AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She held on to the seat back with one hand and pushed against the dashboard with the other while he cut through the strap. It was the wrong time to notice how good he smelled. Or how nice his hands felt holding hers, helping her out of the truck and onto the road. One hand smoothed the hair from her forehead while the other tilted her face up. “I saw your lights spinning like crazy and got here as fast as I could. What the hell happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Something ran out in front of me. I swerved.” She shook her head, leaning against him. Her heart was still thumping, and her nerves were shot. But having his arms slide around her was nice. So was his scent. Her toes curled in her boots, her fingers plucking at his shirt. His scent wasn’t just nice. She breathed deeply—nervousness and fear forgotten.
“Damn lucky you swerved right and not left.” His hand rubbed up and down her back. “Damn lucky.” His voice was soft, his voice a husky whisper at her ear.
“For me, yes.” She drew in a wavering breath. He was right. Tonight could have taken a turn for the worse—if she’d gone left she’d likely be at the bottom of the ridge. She shuddered. Right now, she was very thankful to be alive. And pressed tight against him. She might be enjoying that part a little too much.
“You’re okay?” he murmured, holding her away from him so he could inspect her.
The truck chose that moment to make an odd hiss-pop sound. She wasn’t mechanical, but that couldn’t be good. “But not the truck.” The truck was the only thing she owned free and clear, and she needed it. How was she going to get to work? Or Cal to school? She already relied too heavily on her parents. Now she was going to have to borrow a Fire Gorge work truck. “Maybe it’s not that bad?” Even she heard the doubt in her voice.
“It’s too dark to tell how bad the damage is. I’ll come out first thing in the morning, see if I can use a chain to pull it out or if it’ll need the tractor.” He grinned. “Either way, I’ll get it out and see if my friend Danny can fix it quick.”
Her problem wasn’t his responsibility. She didn’t want to be indebted to anyone but... “I should argue with you and try to stop you.”
“Why?” His brow furrowed.
Why indeed. Brody wasn’t the type to hold things over her. He wasn’t her ex-husband or her father. He was Brody. She shook her head.
“Come on, India,” he sighed. “This is a no-strings, no-stress offer here, okay?”
How could she argue with that? “Thank you, really. When you have an idea of the repairs, let me know... Or the cost.” She mumbled the last part. Repairs were going to take a solid chunk of her precious savings. And delay her plans. Not to mention, cause a headache with her dad when she borrowed a vehicle.
“I never should have suggested meeting out here like this.” There was guilt in his voice—something he had no right to feel.
He was worrying over her, trying to take care of her and her
vehicle, for crying out loud. She was not about to let him feel guilty over any of this. “I didn’t have to come, you know.” She nudged him, for good measure.
His gaze met hers. “But you did.” He sounded...happy.
She nodded, an odd tightness weighing down her chest. Something about the way he was looking at her made the truck, the potential repair bills, even her uncertainty about this evening melt away. All that remained was a longing so fierce she could scarcely breathe. “I did,” she whispered.
“What do we do now?” he asked.
What indeed. She knew what she didn’t want to do. Leave. “Well... We’re here. If there’s nothing we can do about the truck tonight—” She pointed at the truck.
“Not tonight,” he agreed, smiling.
“Maybe we don’t need to rush home?” Why was she nervous about his answer?
“Not when there’s a full moon out. Like you said, we’re here and all.”
She smiled. “Exactly.”
“Need anything out of there?” he asked.
“My purse sort of exploded.” She grinned.
“Give me a sec,” he said, hopping from the road to the truck and leaning in.
A noise off the side of the road made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. “Brody?” she called out.
“What’s up?” he called back.
“There’s something out here.” She moved closer to his truck, standing in the beam of his truck headlights.
“Hold up,” he said, emerging from her truck with her purse in hand. He moved with surprising grace back to her side and held out her brown leather purse. “Think I got it all.”
