Free After Love by Kathy Clark Page B

Nick led Harley around it, giving the dog time to check it out. Nick opened the back door to the crew cab area and was about to encourage Harley to jump in when Jamie stopped him.
    “Don’t let him jump in and out on his own schedule. You should always be in control.”
    “Harley, sit,” Nick said and made eye contact with the dog. Harley’s butt dropped to the ground. “Good boy. Harley, up.” Nick moved aside to offer a clear path into the back and tugged on the leash. The truck was a four-wheel drive and had high ground clearance, but Harley made it onto the backseat in two big leaps, using the running board as a step. Nick rewarded the dog with an affectionate pat and another
Good boy.
He would have hurried around and opened the passenger-side door for Jamie, but she was already in by the time he got Harley loaded. She was busy trying to make space for her feet among the layers of fast-food wrappers and wadded-up pieces of scrap paper.
    Nick hurried around and started stuffing everything into an old paper bag. “Sorry about that. I kind of live out of my car.”
    “And you obviously never drive past a garbage can,” she commented wryly.
    He tossed the bag in the back, climbed in, and started the engine. “Where to?”
    “Broken Spoke has open-face roast beef sandwiches on sale today,” Jamie answered. “Just head downtown. You can’t miss it.”
    The drive to Broken Spoke was less than five miles farther down Highway 290. There was a big sign in front that consisted of a ten-foot-diameter wagon wheel and an extremely tall cowboy leaning against it. It was, indeed, impossible to miss.
    It was just past noon, and the gravel parking lot was crowded with crew-cab trucks similar to Nick’s, a few horse trailers, and several older vehicles. This was clearly a hangout for locals rather than a tourist spot.
    “The spokes in the wheel rotate around at night except for the broken one,” Jamie told him as they turned in. “The cowboy’s boots move in time with the honky-tonk music playing in the parking lot.”
    Nick pushed the lever into park and extracted the keys. “Bet the neighbors love that.”
    “It’s only on Fridays and Saturdays and everyone is here, so there’s no one home to bother.” She opened her door and hopped out before Nick was even out of the truck. A little frustrated with her insistence on taking care of everything herself, Nick had slammed his door and started toward the restaurant when Jamie called out, “What about Harley?”
    Nick slid to a stop, pivoted, and headed back to the truck. “Right.” He unlocked the vehicle and opened the back door slowly. Harley crowded the doorway, ready to jump down, but Nick ordered, “Harley, sit.”
    The dog obeyed, a little reluctantly. Nick smiled when he saw the movement of Harley’s tail as it swung rapidly side to side in anticipation of getting out of the truck. He was clearly excited about the field trip, but he didn’t hop down until Nick told him to. Man and dog joined Jamie, and they entered the restaurant. Harley lifted his nose and sniffed the air with interest.
    “He likes the food here?” Nick asked.
    “Harley’s never been here before, but he must sense that they’re dog friendly. They give their canine customers a dog biscuit and a bowl of water. Look for places like this….They’re all over Austin.”
    Nick smiled, then tried to remember if the Jackalope or any of his personal watering holes were dog friendly.
    Jamie was perceptive. “You don’t go to those kinds of places, do you?” She laughed. “I’d like to have a drone follow you around for the first month to see all the adjustments to your lifestyle.”
    “Hi, Jamie,” greeted the middle-aged hostess in tight jeans, a ruffled blouse, and high boots. “Who’s this guy?”
    “This is Harley.” Jamie smiled.
    The hostess reached out to shake Nick’s hand. “Hello, Harley. Welcome to the Broken Spoke.”
    Nick grimaced. “I’m Nick.” He glanced down