Was that Roe? “Roe?”
The guy shouted something I couldn’t hear over the storm and banged again with a fist. I thought he said, “Unlock the door,” but I couldn’t be sure.
With the Jeep off, I couldn’t power down the window, so I fumbled for the manual lock switch until it clicked. The person heaved the door open, which was likely difficult given the Jeep’s tilt, and tumbled inside.
Not Roe. Instead, I was met with a sopping wet Ozrik Devereaux. Stunned didn’t begin to describe the way I felt. How did I constantly end up in this man’s presence when I went out of my way to avoid him?
Ozrik looked like he’d gone swimming at the bottom of a lake. His sodden hair clung to his head, running rivers down his temples. Drops speckled his face and dripped off the end of his chin and nose. His clothes stuck to his body. Yet, somehow, the man retained his unfair good looks.
If it were me, I would resemble a drowned rat.
“Are you stuck?” he asked, slamming the door and removing a contraption from his head. He tossed it onto the dashboard before swiping his face and blowing water off his lips.
“Um… unfortunately.”
“Shitty. Did you try putting it in four-wheel?” He examined the gear shift with a quizzically raised brow.
I deadpanned. “Yes.”
He held up his hands in defense. “Just asking. Did you try rocking back and forth?” He made the motion with his hands.
“Couldn’t get enough traction. Plus, I don’t think my right front tire is connected any longer.”
“Oh.” He glanced out the windshield as though he might be able to see it. “I think you’re right. What happened?”
“The road was washed out, so I tried to turn around. Couldn’t see behind me well enough with the rain and ended up too close to the ditch. I slipped in the mud when I tried to correct the angle, and a gust of wind caught me off guard at the wrong moment. Tore the wheel from my hand.”
“Where’s Olivia?”
“I don’t know.”
“Abandoned you again, huh? Good thing I was around.”
“Were you, like,” I glanced briefly at his soaking wet clothes, “out for a random stroll or something?”
Ozrik chuckled. “Well, you know. This is my favorite kind of weather. For the record, Jeeps don’t make good tornado-chasing vehicles. Their center of gravity is too high. They flip easily. No friend to high winds.”
“In my defense, I didn’t plan to chase tornadoes in it, and the storm wasn’t going to produce one today, so…” I threw my hands up as though that explained everything.
“So.” Ozrik took in the interior of the Jeep. “She’s a sweet ride, though. Do you ever do those Jeep Jamboree things?”
“No.” I wasn’t nearly that adventurous. I also didn’t want to explain why I bought the Jeep. It meant getting into parts of my life that weren’t shareable, especially with guys like Ozrik. “Why are you here?” I asked instead.
“The guys and I were in the area. We got stopped on the other side of the washed-out road. I noticed your highlighter Jeep in the distance, so I waded through the flood to make sure you were okay.”
Lightning flashed, and I glanced at the sky. “That’s highly dangerous.”
“So I was told. Vern read me the riot act.”
I wasn’t sure what to say.
“Lex is taking the car around,” Ozrik continued. “Shouldn’t be too long. You’re welcome to join our party again. We might as well recruit you at this rate. Why are you out here alone?”
“I was… sort of…”
“Didn’t want to be part of it, huh?”
“No.”
