Read Online Homecoming Hero by Renee Ryan - Free Book Online

drove my car.”
    â€œYou did?” Was that disappointment in her voice?
    Interesting.
    â€œYou want to ride on my bike?” Wolf couldn’t have been more surprised.
    Or more pleased.
    The idea of Hailey sitting behind him, hanging on to his waist, trusting him to keep her safe around hairpin turns, brought forth all sorts of warm, fuzzy feelings. Disconcerting for a guy who didn’t do warm or fuzzy. Ever.
    Not. A. Date. Why couldn’t he remember that?
    â€œWell, actually…” A line of concentration dug a groove across her forehead. “I do.”
    She had a million doubts in her eyes, but she didn’t back down.
    Brave girl.
    â€œYou’re sure about that?”
    She gave him a careless lift of her shoulder. “A short spin around the block might be fun.”
    Oh, yeah, it’d be fun. He’d make sure of it. “How about next time? When we go for pizza?”
    At the suggestion, everything about her seemed to relax. “That works for me.”
    Worked for him, too. And if he had his way, he would ignore his misgivings and make sure their “short spin around the block” was a date.
    But tonight, he had a more pressing matter to address. One he wanted finished between them. Tonight. “Let’s get out of here.”
    â€œOkay. I just need to get my coat and then we can go.” She hurried out of the room.
    â€œI’ll take care of the candles and meet you on the front porch,” he called after her.
    â€œSounds good,” she tossed over her shoulder.
    Wolf couldn’t stop a grin from forming. The night was suddenly looking up. But then he remembered what lay ahead and his smile vanished. Flattening his lips into a grim line, he snuffed out the candles. With each puff of air he mentally clicked off the reasons Hailey couldn’t go to the Middle East. Insurgents.
    Unstable governments.
    IEDs.
    Roadside bombs.
    He no longer needed to remind himself this wasn’t a date.
    Â 
    Curious as to where Wolf had parked his car, Hailey let him lead her down the front steps of O’Brien House. A cool breeze blew across her face. She could smell the damp in the air.
    Night had completely blanketed the city with its inky stillness, but that didn’t pose a problem in this part of town. Since Savannah was best seen on foot, street-lamps had been erected at close intervals along all the sidewalks in the historic district, giving tourists enough light to see the city’s famous architecture.
    There was so much illumination on Hailey’s street she could practically count the leaves on the azalea bushes.
    Unfortunately, the lighting didn’t provide any relief from the cold. She shivered.
    And then Wolf halted beside a car parked directly in front of her house and she shivered again.
    Shock slithered slowly down her spine, skidding to a stop at the soles of her feet.
    What had she gotten herself into?
    Unable to speak, her eyes tracked over what had to be the saddest excuse for a muscle car she’d ever seen.
    â€œThis is yours?” she managed to croak past the tightness in her throat, trying not to let her dismay show.
    Grinning like a proud papa, Wolf ran his hand lovingly over the roof. “Hailey, meet Stella.”
    It was years of training from her mother that kept her mouth from hanging open. “You named your car?”
    â€œYou bet I did.” He gave the hunk of metal an affectionate pat. “This little beauty has been my only constant for the last ten years.” He grinned broadly. “Isn’t she great?”
    â€œSure…”
    The car Wolf adoringly referred to as Stella looked ready for a permanent trip to the junkyard. Hailey squinted. Were those large, dark-colored patches splattered over the hood rust marks? Dirt? A combination of the two?
    â€œAre you sure that thing…er, Stella…is safe?”
    â€œHave a little faith.” Wolf leaned in close enough for her to smell his