The house was quiet inside; it was lights out and most of the boys were in bed. The young four year old who had been pulled in earlier that day was curled up and asleep with his head resting on Elizabeth’s lap, his arms holding his teddy bear tightly to his chest.

 

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said. “Where did you find the bear? We couldn’t get one anywhere.”

 

“I know people,” Dakota said. What she didn’t add was that anytime there was some hot new toy or gadget that everyone wanted, store managers would hold a few back and either give them away to gather favors or sell them at a high markup. That little boy was currently holding a hundred dollar teddy bear. “Does he have anyone, family?”

 

“An aunt, but she’s in the Navy, doing a tour in the gulf. She’s getting compassionate leave to come and get him; she should be here in a week.”

 

“Good,” Dakota said, she glanced toward the door and thought about Adam alone in the parking lot. She wondered what he did in the hours he had to wait on her.

 

“You know you can bring your fella in here, right?”

 

“First of all, Ma Clampet, he’s not my fella; he’s been hired for protection. I told him he could come in, but he didn’t want to.”

 

“Pretty hot for a bodyguard. What’s his name?”

 

“Adam Mendel.”

 

“Well, you shouldn’t keep him waiting. I’ll take this little guy off to bed and you can go home. We need to go over the quarterly report, but it’s late. We can do that tomorrow.”

 

“Yeah, okay,” Dakota said. But for a moment, she didn’t move. Things were now weird with Adam. She had snuck out of the house and been caught like some belligerent teenager. He had been surprisingly cool about it, though, so she wasn’t sure what their relationship would be like now. But she couldn’t hide from him forever, so she gave Elizabeth a wave and walked out into the night.

 

Adam was still there waiting, looking like a giant next to her tiny car. He was lost in thought, staring at the street. She had the sudden urge to sneak up on him to get him back for sneaking up on her, but he had such a troubled look on his face that she didn’t want to be cruel. So she walked down the stairs slowly, giving him a chance to come out of his reverie on his own.

 

“So, do you want to drive?” she asked, gesturing to the car.

 

“Actually, I need to get my bike home, so why don’t you drive your car, and I’ll follow.”

 

“Okay,” Dakota slid into her seat and watched as Adam walked over to his bike, put his helmet up and revved the engine.

 

He followed her home, keeping a safe distance on the quiet street roads. When they were on the highway, he opened it up and pulled alongside her. Dakota couldn’t see his face under his helmet, but every now and then she could see his visor when he turned to make sure she was still there.

 

“Don’t turn off the GPS in your car,” he ordered gently once they were back at the house in the garage. “It’ll make me look bad if I lose you.”

 

“Fair enough,” Dakota answered. “And I’m sorry I snuck out tonight. It was silly and immature.”

 

“I can see how you might feel a little trapped.”

 

“Thanks for being cool about it. I owe you one.”

 

“Really?” Adam said looking around the garage.

 

Dakota’s stomach dropped as she wondered if he was going to actually ask her for something. She couldn’t help but look at him again, his strong and tall physique, she wasn’t entirely sure what she would say if he asked.

 

“Can I take that Caddy for a spin?”

 

“What?” Dakota answered.

 

“The convertible Cadillac, that’s a good car; tonight's a good night for a late night, top down ride.”

 

“Oh...yeah, sure. We never drive that car. I think the last time was for homecoming, I was the...” she stopped, suddenly embarrassed about her high school bragging rights.

 

“Queen?” he finished for her, a smirk crossing his face.

 

“If you must know, yes. I was Homecoming Queen. And you can take the car anywhere you want. Just try not to crash it.” She walked over to the lock box where the keys were kept and opened it, pulling the Cadillac's keys from off the pegboard. She walked back to Adam and held them out to him, but he just looked at her.

 

“You wanna come for a ride?”

 

“To where?” she asked. She didn’t know what was happening. She wasn’t sure what she should be doing, what the right answer was. She didn’t know what his intentions were. Adam was handsome, but he was also working for her. Things could get awkward quickly.

 

“Anywhere, it’s a car. You just drive it. I know this cool back road not far from here. It’ll be a nice drive.”

 

“OK,” Dakota answered, unsure of what exactly she was getting herself into.