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I thought there were two ways out of this jam. The universe found a third and somehow made it worse than either.
“You need help.” Jake comes next to me, peering past my shoulder to the jacked-up front tire. The hazard lights cast him in amber light, then shadow, and back again.
It would be Jake Knowles because that’s the luck I have with men. My brother Boone calls him surfer boy, which he means as an insult, even though it’s true. Jake has sun-kissed blond hair, even in the middle of winter. It’s always perfectly tousled. His blue eyes are a perfect blue. You add in his square jaw and the light dusting of strawberry freckles across his nose and cheeks; is it any surprise I almost did something foolish?
I lean back against the car and cross my legs.
See? Look. Your presence doesn’t bother me at all. Not even a little.
I toss my hair over my shoulder. “A tow truck is on the way. There isn’t anything to do.”
“Is it from that shop I passed by in town?” Jake points with his thumb towards the road behind us. “The one with an empty parking lot and no lights on. Try again.”
“My brother is on the way.”
“Boone Rivers would not let his little sister be alone at night in the middle of nowhere. Your headquarters are hours away, so we know he isn’t coming. Did you even call him?”
I raise my chin, refusing to answer him because he’s right. Boone delivered a sharp lecture when he first heard my vacation plans. It contained something about crazy ax murderers and young women, but it’s hard to be sure because I tuned him out.
“He’ll be here tomorrow,” I lie. “The tire is a trick, so no one steals my car while I take my evening walk.”
Jake doesn’t respond, choosing to stare down at me instead. At 5’10”, I’m taller than average, and he still towers over me. I don’t like it. “Your nose is red,” he finally says, removing his knit cap to place it on me. “You aren’t dressed warm enough for an evening walk.”
I’m wearing a 29 car sweatshirt and jeans, which were perfectly fine with a car heater. I refuse to rub my arms in his presence. “Us Rivers are naturally warm-blooded. We don’t feel the cold.”
“Even a Rivers girl needs help sometimes, Sarah. Hold on.” Jake strokes my cheek and leaves to open his truck’s passenger door. He quickly returns with a bundle in his arms. “You should be in a proper coat, but this will have to do.”
He drapes the bundle over my shoulders and pulls it closed. It’s a handmade quilt, an item I would never expect Jake to carry. I don’t ask where it came from, choosing to offer a simple thank you instead.
“Let’s look at that tire.” He hands me a flashlight. “Hold thisup so I can see.”
To my great annoyance, the remaining lug nuts are quickly removed, and my dearly departed tire lies on the ground.
“The spare is in my trunk,” I tell him. “It’s a donut, but that will last until tomorrow. My cabin is close by.”
His head jerks at my mention of a cabin, but he doesn’t respond, choosing to get the spare out instead. “Sarah, when was this last inspected?”
“Inspected for what?”
“Your spare is flat.” He takes the flashlight back and shines it into my almost empty trunk. “You can’t drive on that.”
“My cabin is very close by.” Even a flat spare tire can go a short distance, right? I can call a tow truck in the morning, and everything will be magically fixed. No further help from Jake Knowles is required.
As if sensing my thoughts, Jake shines the light on my face, blinding me. “Don’t even think about it. I’m not letting you drive on that thing.”
“It’s not your job to protect me, Jake,” I stubbornly say. He’s correct, too, which makes me even more determined to disagree.
“That’s not my fault,” he reminds me. “It should be my job. I should have been on this trip. Tell Boone you need a flashlight, spare batteries, and a portable jumper. I’ll send you a list. This way, you’ll have some emergency supplies in case I’m not around.”
The insinuation he might be the one to rescue me again rankles.
“That’s unnecessary.” Reluctantly, I remove his quilt and hand it over. The temperature instantly drops, and I shiver. “Thank you so much for your assistance tonight, but it’s no longer required. I’ll see you in Daytona next month.”
He doesn’t accept it. “I’m not leaving you on the side of the road, Sarah.”
Jake laughs. My perfect vacation is ending in a disaster. My goal this week was to find a new purpose and clear my head. Instead, I’m confronted by the man who tried to break my heart, and he’s laughing.
“I enjoy walks at night. They help me to relax. You can keep going to wherever it is you’re going.”
