” He raised his hands and looked so disarming that Heather felt silly for being afraid of him. “These folks are like that. Uppity. Always wanting everything just so. I promised to check out the motel situation before they commit to a visit.”
Heather moved to the drawer where keys were filed according to the room number. “The honeymoon suite is our nicest room.”
“The honeymoon suite? I like the sound of that.”