“Sorry.” She smiled. “I’ll have the short stack, extra crispy bacon and eggs over medium. Double bacon please, and can I have some hash browns on the side?”
“Got it.” The woman smiled and then looked to Harley, who was still staring at Norah.
“I’ll have the same.”
“You got it, handsome.” She winked at him and walked away.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“I’m just impressed.”
“Impressed with what.”
“You’re appetite. Anytime I’ve ever eaten with a woman, she orders like a bird and then barely even touches that.”
“Sounds like you’ve been eating with the wrong kind of woman,” she said, and took a sip from her coffee.
“Seems that way.” He did the same and then turned back to her. “I’m sorry if I offended you earlier. I didn’t mean anything by it. Everything just has me on edge, and I’m trying to keep anything else from happening to you.”
“Well, treating me as if you can’t stand the touch of me is definitely not the way to go about it.” Harley nearly choked on his coffee.
“That’s what you’re bent out of shape about? You think I didn’t want my arm around you?”
When she nodded, he let out a short laugh. “Oh, Norah, that’s not it at all. I knew you were annoyed, but I thought it was because you thought I was irritated at you.”
“For what? What could I have possibly done to cause you to be irritated at me?”
“How about nearly getting me killed?”
Norah started to blow up at him until she saw the humor in his eyes. Her anger deflated, and she smiled at him.
“You’re kind of an ass, aren’t you?”
“I’ve been called worse.”
“Well, I’m glad you aren’t disgusted by me, at least.”
“Why is that?”
“Because it would make working together difficult.”
“Together?”
“Yes. I’m going to help you bring down Clayton’s organization.”
“Well, all right, then.” He clinked his mug to hers. “To working together.”
Norah clinked and took a drink from her coffee. She was surprised he didn’t argue with her. She had been prepared to point out that seeing as they didn’t know who they could trust, he was stuck with her. But it appeared he was okay with it without the argument.
“Your forehead looks like it hurts.” She winced when he touched it.
“Yeah, it doesn’t feel great. But the bleeding seems to have stopped.”
He looked away from her and she turned her attention back to her coffee.
When their steaming dinners showed up, Norah nearly let out a groan. She certainly was not a bird, and she was going to absolutely eat every last bite.
* * *
AN HOUR LATER, Harley gripped her hand and led her to two seats towards the back of the bus. He took the aisle and she sat by the window. Every move he made he was guarding her, shielding her with his body from any threats that might show up. Norah appreciated the gesture and leaned against him once they were settled.
His arm came around her shoulders, and had she not been so exhausted, she might have smiled. Anyone looking at them would see a normal couple. Seeing as how she was wearing a jacket that didn’t match the gold gown that fell to her ankles, maybe people would think they had spent the night together after some fancy cocktail party. It was strange how quickly life could turn itself upside down.
“Are you warm enough?” The engine of the bus started, and Norah nodded against Harley’s shoulders. “Are you sure?”
“I’m fine now, Harley, thank you.”
The lights in the bus dimmed slightly and Norah yawned. That coffee had done nothing to help her energy, and she felt her eyelids growing heavy. She leaned back against Harley and closed her eyes in surrender.
Once she had fallen asleep, Harley tucked her closer into him. Tom’s betrayal began to sink in, and Harley had to fight the urge to leave Norah on the bus and go wring the asshole’s neck. How had he not seen it coming? Had his father known the kind of man Tom was? Surely his dad hadn’t known, or he would have turned him in. Jackson Andrews had been the most honest man Harley had ever known, and he had modeled his own life after that of the one his father had led.
One betrayal at a time. He refused to believe anything bad about his father; he knew the man who had raised him couldn’t have possibly known anything about Tom. It just wasn’t possible.
Harley looked down at Norah and brushed a light strand of hair out of her face.
“What happened to your forehead?” Harley looked across the aisle at an elderly woman who looked to be about in her eighties. She handed him a Kleenex and pointed to one of the injuries Tom’s man had given him. “You’re bleeding.”
“Thanks.” He took it and dabbed at his head. He hadn’t realized it had started bleeding again. “We were headed back from out of town and got into an accident.” He kissed Norah on the top of her head in a gesture he told himself was more for the old woman rather than himself.
“You both all right?” Genuine concern crossed her face, and Harley nodded.
“We are, and that’s all that matters.”
“Didn’t go to the hospital?”
“We just let the police handle the car. We wanted to get home,” he lied. “It’s been a long night. I didn’t even realize I was still bleeding.”
“She’s beautiful.” The woman smiled. Harley smiled gently back.
“She absolutely is.”
“You two have an exciting night?” She winked and gestured to Norah’s cocktail dress. “Other than the accident, of course.”
“You could definitely say that. We went to a party last night and stayed out of town. An impromptu date night.”
“You didn’t drink and drive, did you?” the woman lightly scolded him, and Harley laughed softly.
“Absolutely not, ma’am. That is one of those things I am one hundred percent against.”
“Good boy.” She reached over and touched his hand.
“You are a lucky man, and she is a lucky woman. To have a man look at you the way you look at her is such a gift. I should know; I was married nearly eighty years before my husband passed.”
Harley nodded sympathetically but changed the subject. He wasn’t ready to address his quickly growing feelings for Norah just yet. “Where are you headed?”
“Going to see my grandkids in Leavenworth.”
“That’s great, how many do you have?”
“Ten.” She laughed softly. “They all live locally, so it’s going to prove to be a fun week for me.”
“That’s wonderful. I hope you have a fantastic time.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “I hope you two do as well. Maybe take her on another nice date. One that doesn’t end with you two on a bus and you talking to an old woman.”
Harley laughed. “I sure will.”
“Good.” The woman leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Harley wondered what she was thinking of, perhaps one of her past dates with her late husband. She smiled silently and Harley turned his attention back to Norah.
* * *
“WHERE ARE WE?” Norah asked after they got off the crowded bus.
“Leavenworth.”