“Dad, I didn’t think you’d still be awake.”
“Couldn’t sleep, Emma; how was your date?”
“I gave a little and took a little.”
“Did he try to—”
“What?” she interrupted. “Have sex with me? Perhaps that’s what he wanted, but he never got to third base.”
“And the take?” Milo asked.
“$77.00; I slipped the bills in my pocket and tossed the wallet on the filthy floor of his treasured truck,” Emma grinned proudly.
“Think he noticed anything?”
“No, Dad! Fact is, we were cramped in his truck, and he seemed preoccupied with the fact his equipment wasn’t working.”
“Anything else?”
“Before he dropped me off, I told him our relationship would never work and not to call.”
“Good,” her father replied. “My gut tells me he won’t try to woo you back—or search for lost money—here.”
“Sometimes you really scare me, Dad,” Emma sighed, looking over at her father, noticing for the first time that his Winchester rifle had been laying across his lap ever since she walked through the door.
“That’s something your mom once said,” he replied wistfully.