Page 57 of Accepting Fate

After I gather myself, I get back to Grayson who had been waiting patiently. “Okay sorry, I needed a minute,”

I can hear the concern in his voice, but he sounds calm. “It's okay, Angel. Now are you locked in your car?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, put me on speaker.” He pauses to give me a moment to do so.

I do as he says. “Okay.”

“Alright, do you know where you are?”

I look around at the forest surrounding me. I have a general idea, but I don’t know exactly where I am. I haven’t reached Cliff Haven yet, but I’m definitely outside of Seattle city limits. You'd think I would know where I am since I drive this road basically every day, but I can’t tell in the dark.

Panic starts to rise in my throat. “Umm. No. But I haven’t reached Cliff Haven yet.”

His voice is calm and reassuring. “Okay. Can you share your location with me on our text thread?”

“Yeah.” I pull up our texts and share my location with him.

I place my phone on the center console. I'm spent and holding the phone right now is taking too much effort, but I appreciate how gentle Grayson is talking me through this. I'm seconds away from a panic attack and that's the last thing I need right now.

“Alright. Don’t move, I know where you are. I will be there in about fifteen minutes. Don’t hang up. I’m here, even if you just need to sit in silence until I get there.”

I nod even though he can't see me because if I say anything, the tears will come. I guess he understands because he doesn't repeat himself.

I hear the engine of his truck rumble, the rain on his windshield, the swoosh of his windshield wipers, and occasionally the clicks of his blinker.

Fifteen minutes later, headlights shine down the road. I assume it’s Grayson, but I don’t move a muscle until his truck pulls over to the opposite side of the road.

I end the call without saying anything. I don't bother to get out. He quickly gets out of his truck, runs across the road, and opens my door.

“Hey,” he says softly.

“Hi, thanks for coming,” I say, sounding defeated. Not meeting his eyes, I wrap my arms around my middle and lean forward to rest my head on the steering wheel. I know the minute our eyes meet, the dam will break.

Grayson gently places his hands on my waist to turn my body to face him. I feel his eyes on my body, probably looking for visible injuries from my fall. I risk sneaking a peek at him. He’s dressed in a dark pair of jeans and a dark blue sweatshirt that says the name of his shop in bold white lettering. His dark brown hair is peaking out under his backward baseball cap. He takes a small step back, tossing his hat on top of the jeep which causes his hair to stick up. I almost laugh at him looking so disheveled, but he strips off his sweatshirt and places it over my head. His smell invades my senses and instantly relaxes me.

After a moment, I look up to meet his beautiful blues. He looks so concerned and I want to hug him. As if reading my mind, Grayson wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me to his chest. My head rests right against his chest and he runs his hands up and down my back. I let the steady beat of his heart soothe me.

I shove my arms through the sleeves of the sweatshirt and wind my arms around his middle, letting out a sigh as I relax for the first time in hours.

We must have stayed like that for a while because Grayson kisses the top of my head and whispers, “I don't want to let you go but we need to get you out of this mud and home to bed.”

I groan and nod against his chest.

Grayson steps back, grabbing his hat off the roof of the Jeep and placing it backward on his head. He heads to the back to assess the situation.

When he’s back there longer than expected, I call out to him, “Grayson, what’s going on?”

He comes around the back of the Jeep and returns to his spot in front of me, placing a flashlight in his back pocket. He chuckles. “Well, pretty girl, I know what happened.”

My brows furrow and I say, “Yeah. I got stuck in the mud…”

Shaking his head, I can see him trying to hide a smile. “You did, but you got stuck because your tires are fucking bald. There is almost zero tread on those things. Not gonna lie, I was fucking confused how a Jeep as big as this one got stuck in the mud but now I know.”

I let out a groan.

Grayson hugs me to his chest. “Don’t worry about it, Angel. I’ll take care of it.”

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