Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
She exhales, and her shoulders drop, apparently relieved I’m not judging her. It’s not like the baby was locked inside the hot car. All four windows are down.
“I don’t have air conditioning, so the windows were already down, or else I would have had to wake her up. I wouldn’t leave my baby in a hot car.” She lifts the slumbering little girl into her arms. “This is Ada,” she whispers. She looks up and smiles softly. “She can’t resist a car ride.”
“Yeah, my nieces and nephews can’t either. I didn’t catch your name?”
“Oh.” She blushes. “My name’s Stella.”
“It’s nice to meet you both. Why don’t you go around to the other side of the road, on the sidewalk, and I’ll take a look.” I don’t know what in the hell I’m looking for. The tire is flat, and if that’s the spare, I’m positive she doesn’t have another in her trunk. It’s not like the spare from my truck will work.
“The keys are in it,” she says before doing as I ask and moving to the sidewalk. “I appreciate you stopping to help. I was starting to panic.”
“Did you call anyone for help?” I ask.
“No.” I glance up and see a look of shame cross her face. “The only person I could call would be my grandparents. They live in Willow River. Grandpa still works, and my grandma, she doesn’t get around so well these days. I didn’t want to bother her. I was getting ready to look for a tow company, but they’re so expensive.” She presses a kiss to her daughter’s head.
I don’t pry into her life, but it’s apparent that she’s hit rough times. I couldn’t imagine not having anyone to call to rely on. I think about my brothers and their wives—my now sisters by marriage—and I would jump to help any one of them at the drop of a hat. My chest constricts when I think about Stella and baby Ada not having that.
Kneeling, I look at the tires, and they’re bald. They’re almost slick; they’re so bald. I stand back up and break the news that I can tell Stella already knows is coming. “It’s going to have to be towed without a spare.”
She nods. Tears well in her eyes as she holds her baby girl close to her chest.
“My brother Declan, he owns an auto repair shop in Willow River. I can call the shop and have one of his guys tow you there, and they can get you taken care of.”
“I—do you know how much?”
“Family discount.” I wink at her. I know once Declan hears her story, he’s going to be fine with writing it off, and if not, I’ll pay the bill. I’m not a millionaire, but I’m not living paycheck to paycheck either. Something tells me that Miss Stella and baby Ada could use a guardian angel in their lives. It’s something small, but I hope it helps.
“I can pay. Maybe I can work out payments or something?”
I wave my hand in the air. “Trust me, it’s taken care of.” Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I call the number for Declan’s after-hours tow service. I give them all the information, giving them my name instead of Stella’s. “All set,” I tell her, sliding my phone back into my pocket.
“Thank you, Maverick.”
“You’re welcome. Why don’t you grab anything you might need out of your car, and we’ll lock it up? I’ll give you a lift.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” she says.
“It’s fine. Besides, we’re going to need the car seat for Ada, and tow trucks aren’t really equipped for that.” Reaching into my back pocket, I pull my wallet out and retrieve my license. Walking toward her, I stop and hand her my license. “Take a picture. You can even keep it until we get where we’re going. Send it to whoever. That way, they know you’re safe.”
“Okay.” She fumbles to get her phone and takes a picture of my license, which I still hold out for her. Her fingers tap the screen before she pushes her phone back into her pocket.
“I’m going to grab her car seat for my truck. Is that okay?” I know I’m a complete stranger to her. I need to proceed with caution.
She hesitates but eventually nods. “Okay.”
As I pull open the back door, the hinges squeak, and I make a mental note to have Declan or one of his guys take care of that as well. I quickly unlatch the car seat and roll up the hand crank window.
“You’re fast at that.”
“Nieces and nephews.” I grin. “I have eight brothers, but I’m the favorite uncle.”
“Eight brothers?” Her eyes widen.
“Yep. I’m a twin, and even though we’re identical, I’m the more handsome.”
She giggles, and my shoulders relax.
“I bet they all say that they’re the favorite.”