AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ABBEY
Thunk, thunk, thunk.
My head against the steering wheel was the only thing that felt real at this moment. I was stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, Texas, with no gas or cell service. The sun heated the car, and I wondered how long it would be before I cooked alive in the confined space.
I groaned. It was my fault for being distracted.
Walking in on my boyfriend fucking another woman in our bed completely took over my thoughts and, if I’m being honest, my common sense. All I remembered was leaving him a note saying,we are over, running out of the apartment, and getting away as fast as I could. As much as I wanted to yell and cry, confronting him would only make things worse.
I needed my best friends. I had to talk to them, had to see them. So, without any planning or a second thought, I put my car into drive and headed toward King’s Ranch. I knew Blake and Grace would help me. Even if it was with a side of ‘I told you so.’ My chest tightened thinking about all the times they had warned me about Jeff.
I glanced at my phone for the umpteenth time. Only ten minutes had passed since I’d looked. Still no freaking service. A pitiful moan escaped my lips, and my head dropped against the steering wheel again.
I’d driven straight from Georgia without stopping for more than gas and food. I hated stopping. It gave me too much time to think.
Without the distraction of driving to consume my waking thoughts, memories of yesterday took over. I’d had the trip planned to visit my mother for months, and I had the best time catching up with her. She peppered me with questions about my future—ones I deflected, like usual. I met her new boyfriend, and when things between them started to spice up, I decided it would be best to let them have their privacy.
I loved my mom but seeing her and her boyfriend’s enthusiasm for each other was a little too much. I’d gotten it into my head that surprising Jeff sounded fun. He had mentioned during our talk the night before that he was stressed. Like an idiot, I’d hoped me coming home early would help.
A shiver ran down my spine, and it wasn’t from the sweat coating my skin. I needed to stop thinking about him.
I took a small sip from my bottle of water. Survival mode cautioned me to ration everything since I’d been stranded for more than an hour and not a single car had passed by.
What was I going to do?
More than once I thought about walking, but I didn’t know how far I’d make it or even how far away my destination was. The spacious green fields to my right were mesmerizing, and the slightly wooded fields to my left were eerie. I couldn’t help imagining what might come out of those woods after sunset.
There was no way I wanted to be here to find out. I was more of a city girl than a country girl.
A chime from my phone broke through the silence in the car. My lips pursed together as my gaze caught the reminder to text Jeff. He always made me check in with him at least four times a day if we weren’t together, which wasn’t very often. He rarely let me out of his sight unless he was at work. I quickly swiped away the reminder, then went in and deleted the thing altogether. I didn’t need it anymore.
A tap on the window echoed through the car, and I screeched, jumping a foot out of my seat.
“I am so sorry to startle you, ma’am. Can I be of assistance?” A thick, gruff Texas drawl had me turning to my window.
Holy hot cakes. A tall, broad-shouldered man stood outside my door. I rolled the window down and shielded my eyes to get a better look at the uniformed officer. His fitted, short-sleeved uniform shirt exposed his muscled forearms, his right one covered in tattoos. His jeans were molded to his frame, gripping his thighs and showing off the hard muscles underneath.
He took a step to his right and leaned against the top of the car, casting a shadow across my face.
What a gentleman.
“Um… I think I’m lost. I feel like I’ve been on this road for forever, and there’s been nothing for miles. I was on my way to King’s Ranch and ran out of gas.” My throat tightened at the reminder of why I was stranded. “I didn’t fill up at the last gas station I passed, and I have no service, so no way to call anyone, which also means I’m without my GPS,” I rambled, unable to stop myself.
His face blurred as tears welled in my eyes.
“It’s going to be okay, ma’am.” He held out his hands, keeping his voice calm and low.
“Abbey. Please call me Abbey.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I really didn’t want to freak out in front of Officer Sexypants, but it was looking less likely that wouldn’t happen. Now that I knew I wasn’t going to die on the side of the road, my body trembled, and my breath quickened. If I couldn’t pull myself together, I was going to fall apart. There was no way this day could get any worse.
“Abbey.” He waited until my panicked eyes met his. In a soothing tone, he continued, “I’m Officer Bennett. Do you see the fields to your right?” He pointed behind me.
I glanced at the never-ending piece of land. “Yes. I swear it’s mocking me.” I grumbled to the dark-haired stranger, suddenly feeling calmer as I watched the grass sway back and forth.
“That property is King’s Ranch. You’re only a few miles from the entrance. Why don’t you hop in my car, and I’ll take you the rest of the way?”
I whipped my head around to face him. “Oh, no. I don’t want to inconvenience you. If it’s really only a few miles, I’ll walk.”
His jaw clenched. “This heat is too brutal for you to be walking that far. And it’s not an inconvenience. I was on my way there.”
