Austin - Piper Stone Page 0,20
doing. It’s just that I’m tired of running into roadblocks.”
Katie grinned. “The way of the world. Now, let’s get back to the shirt.”
“What do you know about the fires that have occurred in the city?”
She was taken aback, finally easing onto the edge of the second couch. “Which fires are we talking about?”
“One was a motel that burned last night. I know another was a restaurant. And I think one was a processing plant. I’m not sure of the fourth.”
“Well, I haven’t covered any of them, but if what I heard this morning was true, they were all suspicious. Why?”
I shrugged, toying with the base of the glass. I could hear her wheels ticking from where she was sitting. “Just curious, but from what I’ve learned, they might be ruled an accident.”
“You’re never just curious about anything, Franny. Come on.” She continued to study me intently for a few seconds. “Wait a minute. If I remember correctly, the motel is on one of the roads leading back to Missoula from Hamilton. Did you happen to see something?”
All I could do was take a sip of my drink.
“Holy shit. Do not tell me that you were there.”
“Maybe.”
“That’s it. Talk to me. Did you meet someone there? A guy?” Katie had far too much joy in her voice.
I had a lump in my throat, uncertain I could find mine.
“Are you dating someone that you didn’t tell me about?”
“No!” I insisted. “Not dating. I doubt I’ll be ready to date again until the next Stone Age.”
“Then why are you so nervous?”
I finally dropped my head, hissing under my breath. “Okay, I met this guy and we had a good time.”
“A good time. Cut through the bullshit and that means you fucked him in a motel room that burned to the ground. Right?”
“Maybe.” The silence was deafening. “Okay. Okay. Yes, I did, and it was the hottest sex I’ve ever had in my life, no pun intended.” I certainly wasn’t going to tell her that he’d been absolutely dominant, taking what he’d wanted.
“Yummy. You have to tell me everything. When are you seeing him again?”
“I’m not seeing him again. It was just a thing.”
“But you still have his shirt.”
“That’s because he ripped off mine. Then he had to save me from the fire.”
Katie exhaled, taking several sips of her drink then coughing. “You are kidding me.”
“I wish I were. The entire place was on fire, flames everywhere and the smoke was so thick. It wasn’t my finest hour or four. Okay?”
“Honey, you’re an adult. You can fuck any man you want to. I’m so sorry about what you went through.”
“It’s okay. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I have a bad feeling about what happened. Do you think you can sniff around?” I asked, giving her a pleading look.
She shook her head. “Fine. I’ll see what I can find out but if the fires are under investigation, the sheriff’s office isn’t going to be doing much talking, accident or no accident.”
“Anything will help.” Not that I knew what I was going to do with the information, but the nagging feeling persisted.
“So… Where did you meet this guy? One of your political events? Is he a new employee? More important, is he cute?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, I would never fuck one of my employees.” Now it was my turn to take a huge gulp of my drink. “And yes, he’s probably the hottest man I’ve ever laid eyes on. As far as where I met him…” I struggled to find the words. “I picked him up on the side of the road.”
You could have heard a pin drop in the house.
“You did what?” she managed, coughing several times.
“You heard me. As I said, not my finest hour.”
“But he could have been a murderer.”
“No, he just happened to be hitchhiking. He wasn’t a murderer. Actually, he ended up being my savior.” I laughed after saying the words. “One hunky Marine with a perfect, and I do mean perfect, body.”
“And his cock?”
The look I gave her was enough to have both of us explode in laughter.
“Then I have one piece of advice for you, girlfriend. Hunt that man down and give him back his shirt in exchange for another.” Katie wagged her finger.
“Not sure I can do that.”
“Why? Didn’t you exchange names? Does he live in Montana?”
“I dropped him off at the Big Meadow Ranch and no, that wasn’t his place.”
“Big Meadow. I’ve heard of that,” she mused. “What’s his name?”
“Vader. That’s