Page 2 of Ignite

My visions of Nurse Nightingale vanished. My emotions had gone full circle, and I was back to being doubly pissed with the situation and with the woman who’d hit me.

One set of traffic lights in the two-horse country town, and she hit me? What the hell, world? Wasn’t it enough to take everything else from me? Did you really have to put the perfect woman in front of me and then yank her away?

All the pain from the accident hit me at once. Each breath hurt my chest and my shoulder felt as if I’d been tackled by a dozen hefty rugby league forwards. Tears burned at the back of my eyes, and I fought to make them stop. I never cried. No matter what life decided to throw my way, I refused to shed a single bloody tear. I didn’t cry. Not even when it hurt like blazes to breathe.

Sucking in a shallow breath, I dug my fingernails into the seat belt and took a fresh look at the woman. It was easier to focus on her hitting me than all the other shit I had to deal with, including the reasons why I’d ended up in the wrong town at the wrong time.

“Sir, are you okay?” At some point, she’d knelt down next to me, and I felt hit again by her, but this time her lavender scent. I’d always associated lavender with my mother and grandmother, women who I’d have given my life for if I’d had the chance. Irrationally, I immediately resented this woman being associated with my family. “I didn’t hit you hard,” she continued, rambling, “but can I call an ambulance for you? Can you speak? Did you lose consciousness? I’m sorry—I don’t know what questions I should be asking. Are you alright?”

As she rested her fingers against my wrist, seemingly to check for a pulse, I snapped. “Back the hell away from what’s left of my car.”

The woman recoiled as if I’d smacked her with more than just words. “I’m…I’m so sorry,” she stammered, falling back on her heels before standing and brushing the loose gravel from her knees.

“Just, just …” Now it was my turn to stammer. My mama hadn’t raised me to be a dick to women. Actually, she hadn’t raised me to be a dick to anyone off the football field. “Just give me a sec.”

As soon as she gave me space to get out and stumble around my ute to inspect the damage, the stupid tears burned the back of my eyes again. Hell, they were burning a track up my nostrils before diving down and wrapping around my chest.

Had I drowned puppies in a previous life? Had I pulled wings off butterflies? What awful shit had I done in a previous life to deserve this last year?

I ran my hand along the crumpled metal, needing to caress each sharp edge to make it real.

Shit.

Everything I owned was either in the dual cabin or tightly packed on the tray of my small utility truck. Luckily, my ute’s tray—or truck bed--had a hard-shell covering, but if she’d hit me hard enough to trigger the airbag, then—

Even if I had insurance, it wouldn’t count as home and contents insurance. Between couch surfing and sleeping in my car, my life had been in a downward spiral until the Meringa Hawks Rugby League Club offered me a contract as Captain-Coach. And if I hadn’t taken the only offer on the table, my ute would still be in one piece.

Ignoring the woman—who was still offering apologies that sounded sincere and threatening to call an ambulance that I didn’t need and couldn’t afford—I held my ribs in place and hobbled around my ute.

Luckily, the crash hurt her car more than mine.

Yes, I was a big enough asshole to admit the only silver linings in my day were that I’d already finished my first coffee before the woman had a chance to knock it out of my hands; and the front of her Mazda CX-3 was crumpled to write-off status.

“It doesn’t look that bad,” she mused, and I tried to ignore her high pitch and hand wringing as other bystanders stood around ready to help. Of course, she’d be a local, and locals would take care of their own. While I’d be left with a lump of crumpled metal and whatever was left of my possessions. “I mean, my car took the worst of it.”

In normal circumstances, her weak smile would have led to coffee, second breakfast at a café, and breakfast tomorrow in bed. Not that I had time to focus on dating or money to pay for the breakfast. Not since—no. Any show of weakness would only attract questions, and she’d probably decide the ambulance was in order.

“I don’t think you’ve hit the fuel tank.” I tried to find something positive out of the situation. I didn’t have time or money to wallow. I needed to figure out how to get this hunk of metal to my new home, unpack what was left of my belongings, check in with my new team—then figure out how many organs I’d have to sell to afford the repairs. If the fuel tank wasn’t damaged and the structure wasn’t too badly bent, there might be a chance to get my baby back on the road.

“You got lucky.” Her smile almost melted my anger. “The damage only looks superficial. I can recommend a repairer.”

“I got lucky?” I had to quickly count to ten three times before I let out a long breath and delivered four words dripping with sarcastic venom. “Sweetheart. You. Hit. Me.”

Repeating the facts seemed better than pointing out in front of a dozen other women that there was no way a gorgeous woman knew whether the damage was a couple of dents or a couple of grand.

“I know, and I’m sorry. I can arrange for the car to be towed to a repairer and then we can sort out the other stuff.”

Despite my best efforts to maintain my rage, her smile threatened to thaw a tiny hole in myassholeness. “Thanks, but no thanks. Let’s let your insurance handle it.”

“I would, but I’d prefer to organize this privately, rather than through insurance.”

“Protecting your no-claim bonus?” I only half-teased.

She flushed at my accusation. “So, what if I was?” I secretly liked how feisty she was. Any shock from the accident had disappeared and I felt I was seeing the real woman, one who refused to cower. “What difference would it make to you? I recommend a place; you take your piece of crap there and they’ll fix it.”

I hated how much her attitude turned me on. I didn’t have time for this shit and couldn’t understand why my dick had decided on today of all days to come out of hiding. “Seriously, lady! You hit me once with your car, and then with attitude?”

Then it happened. Not to me, but to her. After she’d given me such a heated mouthful, I hadn’t expected tears.

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