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“Shit!” I stumble out of the bedroom, twisting to pull my zipper up. “Don’t you dare open that door, Justin! Ouch!” I trip over absolutely nothing and stub my toes on the couch when I take off at a run. Hopping on one foot, I grab the door and yank it open. I tumble out onto the front stoop and almost fall right into the hedge by the door. Finally straightening and getting myself under control, I look up to find a huge man with bulging muscles standing in front of me.
“I’m so sorry.” I flush bright red when he smirks at me.
“No problems. When you called earlier, you said the car isn’t running at all.”
I wince. “Yeah. It just kinda quit when I was driving to work the other morning.”
“You mind?” He nods towards the car and I shake my head.
“No. Go right ahead.”
I hold my breath when he lifts the hood and groans. “Shit! When was the last time you got it serviced?”
Scrunching up my eyes, I sigh. “I kept meaning to do that but I can’t drop it off. I’ve got work and I need to get my son off to school.”
“So not six months?”
“Nope. Not even close.”
“Okay. Well, I’ve got my tow truck with me and I’ll tow it to my shop. I’ll make sure that it’s done by the end of the day tomorrow.”
“Oh, you don’t need to rush.”
His dark eyes lift to mine. “It’s alright. I’ll give you a good deal. Don’t worry about it.”
Nodding my head, I walk forward and hand him my keys. “Thank you. Drake said that you would. But I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”
His thin lips twist and his dark cheeks flush. “Drake’s a great friend. He’s helped me out a lot over the years. This is no big deal.”
“Well, I mean, he is a good guy. But we’re not like best friends or anything. So I don’t want to take a favor that I don’t deserve.”
“That’s crazy. But I know what he told me. So it’s not a big deal. I’ll call you when the car is ready.”
Nodding, I watch him hook up the car, nod his head and then drive away.
Justin dashes up behind me. “Hey! He stole our car!”
I grab him before he races after the truck. “Hey! Slow down! He didn’t steal the car. He’s going to fix it.”
“Really?” His brown eyes widen. “I thought we didn’t have the money to fix it right away.”
My heart clenches in my chest. I hate that he knows that. Hate that we’re always struggling and his dad is no help at all.
Sometimes it feels like I’m underwater and I’m never going to get my head up and over the waves dragging at me.
I know I shouldn’t have taken that card. I shouldn’t have let Drake help me.
But I’m stuck.
“Hey! Your babysitter’s going to be here soon. How bout you go get your toys cleaned up and I’ll get you a bowl of ice cream before I leave.”
His bright face beams at me and I feel six feet tall. It doesn’t take much to make my boy happy.
“Awesome! Thanks, Mom! I’ve got this!”
I turn to follow him and trip over the little crack in the stoop again. Catching myself on the doorframe, I grumble under my breath.
“One more time and I’m going to bubble wrap myself. I swear! Could anything else go wrong today?”
