Page 17
“Obviously,” she murmured, looking out the window as they pulled away.
The sun was heading toward the horizon, but he turned away from the sight and headed toward the edge of town. He regaled her with a few tales about the town and its inhabitants.
“And your family?” she asked, head turned toward him. “You sound local.”
Connor grinned. “Oh, my family is right here in the mix, too. My parents are about half an hour to the north, and I have a couple of siblings around. One is on the department. The other is happily married and living next to Mom and Dad, raising babies.”
“That must be nice, having them so close. And your brother works with you? That could be difficult.”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “It is. We do butt heads about certain things.”
She snorted, looking more relaxed than he’d seen her since he’d known her. “That’s the nature of having a sibling.”
“And you?” he asked carefully.
“I have a sister,” she admitted. “Opinionated, bossy, but I wouldn’t take her any other way. She lives out east with the rest of my family, so we don’t see each other much.”
“So, how did you end up down here if the rest of your family is up there?”
Olivia blinked, glancing out the window. “I was stationed at Fort Hood for seven years.”
He snorted. “Hell, you’re almost a local girl. That’s just a couple of hours away.”
She nodded. “And I love Texas. So, once I got out of rehab, a friend of mine turned me onto the traveling nurse gig, and I’ve been doing it ever since. It’s good money and gives me the freedom I need.”
“That’s cool. Do you have a base of operations?
She shook her head. “Not really. I have an apartment in College Station, but I’m not there much.”
He gave her a frowning look as he turned to the left and sped up. Olivia had worried that she would have issues driving or being in a car again, but she really didn’t. And since she was in the passenger side, even the seat belt crossed in a different location. She watched Connor’s hands on the wheel.
“So, you’re completely alone down here?”
Olivia didn’t like the sound of pity in his voice. “Sometimes it’s best to be alone.”
He didn’t say anything, just refocused on the road. Olivia hated arguing that point all the time. Her mother was terrible about pushing her to find a significant other, but she’d met no one she would give up her lifestyle for. As it was, she reported to the immediate supervisor of the contract, and that was it. She made her own hours and if she wanted to take a week off and go to Mexico, there was no one to tell her no. There was no applying for vacation time and fighting over seniority. And the pay was incredible.
Yes, sometimes she did get a little lonely, but everyone did, right? If she got really lonely maybe she’d get a turtle or something.
He left her with her thoughts for a few minutes as he navigated streets. Then he pulled up in front of a locked gate connected to a garage. “Is this where my car is?”
Connor nodded, stepping out of the truck and into the little cinder block office or guard house, whatever it was. The gate began to move as he got back into the truck to pull through.
Yup, there was her poor Highlander. It looked worse than she remembered. There was damage on the front driver’s side quarter panel, which she didn’t remember. If he came in from behind, though, she might have been bumped with another car and sent spinning. Connor pulled to the front of her truck and stopped, letting her get out. Olivia circled the front to the driver’s side. How had she gotten through that little crack? One door, the passenger side rear, would open, so she leaned in to retrieve what she could.
Her big metal cup was still in the cup holder at the front, but she couldn’t reach it. Maybe Connor could. Her travel bag was on the floor, wedged behind the front seats. She pulled it up, her body aching.
“Why don’t you let me grab your stuff? Just look through the windows and tell me what you need.”
Olivia drew back without argument. She was hurting, even with the pain pills on board, and if he wanted to strain, she would let him. Besides, it would give her a chance to watch those muscles.
There was no strain, though. Connor plucked the bag up out of her car like it was nothing and even retrieved her cup. “Anything else?”
She shook her head, wondering what had happened to her medical bag. It wasn’t in the car. It might have been cleaned up with the rest of the debris. She turned and climbed back into the truck, letting him set her bag in the back seat.
It was a little sad leaving her trusty little car in the junk lot. She’d had it for years, ever since she got out of the Army. It had served her well.
They were quiet as they left the garage. Connor turned onto a street and traffic began to slow as it turned into the wrought-iron gates of a huge park. It looked to be acres and acres wide, and just as long. Olivia rolled the window down and the scent of several different kinds of wood smoke rolled in. In the distance, she could see the beginnings of a fair going up, with rides and games.
