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second thoughts about the junk heap he had just offered to buy.
    â€œManny!” Fayette stuck her head out the door of the Dip ’n’ Dine and hollered across the road. “Patsy wonders when you’re coming back.”
    â€œAh, Patsy.” Manny winced. “She’s going to kill me when she finds out.”
    Lainie held her breath while she watched Manny struggle with his conscience. Finally, he patted the hood of the Mustang and hollered back. “She okay?”
    â€œShe’s fine. Her mom just needs her to come get the girls.”
    â€œTell her half an hour.” He turned back to Lainie and grinned. “She’ll come around. Once the baby gets here, she’ll forget all about it.”
    â€œOh, yeah. I gathered from Fayette that you guys are going to have a baby. Your first?”
    â€œThird. We already got twin girls. But this one’s a boy.”
    â€œThree kids, wow. You’re not much more than a kid yourself.”
    â€œI’m twenty-five. Not that young.”
    â€œI think twenty-five’s young. How many kids does Ray have?”
    â€œRay? None that I’ve ever heard him admit to. He’s not even married.” He laughed. “Although, now that I think about it, I have heard him pull a family out of the air late at night when some drunk and ugly woman starts getting a little too cozy.”
    His laughter died away at the look on Lainie’s face. She held up an index finger.
    â€œJust one minute. I’ll be right back.”
    Ray looked up and smiled when she came through the door. “How’s it going? Get everything taken care of?”
    â€œEverything is fine, Ray. And how’s the family? Are they fine?”
    Ray stopped smiling and looked over Lainie’s shoulder. In the mirror, she could see that Manny had followed her inside and was standing behind her. His face could barely contain his grin.
    Ray returned to Lainie. “Yeah, well, let me explain . . .”
    â€œDon’t bother.” Lainie’s voice shook. “But let me explain a thing or two to you. All I was looking for was someplace to sleep. Period. And if that didn’t suit you, all you had to do was say so. You didn’t have to come up with some stupid story. As hard as it may be for you to believe, I probably would have managed to control myself.”
    She pushed Manny aside and strode to the door. Just before she slammed it she turned for one last shot. “’Cause darlin’, believe me, you’re just not that big a deal.”

4

    L ainie was tossing the contents of her trunk onto the gravel next to her car when she heard Ray crunching across the parking lot. She didn’t look up, although she did consider heaving something heavy at his head.
    â€œLook, about last night . . .” His words faded into silence.
    Lainie leaned against the car, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow. “Yes? About last night?” She waited. “Well?”
    â€œYeah. It’s just that . . .” While Ray struggled for words, Manny strolled up, still grinning. Ray turned on him. “You got one big mouth on you, you know that, Baca?”
    Manny threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, man, don’t count on me to keep your women sorted out for you. I got three of my own to worry about.”
    â€œForget it.” Lainie jerked open the car door. She swept everything from the seats and floors out into the parking lot.
    Ray backed out of her way. “Look. I have nothing to say for myself. I was a jerk.”
    â€œYou got that right.” Lainie pulled the case off her pillow and dumped the contents of the glove compartment into it.
    Ray stood looking at the growing piles of debris in his parking lot. “What are you doing?”
    Lainie shoved him aside. “I’m getting my stuff out of my car. Manny’s going to buy it from me.”
    â€œBut why here? What are you