Page 35 of Out to Get Her
Erin eyed Samantha cautiously. “Am I in some kind of trouble? I already gave my statement.”
“No,” Samantha said quickly. “Well, a little, but not legal.”
Erin’s face scrunched in an adorable way that made the tip of her nose lift slightly. “What kind of trouble, then?”
Samantha pointed to the front of Erin’s car, where the driver’s side tire was completely flattened beside the curb.
“Probably hit a nail on the way in. They replaced the roof on one of these buildings not long ago. I can get Frank to come patch that right here for you. His shop’s not far around the corner.” Samantha checked the time on the big bank clock down the road. “But it might be a bit. Can I give you a ride? He can drive the car back to your place when it’s done.”
Erin frowned deeply at the tire. She sighed and pulled out her phone. “Thanks, but I think I can get a ride.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Erin pointed at the bag in Samantha’s hand and pushed out a tiny half-smile. “You should eat.”
Erin typed out a quick text, while Samantha waited to make sure she had a ride home. She was definitely the type to brush off help and insist she could take care of herself. Samantha didn’t doubt that she probably could, but Addie’s little confrontation was just the tip of what this town had to offer.
While Erin waited for a reply, Samantha made a call to the repair shop. “Hey, Frank. I’ve got a car with a flat here out in front of the station. Do you think you could come by and plug it this afternoon?”
She listened while Frank ran through his tasks for the afternoon out loud, his brain processing at peak Frank Speed today. Then he came to the conclusion that he could take a look in a couple hours.
“Great. Thanks, Frank.” She ended the call and returned her attention to Erin. “He’ll fix it up in a little while. If you want to leave the keys with me, I can keep them at the station and make sure someone gets the car back to you this evening. I can have him call you when it’s done, so you know when to expect it.”
“That would be great, thanks.” Erin’s phone dinged, and she frowned at it.
“Problem with that ride home?”
“Yeah,” she raised her eyes and shook her head. “I mean, no, not really. Zach’s just tied up at work for a bit. Something about a Maltese and diarrhea I do not need the details on. He’ll swing by for me in a little while though.”
“Are you sure I can’t drive you?” Something deep in Samantha screamed out for the answer to change, despite knowing that crushing on Erin was a very bad idea for so many reasons.
“You’ve helped already today with Addie.” She looked down the short strip of Main Street behind them. “I can kill some time around here. I’ll go poke the people at the bank, see if my transfer paperwork is ready to sign and finalize.”
“You know where to find me if Zach can’t make it.” Samantha held out her hand. “Want me to take the key for Frank?”
Erin twisted the car key off the main ring and handed it to Samantha. Their fingers grazed each other in the exchange, and the sensation sent tingles all the way up Samantha’s forearm.
Was she really so starved for touch that a mere key exchange got her all tingly?
Or was it this particular person’s touch that set her off?
“Thanks,” said Erin, snapping Samantha’s attention back to the woman’s face and away from the soft skin of her fingers.
Those fingers that Samantha wanted to lace with her own and squeeze and hold tight and…
“No problem.” Samantha held up the key and smiled, taking a step backward and landing right smack against the parking meter. She winced and tried to recover gracefully. Grace had never been her strong suit. “I’ll have Frank call you when it’s ready. Or I’ll do it. Uh, call you. When it’s ready. The car, I mean.”
Smooth, Sam. Real smooth.
Erin smiled and returned the rest of her keys to her bag. Then she tucked one side of that delicious turquoise hair behind her ear and headed in the opposite direction toward the bank.
Samantha watched as she walked away. Not creepily. Although… maybe. She was failing at everything else today. Including standing, walking, andexisting. Which was why she stood still and waited for Erin to cross the road before she turned to enter the station. She could only handle one mortifying stumble into a parking meter per encounter.
With Erin safely across the street and near the bank, Samantha headed into the police station to eat her sandwich, update Dustin on the morning’s interviews, andnotthink about Erin Sonnier and her soft hands the rest of the day.
ChapterTwelve
“McFlyyyyyyyy!”
