Read Online Morning Man by Barbara Kellyn - Free Book Online Page A

can still make a tremendous difference.’”
    He sat back in his chair and stared somewhere off into space.
    “What’s the matter?”
    “Nothin’ really. It’s just that I saw this homeless guy out in the back alley this morning. I think he might live behind the station.”
    “Wow, seriously?”
    He shrugged. “Actually, I don’t know. I scared him off before I had a chance to find out. But I gave him my coffee.”
    She eyed the one that she’d brought him.
    “No, not this one. I had another cup before you got here.”
    “Well, maybe that’s how you made a tremendous difference today.”
    “I only gave him my coffee. That won’t change anyone’s life.”
    “You never know,” she said, scanning the page for her own horoscope. “At the very least, you probably made a new friend.”
    * * * *
    The on-air light blinked on during the final chorus of My Maria and Tack leaned in to the mike for the back sell. “Continuous country hits on Hot Country One-oh-three with Brooks and Dunn taking us up to seven-twenty. Your Monday morning traffic and weather is coming up shortly, but first, Dayna has some helpful advice for us guys still relying on the same old pickup lines.”
    “Well, as everyone knows, most guys don’t have a clue which lines work best on women. But according to a new study, opening with a funny bit makes all the difference between going back to her place or going home alone.”
    “Yeah, okay, I’ll buy that.”
    “In the study, women were shown situations in which the guy used pickups in the categories of sexual, humorous, complimentary or sincere based on something they had in common. The ladies gave the highest ratings to the funny approaches.”
    “You mean, like ‘Hey baby, are you from Tennessee? ’Cause you’re the only Ten-I-See.’”
    “Eww!” She winced. “That wouldn’t even work at last call.”
    “All right then, what’s the cheesiest line a guy has ever used on you?”
    She considered it half a second. “Hi. My name is Tack Collins.”
    “Oh, snap!” He laughed, clutching at his chest to remove the invisible arrow she’d just zinged at him. “Ladies, give us a call and pass along the worst line you’ve ever shot down, or guys lay down your best pickup and let Dayna stomp on–uh, I mean, rate it for you.” He went to the phone lines and randomly pressed one of the flashing buttons. “Hot Country One-oh-three. You’ve got a good pickup line for us?”
    “Yeah, hi,” said a young guy. “I’ve gone up to a girl and asked, ‘Do you know how much a polar bear weighs? Me neither, but I know it’s enough to break the ice.’”
    She nodded. “I like that. It’s kinda sweet and you’d certainly get the conversation rolling.”
    Tack punched up another line. “Hot Country One-oh-three. Who’s this?”
    “My name’s Artie.”
    “Okay, Artie. If you saw Dayna across a crowded bar room, how would you try to win her over?”
    “I’d say, ‘Damn! Are you a parking ticket? ’Cause you’ve got fiiine written all over you.’”
    She clapped. “Love it! I might just buy you a drink after that one.”
    “I’ve got one more,” Artie said with a chuckle. “Do you happen to have a bandage? Because I hurt my knee when I fell for you.”
    “Artie, you smooth-talking devil you, Dayna’s scribbling down her number right now,” he teased. “Let’s hear from the ladies now. Hello? You’re on with Tack and Dayna.”
    “Hi. This is Jodi.”
    “Jodi, what the worst line a guy’s tried out on you?”
    “At the office party last December, this pervy jerkwipe from the IT department came up to me and asked, ‘Can I take your picture? Then I can show Santa exactly what I want for Christmas.’”
    Dayna grimaced. “Nothing like a little yuletide creepiness.”
    “You can imagine how totally awkward it was when my computer crashed a week later and I had to call him up for tech assistance.”
    “While we’re on a roll, let’s try another line,” he said.