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The feelings she brought to life hadn’t been ordinary ones, Marc realized. His awareness of her had been of a romantic variety. He let out a groan. These feelings weren’t in his control!
He had a crush on Charlotte. And it was just about the most ridiculous twist of fate he could imagine. Case’s sister wouldn’t give him the time of day. So it was futile to develop feelings for someone who was off-limits. Out of his league. Duvall princesses sat in their ivory towers and looked down on peons like him.
As he stepped into his car and revved his engine, Marc couldn’t resist wondering for a few moments what it might look like if he was with a woman like Charlotte.
* * *
“Shoot. Shoot. Come on! Not tonight of all nights.” Charlotte steered her car to the side of the isolated road. She had been on her way back to Savannah House after attending the Belles of the Ball event. A sudden clattering noise had indicated a problem with her car. Seconds later she had heard a popping sound and the car began to wobble. Once Charlotte pulled over she begin to gather her thoughts. She had to be careful in the event another car might come down the road and hit her or her vehicle. Thankfully she’d pulled over to the shoulder where it was safer.
She pulled out her cellphone, letting out an annoyed groan when she saw it was dying. Who would she call anyway? Her AAA membership had expired last month.
Why hadn’t she remembered to renew it? Probably because she’d never had a car emergency until this very moment. She’d been riding on good luck all these years.
She turned on the flashlight app on her phone and hopped out of the driver’s seat. In order to move around she hiked her dress up a bit so she didn’t fall on her face. A quick look at her tires told the tale. Her left rear tire looked as flat as could be. Hmm. She did have a spare in the back. But she didn’t know how to change a tire. It was one of the many things she’d never learned to do.
Charlotte dialed Case’s number. She knew her brother would come pick her up immediately. He’d probably break some speed records to get here. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was afraid. Not a single car had passed by as of yet. And even if it did, would she accept help from a stranger? The world was such a twisted place these days. A person never knew who they were dealing with—a good Samaritan or a lunatic?
Why wasn’t she one of those can-do females who knew how to repair a flat tire? There was no sense in beating herself up about it. She didn’t want to let fear consume her.
All of sudden her screen went dark. Her phone had died. Fear crept along her spine at the reality of her situation. Her only choice now was to walk back toward the main road which was a few miles. She looked down at her high heeled shoes. How could she walk in them? And what if someone attacked her?
The sudden appearance of an oncoming car got Charlotte’s attentions. The blinding high beams caused her to shelter her eyes from the light. The car slowed down. Charlotte tried to see who was at the wheel but the dark glass prevented her from seeing the driver. The passenger side window slowly rolled down then stopped. Fear grabbed Charlotte by the throat.
“You need some help?” a man’s voice called out. Charlotte still couldn’t see the driver’s face. He’d only rolled the window down partially.
Pure instinct kicked in. “No. My husband should be here in a few minutes. Thank goodness for my knight in shining armor.” Charlotte’s voice quivered and her legs were knocking together. Something seemed amiss with this man and she was all alone and vulnerable on this dark, desolate road. A chill swept over her.
“Why don’t you get in and we can meet him? It’s cold out here.” The man’s voice was insistent.
“No. No thank you,” she said, retreating a few steps toward her car. She heard a clicking sound. He was opening his door to get out. Charlotte turned toward her car and ran, grabbing ahold of the driver’s seat door and wrenching it open. She immediately closed the door behind her and locked it. She was acting on pure adrenaline and instinct. The man came toward her car and motioned for her to put the window down. She shook her head, letting him know she wasn’t going to open up. He was wearing a dark hoodie and sunglasses, which she knew was a way of disguising himself. No one wore sunglasses to drive at night. He had a devilish grin on his face that spread fear through Charlotte’s heart.
Gathering her courage, she turned toward the window and shouted, “Leave. Before I call the police.”
“Open up.” He began to pull at her door handle.
Charlotte felt panic rise up in her throat. She was helpless. She couldn’t even move to reach for her phone. Even though it was dead, she could pretend to make a phone call in an effort to scare him off. Think, Charlotte. Think!
She took both hands and pressed them against the horn on the steering wheel. The noise was deafening as she beeped the horn with all of her might. She shut her eyes and began to pray. She refused to be a victim once again.
Please, Lord. Send this man away from me. Keep me safe from harm.
After a few moments she looked up and saw another car traveling toward her down the road. The man in black jogged back to his car and slid in to the driver’s seat. He drove off with a roar. Charlotte finally let up her pressure on the horn.
“Thank you, Lord. Thank you,” she whispered in the stillness of her car. She was shaking like a leaf. Her gut told her the stranger had meant her harm. It was a shattering realization. Safety could never be taken for granted. She’d learned that lesson several years ago, and she’d gotten a refresher course tonight.
A soft rapping on her window caused her to freeze. Even though she hadn’t seen the stranger’s car come back, she panicked. She refused to even look over and see who was at her door. No doubt it was the occupant of the other car, but fear was holding her hostage.
“Charlotte. It’s me, Marc. Open the door.” She heard Marc’s voice through a fog. She couldn’t even look up at him. All she could see was the stranger’s terrifying face.
“You’re all right. I’m here. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Marc’s voice was warm and reassuring. He was saying exactly what she needed to hear. With trembling fingers, she pressed the button to unlock the car door. Within seconds Marc had opened it. She felt a blast of cold air on her face. She wrapped her arms around her chest. Why couldn’t she stop shaking?
Marc leaned in and turned her face toward him. “You’re okay, Charlotte. Can you tell me what happened?”
Charlotte nodded but no words came out.
Marc gently took her by the arm and said, “Come sit in my car. It’s nice and toasty and we can talk in there more comfortably.”
Charlotte stood up on shaky legs. Marc placed his arm around her and guided her over to his car. As soon as she settled in, she began to softly cry. Marc got in on the driver’s side and she felt his arm around her shoulder. “Let it out. Just cry it out. I know you’re scared. But it’s over now. I need to find out what happened so we can call the police if need be. Take your time, but I need to know.”
