Slay Bells - Hildie McQueen Page 0,2

tiny panties you wear and smile!

Nothing is ever as bad as it seems.

Love, Abuela

Gabriela smiled at how opportune the message was. Her phone lit up when she touched the surface and she called her grandmother for a chat.

Tomorrow she’d pack, and then her adventure would begin. She’d made a crazy impulsive decision that she couldn’t take back. Maybe life was not as bad as it seemed.

After all, Montana awaited.

Chapter Two

Jeremy Hawkins let out a breath and stared at the man who’d slumped over. The naked man sat on the ground his back against the wall of a convenience store.

“Get up Henry.”

“I won’t,” Henry said, his teeth chattering. “You cops can’t just go around bossin’ people. I have rights.”

The gas station clerk had called him after Henry had walked in every five minutes to warm up and go into the bathroom. They normally didn’t mind Henry, but this day on his last trip inside, he’d emerged out of the bathroom naked and announced his plans to sleep outside. He’d called it a naked bear challenge.

“You’re going to die of hypothermia,” Jeremy said and held out a blanket. “Here wrap this around yourself and come on. I’ll buy you pie and coffee.”

“Pie?” Henry narrowed his eyes. He didn’t reach for the blanket. “What kind of pie?”

“I hear they’ve got cherry over at Deanne’s.” It was a lie. Jeremy had no idea what they were serving, but he’d try anything before having to wrestle with a naked man. “Come on. After that, you can crash on my couch.”

“Nope. Your dog doesn’t like me.”

“You hid ham in your pocket last time. He was just trying to get to it. Besides, he lives at the ranch now.”

Henry considered the offer for a long moment, making a show of stroking his chin with a shaky hand. “I suppose I could use some pie. But then I’ll still do this challenge. The guys over at the VFW are doing it too.”

“I just drove by, they are playing cards, fully clothed.” The VFW had been a functioning branch of the establishment at one time. Now, Tom, a retired Army man, owned the old VFW building. It remained a gathering place for older men to play cards, darts, or pool. The owner offered a place for a few homeless vets to stay out of the elements and in return he had company.

“They’re traitors and cowards then,” Henry pronounced and grabbed the blanket. “You better be true to your word and get me some pie.”

After apple pie, much to Henry’s chagrin, and coffee, Jeremy pulled up with a now dressed and sleepy man at the VFW. They walked in and the owner Tom looked up. “What’s up?”

Jeremy gave him a pointed look. “Who challenged Henry to spend the night outside naked?”

Tom shook his head and stared at Henry. “Did you really do it? We were kidding Henry.” His booming laughter rang out. “Did anyone get pictures?”

Henry shuffled in without looking at anyone. “I’m gonna stay here Sarg.” He often called Jeremy that, referring to when he’d served in the Army. “I feel lucky today.” Settling onto a chair, a smiling Henry waited to be dealt into the game.

“Wanna join in?” Tom asked.

Although it was tempting to join the card game, Jeremy left. He was off duty and although he didn’t exactly have exciting plans, he preferred to spend Friday nights home watching television.

Some weekend nights he would meet a few guys for a couple beers at the local watering hole that was cops and firemen frequented. Afterwards, he’d head home for another couple beers while zoning out in front of the television.

Yeah, so he didn’t exactly lead an exciting life, but the way he saw it, his job as detective at the Missoula PD kept him busy enough most days.

His cell chimed. It was a woman named Cassandra, who he’d hooked up with on and off over the last year. Rarely as of late, since she made it clear that she expected them to take it to the next level.

Although he’d decided to break things off, he’d not had the energy to do it yet. Admitted, he was being a coward. Breakups were always hurtful. In his defense, he and Cassandra hadn’t been out in the last few months, mostly because he’d postponed or canceled.

He answered it.

“What you up to?” Cassandra purred into the phone, her code sentence for “wanna hook up tonight?”

“About to crash. I had a long day.”

There was a beat of silence. “Seems you’ve been having a