Page 23 of Just My Luck

“Will you let me take you home?”

I tried to laugh and make light of the situation, but it only came out as a weak whoosh of breath. “Okay, sure.”

I lifted myself from the seat, easing away from Abel to avoid risking a single touch. I worried that with one touch of his warm, protective embrace, I might melt into him.

Abel offered Royal a nod and a silent three-finger salute as we shuffled out of the tattoo parlor. Four steps into the afternoon sunshine, and worry and panic tightened in my chest.

My mind whirled.

Granddad had taken Ben and Tillie fishing before dropping them at library camp for the afternoon. What was supposed to be a free afternoon doing whatever I wanted had suddenly turned into a complete mess.

If that really was Jared and he knew I was here, it confirmed my fears that he knew where I was living, which meant I would be in the cabin alone. The realization that all the fears I’d told myself were irrational were coming true crashed down on me.

My steps faltered beside Abel. “Hey, you know what?” I gripped his forearm to stop our forward progress. His muscles rippled beneath my hand, and I pulled it back. “I’m really not feeling... um, I don’t know. Comfortable... at the cabin right now.”

Abel looked at me the way he sometimes did, as though I was some mystery he was working his ass off to unravel.

In reality, I wasn’t all that hard to figure out. I was a single mom scared out of her wits, desperate and with nowhere safe to go.

“How about my place? It’s quiet, and no one will bug you there. I can bring you back whenever you’re ready.” The way his gravelly voice rolled over the wordsmy placesent tingles humming straight to my clit, but immediate relief flooded my system.

Well, this is a very bad idea.

“I’d love to. Thanks.” At ease, I gave him a soft, appreciative smile. “The twins are at a day program at the library. I’m just going to send a quick text to check in on them.”

Abel dipped his chin with a no-nonsense jerk of his head. “Okay. My truck is this way.”

He gestured down the road to where his rugged gray truck was parked in a small public lot. Without another word, Abel yanked open the passenger door, and I scurried inside. I watched him as he moved around the hood and sucked in a lungful of his earthy masculine scent.

It was like lemon and oiled leather filled the cab of his truck, making it all Abel.

I fired off a quick text to my friend Emily—she was the head librarian at the library, and she assured me the twins were having a great time. I hesitated only a moment, unsure if I should tell her about seeing my ex. Instead, I just insisted that no one but Granddad or I should be picking them up. Satisfied with her reassurance, I settled back against the passenger seat of the truck.

Abel turned over the engine and started driving. I watched as the sinews and muscles rippled in his arms while he shifted gears. “A stick shift, huh?”

A grunt was his only response, but I leaned my elbow on the window, propping my head to continue looking at him, encouraging him to say more.

Under my assessment, he finally sighed and rolled his eyes. “I like a manual transmission. It keeps you active and alert while you’re driving.”

I scrunched my chin and nodded. “Makes sense. To be honest, I didn’t know if you drove at all. I always see you walking everywhere.”

The muscles in his jaw flexed as he shifted uncomfortably in the driver’s seat. “I don’t like to drive unless I have to.”

Realization dawned on me. Today he had to because he was called to come and rescue me.

I swallowed hard. “I appreciate it, really. I’m sure I would have been fine, but”—I shrugged, leaning into the truth—“I guess sometimes I need a little rescuing.”

I caught a long side-eye from Abel. “I guess so.”

We rode the rest of the way in silence. Abel’s house was a short drive, only a few blocks from the heart of Outtatowner. The long driveway was lined with trees, obscuring the view of the road and neighboring houses. The plot of land opened up into a beautiful, well-manicured lawn.

Trees dotted the lawn, but most lined the edges of the property. Lush green grass grew around professionally manicured flower beds. At the end of the driveway stood a ranch-style home that almost looked like a storybook cottage.

The home’s exterior was white board and batten and had a front porch that wrapped around one side. I climbed out of Abel’s truck, awestruck by how pretty the house was.

It was quieter there, the trees buffering any noise from the road. A coastal breeze gently shook the leaves of massive oaks that lined his property.

I breathed the coastal air in deep and held it in my lungs. My face tipped up, allowing the summer sun to warm my cheeks.

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