Page 115 of Searching for Bristol
“Yeah. His wife’s pregnant and having a hard time of it, as you might know. I guess their three-year-old woke up with a fever this morning, so he’s staying home to take care of everyone.”
Drew nodded. He did know about Carl’s wife. Doc Snow had put her on bed rest and told her that if she wanted to deliver a healthy baby, she needed to take it easy. It was amazing how much everyone knew about everyone else in small towns. “No problem on the wait. I’ve got no plans today.”
“Thanks. I’ll be back with your drink and that fruit,” Karen told him.
Things always picked up in Fallport in the summer. Tourists came to town to hike the trails in the Appalachian Mountains, and now that word had gotten out about the paranormal investigations show that had filmed there—and the first episode had debuted on TV—more and more of the tourists visiting were doing so with the hopes of catching a glimpse of the elusive Bigfoot. It would only get worse once the Bigfoot episodes actually aired.
He was sipping his coffee and eating the fruit Karen had dropped off when the little bell over the top of the door tinkled and someone entered.
Looking up, Drew couldn’t explain the uncomfortable feeling in his chest when he saw who it was. Caryn Buckner.
She was Art’s granddaughter, who’d come to town to help him get back on his feet after he’d been stabbed. Drew didn’t understand why she made him uneasy. She was nice enough—he’d cut her some slack for their rough introduction at the hospital, since she’d been stressed out—and everyone in town seemed to genuinely like her.
She was a few years younger than him, was the same height, around five-ten. She had short blonde hair and blue eyes. She wasn’t exactly overweight, but she was definitely solidly built. Muscular and strong. Drew had seen her lift her grandfather without help when he’d popped into the older man’s hospital room in Roanoke, while he was there visiting Rocky and Bristol.
It didn’t turn him off. Quite the opposite. Drew had always been attracted to women with Caryn’s build. There was nothing wrong with Bristol, but since she was an inch or so under five feet, Drew felt like the hulk around her.
Unfortunately, he and Caryn hadn’t gotten off on the best foot. All he knew was that she made him uncomfortable, and apparently the feeling was mutual.
He watched as everyone greeted her as if she’d lived in Fallport her entire life. From what Drew understood, the woman had spent some summers here, and that apparently was enough for her to be treated as a local.
Sandra came out of the kitchen and gave her a huge hug. He could hear the two women talking about how Caryn was there to pick up a meal for Art, who was grumpy that he was still confined to his bed for another couple of weeks. His friends, Silas and Otto, were spending the afternoons with him, updating him on the gossip he was missing by not sitting outside the post office like usual, but he was still going a bit stir crazy.
Drew wasn’t upset that he’d spent almost five years trying to be accepted into the tight-knit town, and yet this woman came back after not being here for years and everyone treated her as a long-lost daughter or something. Itdidmake him wonder what had kept her away, given the warm reception. If he’d had a place to go where he was embraced and accepted without reservation, he definitely would’ve gone there after getting out of law enforcement.
A loud noise to his left caught his attention. Glancing at the family sitting a few tables down from his booth, Drew saw the father standing next to his chair, looking panicked.
He moved without conscious thought. The man’s hands, grasping his own throat, told him loud and clear what was happening. The guy was choking—and everyone was just sitting there, staring at him in shock.
When he got to the man, Caryn was right on his heels.
“I’ve got this,” he told her.
But she shook him off. “I’vegot this,” she countered, putting her hands on the man and pulling him away from the table he was leaning on. She easily turned him and wrapped her arms around his chest.
Drew watched with a frown of concentration. He was trained in first aid, had always had to be as a Virginia State Police Officer. And his training had come in handy in the field since moving to Fallport, as well. But it was more than obvious Caryn had the situation under control.
After two hard thrusts of the Heimlich Maneuver, a piece of food flew out of the man’s mouth and landed on the floor. Caryn dropped her arms from around the guy, but kept a hand on his arm, steadying him.
Drew moved a chair behind him, and Caryn helped him sit, telling him softly and reassuringly that he was going to be all right.
Drew might’ve been annoyed with the woman, and the way everyone in the diner was congratulating and thanking her for moving so quickly—it was almost amusing how everyone conveniently hadn’t noticed that he’d actually gotten to the choking man first—but he’d never been a person who craved the limelight. He was more than happy to let Caryn have it as he stepped toward his booth.
However, as he watched her interact with the locals, he realizedshewasn’t comfortable with the attention she was getting.
Their gazes met, and for a second he saw a lack of ease there that spoke deeply to him. He thought maybe he was seeing a part of the woman she didn’t let out very often, a part that she kept behind a very thick wall.
But a veil fell over her eyes with a blink, and the bravado he was already used to seeing was back. After checking to make sure the man was truly all right, Caryn sidestepped away from the table, giving the family some privacy, and moved toward Drew.
“You totally wanted to push me out of the way, didn’t you?” she asked Drew quietly.
He chuckled in surprise. “Yeah, kind of.”
“Good thing you didn’t. I would’ve taken you to the ground,” she said confidently.
“You think you could?”
She eyed him up and down, then said with a shrug, “IknowI could.”
