He ignored her and kept going. He made it about half a block before the fog swallowed him up.
Penny resisted the urge to run after him again. He clearly didn’t want her help, and she needed to get those flowers to the church.
As she was walking back toward her van, she spotted something on the road and bent down to pick it up. A pocket watch. A nice one by the looks of it.
“Hey, you dropped your ...”
She looked back to where he’d disappeared into the fog. He wasn’t going to get far. As soon as she delivered the flowers to the church, she’d track the mysterious stranger down and return it.
* * *
The morning fog had lifted by the time Penny got all the bouquets unloaded and into the church, completing her part in the upcoming nuptials. The arrangement and placement of the displays were up to the church and the wedding planner.
She got back into the delivery van, anxious to find the mysterious stranger and return his pocket watch. Despite the unfortunate incident, he had been the most exciting thing to happen to her in quite a while. Interesting things rarely happened in Sumneyville, and when they did, they tended to happen to other people, not her.
Locating him shouldn’t be too hard. There weren’t a lot of places he could be, especially without a vehicle. Sumneyville just wasn’t that big. And a guy who looked like him? Even without the motorcycle, he stood out.
Penny was quite certain she’d never seen him before, but there was something familiar about him. She couldn’t put her finger on it. Maybe he just reminded her of some of the other military guys she’d seen in and around town lately. He had that same intense, kind of scary look about him, as if he’d seen—and maybe done—things he couldn’t unsee or undo.
Chances were, he’d been on his way to Sanctuary when their paths collided. That’s where most of the military types went. At one time, the place had been a resort run by a prominent local family—the Winstons—but after it was destroyed in a tragic fire, the sole remaining heir, Matt Winston, had decided to turn it into a place where servicemen and -women could transition back into civilian society at their own pace and in a safe space.
Penny thought it was a great idea, as did most of the locals in and around Sumneyville. There were those, however, who didn’t like having a group of former military personnel close by.
Those naysayers were constantly issuing dire warnings, but as far as Penny knew, there hadn’t been a single verifiable incident. Unfortunately, some people weren’t interested in things like facts or evidence. On those few occasions when she crossed paths with the Sanctuary guys, they were nothing but polite and courteous.
Mr. Dark and Mysterious wasn’t going to make it up the mountain on foot though, so she kept her quest to the town proper.
On a hunch, Penny swung into the lot of Mel’s Motel and drove around to the back. The place was more crowded than usual, probably due to friends and family coming in for the Stoltzfus wedding, but it was still only half-full.
She spotted the motorcycle easily enough, parked away from everyone else. It wasn’t hard to figure out which room he was in. Of those nearest to where the bike was parked, only one had the blinds closed.
A thrill went through her at the thought of seeing him again, but she doubted he’d be pleased to see her. She hadn’t exactly made a good first impression. Hopefully, he’d overlook the whole accident thing and be glad to get his watch back.
She grabbed the pocket watch and looked at it more closely. It was old but not ancient. Well-made but not extravagant. A workingman’s pocket watch.
The cover had a mountain-forest design, like something an outdoorsman would appreciate. When she turned it over, she peered more closely. The jeweler’s mark was hard to make out, but if she didn’t know better, she’d swear it was the one old Mr. Mueller, the jeweler on Main Street, put on his creations.
But that was unlikely. What were the odds of Mr. D & M having a pocket watch made right there in Sumneyville?
Penny took a deep breath, summoning her courage. After getting out of the van, she went around to the back, opened the doors, and grabbed a small bouquet. Everyone liked flowers, right?
She picked out one with red and white carnations in a blue plastic vase. They seemed more appropriate than the bud roses or the hothouse lilies.
Penny was a strong believer in random acts of kindness. Whenever she made a delivery, she took an assortment of flowers with her to give to someone on impulse. Today, he would be one of the unsuspecting recipients.
She went into Mel’s using the back entrance, silently counting the rooms until she got to the right one, though it wasn’t necessary. His was the only door that had a Do Not Disturb sign hanging on it.
“Grumpy bear,” she murmured under her breath.
The sign was almost enough to make her reconsider and leave the pocket watch at the front desk instead.
Almost but not quite.
Taking another deep breath for courage, she raised her hand and knocked.
Chapter Four
Jaxson
Jaxson’s mood was on the south side of foul as he stretched out on the bed and waited for the pain meds to do their thing. The long ride and the morning’s impromptu stuntman routine hadn’t done him any favors.
On the plus side, he’d made it to his destination in one piece, and fixing the bike would be easy—or it would be, if he had the right tools and parts to do so. Hopefully, the local guy would have what he needed. If he worked on bikes like the woman had said, he should.
In the meantime, he was limited to going places within walking distance. Things could be worse. The motel was clean and quiet, the water pressure was outstanding, and the Wi-Fi was surprisingly fast. As long as his ass was parked for the next thirty-six hours, he might as well make the best of it.
He closed his eyes and tried to focus on something other than the throbbing ache running along the side of his body or his growling stomach. Unbidden, an image of the florist popped up almost immediately.
Brown hair. Big brown eyes. Pretty smile. Nicely curved body in all the right places.
His long-dormant interest stirred.
Don’t even think about it, his conscience warned.
Why not?
She was clearly a local, and as such, could aid him on his quest and save him some time. At the very least, she might be able to point him in the right direction.
That’s not why you want to see her again.
That was the thing about bullshit rationalizations. His conscience saw right through them.
And, yeah, he’d seen the way she looked at him. She’d taken one look at his long hair, his leather jacket, and his Harley and pegged him as a bad boy. Good, respectable girls like her loved bad boys even if he didn’t see himself that way. All he’d have to do is show a hint of interest, and she’d ...
His conscience muscled its way to the forefront of his thoughts again. Playing her for your benefit is wrong.
Was it though? Especially if they both got something out of it. He wanted information, and she wanted ... well, she wanted to know more about him. He’d seen the curiosity burning in those big eyes, right along with a flare of lust. Yeah, he’d recognized the instant attraction, maybe because he’d felt something similar. The difference was, he wasn’t going to do a damn thing about it.
She might think she wanted a walk on the wild side, but her expectations of what would happen were probably based on a stack of cheap paperbacks with bare-chested men on the covers.