Page 2 of Driven Daddy

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and frowned down at it. I’d definitely have to figure out what cell service the locals used here. Evidently, mine was not it. Not to mention the ancient phone I had. It was about five iterations old on the iPhone front.

My phone had one purpose—I used it when I was outside of my apartment. The rest of the time I had my iPad or my computer handy. And blessed wi-fi that almost never let me down.

The fact that I’d rarely left my apartment in Manhattan for the last nine months had left little need for my cell. MyDoorDashandChowNowapps took care of my food because cooking was just depressing in my postage-stamp sized kitchen.

I could barely fit a toaster and my coffee maker on my two-foot counter.

But if I could ever find stupid Vista Lane, then I could actually enjoy the kitchen and maybe even cook a fall meal.

My stomach roared at the idea of it.

Of course that would mean I’d have to find a place for groceries, but that was a problem for future Rita. If and when I actually found the place I’d rented on the lake.

I started to make my way back down to the little SUV I’d bought today. The incline had been more intense than I thought and didn’t exactly go well with the four-inch heels I’d worn to court.

This entire drive into Crescent Cove had been based on impulse. I wasn’t actually due to be here until October for a photo shoot for a calendar. Not only had my own personal business fallen into shambles, but the original photo shoot for this calendar had gone sideways.

Chaos.

So much chaos in my life.

I finally reached the bottom in my tiny shuffling steps as a cruiser rolled to a stop behind Betty.

That was my new HR-V’s name. She was cherry in every way from the color to the bells and whistles inside. Sexy as far as vehicles went, anyway. She deserved a fun and sexy name.

Had the red attracted the attention of the police for some reason?

“Great, just a little more chaos for my day,” I muttered. I pasted a smile on my face as I shaded my eyes against the afternoon sun. “Hello, Officer.”

I hoped my voice didn’t seem as salacious as it sounded in my head. Because he was a big bit of beautiful on this fine fall day. Broad-shouldered with a dark uniform shirt tucked into very appealing jeans. Aviator sunglasses hid his eyes, but everything else was quite delicious.

“Ma’am. Are you having trouble?”

“No, why?” I pulled my zip hoodie closed as I folded my arms. The breeze was much cooler off the water.

“Just noticed you’d been pulled off here for a fair bit of time, just making sure you’re all right.”

“Oh.”

I definitely wasn’t used to anyone caring about my well being. Living alone in Manhattan meant I was lucky to get a grunt of a greeting on the street, and mostly, it was a get out of the way warning for those who walked at Mach speed.

The hulking man frowned at me. “Ma’am?”

“Sorry. I’m fine. I’ve just been driving for hours, and I’m a little tired.”

He squinted at me. “Should you be driving if you’re impaired?”

“What? No. I’d say it’s my butt that’s more tired than anything.” I dug into my pocket for my phone. “And I lost my signal so I pulled off to get my GPS to start working again.”

“Did that work?”

“No. No, it did not,” I said with a little laugh. “Evidently, this part of New York doesn’t like my carrier.”

“You probably just need to update your phone. Where are you from?”

“Manhattan,” I mumbled with a frown. “Is that a thing?”

“To pick up the current cell towers in the area? Yeah, it helps. I will say this part of town tends to work better with a certain carrier.”

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