Page 4 of Could It Be Magic?
‘Thanks, but I’m sure I’ll work something out.’ Thea injected as much brightness as she could into her tone. ‘See you soon.’ She raised the phone to her temple, tempted to knock herself out with it. What an idiot she was. ‘Shit…’
‘Everything all right?’
Nick Saint’s voice cut into her gloomy thoughts, and she snapped her head back up quickly to see him standing a few feet away from her.
Thea shook her head. ‘Not really.’
‘Anything I can help with?’ His tone was light, and gentle, and his eyes were full of concern.
‘I’ve just made a stupid mistake,’ Thea said, surprised that her voice trembled a bit. ‘I should have filled the car up at the start of the week, but I, er, didn’t. Now it’s completely out.’ She didn’t want to admit to Nick that she’d hit ten quid from the top of her overdraft on Monday and still had two more days until payday, which was why she hadn’t put fuel in the car. The Throw Bag and marshmallows had cost another six pounds, so there was no way she could fill the car until Friday without incurring bank charges.
Nick looked relieved. ‘Well, I can help with that. We’ve got some jerry cans of diesel in the tractor shed. Should be enough to get you started and home, at least.’
‘Won’t that be red diesel?’ Thea asked. ‘I’m not sure I fancy a fine on top of everything else!’ Red diesel was strictly controlled and for agricultural use only, and should you be found to be using it in other vehicles, fines and even vehicle confiscations were possible.
‘Most of them are cans of red, but we keep a couple of smaller ones for emergencies, too. Hang on, I’ll pop down and see what I can find.’
Thea’s sense of relief that Nick had so casually come to her rescue must have shown on her face as Nick added, ‘It’s no trouble, really. I’ll be back in a sec.’
‘Thank you so much,’ Thea replied before Nick turned in the direction of the outbuildings behind the farm shop. She felt weak with relief. The easy way that Nick had apprised her situation, and immediately found a solution, felt as if a massive weight had lifted from her shoulders. She was so used to solving problems on her own, it felt nice to have someone else stepping in and sorting this one for her. No fuss, no drama, just a guy with a fuel can and a nice smile. She had to admit, Nick did have a nice smile. Especially when he was coming to her rescue.
‘Are we going home now, Mum?’ Dylan’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
‘In a sec, darling,’ Thea replied. ‘Nick’s just gone to get us some fuel for the car.’
In a jiffy, Nick was back with a diesel can. ‘Happens to the best of us,’ he said as he waited for Thea to unlock her fuel cap. ‘I once ran out of juice two miles from a college party and fifteen miles from home. Dad was not best pleased when I called him at two in the morning begging for a lift!’
Thea grinned. She could well imagine the gruff Robert Saint giving his son short shrift at being pulled out of bed. The reassuring glug of the diesel helped to still her racing heart, and as Nick put the fuel cap back on and turned back to her, she thanked him again.
‘It’s no bother,’ he replied. ‘I wouldn’t leave you stranded, Thea.’
Thea’s face grew warmer at the gentle friendliness of his tone. She’d always thought Nick was a sweetheart, but over the years, with one hazy, it-may-not-have-even-happened moment as the exception, she’d placed him firmly in the friend zone. It would have been too weird, when they were teenagers, to think of him as anything else. Now though, he’d definitely been her saviour.
‘Well, it’s still very kind of you.’ She fiddled with the bracelet on her right wrist for a moment. ‘How much do I owe you?’
‘Oh, don’t worry about that,’ Nick replied with a smile. ‘Call it a favour for a friend.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure.’ Nick paused. ‘Next time you’re in the pub, you can, er, buy me a drink if you want.’
‘It’s a deal.’ Thea smiled at him. ‘Well, I’d better get off. Dylan’s already eaten his share of the marshmallows and if I don’t confiscate them, he’ll have had Cora’s half as well.’
‘See you soon,’ Nick said as he picked up the diesel can. ‘Take care, Thea.’
‘You too.’
Thea turned the ignition key and, thankfully, the Volvo started. She glanced in Nick’s direction before she pulled out of the parking spot and couldn’t help lingering. His long-legged lope across the car park with the jerry can seemed so assured, and yet she knew how shy he could be, as well. She’d often heard Tristan teasing Nick about his terrible conversation skills with the opposite sex. And yet the Nick who’d quickly and efficiently solved her mini fuel crisis had been confident and sure of himself. On his home turf, he seemed so much more at ease. As a teenager he might have been shy, but he definitely wasn’t now.
Shaking her head, she began the short drive home. Dylan, as was his habit, was keeping up a constant flow of chat as they travelled. The marshmallows had added fuel to this natural tendency and Thea half listened, saying yes and no in the appropriate places and also trying to put her mind to the rest of the evening.
‘So, do you think Father Christmas will bring me Sword Fighter 3 for Christmas, Mum? Mum!’
‘Sorry, darling, what was that?’ Realising she needed to give a better response, Thea glanced into the hopeful eyes of her young son.
‘Sword Fighter 3 for my Switch? Do you think Father Christmas might bring it?’
Thea’s heart sank again. She had been pleased, initially, when her grandmother had bought Dylan the Nintendo Switch for his birthday earlier in the year, but now he expected to increase his collection of games for it fairly regularly, and Christmas seemed, to him, the perfect chance to add to it.
