Page 34 of Because You Rejected Me

I figured the simplest explanation was probably the most likely. A driver on a rampage or someone who had gotten just a bit too sauced early on a Thursday morning. Still, no matter how much I tried to convince myself that alcoholism was statistically more likely in rural areas, I couldn’t shake the fear coursing through my entire body.

Werewolf or not, that driver could’ve killed me.

Chapter Eighteen: Ace

I’d risen early that morning knowing that I had a long day of harvesting and prepping ahead of me. Now that we were coming into the earliest parts of July, food was starting to come in at a much faster rate. I had beets, broccoli, cucumbers, radishes, peppers, beans, peas, spinach, carrots, and even a few stray onions ready. And that was on top of everything else that was ready to go as well. That and the flowers were going crazy. Even with Matt’s help, I wasn’t sure how we were going to manage to get all of it done in a single day.

Not only that, but the moment I stepped outside, I could smell the thunderstorm coming. It was still a ways off, but the humidity in the air and the tingle of electricity told me I didn’t have long until it rolled in. That meant I’d have to work even faster.

I skipped coffee completely, threw on a pair of shorts, and went straight into the garden just as the sun began to peek over the horizon. With astounding speed, I worked my way down the rows and through patches of interplanted crops, filling my crate as I went. I didn’t bother taking them back to the house just yet. It was more important to get things picked than to worry about rinsing them. The rain would take care of that, and it wasn’t far off. I had maybe a couple of hours before it hit. And as much as I didn’t mind getting wet, getting struck by lightning wasn’t on my list of things to experience.

The first thing I went through was the salad greens. After that, it was time to pick all those pesky peas and beans and put them into separate crates. Once that was done, I moved on to larger items that were easy to harvest without much thought.

More than once I looked up toward the driveway, expecting Matt to be there. But as the sun rose into the sky and the clouds moved in to block it out, he still wasn’t there. By the time I’d finished collecting the chard, cucumbers, and peppers, I was starting to get a little worried. I’d just moved onto flowers when I finally heard the telltale crunch of gravel in the drive. I looked up with a bright smile, impatient to get my first kiss of the day. But what I saw sent a streak of adrenaline shooting through my body.

Matt’s bike was covered in dirt and torn-up sod. Not only that, but one of the wheels was slightly bent. But that was nothing compared to his state. Every morning, he showed up glowing and flawless after a half-hour ride. However, today, he looked like he’d been drug through a ditch. His clothes were torn in places, and dirt was smeared all over his body. Burs stuck to his shoes and the lower edges of his shorts. His shoes were filthy and even his backpack looked like it had been put through the wringer.

I threw my tools to the ground, sprinting through the garden. Skidding to a halt in front of him, I put my hands on his shoulders. The final remnants of scratches and cuts were closing up on his body thanks to his werewolf healing. No part of him looked broken, but his face was pale and his stare was hollow.

“Matt?” I said, giving him a little shake. “What happened to you?”

He glanced up at me with a faraway look in his eyes. “Someone… Someone tried to run me over…”

???

The thunderstorm raged outside as I brought Matt a hot cup of coffee. He was sitting on the edge of my bed in a pair of my shorts with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His hair was still wet from his shower, but he was no longer covered in dirt or scratches. He would’ve looked as good as new if not for that terrified look in his eyes that refused to go away.

“Are you okay?” I asked, handing him the steaming cup.

Matt took it gently, grasping it with both hands. “Y-Yeah,” he managed to say. “Just a bit shook up, I guess.”

“I would be too if I were you.”

“It was just… so weird,” he said, taking a sip from the cup. “I’ve never had anything like that happen before. I really thought I was going to die if I didn’t get out of the way.”

I took a seat on the edge of the bed next to him. “Will you tell me what happened?”

He looked up at me. “Don’t we have harvesting to do? I don’t want to mess up your sales for tomorrow.”

Gesturing out the window where it was raining sideways, I gave him a shrug. “Doesn’t look like we’re gonna get anything done right now anyway. So you might as well tell me.” I paused. “If you’re okay with that.”

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Matt took another sip. “I was just pedaling out here like I do every morning. Everything seemed totally fine. I’d even left early, so there was almost zero traffic. But as I was coming down the long stretch of road before I turn onto yours, I heard a car behind me. I waved for it to go by, but it slowed way down and pulled up next to me like the driver was checking me out or something.”

“Did you see them?”

He shook his head. “The windows were tinted.”

“Was that when he tried to run you off the road?”

“No. He sped off and took a left turn down one of the side roads,” Matt said with a shrug. “I thought he was gone until I passed the intersection and saw the truck sitting there, waiting for me.”

“What?!”

Matt nodded. “I sped up as fast as I could and it came roaring after me. It was pretty clear that whoever was driving was aiming right for me. There was no way I could outrun them, so I waited until they were nearly too close and basically threw myself off the road.” He glanced over to the pile of dirty clothing on the ground. “The bike came out from under me and I went tumbling. The truck missed me by inches.”

“Christ…”

“I ran into the woods, but the truck slammed on its brakes, like whoever was in there was going to pull off and come after me.” There was a fearful tear in his eye as he looked up at me. “If the other car hadn’t come along and scared them off, I would’ve had to shift and leave everything behind. I thought about doing it anyway because I was scared they’d come back. But I couldn’t leave Sam’s bike behind. Not after everything he’s done for me…”

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