Hide & Seek - Nicole Edwards Page 0,18
garage, and they couldn’t be bothered to look for him. Those two had no business having anything that required love and attention. Or food and water for that matter.
Since it was lunchtime and they needed to get their plan nailed down, the first order of business was to find food for the three of them, so Brantley pulled into a shopping center that was equipped with both a pet store and a couple of fast-food joints.
“You want the pet store or the food?”
“Pet store.”
He’d known Reese would say that.
“While I’m in there, if you get a chance, send JJ the information on that thumb drive.”
“And how do you propose I do that?” he asked, steering through the parking lot.
“She said to plug it into the laptop.”
Seemed easy enough provided that really was all he had to do.
He pulled up to the front of the building. “I’ll drop you off. Me and the runt’ll run through the drive thru and come back for you. Cool?”
Reese nodded, then hopped out of the SUV.
“Dude, you might not feel lucky right now, but I think your life’s about to change drastically,” he told the mutt as he steered through the lot one more time. “McDonald’s or Whataburger?”
The dog didn’t answer, but it wasn’t necessary. It was a no-brainer. Whataburger was the winner.
He probably went a little overboard ordering three extra burgers, plain and dry, but he was hoping the dog would give the meat a chance. After he paid, they waited patiently for the food to be prepared. While he did, he pulled out Reese’s laptop, shoved the thumb drive in the slot, watched as it downloaded the information. When it showed complete, he shot a text to JJ, told her to start going through it.
His phone rang a second later, JJ’s name coming up on the screen.
“Yeah?”
“Turn on your hotspot,” she instructed.
“My what?”
JJ chuckled. “On your phone. So the laptop’ll connect to the internet.”
Thankfully, she walked him through the process with only minimal razzing. Once it was done, he put the laptop away and turned his attention back to the window while he waited for his food. Once it was passed over, he noticed the dog’s little black nose perked right up, his knobby head lifting as though he could possibly see into the orange and white bags sitting in the passenger seat.
“While Reese is loadin’ you down with presents—because I’m tellin’ you that’s exactly what he’s doin’—why don’t we get started on the grub,” he suggested, backing into a parking spot near the pet store so he could keep an eye on the door
He made quick work of shredding some of the hamburger meat, giving it a chance to cool before reaching back between the seats and setting it on the floor.
“The rental company’s gonna hate me,” he rambled. “It’s all yours, buddy. Eat up. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
Rather than dig into his own meal, Brantley waited, snatching fries here and there, watching the sliding doors for Reese to return. When he finally did—carrying three large plastic bags full of God only knew what—Brantley smiled to himself.
“Told you. And to think, Christmas ain’t for another month and a half,” he mumbled. “Yep. You aren’t gonna know what hit you. I know I damn sure didn’t.”
Reese didn’t get in; instead, he opened the back passenger door, set his loot on the seat, and began rummaging through the bags. The dog was sitting between the bucket seats, watching him with both curiosity and a hint of fear.
“I got more water,” Brantley told him, passing back another bottle.
“Perfect.” Reese produced a small collapsible blue bowl, poured water in.
“He chowed down while you were gone.” Brantley glanced back between the seats at the white paper on the floor, grinned when he saw it was empty. “Ate every bite.”
After setting the water bowl in front of the dog, Reese went to work removing the collar around his neck, then popping on a new one. This one was chocolate brown. The leash he dragged out of the bag matched. No frills, thank God. He only prayed Reese hadn’t bought the dog a sweater. He might have to put his foot down then. The dog deserved some dignity.
“Why don’t you get up here and eat,” Brantley suggested. “He’ll probably need to make a bathroom run in a bit. The least we can do is give him some time.”
Reese nodded, but before he joined Brantley in the front seats, he pulled out a blanket, laid it