Read Spring River Valley: The Spring Collection (Boxed Set) for Free Online

lips.
    “This better be good,” he greeted his best friend.
    “Sorry to rain on your parade, but can you come in tonight? There’s a multi-car on the Thruway , and Stanton is short-handed. They need assistance.”
    “I’ve had a beer.”
    “I’ll drive. Can you be here in five?”
    Tanner sighed. He would have loved to pretend Quinn was calling about something else, but the small phone speaker projected the call very clearly. She’d heard every word. “A multi-car accident? You should go.”
    “But your friend left you here—”
    “I’ve got my car. I’m fine. It’s okay.”
    “Evie…”
    She waved him off. “They need you. I wish I could come along.”
    He would have taken her, but he wasn’t permitted to bring anyone to the station with him on a call, and she couldn’t ride in the rig without special permission from his commander. “I’m sorry…”
    “It’s fine.”
    “Quinn, I’m on my way,” he muttered into the phone.
    “I’ll be waiting.”
    He shut off the phone and took one more second to look at her. Lips plump, cheeks pink in the evening chill, she looked like a woman who’d been thoroughly kissed, but not one who was completely satisfied. He’d have to rectify that the first chance he got.
    He brushed his lips over hers one more time. “Call me tomorrow. Anytime,” he said as he backed away. He pivoted to head for his car. “Call me later tonight, two or three hours. Or tomorrow morning early—whenever you wake up or anytime…just call me.”
    “I will…” The rest of her reply faded as he jumped in to his car. Why had he answered the phone? It was his night off, after all. Damn. He pulled out of the parking lot, his emergency lights flashing to warn other drivers he was on his way to a call. Tonight had been the start of something, and he planned to make sure he saw it through. He may have had to leave Evie mid-kiss, but this was by no means the end of it.
     
    *
     
    Evie drew in lungfuls of rapidly cooling night air and watched the taillights of Tanner’s car disappear down West Denton Avenue. If he hadn’t just kissed her senseless, she probably would have been climbing into her own car right now and following him. A multi-car accident on the Thruway was news, probably front-page news, and if she wanted that byline, she needed to overcome the niggling feeling in the back of her mind that literally chasing an ambulance to the scene was somehow wrong.
    Hands shaking, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts as she forced her wobbly legs to carry her across the parking lot. He’d smelled so good…whatever cologne he used had fogged her brain. He’d tasted sweet and spicy like the dark beer he’d ordered. The muscles in his arms and his chest were like granite… What am I doing? Oh. She stopped for a second and concentrated on her phone until she found the number she was looking for. Max Shannon. She dialed, forcing thoughts of Tanner to the back of her mind.
    He answered on the second ring. “This is Shannon.”
    “Max? Hi, it’s Evie Prentice. Listen, I just heard there’s a multi-car accident on the Thruway. Can you meet—”
    “Chad and I just pulled up, looks like another overturned tractor trailer and two…no , three cars. Thanks for the heads-up, though! I appreciate the call. Gotta go.”
    Evie’s response to Max died unspoken. She stared at her glowing phone. Of course Chad already knew about it. Of course Chad was already there. Maybe traffic wasn’t her calling. She needed something newsworthy that didn’t involve charging off behind the police and the rescue vehicles. That wasn’t her style.
    But what was?
    An approaching siren diverted her attention before she could get back to ruminating on the reason her heart was still pounding like a snare drum. She watched a police cruiser pull up in the parking lot. The officers got out and strolled into the pub. Either someone had called to report the crowded conditions or there’d