Threat of Darkness(42)

 Samantha had almost mustered enough courage to try to explain her confused feelings when John asked, “Where to?”

 “I don’t have a clue. Should we try the bar Bobby Joe mentioned?”

 “No. If anybody goes there it’ll be me. And I’ll be alone. Got that?”

 “You don’t have to raise your voice.”

 “I wasn’t. I was merely stating a fact.”

 “Fine.”

 It had occurred to her more than once that she was too reliant on John for many things, including transportation. Whether or not she planned to obey his orders to the letter, she still needed wheels.

 Waiting what she felt was a suitable period of time, she finally brought up the subject of the old car Elvina had left in the barn.

 “Why don’t we go back home and eat supper? Then, afterward, maybe you can have a look at Elvina’s car for me the way you’d suggested. I can’t afford to buy anything right now and I hate having to ask you to drive me to and from work all the time.”

 “Insurance should cover your loss,” John said flatly.

 Samantha made a face at him. “It would if I’d had that kind of coverage. After my car was paid off, all I kept was liability.”

 “Maybe the department will pay for your car since it was technically in our custody. I’ll ask tomorrow.”

 “Thanks.”

 Pausing, she tried to decide if she was pushing too hard or if he was accepting her story. She truly did need a car. And he had been the first to mention it. Therefore, she felt she was on pretty solid footing.

 “I have some chicken in the freezer. We could…”

 John interrupted. “No, thanks. I’ll grab a quick bite and get started going over Elvina’s old car. That way I’ll know if it needs parts and I can pick them up in town tomorrow.”

 “All right. I’ll give you a blank check.”

 When his head snapped around and he stared across the seat at her she saw both anger and disappointment in his expression.

 “I’ll get the parts, Sam. It’s the least I can do since we were responsible for the loss of your car.”

 “Nonsense. You didn’t burn it,” she argued.

 “No, but it was destroyed on my watch. That has to mean something, even if you don’t want to accept my help.”

 “I never said anything of the kind.”

 Judging by the way his jaw snapped shut he was still good and miffed. Well, too bad. She was doing her best to cope with multiple problems and his short temper was the least of her worries. She had an abused child to protect, a stolen dog to locate, one or more bad guys to outwit and goodness knows what else that she had yet to discover. Given all those things, John’s snit fell very low on her list of priorities.

 Still, when she looked at him and saw his distress it caused a genuine ache in her heart. She might refute her feelings all day long but they existed.

 In truth, this was not a surprise. Denial was futile. Useless. She’d known the moment she’d laid eyes on him again. The love she’d thought was long gone, that had been banished forever, was very much alive.

* * *

 Entering the house without being greeted by Brutus made Samantha’s loss even more poignant. Yes, she had human friends, especially the wonderful support system at work, but Brutus had been the heart of her home, the creature who was always glad to see her, who never misunderstood her sometimes changeable moods.

 She swiped away a stray tear. If she missed him this much already, what was it going to be like if she never got him back? That notion was devastating.

 Rather than give in to sadness she quickly grabbed a granola bar, opened a can of soda for herself and picked up a second one to take to John.

 As promised, he was in the barn. He’d removed the tarp that had covered the enormous, dark green sedan and had its hood up.

 “What’s the diagnosis. Will she live?”

 “Probably. After a little CPR—Car Parts Resuscitation.”

 The joke wasn’t all that funny but it gave Samantha reason to smile because it showed a lifting of her old friend’s mood. “Good to hear. I brought you a soda.”

 He accepted it, popped the top and tipped it up for a long drink. “Thanks.”

 “You’re welcome. I suppose I’d better grab some rags and start on the inside.” She grinned more widely. “You have evicted all the mice, haven’t you?”

 “Most of them.” His sardonic smile made her chuckle.

 “Lovely,” she said. “Now all I have to do is adjust to being seen tooling around town in that barge. When Elvina drove it she could hardly see over the steering wheel. At least I’m tall enough that I won’t have to sit on a pillow.”