Page 15 of A Second Chance

“Not too busy to help a damsel in distress.”

“I’m not a damsel in distress. I’m a woman merely inconvenienced.”

“Well, I’ll help those out too. Now, if you would be so kind as to pop the hood latch for me, ma’am.”

“Don’t call me ma’am. Gwen reached out and pulled the lever.

“Yesma’am,” he replied, a wicked smiled curled across his lips as he raised the hood and disappeared behind it. Great, now he was deliberate in his irritation. “Okay,” he said after several seconds, “turn the key.”

“I am,” she replied, “nothing is happening.”

“Problem’s the battery,” he called.

“That’s impossible. I drove here not that long ago.”

“Even so, there’s no power. I’m gonna try and jump it.” He grabbed a pair of jumper cables from the back of the truck.

“You carry those around?”

“You should make a habit of it,” he called.

With the cables hooked up to her car and his truck, the battery still wouldn’t work.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” she huffed.

“It’s an old battery, and there’s light corrosion on the terminals. With the weather getting cool at night now and putting lots of stress on this old battery, and not that unusual… Hop in the truck and we’ll run over to the auto parts store for a new battery.” He unhooked the jumper cables from her car and lowered the hood.

She didn’t want to be alone with him. “I couldn’t inconvenience you like that.”

“No worries.”

“That’s too much… my sister’s boyfriend can take me. He’s been secretly living in my house and eating my food. He owes me one.”

“I’m right here. It’s a quick trip. And the longer you stall, the longer it’ll take me to get back to Lu and the gallery. Let’s go.” He opened the passenger door of the truck and motioned inside to the seat.

Gwen couldn’t come up with an argument that didn’t make her sound insane. She slammed her car door and marched over to the truck and climbed up into the cab. She calculated the balance of her bank account and hoped the battery didn’t cost too much.

“How is your sister’s boyfriend secretly living in your house?” he asked after pulling out of the parking lot and heading across the square.

Gwen sat in the seat as close to the door as possible and stared out the window; not paying attention to his sleek build and the smooth way he shifted gears. She sighed. “He’s there pretty much every night and the following morning. There are men’s shoes next to the front door… but neither of them have said a word. I don’t know if they’re hoping that I don’t notice…”

“Does it really bother you?”

“It could be worse. He’s a cop, so there’s an added benefit. But it’s just a different dynamic now. It’s been just Avery, Mom, and me together for so long.”

“You want her happy, right?”

“Of course. More than anything.”

Inside the store, Jason told the man behind the counter what he needed. The man gave her the total as relief flooded her system that the cost wouldn’t clean out her account. He disappeared into the storeroom to retrieve the battery. While they waited, two men who’d been in a conversation stopped what they were doing and stared. Gwen waited for them to get on with their business, but they continued staring. Fed up, she turned her attention toward them and they turned busying themselves inspecting an item on the shelf. What on earth?

Jason appeared oblivious as he inspected the battery placed on the counter in front of them and nodded his approval.

“That wasn’t as bad as I feared,” she said as they exited the store.

He opened the truck door for her and she wished he’d stop acting like a gentleman. “Parts aren’t bad. It’s the labor that’s a bitch. But most places will install a car battery for free these days. But you have to get the car there.”

“That’d be the hiccup with mine,” she said.

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