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I hesitated, not wanting to admit that I had to cut it in order to afford the bills. “I don’t have it, no.”
“Ugh, I told you you needed it.”
“I cut it when I came back home, because I thought I’d have enough people I know around to help me.”
“Great,” Mom snapped. “I’ll see if I can come up with someone to help you out.”
“Uh…” my voice trailed off as I caught a pair of headlights pulling up behind me. “Someone is here.”
“Is it Gunner?”
My heart thudded heavily in my chest. “I don’t think so. I don’t know who it is.”
“Well, keep the doors locked!”
“I am,” I said back to her, relieved that she was no longer irritated with me, though I’m sure now she was even more concerned.
The figure illuminated by the lights was a man, but that was about all I could tell as he headed toward the driver’s side door. I braced, thinking that I would just drive away on the rim in the worst-case scenario. However, as the man came closer, my fear was replaced with some relief.
“I see you have a flat,” Robbie Johnston called to me as I rolled down my window. “I just got off my shift,” he clarified, being in full uniform. “What are you doing out so late?”
“I needed to get my daughter some Pedialyte, since she’s been sick.” I gestured to the grocery sack in the passenger seat as I gazed up at his bandaged nose, recalling the scene in the emergency room…
And then I thought of Gunner’s knuckles—and his question about loaning Robbie money.
But Robbie is a cop?
“Who is it?” Mom demanded in my ear.
“It’s Robbie Johnston,” I told her. “I’ll call you back in a minute.” I hung up the phone before I let her say anything else in my ear.
“I can change your tire for you,” he said, giving me a soft smile. “This isn’t the best part of town to be in at this time of night.”
“Oh? I didn’t know there was a bad part of town in Sans Verta anymore.” I glanced around the alleyway, which was just off a middle-class neighborhood.
“There’s really not,” he chuckled. “But there’s been some break-ins and shit happening around here. I just don’t want you to get caught up in anything. People are fucking weird these days—but I might be a cynic.”
“Yeah, I get that,” I said with a sigh, pushing open the driver’s side door.
“You don’t have to get out while I change it, but do you know if there’s a jack in the car? I have one in my truck if there’s not.”
I shrugged, going to the back hatch of my SUV. I popped it open, scooting over some of my things to get to the location of the spare. “I haven’t ever had a flat on this car before, so I don’t really know.”
“Well, I guess we’ll figure it out.” He reached around me, helping scoot things until he could get to the handle. Robbie opened it up, nodding as he took in the sight. “Sure enough, looks like you have everything you need to change the flat. Have you done it before?”
“Uh… I was taught a long time ago.” I folded my arms across my chest, the breeze chilling me. “And I could probably figure it out if it wasn’t the middle of the night.”
“Right,” he chuckled, pulling out the jack and handing it to me. “Well, I was going to offer to teach you, but it looks like you’re not in the mood for that.” Robbie’s eyes were teasing as he shifted the spare tire and retrieved the jack handle. “I don’t blame you though, and at least this was on the way home instead of the way there. Then your night would still only be half over.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s a bright side,” I chuckled, though honestly, it was getting so late that I wasn’t finding humor in anything. All I wanted was to be able to get home. Silence fell between us as he jacked up the axle, lifting the flattened tire off the ground. Robbie didn’t look at me as he broke the lug nuts loose and then unscrewed them, dropping them in a small pile on the ground.
“I haven’t heard anything on that loan,” I said, finally having had enough quiet. I mean, no, I didn’t really feel like having some great conversation in the middle of the night, but hewasthere changing my tire.
And I could at least show a little gratitude.
“Ah, yeah, it’s okay. I’m not worried about it anymore.” Robbie shrugged his shoulders, looking over at me. “I appreciate all the work you put in for it, though. I was really thinking that I was going to need it to get out of the mess I was in, but as it turns out, I didn’t have to pay anything.”
I nodded. “I’m sure that’s a huge relief. It would be for me, and also, I really appreciate you stopping to help me. I know you didn’t have to do that.”
