Page 1 of Chasing Savannah
Chapter 1
Cursing never helped.
Never.
And yet, some filthy words escaped Savannah Landry’s mouth as the tire iron she was using slipped and scraped across her knuckles for the fourth time. She very much wanted to toss the blasted thing across the street, but, her son would be getting out of school in a little over an hour and she needed to change the flat tire on the front of her ancient sedan.
She could afford to get a new car, but she loved Patrice, her nickname for the battered sedan. It would take more than a flat tire, some alarming sounds, and a few stains on the car seats to get her to change it. Besides, as a mother of an eight-year-old, stains and dirt were bound to happen. Patrice had a few more good years in her.
“Fuggin, stupid piece of crap,” she hissed, as she strained to turn the lug nut on her flat tire.
She dropped the tire iron, wincing as it hit her driveway with an angry twang. She took a few seconds to rest her arm. The sound of a heavy truck got louder, and curiosity had her peeking over her shoulder. A big U-Haul rounded the corner, pulling into the yard of the house next door.
New neighbors?
She lifted the iron and turned back to the tire, unwilling to be caught staring. The doors opened and closed with a loud slam and curiosity got the better of her. She turned her head for a quick peek. A tall woman jumped from the cab of the truck, her long curly hair hanging down her back in a ponytail. She was a curvaceous woman. Her rounded face was beautiful, with thick brows arched over large eyes and full lips.
Savannah took a look at her own reflection in the car door. The image, though obscured by dust, gave her a clear picture of a frazzled woman. She blew out a breath at her makeup-less face. Her mahogany skin was clear and smooth, thank God. Her large dark eyes were her favorite feature, the long thick lashes courtesy of her father. She ran a finger down her rounded nose, and pursed her full lips. She considered herself pretty on most days, so she shrugged off her temporary doubt in her appearance and went back to the tire.
“Christ all mighty!” She ground out as she bore down on the tire iron trying to make the lug nut budge.
Someone chuckled over her shoulder. She turned and sucked in a breath at the wide chest at her eye level. A black t-shirt, hugging the muscles across his chest and arms, hung loose over a pair of jeans covering his squatting legs. Thick legs, long legs.
Good lord the man’s body was incredible.
He cleared his throat and she finally made her way up to his eyes. Dark, nearly black eyes watched her with an interested hooded gaze. He tilted his head and a hint of gold glinted in his eyes before disappearing. She almost dropped the iron in shock as her nerve endings came alive.
Mine.
It was her only thought as her eyes perused every inch of his face. His brown skin was clear, only marred by a dusting of his incoming beard. He smiled and her eyes widened as perfect teeth peeked between his thick lips.
Shock had her mute. She’d never been struck by instant attraction to anyone, let alone a stranger. She mentally shook herself.
Jesus H.
“Would you like some help?” His deep voice set off every nerve ending in her body.
“I, yes, yes please. I’m having a hard time loosening the nuts.” Her cheeks burned as she held out the tire iron to him and worked to get her reaction under control.
“I’m Derrick Lincoln, my best friend, Theo is moving in next to you.”
Savannah did a mental fist pump that the beautiful woman was not attached to him in a romantic capacity, but pasted on a polite smile. There was no call in mauling the man on their first meeting. “I’m Savannah.”
His gaze raked her kneeling figure and she was really glad she’d worn a padded tank under her flannel shirt. It was, thankfully, not yet sticking to her despite the heat of the afternoon. Her jean shorts were frayed at the hem, and probably showed a lot more leg than was polite. She slid out of his way to let him get close to the tire. He gave her a little smile and fit the tire iron onto the lug nut. She lost herself watching the way his shoulders flexed as he worked. He’d nearly finished loosening the lug nuts, so she rolled the spare tire closer and sat on it while he finished the last one.
“It’s a good thing you have a full-sized spare,” he commented as he twisted the tire iron.
“Yeah, my ex-husband was adamant about it. Now that we don’t live together, he’s afraid I’d ride on a donut until it literally fell off.”
He laughed and spared her a glance. “Would you?”
She shrugged. “It’s likely I would’ve eventually remembered to buy a new tire.”
“So, you’re not married?”
“That’s what you got from that story? Not that I could possibly be a flaky airhead, but that I’m single?” She joked.
“A flaky airhead wouldn’t know how to change their own tire, for one.” He pulled off the old tire and rolled it to the side.
