Page 57 of Love at First Ride
I wait while I hear the muffled exchange of the two men’s voices. My heart thumps even harder.
The door opens. The man in the cowboy hat stands there, facing me. He raises his chin a fraction, indicating I should go inside.
The little voice says,it’s too late to back out now, so I enter.
A moment later, the door closes again behind me, and the man in the cowboy hat is gone.
‘Don’t mind him,’ Echo Salinger says from behind his desk.
I take in my surroundings. The desk is solid, made of old wood. Like the rest of this saloon bar, there’s nothing modern about it. The most modern thing in here is the miniature rotary fan that sits on one corner of the desk, blowing out air and making a low buzzing sound. Echo sits in a wheel-back chair, also made of wood. He’s a man of substantial build, wearing a black Guns N’ Roses tank top that stretches over his rounded stomach, revealing all his tattoos. I note an inked scorpion’s tail poking out from the edge of the tank top, in the same position as AJ’s, over his heart. His shoulder-length curly gray hair hangs loose about his shoulders, but on his head is a black bandana. In contrast, perhaps, he wears a pair of half-moon spectacles, which he removes.
I look down. There’s a cheap gold and black embossed name plate at the front of the desk that reads, ‘Mayor’. Maybe it’s meant to be a joke.
He sees me looking. ‘I’m guessing you ain’t here with a message from your stepmom,’ he says casually.
‘Definitely not.’
He signals to a chair in front of his desk with the arm of his spectacles. ‘Good. Have a seat.’
I do as I’m told. He eyeballs me for a moment.
‘AJ told me what you did,’ he states, linking his fingers together and resting them over his belly.
My eyes widen. I was not expecting to hear that. ‘Oh,’ I say.
He sucks air through his teeth. ‘Wasn’t thrilled to hear he left you in Roswell. Told him that’s no way to treat a lady.’
I pinch my lips together. ‘I was okay. I didn’t get lost on my way back to Canyon. And my crappy car survived the journey.’
‘Still,’ he says, drawing his brows together. ‘Chewed him out for it. He should have been honest with me in the first instance. Told me you were going with him.’
I lower my eyes to my lap.
‘Thank you,’ Echo says. ‘For doing what you did. AJ seems to think he can trust you not to say anything to your stepmom.’
‘I would never breathe a word to her, I swear,’ I say.
Perhaps it’s the emphatic nature of my tone that makes him smile. ‘Lester said you came asking about a wristband.’
‘Oh,’ I exclaim, feeling warmth spreading upwards from the base of my neck. ‘It was only if you had any left. The man outside… Lester… he said you didn’t have any, so that’s fine.’
Echo reaches down, pulls out a drawer. He takes out a blue wristband and places it on the desk in front of me.
‘In future, you don’t need to ask for one. Though, just know, I don’t want trouble. I can’t have Evelyn Wallace breathing down my neck more than she already is, because her stepdaughter’s coming out to Rapture, looking to have some fun.’
I pick up the wristband. ‘I promise I’ll keep a low profile.’
‘AJ know you’ll be comin’ by?’
‘Uh, no. I, um. No. I haven’t spoken to him since he left me in Roswell.’
‘Well, I hope that when you do see him, he’ll offer you an apology.’
More heat floods my cheeks. ‘Thank you for the wristband.’
Echo leans back in his chair. ‘You’re welcome. See you tomorrow night.’
When I leave, I make my way through the darkened corridor, back the way I came. Excitement rushes through me at the thought of coming back here tomorrow night. Out in the main bar, I initially can’t see anyone. Heading toward the main door, I once more hear the clack of pool balls. Glancing to my right, over the saloon doors, I glimpse the two pool tables, right at the end, past the main bar.
