Hold on Tight Read Free

Dinah recalled someone saying. She could believe it. His charm had captured the council, the audience, and her imagination.
    “I’m reminded of a story,” he began happily. People perched on the edges of their chairs, wiping laughter from their eyes and listening. “When I was a little ol’ boy growin’ up in Multree, Texas, where the women aren’t nearly as pretty as they are here”—he glanced coyly back at Dinah—“why, in high school, Veda Jane Veegle, my first true love, was voted Most Likely to Become a Marine. But back to my story …”
    Seated on the yellow vinyl of a booth at the Lucky Duck Diner sipping coffee, Dinah kept a pleasant expression on her face and listened with forced politeness as the other council members bombarded Rucker McClure with questions about his writing and the celebrities he’d met. She’d decided to be nice to him and hustle him out of town in a congenial mood.
    Rucker answered distractedly, his scrambled emotions hidden under the usual good-old-boy routine. The cool beauty across the table was the living picture of his best daydreams. She was regal, tall, and sturdy—no frail flower of southern womanhood, that was for sure—and he wanted to keep looking at her forever. Some of her features were classic—a wide, perfect smile between slender lips, a small, tilted nose, a clear, silk-smooth complexion—but others were decidedly unusual by beauty queen standards.
    Her jaw was strong and her eyes, whew, her eyes were stunning. A light china blue, surrounded by dark brunette lashes that matched her hair, they stood out like twin beacons. Intelligence and confidence radiated from those serious eyes, and the combination was extremely sexy, whether she intended it to be or not. Every time he looked away from her he knew that she studied him with unwavering intensity. The air betweenthem seemed warm, and not from the steam off their coffee.
    “Well, I gotta go,” Glory Akens said, yawning. “It’s ten-thirty. Thanks for the coffee and pie, Mr. McClure—I mean, Rucker. That’s apology enough for me.”
    “Me too,” echoed Jasper Mac, running a hand over his hairless head. “It was good meetin’ you.”
    He and Glory got up from the booth. Walter and Fred, seated in chairs at the end, stood also and said their good nights. Dinah started to get up, too, but Rucker casually put a hand across the table and touched her arm. “Let’s you and me talk awhile, Mayor. I’ll give you a ride back to city hall.”
    Dinah looked into his eyes and saw serious invitation. Her heart rate would never be normal again after tonight, she was certain. This man didn’t even attempt to act subtle. Worse yet, before she’d learned who he was, she hadn’t concealed her interest. She was trapped.
    “I rode with Jasper Mac,” she said. “It’s not polite—”
    “Oh, shoot, Dinah, you know I don’t mind,” Jasper Mac interjected.
    Dinah sighed. Trapped. Well, she’d spent years on the beauty pageant circuit, and she was an expert at derailing onrushing men. She could certainly sidetrack this celebrity Romeo. “All right,” she answered.
    She trailed a wistful gaze after her friends and allies as they went out into the cool night. Now it was just her, Rucker, and Alfred “Duck” Mason, the Lucky Duck’s owner and chief cook. He sat behind the soda fountain, his feet propped up,
Monday Night Football
flickering on a small television set he held on his aproned lap. Alfred would be no help.
    “Now, let’s get down to business, little lady,” Rucker said abruptly. “You gonna threaten me anymore?”
    With elegant ease, Dinah swiveled a cold look to him.
Little lady
, eh? “Doubtlessly not. I’d rather keep my council chamber possum free. I’d rather keep my peace of mind. I accept your apology. Just please don’t pick on us anymore. I care about this town.”
    “I can see that,” he said. “I like Mount Pleasant. I likeyou. So let’s talk about you.” He looked comically