Endless Night Part 45

She started to push herself up. When their mouths parted, Andy said, "No, don't." He hooked an arm across her back.

Her breast hovered over him, almost high enough but not quite, her nipple poised against his chest, touching him lightly through her nightshirt. "Let me up," she whispered.

"Just a little longer?" he asked.

"Dad might come in. It'd blow everything if he thought we were messing around. You want to come and live with us, don't you?"

His eyes widened. "Yeah. Do you think I can?"

"Not if Dad gets the idea you wanta ... boink me, as you like to put it."

This time, it was Andy who blushed.

"Which, by the way, is out of the question," she told him. "Now, let go."

His hand dropped away from her back and Jody sat up. When she began to turn around, he raised his knees, making a small tent of the sheet that covered him from the waist down.

She glanced toward the window. n.o.body's face was pressed against it, thank G.o.d.

Keeping Andy's pillow pressed to her lap, she got to her feet. She backed away from his bed.

As she stepped into her moccasins, she asked, "Where's my robe?"

"What am I gonna wear?"

"What did you do with it?"

"Over here." He rolled toward the other side of the bed, squirmed to the edge of the mattress and reached down, then flipped over, whipping Jody's robe through the air. At just the right moment, he released it. The robe sailed toward her, fluttering and falling.

She tossed the pillow at his face.

His smiling face.

And she caught her robe. "Thanks," she said.

"Thank you."

She whirled away from him and swept the robe around her back and searched for the sleeves. Not until the robe was securely shut, its belt tied, did she face him again. She wiggled her fingers at him. "See you later, alligator."

He looked distressed. "Where are you going?"

"Back to the other room where all my stuff is. You can go ahead and get dressed while I'm gone. Just wear what you had on yesterday."

He wrinkled his nose. "What if I smell?"

"What do you mean, if?"

"Ha ha, very funny."

"Maybe we can buy you some stuff. I'll talk to Dad."

"Okay."

"Okay, see you."

Andy suddenly looked forlorn.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere, just down to the other room. I'll be back in ten minutes."

"Okay. Hurry, okay?"

"I will." She opened the door. Fierce heat and bright sunlight hit her like a blast. "Jeez!" she gasped. Grimacing, she stepped onto the balcony. "It's horrible out here."

Dad, grinning, filled his lungs. "Fresh, clean desert air."

"You can have it." She turned around and leaned back against the railing. Now, at least, she didn't have the sun in her eyes.

Dad was wearing his sungla.s.ses. They made him look like a motorcycle cop.

"Have you been out here very long?" she asked.

"Long enough."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm about ready to take a load off. This guard duty's for the birds."

"Was it really necessary?"

"n.o.body came along, so I guess not. So far. You never know, though. You just never know. It's when you least expect trouble that it sneaks up and grabs you by the ... throat."

"By the what?"

"You heard me. The throat."

"Yeah." She laughed. "Where's Sharon, anyway? In our room?"

"That's where she was."

"Where is she now?"

He raised his arm and pointed. Jody turned around.

"See that dirt road way out there past the Texaco?"

"Yeah."

"Last I saw of Sharon, she was heading north. That was about half an hour ago."

"What's she doing?"

"Running."

"Running? You mean, for exercise?"

"*Gotta keep the bod fit.' That's what she told me. I pointed out that it looked plenty fit to me, but that didn't stop her."

"I don't want to stand in this heat, much less run in it. What is she, nuts?"

"Nuts ain't the word for her, honey."

"Yeah? What is the word for her?"

"Mmmm. Phenomenal."

"What do you mean?"

"Look it up."

"I know what the word means. What do you mean?"

"She's an amazing specimen."

"Specimen?"

"Of woman, of cop, of person."

"Jeez, Dad."

"You asked."

"Wow."

"Is Andy up yet?"

"Trying to change the subject?"

"Hope the little weasel kept his sheet on."

"He did. He should be getting dressed right now. He's only got the stuff I gave him yesterday, though."

"We'll pick him up a few things after breakfast."

"Breakfast. Glad you brought it up. I'm starving."

"How can you be starving, the way you stuffed your face last night?"

"That was only chips and junk."

"Well, I hope you aren't starving too badly. G.o.d only knows when Sharon'll get back. And I'm sure she'll want to take a shower before we go anywhere."

"Do you suppose she actually sweats?"

"I tell you what, sweetheart, I've been wondering about that myself. We'll just have to wait and see."

"In the meantime, I might as well go get dressed."

"Take your time. I have a feeling we won't be seeing Sharon for a while."

Chapter Thirty-two.

Jody hurried to the other room. After the outside heat, it felt cool and wonderful. The curtains were wide open, so she shut them.

In the dim, mellow light that came through, she saw Sharon's robe draped over the foot of Dad's bed. The bed that hod been his, anyway, before he'd gone over to 238 last night. Sharon must've come back here to get some sleep while Dad stood guard. And brought her travel bag along with her. It was on the floor between the beds. So was her rifle case.

Jody glanced around, looking for any sign that her father had been in the room with Sharon.

Nothing.

What'd you expect, his jockeys on the floor? Real nice.

I just want Dad to be happy, she told herself. And Sharon's perfect. It'd be so great if they got together.

Yeah, but you're wondering if they did it.

No, I'm not. It's none of my business. Besides, they didn't. No way. Dad only met her last night.

jody tossed her own robe onto the bed that had been hers before Andy's surprise arrival. Then she pulled off her night- shirt.

Wearing only her moccasins, she stepped away from the end of the bed so that she could see herself in the mirror above the sink counter.

"Horrible," she muttered.

Her hair looked greasy in the dim light. Her bandages looked dirty. A couple were hanging partly off. In many places, her skin looked smudged with filth. She knew it wasn't filth, though. The dark areas were bruises and sc.r.a.pes, and they wouldn't wash off.

Still, she wanted to take a shower.

Why not?

Andy'd taken a shower in 238 after downing a root beer and a ton of Doritos and Cheetos. He'd come out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, holding its comers together at his hip because the towel was so small. That's when Jody had given her robe to him.

Before coming out, he'd removed all his bandages. Even the elastic Ace bandage for his knee. But he'd wanted that one on again, so Sharon had wrapped his knee with it while he sat on the end of the bed.