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After a quick glance, he shrugged it off. “Dirt goes with the job of fire inspector. No one will pay any attention to this. Let’s check out the car.” He walked closer to the Camry and gave it a swift perusal.
Steeling herself for more bad news, she joined him.
“Could be worse. Mostly scrapes and scuffs.” He homed in on a six-inch scratch on the front passenger door. “That’s the worst one. And you’ve got a dent here.” He ran his fingers over the edge of the roof. “I don’t see any structural damage.”
Neither did she.
But while the cosmetic blemishes weren’t terrible, they wouldn’t be cheap to fix. Nothing ever was on a car.
“As long as it’s drivable, I can worry about repairs later.”
“Your insurance should cover most of the cost, if you have comprehensive.”
“I do, but the deductible’s pretty high—and the four new tires already put a dent in my budget.” Much as she’d loved fighting remote wildland fires out West, the job hadn’t paid a whole lot even if the experience was priceless.
Twin furrows creased his forehead, and she braced for acomment or question about her finances. Instead, he changed the subject.
“You said your remote was dead last night?”
“Yes.”
“Did you try it again this morning?”
“Yes. After I changed the battery. It worked fine. Why?”
“Would you mind if I took a look at the old battery and the opener?”
She cocked her head and repeated her question. “Why?”
“Like I told you the day we met, I pay attention to my instincts. Same as you do. And I’m playing with a theory. Humor me?” He flashed her a cajoling grin. “It’ll only delay you a few extra minutes.”
The dirt on his shirt—damage incurred on her behalf—and his engaging smile made his request impossible to refuse.
“Okay. The remote’s on the garbage can in the garage. I’ll dig the battery out of the trash in the house. Give me one minute.”
It took her a tad longer than that to rummage through the garbage and clean off the yogurt clinging to the battery from her on-the-run breakfast this morning.
By the time she returned, he’d donned his jacket again and was examining the branch he’d hefted off the car.
“Sorry. This was wearing part of my breakfast. But don’t worry, I’ve removed all my germs.” She held it out.
“I’m not worried about your germs.” He took the battery.
The warmth of his fingers as they brushed against hers sent a delicious tingle down her spine, and she curbed an eye roll.
Oh, for pity’s sake. She ought to be beyond such an adolescent reaction at this stage of her life.
He walked closer to the car, where he’d set her remote.
She followed but kept her distance. The man’s appeal was way too potent.
Since he’d already removed the back of the opener, it took him only seconds to pop in the old battery and press the button.
The door rumbled down.
Bri stared at it. “That doesn’t ... I don’t understand. It didn’t work last night.”
He waited until the door closed and pressed the button again.
