Cody by Kirsten Osbourne Page A

Let me buy you a new one and dinner.” He’d never
actually offered to buy a woman a truck along with dinner before,
but she was incredible, and he needed to make an impression. Of
course, if she accepted he’d do it and walk away never looking
back. He’d been used for his money too many times in the past to
willfully walk into that situation again.
    She shook her head and
stared at him in disbelief. “Let me get this straight. I rear-ended
you, messed up your truck, and you want to buy me a truck?” She
needed to go to the doctor and get her ears checked.
    “Why not?”
    “Aren’t you supposed to be
yelling at me for not paying attention to the road or being an
idiot or something?” What was with this guy? Of course, this was
much better than getting yelled at. Probably.
    “Would that make you like
me better? Would you go out with me if I yelled at you?” A little
boy smile transformed his face.
    She stared at him for a
moment trying to figure out what was wrong with the man. “You want
to know if yelling at me will make me go out with you?” She looked
around wondering when the men he’d escaped from would take him back
to the asylum. “Do you have some medication you’re supposed to
take?”
    He reached out and stroked
her cheek. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Can I
buy you dinner? A truck? An engagement ring?”
    She took a deep breath,
not sure how to respond. “Is there someone who takes care of you?
Someone I can call?”
    He laughed out loud. “I
promise, my mind is as sound as yours.” He shrugged. “I just tend
to go after what I want, and I want you.” He reached out and took
her hand in his. “Let me drive you home and I’ll take you to dinner
on the way.” He’d just eaten with his friends, but he didn’t care.
He’d sit and watch her eat if it gave him more time with
her.
    She eyed him skeptically.
“Do you even have a driver’s license?”
    He reached into his pocket
pulled out his wallet took out his license and handed it to her.
“The State of Texas seems to think I’m capable of
driving.”
    She looked at his license,
noting that he was thirty. The image was definitely him, and as she
read his name she wondered why it seemed so familiar. She shrugged
and handed the card back to him. “Okay, so you have a
license.”
    “So can I drive you home
and take you to dinner?” His big brown eyes pled with her,
reminding her of a puppy dog.
    She glanced at the time on
the dash of her truck. “It’s after ten. I ate a long time
ago.”
    “Dessert then?”
    She sighed. Maybe if she
agreed, he’d realize she was just a boring woman who worked too
much. “Fine. You can drive me home and buy me a dessert somewhere.
Is there anything even open at this time on a Sunday
night?”
    He shrugged. “We can hit
an Applebees. They’re all open until two now.” He wanted to take
her somewhere nicer, but he that would have to wait until another
day.
    The tow truck drove up and
he walked over to deal with the man. “Thanks for coming so
fast.”
    The man nodded. “Anything
for you, sir. Where do you want it towed to?”
    Cody lowered his voice so
Amber wouldn’t hear. “Tow it to an easily bribed mechanic. I’m
going to buy her a new truck, whether she wants it or not. I need
someone who will agree with me that this one is totaled.” He
slipped the man a bill as he shook his hand. “Call me with where
you tow it to. I’ll deal with her.”
    “Anything you say.” The
tow truck driver transferred the hundred dollar bill into his
pocket and hooked up the tow truck.
    “Bill this to my credit
card,” Cody told the man while Amber protested. He turned to her.
“You wouldn’t have hit anyone if I hadn’t been there, so in a way,
it’s my fault.” He knew his reasoning was flawed, but judging by
the age of her truck, she really didn’t have a lot of money to
waste on a tow.
    She shook her head. “I
can’t let you pay for my tow when I rear ended you!