Page 14 of New Hope

Half an hour later, my stomach rumbled as I drove along a quiet back road, a reminder that I hadn’t eaten anything except a granola bar all day. Heading back toward town in search of food, I drove past several large farms and a vineyard before spotting a silver car pulled off along the side of the road. I slowed, assessing the situation as I pulled over behind the vehicle. The car was a newer model, in good condition with no visible damage. The trunk was popped open, but the owner was at the front of the car, leaning against the hood and holding his cellphone up in the air as if searching for a signal.

Parking, I flipped my lights on as a warning to other drivers and logged the car’s license plate number and my location into the car’s computer. When I was finished, I grabbed my hat and sunglasses and got out to see if I could be of any assistance. Gravel crunched under my steps as I neared the car. The owner was so focused on his phone that he hadn’t yet heard me, and I took a few seconds to look him over.

My eyes trailed across strong shoulders beneath a pristine white button-up shirt. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing smooth, toned forearms, lightly coated in blond hairs that gleamed in the sun like the ones on his head. His waist was trim where his shirt was tucked in and the slope of his back dipped down into a pair of navy-blue slacks that hugged his perfect—What the hell?

A tremble rolled through me, and my pulse raced as my world seemed to tip on its axis. I told myself I was simply being a good cop, taking an inventory of details in case things went awry, but the stirring down deep in my belly told me it was something more. Something I hadn’t experienced in years.

“Car trouble?” I asked, hoping my voice didn’t betray my inner turmoil. The sooner I was able to help him, the sooner he’d be on his way, and I could forget all about my unsettling reaction to this stranger. Only, as he whipped around, clearly startled by my presence, I realized he wasn’t a stranger at all. “Dr. Adams?”

“Ford?” he said at the same time. I struggled to find something to say but his reaction wasn’t much better. He stared at me, jaw hanging open as he looked me over from head to toe. My skin heated as his gaze rolled slowly over my face, my chest, and down lower. Maybe I was dehydrated. Maybe all the fresh air was playing tricks on my mind, but I swore I could feel his gaze like a physical caress. I shivered. His eyes darted to mine. “I had no idea you were a policeman.”

My lips twitched, remembering our conversation when I’d first realized he was a doctor. “How could you?”

He laughed as if recalling the same thing. “True.”

His laughter cut through whatever strange haze I’d been in and when I looked at him again, I saw the man who’d made Ellie laugh, whose own daughter had befriended mine on her first day of school. Tension drained out of me, and I felt myself relax. “So, what are you doing all the way out here?”

“I was out on a house call when—”

I put my hand up to stop him. “Wait! Hold up! You do house calls? That’s still a thing?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Sometimes. Mostly newborns whose mothers are still recovering from difficult labors or C-sections. It’s more practical for me to go to them than for them to have to load the baby up and drive all the way to my office. Besides, it’s easier to pick up on anything worrisome, like post-partum and neglect if I can see them interacting with their child in their own home.”

“Makes sense. Sorry to interrupt. I was just surprised. Go ahead. You were out on a house call…”

“Yeah, so, I’d been out on a house call and was on my way back to the office when my tire blew. I was going to change it, but when I opened the trunk, I remembered I’d used my jack last weekend to help my dad change the tire on his mower. Apparently, I forgot to put it back when I was done. I tried to call him, but I must be in a dead zone because my phone won’t pick up a signal.”

He ran a hand over his jaw and a voice inside my head whispered, wondering if his skin felt as smooth as it looked and if it was scratchy with stubble when he first woke up and hadn’t yet shaved. Swallowing hard, I quickly tore my gaze away and moved around the front of the car, putting some much-needed distance between us. Hopefully, a little space would help clear my head.

I whistled through my teeth as I inspected the damaged tire. “You’re lucky you didn’t get hurt. Blowing a tire like this could cause a person to lose control.”

“Thankfully, I was going slow.”

“Do you have a spare?”

He nodded, gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb. “Yes. It’s still in the trunk.”

We moved to the rear of the car, but I waved him aside when he started to reach into the trunk. “You’re going to ruin your nice clothes. Let me do this. Seriously, it’s the least I can do after you were so great with Ellie the other day,” I added when it looked like he might argue.

He chuckled. “Okay, but only if you call me River from now on.”

“What?”

“You called me Dr. Adams when you first got here, but I’d like it if we could be friends. Friends usually call each other by their first names. So, River.”

I smirked at him. “Fine. River.” He smiled at that, showing off a set of perfectly straight teeth. His blue eyes glinted in the sun, their hue reminding me of the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean. And why the hell am I suddenly noticing the color of his eyes? Seriously, it was like I’d somehow ended up in the Twilight Zone.

I decided to focus on the task at hand rather than looking too closely at my unsettling reactions to this man. I reached into the trunk and yanked the spare tire from the storage compartment. Dropping the tire to the ground, I rolled it to the front of the car and let it fall, then went to my cruiser and retrieved the jack and a lug wrench from the toolbox.

I did my best to ignore how closely River was standing to me or the fact that I could smell a hint of his spicy cologne as I got to work. He was a nice guy, Ellie’s doctor, and our daughters were friends. I didn’t need my strange behavior scaring him off. Besides, he’d mentioned he’d like to be friends, and that was something I was sorely in need of. Whatever thoughts I’d been having about him, I needed to keep to myself. “There you go. That should hold you until you can get it in for a new tire.”

When I looked up, I caught him staring at me. He looked flustered at first and I wondered what he’d been thinking, but his features smoothed quickly. “Thank you so much. I don’t even want to think of how far I would have had to walk to find some help if you hadn’t shown up.”

I stood up and stretched the kinks out of my lower back. “No problem. I was actually happy to have something to do. This may come as a bit of a shock, but the New Hope Police Department sees a lot less action than the NYPD.”

River tossed his head back with a laugh. “I imagine it probably does. So, is that where you’re from? New York City?” he asked, moving alongside me as I carried the tools back to my cruiser. I grabbed a wet wipe from the trunk and used it to clean my hands.

“Born and raised. Well, Brooklyn, but yeah, close enough.”

“Wow! You are a man full of surprises, aren’t you?” he teased.

I snorted. “Not really. Mostly, what you see is what you get.”

“Well, I think you’re plenty interesting. In fact, I’d like to hear more. Have you had lunch yet?”

“No. I was actually on my way to find something to eat when I saw your car.”

“Great. Follow me. I know a place with the best hamburgers. My treat.” He held a hand up when I started to argue. “Let me do this. It’s the least I can do since you changed my tire,” he said, throwing my own argument back in my face.

“Okay, you win. Lead the way,” I grumbled. It wasn’t until I was safely tucked inside my own car and caught a glimpse of my reflection in the rearview mirror that I realized I was smiling.

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