by Janie Crouch
Baby nodded. “Then he suddenly showed up for the Wild Wyoming last week.”
She nodded. “And then someone tried to hurt him...and you. And now all the stuff about Girl Riley having MS.”
Her brother’s girlfriend was also named Riley, so around here they were known as Boy Riley and Girl Riley.
Baby raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t have thought you were someone either Riley needed to be concerned about. Are you in trouble?”
Damn it. Baby might be a mechanic, but he was way too observant.
She tried for a light laugh, but it came out forced. “You know how family is—a pain in the ass. That’s all I meant. I’m going to let them know I’m here, of course. I’m just waiting for the right time.”
“Well, nobody has seen them much since the race. They’ve been keeping to themselves over the past few days after what happened.”
Quinn wasn’t at all happy about the thought of someone with an axe to grind trying to kill her brother, but she had to admit, she was grateful for the reprieve it had given her.
“Yeah. Once they start sticking their heads out, I’ll be sure to let him know I’m here. Just...not quite yet.”
“I happen to know exactly when they’re going to stick their heads out. There’s a wedding tomorrow, actually one of my best friends, and we’re all crashing it.” Baby grinned.
She raised an eyebrow. “You have to crash your best friend’s wedding? You didn’t muster an invitation?”
He tapped her nose. “Alright there, Cupcake, watch that smart mouth of yours. Cade and Peyton think they’re going to sneak off and get married at the judge’s office, but since Linear Tactical is in the business of super-sleuthing, we found out about their plans and devised a plan of our own to surprise them.”
She couldn’t help the smile that fell over her face. This was what she loved about small towns. Everybody was there for you, whether you wanted them to be or not.
“I’ve actually got this place,” he tapped on the bar’s wall behind his back with his knuckles, “rented out tomorrow night for a surprise wedding reception. You should come.” He peeked at her and gave a soft smile. “I know both Boy Riley and Girl Riley will be there. It’ll be your chance to make your presence known.”
She was tempted. Oak Creek was too small for her not to run into Riley sooner rather than later. Today being case in point.
Baby pulled her closer and that rock hard jawline of his folded into a grin. “You can come as my date. See your brother, say hello. It’ll be fun.” He squeezed her waist.
Even more temptation. She looked into those green eyes, so earnest and charming, and almost said yes.
No.
Despite what had happened on her birthday—hell, maybe because of what had happened on her birthday—she couldn’t do this. She could not go out on a very public date with the town charmer, who was also twelve years her junior.
“I can almost smell the wheels cranking in that brain of yours,” he whispered. “Don’t overthink it. Just say yes.”
She wanted to. She was shocked by the ferocity of how much she wanted to.
“I can’t.” She leaned her forehead against his chest so she wouldn’t have to look into his eyes. “Going out on a date at all is a bad idea. Us going out on a very public date where my brother sees me for the first time is an even worse idea.”
She looked up, expecting that to be it. For him to flash his signature wink and be done with her. Instead, he leaned back against the wall and propped one foot back behind him.
“Okay, no dating. I got you.” He nodded slowly. “Then how about we meet Friday morning for a non-date at dawn.”
That was definitely not what she’d been expecting.
Her eyes widened. “Dawn?”
That charming grin. The rascal in his eye.
No one had ever looked at her like this—like they were about to go off on some naughty adventure together.
And she was completely, utterly powerless against it.
“I guess I can. I have somewhere I have to be at ten a.m.” She couldn’t afford to miss her classes, not with her reputation.
“I think we can be through by then, although you might be a little tired.”
Good lord. This man was sin on a stick.
He hooked a finger into the apron tied at her waist and pulled her closer. She thought he might kiss her again—prayed he might kiss her again—and leaned toward him, her eyes closing.
“Open,” his deep voice was barely more than a whisper.
Open?
Her mouth? Her legs?
Both?
But before she could force out any of the words ping-ponging around in her addled brain, she opened her eyes and found her phone held in front of her face.
“Open your phone, Cupcake, so I can enter the address where we’ll meet.”
“Oh.” She punched in her code and handed the device back to him.
She was in way, way, way over her head.
He typed in an address then handed it back to her. “Once you get to this point, follow the signs.”
“Follow the signs where?”
He shot her a half-grin. “You’ll see.”
She didn’t know exactly what was going on, but she was pretty sure all her girl parts were on fire. She couldn’t stop staring at him. Their lips were mere inches apart All she had to do was...
“Blake Bollinger, if you don’t quit making out with girls in the alley, I’m going to tell Mom.”
The female taunt came from the street with a laugh.
“Speaking of pain in the ass siblings,” he murmured, his breath brushing against her lips. “That’s my sister, Wavy.”
An icy wave doused the fire in her girly parts immediately. “Blake Bollinger? Your name is Blake Bollinger?”
The same Blake Bollinger she’d sent the TSC email to say she wouldn’t give him a chance in her literature class after he’d had problems with Mr. Lewis?
Oh God.
“Yeah, but nobody calls me that. They never have.”
He stepped away from her and turned to face his sister. “Leave me alone, Wavy. Mom is used to my shenanigans by now.” He turned back to Quinn. “I would introduce you, but if I do, it will be all over town, and then there’s zero chance your brother won’t find out you’re here.”
“No. No, that’s okay.”
Blake Bollinger.
“I’ve got to get back to the shop. Are you okay? You look a little off.”
“I’m—I’m fine.”
Oh God. She needed to tell him that she’d been the instructor to take over his class—the one who’d shut down his attempt to communicate with her about his struggles. She was surprised he hadn’t figured it out already.
But it wouldn’t take long. That was going to end their non-date dawn date pretty quickly.
“Baby, I...”
He hooked his finger in her apron and pulled her close. “I’ll see you Friday at dawn. Don’t be late, or I’ll have to come drag you out of bed.”
“I should really tell—”
His lips brushed against hers, then again as if he couldn’t stop himself. “Tell me everything at dawn on Friday, Cupcake. Everything’s better at dawn.”
Chapter Eight
Quinn had never had a problem being an early riser. Maybe it was because she’d never had much of a nightlife.
Meeting Baby at dawn on Friday for their non-date wasn’t a terrible hardship.
That didn’t mean she didn’t lecture herself about how terrible an idea this was as she stood watching her coffee brew in her rundown kitchen in the dark. Nor did it mean she didn’t belittle herself as she meticulously showered, shaved, and primped. She definitely didn’t internally roll her eyes for spending twenty minutes staring at her closet trying to figure out what in the world she should wear for a dawn non-date.
She barely had any idea what one should wear on a regular date, let alone what was appropriate for something like this. With a frustrated gr
oan, she finally settled on a pair of jeans and a lightweight sweater to go under her jacket.
She snatched a granola bar and a second cup of coffee to go and headed out the door before she could talk herself out of this whole thing. It wasn’t like it was going to end well anyway.
It was still dark outside. She sat inside her cold car, cursing under her breath when it didn’t start right away. She’d never had this problem when she’d had her BMW in Cambridge.
“Come on, please,” she chanted softly. She would die from humiliation if she had to call Baby, the town mechanic, and cancel because her car wouldn’t start. That would rank right up there with telling him she’d been the online teacher bitch who’d refused to hear him out.
She thumped her forehead against the steering wheel. This entire plan was such a bad idea.
She lifted her head and opened her eyes, letting out a little shriek as something moved in the trees near the side of her tiny house. Was somebody out there? Why would somebody be around her house this early in the morning?
She grabbed her phone, which trembled slightly in her hand, and stared into the faint darkness. For the first time, she wasn’t thrilled about the rental’s isolated location. She’d thought it would be perfect to stay out of the main bustle of Oak Creek, but now she wished she had neighbors. Her closest one was a quarter mile away.
Calling Riley to say her final goodbyes because she was about to get attacked was definitely not how she’d wanted to let her brother know she was in Wyoming.
Surprise, I’m here, also...I’m about to die!
She stared off into the trees for a long time but didn’t notice any further movement.
“City girl,” she murmured and shook her head. With a deep breath, she tried to turn the engine again.
There probably wasn’t anything out there. And if there was, it was much more likely to be a wild animal than a person, which made her feel better and worse. But when the car started, she let out a sigh of relief. “Later, serial killers and yetis. I’ve got some real trouble to get into.”
She was quite proud of herself for timing the drive correctly—even though she’d cheated and had driven out here yesterday to make sure she could find it. She pulled up to the address Baby had entered into the GPS app on her phone as the sun was truly starting to make itself known in the morning sky. She didn’t see any sign of Baby’s truck, but knowing him, he’d hiked or kayaked or something.
She hadn’t been neurotic enough to follow the signs all the way out yesterday, so she had no idea where he was going to take her for the on-foot part.
Quinn was not great with surprises. She liked to know. To plan.
Considering her last two big surprises had been losing her husband and losing her job, she wasn’t super hopeful about this one. But she would try.
At least the signs were clearly visible. She followed them down a path, glad she’d worn jeans and sneakers, trying to enjoy the moment rather than get caught up in her own head with all the things that could go wrong.
Being able to anticipate what might go wrong in her old life hadn’t enabled her to stop any of it, so why waste time worrying about that now?
It took twenty minutes of walking, and with every step, she honestly expected Baby to appear. Instead of finding Baby, she ended up at the edge of a cliff that overlooked some sort of quarry. The view absolutely took her breath away—soft pinks, tangerines, and buttery yellows painted the early morning sky.
She wanted to slip her hand into Baby’s and share this with him.
“I know you’re around here somewhere,” she murmured, slowly turning in a circle.
She was legitimately surprised when she didn’t hear his charming chuckle. She really thought he’d been waiting somewhere she couldn’t see, wanting to capture her reaction to this beautiful view.
“Okay, if I admit this is probably the most gorgeous place I’ve ever seen, will you come out?”
Still no answer. She bit back her disappointment. She’d beaten him here, that was all. He’d come jogging up any second and give her some wild story about stopping to save a mother duck and her ducklings or having to MacGyver the entire engine of an eighteen-wheeler with just a nine-volt battery and a paperclip.
And no matter what it was, it would be the most engaging and entrancing story she’d ever heard—that anyone had ever heard. Because Baby was telling it. Because it seemed like everybody fell under Baby’s spell.
She couldn’t begrudge him that, it was just a fact: everybody loved to be around him. And she couldn’t wait to hear whatever fantastical story he came up with.
Couldn’t wait to see him. It didn’t matter that wanting to be with him didn’t make sense given all their differences, or that she was going to have to beg his forgiveness for how she’d handled the email and explain that wasn’t the type of teacher she normally was.
She just wanted to see him.
Thirty minutes later, sitting cross-legged on the ground looking out at the beautiful waterfall and rapids, she had to face the facts—there wasn’t going to be a charming story.
Baby wasn’t coming.
Just to be sure, she stayed another thirty minutes. Then, with a sigh and a groan, she stood. Maybe it was the light from the sun being so much harsher, but nothing felt quite so beautiful anymore.
He really wasn’t coming.
Even knowing that, she somehow expected to find him bounding up toward her as she walked back to her car. He didn’t.
There were so many reasons why he might not be here. Maybe he’d decided that geriatrics weren’t really his thing and them dating wasn’t a good idea.
That’s what she’d argued, right? The flirtation between the two of them had been ridiculous from the start. But then why were tears clouding her vision?
Her very last bit of hope died as she got back to her car and found the area as empty as it had been when she’d arrived more than an hour ago. A sad but fitting metaphor for her life.
She got into her car, thankful when it started without difficulty this time. She began driving down the winding path back toward her house. It was a shame she hadn’t brought the materials or clothing she needed to teach; she was already halfway to TSC.
But she’d get dressed and go in early. Spend her time focusing on her classes like she should be doing, not focusing on Ba—
Everything in her car seemed to fail at once. She muttered a curse as her brakes went out as she took one of the steepest, sharpest curves leading back into town. She sped toward the edge much too quickly.
She had spent enough winters in Boston to know to turn into the slide, but as she tried to do that, her steering wheel went mushy. Now she couldn’t steer, and she couldn’t stop. All she could do was brace herself for the jarring impact as her car slammed into the guardrail.
Impossibly, her car sped up at the impact rather than slowed down. The damned thing was possessed.
“What the hell?” She struggled with all her might to turn the wheel back toward the center of the road, but it wouldn’t budge.
The car slid along the guardrail. One glance at the steep incline, and she panicked, her breath sawing in and out in jagged bursts.
She saw what was coming but couldn’t do anything about it. Her car was still picking up speed as the end of the guardrail rapidly approached. She yanked on the steering wheel one last time, but that did nothing.
The rail, the only thing keeping her car on the road, ended. Her tires edged onto the softer shoulder before her car flew over the side and down the embankment.
The embankment wasn’t steep enough to flip the car, but car was still going way too fast as she slid down the hill and into the large tree.
Her head smashed against the driver’s side window as her car finally came to a stop.
She sat there in silence for a few moments trying to get her bearings. What the hell had just happened? She must have hit some sort of oil patch right as her brakes and steering seized.
She reached up wi
th her fingers to catch whatever was dripping down her face, somehow surprised when she saw blood.
The red on her fingers jolted the world back into working order. She could hear the hiss of her engine, still running as it was stuck up against the tree. She could see the steam and smoke from the crash, the broken glass from the window glimmering in the light.
And everything hurt.
She could still move her arms and legs, that was good. She needed to get out of this car. She turned off the engine. Her door was jammed against the tree, so she unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled gingerly to the other door.
Her car didn’t seem to be totaled, but there was no way of driving it out of here. She’d have to see about getting it towed.
Yet another expense she didn’t have any money saved for. She was barely getting by on what she made with her two part-time jobs.
She stumbled back up the hill, pretty unsteady on her feet. Once she got to the road, she turned left to head back toward town. There wasn’t much point in sitting here. It could be hours before anyone drove by on this deserted road.
A mile later, her head throbbed, and her left eye had swollen shut. Every step made her feel worse.
And then, it started to rain.
“Of course.” Of course, it would rain. That was perfect for today. She kept walking.
She was soaked by the time the first car passed her. She half expected it to drive on by—that was what any Bostonian would have done if they’d seen someone bloody and wet limping along the side of the road.
But the car stopped. “Quinn?”
“Lexi?” She didn’t know what her boss was doing way out here, but thank God she was.
“You’re bleeding. Are you okay? What happened?” Before Quinn could spin around so she could see out of her good eye, Lexi was out of the car and standing in front of her.
Quinn tried to get the words out—she really did—about the brakes, the steering, about sliding down the hill and into the tree. About having to walk two miles in the rain with a throbbing head, aching body, and swollen eye.
But somehow her pathetic brain had other plans. Quinn looked at her boss, tiny with big blue eyes and blurted out the most pathetic thing in the history of pathetic things.
