Chapter Eight
Rise and shine was a cruel concept on the best of days, and waking up to remnants of a nightmare didn’t improve matters.
I’d dreamt of Derek, and Jeremy, and a hospital visit where the two merged. Closing my eyes even tighter, I recalled how in the dream Jeremy had said he was my boyfriend to Derek, and the weirdest part was that I hadn’t denied it. Why had I not corrected him?
Pain shot through my elbow as I rolled onto my left side, yelping loud enough to startle myself.
It hadn’t been a dream.
It had all happened. The fall, the ER trip, and the encounter between the guys.
Blinking rapidly and shaking my head, I surveyed the room.
Jeremy’s makeshift bed was empty—blanket and pillow tossed carelessly onto the other chair. The muted glow from the bathroom had vanished, leaving the room lit by a pale, mid-morning light.
As I got up, I checked the lock. He’d locked the door—for safety—but that almost meant that whenever he’d left, he’d be unable to get back in. I pulled back the curtains to check, half expecting to see him, but no one was there. In fact, the parking lot was quite empty.
And the sun shone over the trees, rather than through them like an early morning sun would do.
Dang it! I was late for work.
Spinning around, I spotted a note on the bedside table.
Take a pill. Beside it was a glass of water.
Being the good girl I was, I downed two pills with half the liquid.
Dressing one-handed was a comedy of errors. I settled on simple pants and the least wrinkled shirt that I could manage without buttons—concert tees were out, even if they weren’t my first choice for work.
Doing my hair was a feat of epic proportions. I couldn’t attempt a ponytail, or use a claw clip, or even a braid. It took me twice as long to get ready than normal, and I looked as though I’d put in half the effort. It was embarrassing.
After glancing at the time, I was way late. Dang it.
As much as I wanted to leave a note for Jeremy, I didn’t have the time. Plus, I had no idea where to put it. On my door so people knew I wasn’t there? That wasn’t smart. Leave it in the office? What if it was closed or something? Once I got on my break, I’d make a call to let Jeremy know … until then, I needed to motor. And fast.
By the time I reached the car, my elbow throbbed, and my head felt like someone was using it as a drum. “Focus,” I whispered, forcing my eyes to clear.
Driving one-handed was an awkward dance: reverse, grab the wheel, shift, release, repeat. Each gear change sent my car veering toward the center line, and I wrestled it back with gritted teeth.
As I was turned toward Jasper on the highway, my car veered to the centre line with each shift, and I had to yank it back into place. Thankfully, it was a short secondary highway, but still.
Flashing lights lit up behind me.
“Oh, come on,” I muttered as I stared into my rearview mirror. Another black mark for tardiness, and now a ticket to crown my disastrous weekend.
The RCMP pulled up behind me after I’d managed to pull over with some effort. I can’t even imagine what the cop was thinking.
He stomped over to my partially rolled down window. “Morning, Miss.”
“Was I speeding?” I was the variety of driver who always maintained the posted speed, not a hair over because the one time I had gone over, I got a massive ticket. Taking a quick glance over the passenger seat for my wallet, my heart plunged into the depths of my rapidly souring stomach. My purse was sitting on my dresser. Inside my purse was my wallet. And inside that was my license.
“No, but your driving is erratic, borderline dangerous.” He took an assessing and roving glance over me and the interior of my car. Nothing was out of place. “Have you been drinking?”
“No, Sir.” I tried to keep the panic out of my voice. Please don’t ask for my license and registration.
Both thick brows went high enough to hide under his hat. “So it’s all your arm and the stick shift?”
I sighed and felt the rise of relief tears building that he understood. “Yes. Last night I damaged it.” He didn’t need to know the full details. “And well… driving a stick with only one working arm isn’t ideal.” My voice caught unexpectedly in my throat. “My deepest apologies, sir. I had planned on walking to work but it took longer than I expected to get ready and then I was running late. And I’m going to lose my job because I’m late far too many times for it to be nothing short of habitual.” Embarrassment-soaked tears blurred my vision.
“You know, I could write you a ticket for careless or dangerous driving.”
Nodding, I suspected that’s what was going to happen. Not that I blamed him.
His boots scuffed the same pebbles beneath his feet. “Where do you work, Miss?”
“Coffee Loft. It’s not far. Just across the highway and two right turns until I park on the street.” Oh, doodles. How was I going to parallel park?
A small grin stretched out his lips. “I’ll follow you there.”
My eyes widened. “Oh, no, that’s okay. You don’t need to do that.”
“Would you prefer a ticket?”
I shook my head as I lowered it to stare at his badge.
“Alright, I’ll follow you.” He touched the brim of his hat. “I’m due to visit Elliot’s shop. Seems like today is a perfect excuse to do so.”
I lowered my head further. It was one thing to be late, and entirely another to be escorted by the RCMP. No matter what, I was walking tomorrow. This was just too much.
“Maybe for the next few weeks, it would be best for you to find alternative transportation to work. Although it’s not illegal to drive with your arm in a sling, it is highly hazardous.”
“Yes, Sir.” I was in full agreement with him.
“When you’re ready, take off. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Thank you, Sir.” I needed to gather my wits as most had died when the lights lit up behind me. After a few deep breaths, I put the car into gear and tried being the textbook-perfect driver.
I failed, but at least with the RCMP behind me, I was given a wide berth.
It was sheer good fortune that I was able to drive right into a spot down the street from the Coffee Loft and not have to attempt a parallel park, which even on my good days was a feat of epic proportions. My driver’s ed teacher would be so disappointed, or maybe not, since I hadn’t mastered the perfect park but was just good enough to pass my driver’s test.
I exited my car—vowing to walk home when my shift was done—and lumbered down the street, past Pages & Dreams and the consignment store, stopping in front of the door of Coffee Loft where the officer stood, having just turned off the bad driver beacon.
“Thank you, Officer, for following me.” I swallowed, wondering how much longer he was going to hang around.
“Safety first.” He pulled open the door and held it for me. “After you, Miss.”
I wished the ground would open and swallow me whole. On trembling legs, I entered the coffee shop as dozens of eyes stared and gaped. Covered whispers circulated. Head down, I wiggled my way over to where the aprons hung and grabbed a Coffee Loft embroidered one.
Elliot stood there, jaw slack.
“I can explain.” I thrust my head through the top loop of the apron and let the rest dangle. How on earth was I going to tie this around my waist? Hand flailing behind my back, I grabbed the ties and twirled them with my finger, stuffing them uncomfortably into the waistband of my pants. “That works.”
“I’ve got you, Boo.” Sage flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and jumped off the wingback chair. She quickly fixed the issue, tying the apron just tight enough. “Do you want me to do your hair?”
I’d barely run a brush through it, but it did need to be properly secured. I had planned on hunting around for a hair net or something. “Sure, thanks, but I don’t have a clip or anything.”
Elliot stepped away to assist Annie with a customer who didn’t think it was necessary to stand and stare at me like the others. Maybe Mr. Officer needed to step away too and order a drink. Or was he just waiting to arrest me or something because things couldn’t get much worse?
Sage returned from the office stretching an elastic between her fingers. “I know these are the worst for your hair, but I’ll secure it as close to the bottom as I can.”
“Thanks, Sage. I appreciate that.” I turned my back to her. My brother never once did my hair, nor did my mother, so it was a special treat to have someone style it into a loose braid. I just wished it wasn’t while I was standing in a coffee shop, fake smiling at the customers.
“All done.” She patted me on my shoulder,
With my apron in place and hair neatly braided, I turned to Elliot, whose critical gaze was boring into me.
“I know I’m late,” I blurted, words tumbling out. “I tripped, hit my head, and wrecked my elbow. But I’m here, I’ll stay late, and I’ll make up for it. I swear.” My embarrassment was reaching peak levels and my thoughts were spinning erratically.
The door opened, and Jeremy practically fell in, an exasperated expression on his face until he locked eyes with me. His gaze softened and his shoulders sagged as if relieved but worry still creased his brow. “Here you are.”
“Yeah.”
A sharp inhale preceded his words. “I left for a few minutes to deal with some issues, and when I came back, there was no answer.” He gazed around, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. “And your car was gone too.”
“I needed to work.” As much as I didn’t want to tear my focus away from the sweet expression on Jeremy’s face, there were still at least a dozen eyes focused on me. Tingles were racing up and down my body as I hated being the centre of attention, and the circle was closing in on me.
My boss looked over to the RCMP officer before looking back at me. “And him? How does the police escort figure into this?”
My eyes darted from Elliot to the officer, then to Jeremy, searching for some reassurance.
“I was driving erratically,” I mumbled. “He pulled me over then made sure I got here safely.”
The room seemed to tilt as my headache surged, the edges of my vision graying.
Everyone was staring. No one moved.
My stomach twisted violently. My knees buckled.
And then, as if on cue, Derek walked through the door.
The last thing I heard was someone shouting my name as the world dissolved into black.