Page 12 of Guarded Secrets
Why was it that she wore every emotion on her face? She cleared her throat and soldiered on. “When I had a flat tire last night, Owen was kind enough to help me as a favor to my mom.” She could feel his gaze boring into her but kept her attention determinedly on everyone else. “I’m baking him a thank-you pie.”
“Bro, you sharing?” Shane asked. “I can go for thank-you pie.”
“Hell no. Keep your hands off my pie.” The words may have been growled, but Keeley saw the humor in his eyes.
“Not that I don’t appreciate four handsome men in the kitchen, but what brought you all here?” Emery tipped up her head back to look at her husband.
“Owen’s borrowing my flatbed trailer to get Keeley’s car,” Shane answered.
“And since Shane needs his truck today, Owen and I will take my pickup,” Walker added. “It has a V8 and can tow the flatbed.”
Keeley turned to Owen. “I texted you my auto club membership number so you could call a tow truck.” Willa squirmed so she passed her off to Cam.
“That’s the other reason we’re here. I called Triple A and drove down to meet the driver. He couldn’t tow it because all four tires are flat.”
“All four tires aren’t flat.”
“They are.” Owen’s expression hardened. “Your car’s been vandalized, princess. Looks like someone gouged the tires with a screwdriver. Several times.”
Keeley sucked in a sharp breath. “Gouged my tires? Why would anyone do that?”
“Don’t know. Pisses me off.”
“I’m on duty,” Sawyer said. “I’ll follow Owen to the car and do a report.”
Now she needed to deal with not one, but four flat tires. The thought that someone had maliciously punctured her tires was unsettling. “If you can wait until the pie is out of the oven, I’ll go with you.”
“You don’t need to go.”
She speared Owen with her teacher look that every one of her students knew meant they were on thin ice. “It’s not on you to deal with my car problems.”
Owen rubbed a hand over his stubble. “No disrespect, princess, but have you ever loaded a vehicle with four flat tires onto a flatbed?”
“No. But possessing a Y chromosome doesn’t mean you know how to do that either.”
“It’s got nothing to do with being male and everything to do with skill sets. I couldn’t teach a kid with a learning disability strategies for reading. That’s your skill set so that’s what you do. Since I’ve loaded M1 Abrams tanks stalled with sand ingestion onto flatbeds, that’s what I can do. I’ll deal with your Honda.”
She processed his comment and decided he wasn’t exactly praising her, more like stating a fact. She sighed glumly, elation at her friends’ baby news supplanted by the disturbing thought someone had purposefully damaged her tires. “Point taken.”
She turned to the others who seemed to be watching the back and forth between her and Owen like a tennis match. “I’m sorry for taking up your Saturday. I appreciate you all. I need to bake more thank-you pies.”
Sawyer tugged on her ponytail as he moved to the door. “No pies necessary, Keels. You’re one of us. This is what we do for our people.”
CHAPTER FIVE
A biting wind howled up the mountain as Owen knelt with Sawyer to examine the damaged tire. He pulled his beanie low over his forehead. Spring weather needed to hurry the hell up.
Walker had situated his truck and the trailer in front of Keeley’s CRV and was busy readying the chains they’d need to pull it onto the flatbed.
Owen pointed to the metallic head of a screw lodged in the tread of the front passenger tire, the one that had initially gone flat.
“That’s what put Keeley on the side of the road last night.” He tapped his finger next to puncture marks in the sidewall and pushed back on the anger that made him want to punch something. “This was done after we left. Three gouges here, two here.” He bit out the words. “That’s five, and the other tires have more than that. Ten alone on the rear passenger tire. This is more than petty vandalism.” It fucking infuriated him.
“Agreed.” The men rose to their feet. Owen stepped back, shoving his hands in the pockets of his heavy coat to keep them from freezing while Sawyer circled the car taking photos.
“Effort like this indicates someone was pissed. Interesting that they focused on the tires and didn’t key the paint or bust windows,” Sawyer stated. “Question is whether this was an impulsive crime, someone driving by who took the opportunity to be an asshole, or if Keeley was specifically targeted.”
The thought of Keeley being targeted was exactly what had Owen’s temper boiling. Her car being vandalized? Truly fucked, but a price of living in the modern world.
