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“Any ideas?” she asked as I got back around to her.
“No, not really,” I said. “But I see the window’s cracked on your driver’s side. I can probably pop the lock for you.”
“That would be something,” she said, forcing a smile. “At least one problem solved.”
“Sure, just give me a second,” I said.
It was MacGyver time now. I didn’t have tools to jimmy a lock, but I did have a wire coat hanger.
“You come prepared,” she said, a hint of a smile on the corner of her lips. Her eyes were still sad, but there was something there. Maybe hope.
“I try,” I said, going up the window and snaking the wire in.
It only took a few tries before I was able to hook the lock and pull it up to unlock it.
“Oh, thank you,” she said as I stepped back and opened the door for her.
She reached in and grabbed her keys, then her phone which was on the driver’s seat. She pulled it up to her, and her face screwed up in dismay.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“It’s dead,” she said. “I thought I’d been charging it the whole drive, but now it’s dead.”
“No worries,” I said. “Do you know who you were going to call? If you know the number, you can use my phone.”
“I don’t,” she said. “I was going to look up a tow truck.”
“Oh,” I said. “Well, you don’t need to do that. I know a guy.”
“You do?” she asked.
I felt my chest swell a little bit. Her eyes were so hopeful now, and I was feeling a sense of pride at helping her. I smiled.
“Yeah, no problem. I’ll give my guy Marvin a call. He can tow you into town, see if he can fix it. He’s the best mechanic around for a good while. Got a place in Murdock.”
“Murdock?” she asked. “That would be amazing. That’s where I’m going.”
“No kidding,” I said. “Well, yeah, let me call him.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’m going to sit in my car for a second while you do that, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure,” I said, heading back to the truck. “I’ll be just a minute.”
Sitting in the cab of my truck, I pulled up Marvin’s number in my contacts and gave him a ring.
“Marvin’s Auto and Bait Shop. Marvin speaking. How can I help?”
“Marvin, it’s Ryan Beasley,” I said.
“Well, hey, Mr. Beasley,” he said. “What can I do you for? You aren’t having any trouble with that beauty of a truck you have, are you?”
“No, not me,” I said. “I actually wanted to know if you could send out a tow truck for a young lady who was heading into town and her car broke down. Give it a look and see if you can fix it. She’s in a real pinch, Marvin.”
“Well,” he said, pausing for a second. “I can send a tow out there. No promises on getting it looked at today, though. But I’ll give it a shot. Where are you?”
“Just past the berry farm,” I said. “Heading out of town toward Smith Ranch.”
“Oh, that’s not that far,” he said. “I’ll have a truck up there in about twenty minutes.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
A few seconds later, I tapped on the now shut window of the driver’s door of the woman’s car.
“Marvin’s sending a truck up here to pick up your car. Why don’t you ride with me in my truck?”
“You don’t have to do that,” she started, and I shook my head.
“No, but I’d like to,” I said. “I like to help people. Name’s Ryan. Ryan Beasley. I live not too far from here, actually.”
There was a moment’s pause as she stared up at me, and then took my hand for a shake.
“Allison Daniels,” she said. “Nice to meet you, Ryan.”
“Likewise,” I said, offering what I hoped was a disarming smile. “I switched the heater on in the truck. It’ll help you dry out a little bit.”
“Thank you,” she said, stepping out of her car.
She shut the door and manually locked it with the key, now firmly gripped in her hand. I walked her to the passenger door and opened it for her. She climbed in, and I went around to get in the driver’s side before pulling off.
“Thank you for doing this,” she said, leaning back in the chair. “It’s been such a long day, and this was just one last kick in the face.”
“I understand,” I said.
There was a pause for a few moments, and I turned to say something else to her, just to keep conversation going so it wasn’t so awkward but stopped. Her eyes were closed, and her head was resting back in the chair. I forgot I had it reclined from a few days ago when I put a mini fridge in the passenger’s seat to get home from the store, and now she was leaned back enough to relax. She must have zonked right out.
