Operation: Austin

Chapter Two Part Five

He had been watching the road ahead as she answered, and now he returned his gaze to hers. “You too, then, huh?”

She gave a soft chuckle. “Mm hmm!”

More sparks. They were dancing. She was relaxing and enjoying the dialogue. The fact that she knew something about him gave her some feeling of security. She felt she knew who he was.

No, Sweetheart, he mused, you might think you know who I am, but you don’t.

That is what he thought, but he wasn’t going to say it. Instead, he said, “Since you know so much about me then, does any of that frighten you?”

She looked at him with a playful glint in her non-swollen eye, then said teasingly, “No, but if something comes up, I’ll tell you.” Her bruised lips formed a wry smile. She was playing with him, taking back a bit of control amid her trauma.

They had finished eating as they approached Cascade Locks. The music was setting a relaxing scene with Sarah Farrell singing ‘Somebody Else’ from the audio mix. Paige started to sing along softly, “I don’t want your body, but I hate to think about you with somebody else.”

Gary listened for a minute, then joined in. “Our love has gone cold. You’re intertwining your soul with somebody else.” Their eyes met again, and she laughed nervously. They were flirting, probing the edges of a relationship, and both enjoyed having permission to explore together. “Come on, Baby, this ain’t the last time I’ll see your face.” They sang the very sad, sensual, intimate lyrics. Laughing at the shared harmony, they pulled off the highway, then into the Best Western hotel so they could stretch their legs and dump their garbage from lunch.

“How is your mouth?” he asked.

“It hurts,” she admitted. “I keep forgetting about it, then if I laugh or smile, it reminds me.”

“Sorry,” he offered.

She just shrugged her shoulders.

Out of habit, Gary had been checking to make sure they were not being followed. There was nothing to be concerned about, and he was just about to stop checking. He knew it would be impossible to follow them at this point. Besides, if anyone were after her, they would have made their move by now. Being overly cautious was a survival habit.

They both had to use the bathroom, so they went into the restaurant. Feeling more relaxed the further they got on their journey, this time she went into the bathroom alone. He was starting to relax more, also knowing they were not being followed. It was 11:30 when they got back in the car and headed east, through the business district loop. Gary wanted a large iced tea, and Paige wanted a Diet Coke, so he pulled into the East Wind Drive-in before they hit the highway.

“Okay, next stop Yakima; we will have some fun at John’s expense,” he said, giving her a big grin. “If you like fajitas, I will have Carla get some carne asada made up for when we get home around six?”

“That would be great,” she said, looking at him apprehensively. “Is she your wife?”

“No,” he chuckled. “She would laugh to hear you ask that. Carla is my house manager. Somebody has to keep the place livable; I have a cleaning crew come in one day a week, but someone needs to manage the house, and I’m too busy. Besides, I need to have someone there for Jax when I travel.”

“You have a kid?” she asked. She was curious about his relationship status but was trying not to be obvious. She was also wondering about the size of his house since he needed someone to manage it.

He chuckled again. “Yeah, the four-legged kind. Jax is my dog; he’s in charge of security.”

She moaned. “I love dogs, but I’ve never had one; Grams said they were too expensive. What kind of dog?” she asked with bright eyes.

“Doberman; he’s a good boy. At least to the good guys, he is.” He had the car dial Carla, and she picked up with, “Hola, Señor Gary. Is your trip going well?” Before he left that morning, he had sent her a message saying he would be gone for the day and would return with a guest that afternoon.

“Yes, thank you,” he replied. “We should be home between five o’clock and six o’clock this evening. Can you please make some fajitas for dinner?”

“Sí, Señor,” she replied. “Beef or chicken.”

Gary looked at Paige. She shrugged her shoulders. “Chicken?” She mouthed in preference.

“Both, please, Carla. We are going to stop at Target in Yakima on the way through. Do you need anything?”

“Oh yes, Gary, can you pick me up a new bikini?” she laughed out loud.

“Oh, for sure!” he teased back. “Something with ruffles, perhaps?”

Carla Ramirez was forty-five years old, with a classic matronly body and a mom personality. Not at all a bikini candidate in most people’s eyes. Her daughter, Cristel, would rock that look, though, at least she would if her momma would let her. Carla kept her daughter under lock and key, which suited Gary fine. She was like a niece to him, and he was not ready to see boys hanging around. As he thought about Cristel, it dawned on him she was about Paige’s age, a little younger, actually, but close enough to make him pause and consider his impulses toward his passenger. They suddenly seemed inappropriate.

Carla giggled, “I am fine, Señor, just drive safe and bring her home.”

Strange, Gary thought, as he hung up, I didn’t tell Carla I was bringing a woman home. He decided that she knew him too well and could read between the lines. Besides, he was sure she had some kind of mom’s superpower. His mother had it too; as a kid, he could walk into the house, and she would take one look at him and say, “Gary Patrick Booker, what did you do?” Moms give you a middle name so they can use it as a point of emphasis.

He took a breath, looked at Paige, then ventured into the subject she probably wanted to avoid.

About the Author

My wife, Emerlinda, and I currently live in Washington State, USA, and have some property in the Philippines, but are planning a move to Tennessee in the Fall of 2026. I have a broad background in business consulting, building code enforcement, forensic analysis for litigation teams, investigating government corruption, and recently worked for a year on a highly secure team working with the government to solve an existential threat to the population of North America. I began writing in late 2020. Operation: Austin is the first of nine novels in the series that are published, with seven more novels in development. What makes my stories unique is the way I take actual world events, the adventures of real people, and fictionalize them into novels that give readers the impression that the characters are embedded in day-to-day history, affecting those events as they happen. This book has 28 chapters; two will be shared every week, one each on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To learn more about me, V S Campbell, you can visit www.vscampbell.com. I also blog there and am an instructor at Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/becoming-an-author-the-master-class-series/

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