The Cowboy's Bride Bet - Holly Rayner Page 0,3

four… I peeked through the blinds, glancing at my list as I counted the cars in the parking lot. Five, six, seven…

The only change was a forest-green minivan that I was positive wasn’t there before. But I highly doubted that Moretti’s guys would be driving that thing around looking for me.

Probably a family on a road trip. I told myself. Yeah… harmless.

I grabbed a twenty from my backpack and headed outside. There was a vending machine next to the office with my name on it.

Looking through the selection of frozen microwavable foods, I selected a bean and cheese burrito and fed the bill into the slot. The internal mechanism whirred, sucking the money in and then promptly spitting it back out. I groaned, turning the paper over, smoothing out the folds, and feeding it through in the opposite direction.

After the third try, it accepted my offering, dispensing my frozen food.

“Make sure you check the expiration date on that thing.” Cassie walked out of the office and yawned.

“Don’t you have school?” I glanced up as I grabbed my burrito.

“I’m homeschooled.” She shrugged. “And my aunt and uncle own this place, so they trust me to run it overnight. You checking out today?”

“I was hoping to pay for a couple more days if you don’t mind.” I scrunched my shoulders tentatively.

“Sure thing.” She winked. “It was like four AM when you checked in, so I put you down on the books for tonight instead of last night. So you don’t need to worry about paying until tomorrow morning. Or, if you want, you can just come back in this evening when my shift starts at ten.”

“Sounds good.” I nodded. “Thanks, Cassie. I’ll see you tonight, then.”

“You, uh…” Cassie looked at my burrito. “You should just order some food from Jake’s across the way. If you’re gonna pay four bucks for a deep-fried piece of frozen crap, you shouldn’t have to be sober for it.”

“Yeah?” I chuckled. “That sounds like good advice.”

“Plus, we’ve got the rodeo going on this weekend.” She looked toward the road that led out of town. “You should check it out.”

“I don’t know about that.” I rubbed the back of my neck. Suddenly, the machine started returning my change… in all quarters. “I’m, uh… just kind of passing through.”

I held the burrito between my teeth as I attempted to catch the coins as they flew out of the change dispenser.

“You look like you’ve been passing through something.” Cassie raised an eyebrow, eyeing me up and down. “We have a little laundry room down the block that way.”

“Oh.” I looked down at my dingy shirt and sweatpants. “Thanks.”

“I’ll be the first one to admit that Greenwater is a pretty boring little dirt pile.” Cassie patted my arm. “But the people are nice here. If you stick around long enough to see the sights, you might even decide to stay. I sure wouldn’t mind having another feminist sci-fi fan in town.”

“I definitely can’t stay.” I shook my head. “My life is way too hectic right now. I don’t think Greenwater would appreciate all my baggage.”

“Well, I hope you’ll at least stay long enough to unwind.” Cassie frowned. “No offense, but you look like death warmed over. A few days of boring ol’ Greenwater might do you some good.”

“Yeah.” I exhaled a sharp puff of air. “You’re probably right about that. I’ve never been to a rodeo; maybe I will stick around.”

Cassie smiled, putting her headphones over her ears.

“Catch you later,” I said.

The girl nodded, clutching her book to her chest as she skipped off across the parking lot.

The warmth of Cassie’s friendly presence faded, and I suddenly felt exposed, standing there in plain sight in front of the motel. Hurrying back to my room, I tore open the plastic package of my burrito with my teeth. The inside of the microwave smelled a little like burnt hair, and I considered what Cassie said about checking out the bar in the parking lot next door.

This is safer…

I set the burrito on a paper towel centered on the tiny glass turntable and shut the door to the microwave.

Every person that sees me is a potential lead for Moretti.

After choking down my breakfast, I took my backpack and my quarter collection down to the laundromat. In the light of day, I could see them setting up the rodeo at the fairgrounds, not too far from this little strip mall. They had a Ferris wheel and all kinds of booths and tents. I could hear