16 ONE NIGHT TOGETHER 02 (1/2)
She obligingly looked out the window. ”It looks exactly like I thought a small town in Texas would look.”
”And that is?” he prompted.
”Very Western.” She turned toward him and smiled. ”The buildings look like they are from a cowboy movie.”
”Yeah, some of them do. Old man Jackson has tried to preserve some of the old buildings.” Another block and they were out of town. ”Over there was the Good Night Drive-In.”
”Was?”
”It's been closed for years. I guess that's something else that's considered old-fashioned.”
”I suppose. I don't think I've ever been to one.”
”You missed out,” he told her.
”How far away is Marysville?”
”A little over an hour.”
She stared at him, then looked out of the window again. There wasn't much to see, he figured. Just fences and dusty roads, windmills and an occasional house. She'd soon tire of the scenery. And then she'd have to talk to him again.
~----------------------~
She'd been incredibly beautiful, despite the worried expression as she studied the departure board on the wall above the ticket agents' desk. He'd wondered if a husband or boyfriend would join her inline, claim her as his. But no, his luck had held, and the Beau woman with the long chestnut hair and Jade green eyes was alone. And he'd spoken to her and made her smile.
That smile had just about knocked him on his derriere.
He'd sensed trouble before it happened, heard the tense conversation escalate as three men built like wrestlers lost their temper with the ticket agent. They swore, a litany of curses not fit for women and children to hear, and one of them pounded the counter while the other attempted to climb over it . His backpack flew toward the woman's feet.
”Watch out,” Andrew said as he stepped in front of her, protecting her from what was sure to be a fight. They were next in line, too close to trouble. He leaned forward and grabbed one young man by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off the floor an inch and holding him tight. ”Tell your friends to quit this show now,” he demanded, tightening his grip on the kid's shirt.
”Mark, Dave,” he gurgled. ”Cool it.”
Two airport security officers appeared just as Mark or Dave threw a wild punch at the male ticket agent, a skinny young man who looked as if he hadn't slept in a week. They managed to get all three men to calm down, rounded up their luggage, then took them away.
”You okay?” he asked, joining the woman back in line.
”Fine, thank you.” She'd seemed shy, surprising in a woman soo beautiful. ”That was nice of you, but...”
”But?”
He shrugged. ”They shouldn't have lost their tempers. You are next.”
”What?”