Page 30 of Pick Me This Time

14

DAPHNE

Ever since we’d gotten home from the cabin, I’d been insanely busy. Just as I’d known would happen, tourist traffic had picked up around town because of the festival and the bakery was overrun with customers.

From seven a.m. until three p.m., I slung coffee and pastries, and then I went to help my mom with the homecoming preparations. It’d been five days straight of this and I finally had the day off tomorrow.

I left the farm after my shift, in desperate need of a good book and a hot bath, but that would have to wait until after the homecoming prep at the high school. As a teacher, my mom was used to this surge of action and excitement around town this time of year, but I’d taught elementary school.

My little ones hadn’t quite had the same level of excitement as that which hung around the high school at the moment. They’d just looked forward to the parade.

I’d also never helped out quite as much with the prep as I was this year, but since helping my parents was one of the reasons I’d taken a break from teaching, I couldn’t exactly bail on them now. Even my dad, the local dentist, was helping to paint banners at night.

If he could come home after a full day at work and still muster the energy to help, then so could I. I smiled as I thought about the scenes I’d seen from my parents this last week.

Somehow, after more than three decades of marriage, they were still dedicated to one another, so in love even if they did argue and squabble as often as any other couple.

So lost in thought that I nearly missed it, I suddenly realized that something was wrong with my truck. There was a weird noise coming from somewhere, and since it seemed to be following me, it had to be coming from my vehicle.

As I pulled over and climbed out, I groaned. One of my tires was completely flat. “Crap. This is the last thing I need right now.”

The irony was that I was the town’s favorite mechanic’s sister, but I didn’t have a spare at the moment. Eric had borrowed it for one of his elderly clients to take on a road trip and I’d happily agreed, but now, even though I knew how to change a tire, I didn’t have one to put on.

Frustration snaked through my blood, and I took a deep breath. Groaning again, I dropped my head back and glared at the clouds floating overhead. The distant rumble of an engine made me look at the road again, and I nearly cried with relief when I saw dust rising from somewhere nearby.

It took a few seconds until the vehicle responsible for it came into view, and when it did, my relief turned into mild humiliation. Of course, Sterling is going to be the one to find me stranded next to the side of the road.

On the other hand, his family’s property was just behind us, so it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise that it was him. He pulled over when he saw me, sliding his sunglasses to the tip of his nose as he hopped out of Eric’s old truck and took a look at my tire.

“Bad luck,” he said sympathetically. “Did you hit something?”

I shook my head. “Not that I know of. It was probably a nail.”

“Can I help you change it?” he offered, striding over to me. He looked like some kind of movie star with those big expensive sunglasses over his eyes, a trendy long-sleeved T-shirt, and a pair of cargo shorts paired with another set of designer sneakers.

I arched a brow at him. “You? I’m pretty sure you don’t get your hands dirty anymore, Mr. Investment Banker.”

To my surprise, he chuckled, bent over, and put his palms flat on the dirt road before he smirked at me. “There. They’re dirty. Now can I help you, or are you going to yell at me for even offering?”

I sighed. “I would yell at you, but as it happens, I could use a little help right around now. I don’t have a spare.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

He frowned. “Where is it?”

“Ask Eric.”

“Cool. I will. I’m on my way to see him right now. He asked me to come help the high school team practice for the homecoming game.”

“You’re on your way to the school?” I asked, relief once again racing through me. “I need to get over there myself. Can I get a ride?”

“Of course.” He waved toward the old truck. “Hop on in. What are you going there for?”

“Homecoming,” I said. “Same as you, apparently.”

“Are you helping out your mom?” he asked as we climbed in and buckled up. “How is she, by the way? I keep meaning to pop in at your place to see her, but I guess I just haven’t gotten around to it.”