Page 3 of Promised Adventure
The fifteen-minute drive was pretty peaceful considering it was the dead of the night, and there wasn’t a single car on these country roads. Which was why I was surprised to see the van parked on the side of the road right before the turn onto my property.
I slowly pulled to a stop behind the van in case whoever drove the car needed help. Help thy neighbors and all that jazz, thoughI’d never seen this van before, so it probably wasn’t someone from town.
Nevertheless, I still went to check out the vehicle in case someone needed help…and also to make sure it wasn’t some creeper who had bad intentions right by my property.
I used my phone to light the way, but all the windows were covered with something that blocked me from looking in. That was even more curious. Did someone abandon this van here? But what for?
“Hello? Is anyone in there?” I called out and knocked on the door just in case.
The sound of something crashing was heard, which meant someone was definitely inside, and I’d clearly startled them.
Silence followed, and when I didn’t hear anything after a minute, I called out again. “Are you okay in there? Do you need help?”
When no reply came, a tinge of fear that a bad guy could be inside and my calling out to them might have ruined whatever nefarious plans they were brewing. It was late, and this random van was parked in the middle of nowhere. It was a horror movie waiting to happen.
The sound of the door opening had me putting up my guard. I was a pretty big guy, and I could probably take on whoever was inside…probably.
I raised my arms in preparation for whoever might pop out, mostly because this was what I saw people in fighting movies do. I might have been strong from working construction all these years, though fighting was never my thing, but it was better to do something with my arms than nothing.
It felt like it took forever for the door to open, and I really didn’t know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t a face dotted with freckles and wide blue eyes on the tiny man who was currently glancing up at me with a wary expression.
He flinched, and I realized I was shining my phone light directly into his eyes. “Sorry,” I said and dropped both my arms. The light flashed toward the floor, and I heard the stranger let out air through his mouth.
“Are you okay? I was on my way home and saw your van here. Did it break down?” I asked and shone the light into the van in case someone else was hiding in there or something. The man didn’t look like he wanted to do harm, but one could never be too careful.
The inside of the van looked like it’d been converted into a portable living space with a twin-size bed tucked in the back and a small kitchenette where the other door should be. That made me wonder if this guy was living out of the van.
I frowned. He barely looked old enough to be out of school, much less living by himself on the road.
The small man nodded. “I’m okay. Marge, not so much,” he said with a sad sigh.
“Marge?” I flashed the light inside the vehicle again. I hadn’t seen anyone else in there earlier, but maybe they were injured and tucked away behind something.
“Marge,” he replied as he lovingly patted the side of the van. “She’s a reliable lady, but her engine seemed to have given up halfway through our trip. She might be throwing a fit ’cause I wasn’t able to squeeze in a spa day for her before this trip.”
My brows furrowed deeper. A spa day for a vehicle? What the hell was this guy talking about? What I could conclude was that he was having van issues.
“Is there anyone I can call to come get you? Your parents, maybe?” I asked.
Why he hadn’t called them himself in the first place, who knew, but I should at least offer. I hope I wasn’t dealing with some runaway kid…
He shook his head, and I wondered if I’d imagined the slight slump of his shoulders.
“It’s just me, but if you could help me call a tow truck or something, that would be awfully kind of you. My phone died, and I have no way of charging it.”
Well, that explained why he was sleeping on the side of the road instead of calling for help. It also made me wonder what he meant that it was just him. That he came on this trip alone, or if he’d meant it literally…
I might have an empty house, but I couldn’t imagine not living close to my loud, but loving family. I didn’t know this guy’s situation, but a tinge of sympathy washed over me.
“If you want, I have everything I need to tow your van in the back of my truck. Where do you want the van towed to?”
The stranger bit his bottom lip, and the action caught my attention. It was the first time I noticed how plump his lips were, and with him nibbling on it, the color came back to them, turning them into an alluring red.
In fact, the man himself was alluring. He was about a head shorter than me, with big, sparkly eyes and an innocent vibethat had my protective instincts rising. And I blamed that damn innocent expression and his lack of a plan for the next words that came out of my mouth despite knowing the very real stranger danger and all that.
“If you want, my cabin and property are just down the road,” I said, pointing to the barely visible mailbox on this side of the road a couple of feet down.
The stranger looked surprised, probably at the fact that his van had broken down right in front of someone’s house. The lone box, as well as the pathway onto my property, were hard to notice if you didn’t know someone was living there, and that was just how I liked it.
