True believer - Nicholas Sparks [55]
“Well, tell me,” he said, doing his best to hide his smirk, “since you seem to have hidden talents, how can you be so sure the lights will be out tonight?”
It took a moment for her to answer.
“I just am,” she said.
“Well, I guess it’s settled, then. I should probably head out there, shouldn’t I?” As soon as he spoke the words, he remembered the dinner he was supposed to attend and he suddenly winced.
“What?” she asked, puzzled.
“Oh, the mayor is setting up a dinner with a few people he thought I should meet,” he said. “A little get-together or something.”
“For you?”
He smiled. “What? You’re impressed by that?”
“No, just surprised.”
“Why?”
“Because I hadn’t heard about it.”
“I only found out this morning.”
“Still, it’s surprising. But I wouldn’t worry about not seeing the lights, even if you do go to dinner with the mayor. The lights don’t usually come out until late, anyway. You’ll have plenty of time.”
“Are you sure?”
“That’s when I saw them. It was a little before midnight.”
He stopped in his tracks. “Wait—you’ve seen them? You didn’t mention that.”
She smiled. “You didn’t ask.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Well, Mr. Journalist, that’s only because you keep forgetting to ask.”
Eight
Across town at Herbs, Deputy Rodney Hopper was stewing over his cup of coffee, wondering where on earth Lexie and that . . . city boy had gone off to.
He’d wanted to surprise Lexie at the library and take her out to lunch so City Boy would know exactly where things stood. Maybe she would have even let him escort her to the car while City Boy watched with envy.
Oh, he knew exactly what City Boy saw in Lexie. And he had to be seeing it. Hell, it was impossible not to notice, Rodney thought. She was the prettiest woman in the county, probably the state. Maybe even the whole wide world, for that matter.
Usually, he wouldn’t have worried about any guy doing research at the library, and he wasn’t worried when he first heard about it. But then he started hearing all those folks whispering about the new stranger in town, so he’d wanted to check it out. And they were right: all it took was one look at City Boy to figure out that he had that city look about him. People who researched at the library were supposed to be older and look like absentminded professors, complete with reading glasses, poor posture, and coffee breath. But not this guy; no, this guy looked like he’d just strolled out of Della’s Beauty Parlor. But even that wouldn’t have bothered him so much except for the fact that right now they were off gallivanting around town, just the two of them.
Rodney scowled. Just where were they, anyway?
Not at Herbs. And not at Pike’s Diner, either. No, he’d scanned their parking lots and come up empty. He supposed he could have gone in and asked around, but word would probably have spread, and he wasn’t sure that would have been such a good idea. All his buddies teased him about Lexie as it was, especially whenever he mentioned that they were going out on a date again. They’d tell him to get over her, that she was just spending time with him to be nice, but he knew better. She always said yes when he asked, didn’t she? He thought about it. Well, most of the time, anyway. She never kissed him afterward, but that was beside the point. He was patient and the time was coming. Every time they went out, they edged a little closer to something more serious. He knew it. He could feel it. His buddies, he knew, were just jealous.
He’d hoped that Doris would have some insight, but it just so happened that she wasn’t around, either. Off at the accountant’s, they said, but she’d be back in a little while. Which, of course, didn’t help him at all, since his lunch break was almost over, and he couldn’t exactly wait around for her. And besides, she’d probably deny knowing anything about it. He’d heard she actually liked City Boy, and well . . . wasn’t that special?
“Scuse me, darlin’?” Rachel said. “You okay?”
Rodney looked up and saw her standing at the table with the coffeepot.
“Nothing, Rachel,” he said. “Just one of