Ramona and the Renegade. Marie Ferrarella

have let things go as far as they had. If nothing else, his background had taught him how to stoically do without. Not having her was part of that. “I just handle it better.”

      Had she not been feeling sick, she would have taken that as a challenge to her own capabilities when it came to tolerating alcohol. But that was a catch-22 situation, she thought. So she said nothing as she lowered herself into the passenger seat and buckled up.

      The less said, she decided, the less her head hurt, and right now, that was all that counted.

      IT DIDN’T TAKE THAT LONG to get into the heart of Forever. Joe made the decision to go there instead of stopping at the house that Mona shared with her brother. He’d already gathered that her main purpose was to see Rick first, and at this hour, the sheriff was most likely in his office.

      The additional benefit of going straight to town was that he could get Mick moving. The sooner he got the mechanic to tow in her vehicle and fix the flat, the sooner life would begin to get back to normal for Mona, he reasoned.

      As for him, well, the memory of last night and what had almost gone down would linger in his mind for a very long time, as would the revelation that, just as he’d always believed, her lips had tasted incredibly sweet. That, too, would have to sustain him for an indefinite period to come. He knew there would be no replays, instant or otherwise.

      Joe brought the Jeep to a halt before the sheriff’s building, parking it in the only space still available. Turning off the ignition and pulling up the hand brake, he was surprised that Mona remained beside him. He’d expected her to hop out. Under ordinary circumstances, he’d have to grab her to keep her inside the vehicle until it stopped moving.

      “Something wrong?” he asked her.

      Mona sat looking straight ahead, as if debating answering or just quietly getting out of the vehicle.

      With a suppressed sigh, she turned toward him and said, “I’m sorry if I took your head off back there.”