Page 2 of Guarded Secrets
Pushing the back door closed, she checked her phone again. A single bar appeared like a beacon of hope.Yes!She texted a quick note to her mom. “Flat tire. Pulled over on highway to Sisters. Calling AAA now.”
Staying glued to the spot because moving could mean losing the signal, she spent a futile ten minutes trying to get the Auto Club app to work while the lonely service bar appeared and disappeared in the corner of her screen. Maybe calling would be better.
She returned to her seat in the car, the window all the way up to keep out the cold, and sorted through the cards in her wallet. Not finding it there, she looked through the pockets of her purse. Finally finding the card, she dialed the roadside assistance number. The chirpy voice answering barely got through “How can I help you?” before the call dropped.
Tears threatened. She was a wimp with tears, but there was no one to see. Spending the night in her car was beginning to look like a real possibility.
Vehicles zipped past, more going up the mountain than coming down as commuters who lived in the mountains sped home to start their weekends. This time on a Friday night, traffic was light. Should she try flagging someone down, see if they’d give her a ride to Sisters? That would break every commonsense safety rule ever drummed into her head.
Maybe she should hike down the road a bit to see if she could get better cell service. Using the flashlight on her phone and keeping to the edge of the snowy meadow so she didn’t get hit by a careless driver, she started walking, her boots making squelching sounds in the mud. She’d hiked all the way down the straightaway without any improvement in reception. Continuing around the curve in the highway where the only place to walk would be the side of the road seemed too dangerous, so she turned around.
Wet was seeping into her boots around her toes. Apparently her Uggs weren’t waterproof. Shivering, discouraged, and seriously unhappy, she retraced her steps.
She was almost back to her car when a vehicle on the highway braked and slowed, then pulled a U-turn.
There was that moment of worry: what if the driver was a predator and a stranded woman alone was too tempting to pass up?
Even as she had the thought, the vehicle stopped behind her CRV, the driver’s door opening at the same moment she recognized the charcoal gray Bronco. She closed her eyes briefly and breathed deep, relief making her lightheaded. She had absolute faith in girl power, but she desperately needed help, and as much as Owen Hardesty didn’t bother to hide his dislike for her, he was here, and he’d never leave her stranded on the side of the road.
CHAPTER TWO
He rounded the hood of his Bronco, all six feet plus of long, lean gorgeousness. If she had the recipe for the perfect man, Owen Hardesty, a.k.a. Hunky McHunk, would be the result. (Torture on the rack wouldn’t make her divulge her nickname for him.) Physically, for sure, because he was that gorgeously delicious in a rough-hewn sort of way. Personality-wise, he could work on losing the grump. He was perfectly fine with other people, not particularly chatty, but he had friends and people seemed to like him. But with her? He was surly, rude, and had made a bad habit of bossing her around.
Gratitude loosened her tongue. “Owen, oh my god. I’m so glad to see you. Thank you so, so much for stopping.” He’d shown up when she was in desperate need of help. He probably hadn’t realized it was her, but still. She’d hug him if she didn’t think he’d recoil in horror.
His scowl, the habitual frown he wore whenever he had to deal with her, was clearly visible in the wash of the Bronco’s headlights.
He might treat her like she was an Ebola carrier, but that hadn’t stopped her stupid heart from developing the tiniest of crushes on him. For the past several months she’d been trying to squelch that crush, to stomp out the feelings until they died. She didn’t need the blow to her self-confidence by the man she had a thing for actively disliking her.
She’d even posted a profile on a popular dating app and gone on several dates with the idea that finding a romantic partner would help her kill the crush. And, if she was lucky, one of those dates would result in a relationship that would lead somewhere.
Good on him though for pulling over for a person in need on the side of the road.
He strode toward her, taking her hand to pull her in front of the Bronco where the headlights shone brightly.
Dark brows lowered over his sharp eyes as he glared at her, but his gravelly voice lacked its usual bossiness. “You okay, princess?”
“Um, yeah.” His gentleness combined with her skyrocketing pulse was disconcerting. “Except for being stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire, I’m okay. I walked all the way to the curve trying to get cell service. I had one measly bar for about a minute, but it wasn’t enough to call for roadside service.”
“What the hell? You walked along the road in the dark? Are you trying to get yourself run over? Or kidnapped?”
Annndhe was back.
That. Exactly that was why Owen could light a match to her temper like no one else. Sure, the tiny crush was a true thing, but so was the fact he managed to put her back up with apparently no effort at all.
It also didn’t help that he’d never touched her before, and now that he was holding her hand, she was experiencing Owen overload.
She might’ve been able to reestablish her equilibrium except for that one thing.
His calloused hand enveloped hers with a warmth that sent a surge of heat over her skin like a shield against the cold wind blowing ahead of the storm. Very nice indeed, until he suddenly seemed aware they were touching and dropped her hand, shoving his into the slit pockets of his jacket.
Right. Ebola carrier.
If she knew where in her car her hand sanitizer had been stowed, she’d offer him a squirt. He angled his head and she realized his rant had held a question.
He’d asked if she was trying to get herself run over. Of course, she was devoid of intelligence and common sense and couldn’t keep herself safe.
Self-preservation had her tone coming out sharper than she intended. “Listen up, pal.” She stepped back and his scowl deepened. Yet, with all that, she missed his warmth. “First off? I had my phone flashlight on and was walking along the turnout as far from the road as I could precisely because I didn’t want to get run over.
