Page 11 of Everybody Needs a Hero

Clearly sensing her unease, Drew reached across the console to pat Tess’s knee and draw her back to the present. “Hey,” she said. “It’s going to be okay. The GPS says that even with traffic, we’ll be in Beverly Hills in thirty minutes.”

“You’re right.” Tess nodded, ready to think about something other than Ashley for the moment. Sitting there worrying the rest of the way wouldn’t solve anything. Tilting her head, Tess regarded Drew again. She had a nice profile, and Tess couldn’t deny she found her attractive. A fact that made her question what the woman said earlier in the trailer.Could she truly have never had a love affair?Tess wondered.Or did she mean not like the one in the story?And even if there was never a passionate love affair, that didn’t necessarily mean she was always alone. “So, you don’t have children?”

Drew’s eyebrows shot up. “Me?” she asked. “Oh no. Not even a cat.” She shrugged. “For me, it was all about work.”

“And don’t forget writing,” Tess added. “You did that. And very well. The book is incredible.”

“True. I did do that too,” Drew said, her voice lacking enthusiasm. “But it took me a decade.”

Tess pursed her lips, not quite understanding. “But all those years of effort were worth it, right?” she asked. “You’ve touched millions of readers.” When Drew didn’t comment, Tess worried she had said the wrong thing. By her thinking, having millions of people read her book was a good thing. “You disagree what you wrote was special?”

For a minute, they rode in silence with only the sounds of the traffic around them. “I don’t know,” Drew finally said. “Sometimes I think I was only lucky.”

Drew hadno idea why she said those words to Tess. She had never admitted that she felt what happened was simply luck to anyone before. Not her agent. Not even her brother. But there were a lot of times Drew felt she was a fraud. An imposter and not really a good writer. So many nights the words she wrote were simply to purge her anger toward life, let out her frustrations with the world, and far too often, soothe her hurt. When there was an especially bad shift at the hospital, if she witnessed a moment of unnecessary tragedy, the story served as her outlet. Amazingly, ten years and over one hundred thousand words later, there was a book. It would have stayed unpublished and forgotten if not for her brother’s unexpected visit one random Thursday morning. He surprised her with coffee and donuts as she finished a double shift. “Work sent me to LA to give a presentation tomorrow,” he said with his most charming smile. “I wanted to surprise you.” When she frowned, he laughed at her dark expression. Drew was never one for surprises, but he was always the good-natured one in the family. “Now I can see maybe that was a bad idea. But let’s enjoy the donuts at least.”

Going back to her apartment, Drew hadn’t thought about the printed pages of her manuscript sitting on her desk. According to him, when her brother went to grab her rickety old desk chair, something on a page apparently caught his eye. Having gone to her bedroom to change, Drew didn’t know he was reading what she wrote until he was three pages in. “What are you doing?” she asked, rushing to grab the sheets from his hand. “This isn’t your business.”

“Did you write that?” he asked, and Drew didn’t know if she should be pleased or offended by how surprised he looked. “It’s really good.” He shook his head. “No, I take that back. That material is great.”

Drew shoved the pages into a drawer and slammed it. “It’s not,” she said. “Just stuff I write when I can’t sleep.” Yet, no matter how much she told him to forget the whole thing, he wouldn’t let it go. After weeks of badgering her to show some chapters to him, she emailed him the first fifty pages to shut him up. That should have been the end of the discussion, but a literary agent called her out of the blue a month later. It took a while for the man to convince Drew he was even legitimate. The bottom line was—he wanted the rest of the story.

And eighteen months later, the book is being made into a movie. Starring Tess Landish of all people, she thought, still unable to quite grasp everything that happened to her after the book came out. “Do you really think so?” Tess asked, breaking into Drew’s memories and bringing her back to the moment. “That all of it was only luck?”

Crawling along in traffic, Drew blinked, trying to refocus on what Tess was saying. “About the book?” she asked. “Yes. A lot of the time, I do.”

“No,” Tess said. “I don’t believe that. You’re talented and worked hard.” She shook her head. “Trust me, I know from my own career that things might happen by fate, but not blind luck. Everything happens for a reason.”

Suddenly the orange gas light glowed on the car’s dash. “Like us needing gas, you mean?” Drew said, pointing at the indicator. “You’re saying the bad timing is for a reason.”

Tess leaned over to check what Drew said. She frowned. “I agree. That seems random and not good news,” she said. “But you’d be surprised.”

Unable to help herself, Drew rolled her eyes. “Yep,” she said, checking the GPS map on the dash for gas station indicators. “I’ll be surprised.” With a few taps, their path rerouted to take the next exit off the freeway. “At least we aren’t going too far out of the way.”

Coming down the boardwalk,Bev shuffled her feet as fast as she could while Floyd pulled her along by the leash. If Ashley didn’t know better, she would think the dog knew what was happening.And Floyd wants to get the hell out of here, she thought, trying to ignore the fear rolling in her stomach. “A little faster, Bev,” Ashley coaxed as they neared where Bryce had backed her truck up onto the curb. Kim and Lou already waited in the truck’s bed. Ashley tried not to think about what the ocean might be doing behind her. So far there hadn’t been another wave that even reached close to the boardwalk, but she would feel better if she could get Bev and Floyd in the truck. Even if they didn’t leave to go further inland immediately, at least they would be ready. Watching her, most of the other shopkeepers along the boardwalk thought she was overreacting.

When she tried to explain the risk, they waved her off. “My store is a mess,” a few of her neighbors said. “I need to clean everything up. I can’t just leave it.” Their arguments were so convincing, Ashley considered telling Bryce to wait a while. After all, her front door was demolished, and if she left now, there would be no way to secure the coffee shop. Anyone could walk in and take whatever they wanted.

Even Kim acted surprised when Ashley approached her. “You’re leaving?” she asked, the gash above her eye seeping blood again. “Don’t you want to wait for help to get here?” Ashley had bit her lip. The decision was hard to make, but for some reason, her instinct was to trust in Bryce’s judgment.If she says go… Ashley thought.For some reason, I believe in her.

Ashley squatted beside Kim. “Come with us,” she said. “We can take you to a hospital.” She looked at Lou sitting there too. “And you too. Bryce is in the truck. Let’s please go.”

Lou groaned. “Seriously? I feel like I was hit by a bus,” he said. “Why can’t I wait until the paramedics come with some drugs and an ambulance?”

“Because that will probably take hours. And Bryce thinks staying might be dangerous,” Ashley said. “And I believe her.”

“Dangerous how?” Lou had asked, and Ashley pointed to the turbulent ocean.

“She’s worried about that,” she answered, watching Lou and Kim study the pattern of waves and decide for themselves. In the end, Ashley convinced them and Bev to come along, but at the rate the homeless woman moved, that last part might have been a mistake. “Nobody else wants a ride?” Bryce said, jogging up beside her. “You told them about what might happen?”

Ashley nodded. “I even used the word tsunami,” she said. “But look at the waves. They are almost back to normal.” Watching Bryce’s face as she looked at the ocean, Ashley hoped the calmer water would be enough to change the woman’s mind, and they could stay.

Her dark eyes scanned up and down the shoreline before she shook her head. “I still don’t like it.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “Damnit. Why are people so stubborn?” After another moment of staring at the ocean, Bryce scooped up Bev and started carrying her to the truck. “Can you grab Floyd’s leash? I don’t want to wait any longer.”

Something in the way the woman said the words resolved all doubt Ashley had about leaving. Waves or no waves, Bryce wanted them to go. Grabbing the twisted rope that served as Floyd’s lead, she followed.At least I have plenty of insurance for the coffee shop, she thought.If thieves come and loot the place, I should be okay. Although I could have at least emptied the till.

Suddenly, Floyd yanked on his leash so hard the rope nearly burned her hand as it slipped through. It was all she could do to keep hanging on at all. “Floyd,” she said, trotting to keep up. “Slow down.”

As they reached the pickup truck, Bryce was helping Bev into the back to join the others. “Everybody ready to go?” Bryce asked as the woman settled beside Kim with her back against the truck’s cab.

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