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“You don’t trust me, do you?” he asked.
“I mean, you’re just some guy I met on the side of the road, and my mom really ingrained the whole stranger-danger thing into me as a kid.” If I was honest though, my mom probably would prefer it if I was talking to a creepy stranger rather than a jock with a bad reputation.
“Well, you’ve been talking to just some guy for a while now,” he replied. “Maybe your sense of stranger danger isn’t quite as ingrained as you think.”
“Or maybe my getaway car is broken…” I nodded in Betty’s direction.
“Right.” He released a breathy laugh. “Well, I’m Reed Darling. Now the stranger has a name.”
“You could still be a danger, Reed Darling.”
“I promise I’m not a danger to you.”
That didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous at all. Mia certainly thought he was. I kept waiting for some sense of self-preservation to kick in. To feel my sixth sense twinge and tell me to back away from the guy. Apparently, mine was faulty. Not once since we started talking had I felt threatened.
“So, will you let me help you?” he asked.
I hesitated. I needed the help, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted it from a cocky star athlete who apparently just got out of juvie. For all I knew, he was going to steal my car and strip it for parts. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t pay someone to take Betty off my hands.
I’d paused for a fraction too long, and Reed took advantage of the opportunity to pull out his phone and lift it to his ear.
"I didn’t agree, you know…”
But he raised one finger, indicating for me to wait as he listened to the phone ring. As I suspected, he wasn’t someone who took no for an answer. The way he’d disregarded my protest might have pissed me off if I hadn’t been quite so cold and my car not quite so dead.
“Hey, Dad.” Reed’s voice softened a little as he spoke, and his expression became less rigid. “I know it’s Saturday night, but my friend’s car has broken down. Any chance you can take it to the shop?” He paused as he waited for a response. “Don’t worry, I’m sure she won’t even notice.” Reed paused again. “Okay, great.” He then gave his dad the address before he hung up and turned to me. “He’s on his way. He can drop it at the garage, but he won’t be able to look at it until Monday. Is that okay?”
“Yes.” I released a long breath, and all the tension I’d been holding went with it. Now that he’d called his dad, I realized I’d been crazy to even consider turning down his help. Reed Darling might be dangerous, but it appeared he wasn’t all bad. “Thank you.”
“No need for thanks. It was just a phone call.”
It was much more than just a phone call to me. I’d been this close to giving up and calling Luke for help. Mia would have never let me hear the end of it if I’d gotten both of us in trouble. She should be thanking Reed too.
“Also, my dad told me to ask you not to judge him,” he continued.
“Why would I judge him?”
“You’ll see.” Reed’s eyes creased at the corners like he was struggling to contain a laugh. “I didn’t catch your name…”
“I didn’t give it. Apparently, I’m the only one who’s concerned about stranger danger.”
He laughed. It was deep and pleasant, and it made me wonder how anyone who made such a comforting sound could be as bad as Mia made him out to be.
“You got me there,” he said. “So…”
“Violet,” I replied. “But all my friends call me Vi.”
“Am I your friend, Violet?”
His voice was friendly, but I swallowed because he was looking at me so intently I struggled to meet his gaze. “Well, if you’re not pranking me with the tow truck thing, I think we can be friends.”
“Good to know.”
As we stood there waiting, I wondered how he wasn’t freezing. His athletic wear was molded to his firm body, and he must have felt the cold despite the fact he’d been running. What was he even doing out here? Surely, he had to be exhausted after the game he played earlier today.
Before I could pluck up the courage to ask him, he put the question to me.
“So, what were you doing out here all alone?”
