Chapter 3 #2
As she sat in the cold, sterile examination room, she reflected on the absurdity of the moment.
At the direction of the detective, she gave a statement that was recorded for evidence.
Following her statement, the detectives informed her Jared was under investigation, but refused to answer her when she pressed for more details.
After what seemed like hours, the detectives wrapped up their questioning and told her they’d stay in touch if there were any fresh developments.
Until then, she could not get her belongings from the office until the investigation was complete.
In those awful moments, she was trapped like some damsel in distress stuck inside a horror movie or a living nightmare.
She fought back more tears as the setting sun cast a kaleidoscope of colors in her rearview mirror.
Streams of pink, purple, and orange stretched across the horizon.
It would be a magnificent sight if she weren’t so distraught.
She reached over the glove compartment for more napkins and blew her nose.
A loud knock at her window made her jump.
Her heart leapt in her chest at the man looking down at her. A very large, but handsome man. Her nerves calmed slightly when she caught sight of his name patch, Griffin, embroidered on his thick coat.
At his gesture, she rolled her car window down. Shelly did not have automatic windows, and she squawked noisily at being mishandled. Quynh pressed her lips together as she continued to roll the window down.
“You called for help?”
“Yes, my car broke down. I can’t get it to start up again.” She winced at how hoarse her voice sounded from crying.
Griffin grunted as if annoyed with the situation.
Me too, buddy.
She watched as Griffin walked to the front of her car. The look of disappointment as he stared down at Shelly made her want to cringe. Hands on his hips, he brought his assessing gaze up to meet hers through the dirty window.
“You’re going to need to tow it back to the shop.”
Her brow furrowed in confusion. She got out of Shelly and slowly approached Griffin.
Isn’t that why he was here ?
“I didn’t think Shelly would make it into town, so I called for a tow truck,” she stated slowly.
“No, you called an auto body shop. I don’t tow. That’s Ricky’s gig. And who the fuck is Shelly?”
Her mouth parted in surprise.
“But the message on Ricky’s voicemail said to call Griffin’s Auto Body in case of emergencies. Well, I would consider this an emergency.” She gestured toward her broken-down car. “And Shelly is my car.” At that moment, Shelly let out a puff of black smoke as if she were saying hello.
He whipped his head to glare at her. She was unprepared for the intensity of his ire and flinched backwards. His facial expression softened slightly as he placed his hands on his hips. Quynh watched in fascination as he threw his head back with a groan.
He’s so tall.
It was hard to judge, but she guessed he was probably at least 6’4”.
“That fucking bastard.” Griffin covered his mouth with a giant hand. She watched the muscles of his biceps flex as he rubbed his hand across his five o’clock shadow.
Quynh crossed her arms as she tried to make sense of what was happening.
“Umm…can you tell me what’s happening here?”
At her words, he turned to face her, so they stood toe to toe .
“Yeah, Ricky’s a dumb bastard trying to get me back for something.”
“So…he…pranked you?”
She tried not to shrink as he looked her up and down. When their eyes met again, his anger dissipated. In the retreating light of the sun, she saw flecks of green in his eyes.
“Listen, I don’t have a tow truck. That’s Ricky’s job. He tows it, and I fix it. I’ll give you a ride into town and come back for your car later.”
She turned to look behind Shelly, finally noticing the big truck parked right behind hers.
“Yeah, ok. Let me just grab my things from the trunk.”
Making her way to the back of her car, she popped the trunk and grabbed the single bag she’d packed. She didn’t plan to stay in town for long. Honestly, Quynh didn’t think much beyond the next couple of days.
She left her suitcase and rounded to the passenger side door.
Leaning in, she grabbed the heavy cat carrier from the back seat.
Pickles was still snoozing inside without a care in the world.
He normally hated car rides, but she’d given him some extra catnip to keep him comfortable for the ride.
She might have given him just a little too much catnip in her rush to get out of her apartment.
He had not made a peep in a couple of hours.
She rounded Shelly and noticed her suitcase was gone. Griffin approached her warily.
“What is that?”
He waved his hand at the cat carrier.
“Oh, this?” She flipped the oversized carrier to show a still snoozing Pickles lying on his side. “This is Pickles, my emotional support cat.”
She could see the skeptical look in his eyes.
He probably thought she was crazy, but she didn’t care.
Pickles was her constant companion for the past decade.
He’d been there for her through nursing school and then later when she went back for her master’s degree.
Not to mention, he helped her through her failed relationships.
“Well, Pickles is not getting in my truck.”
“What?” she sputtered in surprise.
“He is not getting in my truck.”
Her jaw dropped in shock and anger. She would not leave her cat behind, even for just a few minutes. She hugged the carrier to her chest.
“I am not leaving him behind.” She balked at the suggestion.
Quynh glared at him. Making sure he knew how ridiculous his suggestion was. Judging by the muscle clenching in his jaw, he was not happy with the idea, but too fucking bad. She’d wait in the car and call for another tow truck if it came down to it.
She knew the moment he relented as the tension bled from his shoulders. Griffin dropped his hands to his sides and gave her a curt nod before turning back to the truck .
The passenger door was left open for her, and she gently placed Pickles down in the seat before climbing into the truck.
At her height of 4’11”, it was a little difficult, but she made it inside the cab of the truck without falling on her face.
She saw it as a win, considering how her life turned upside down in such a short time period.
She placed Pickles in the middle of the bench and reached for the seatbelt. Only then did she realize she’d left something important behind.
“Oh, shoot. I forgot my purse!”
Griffin let out a frustrated sigh. He stood poised with his door open, but before she said anything else, he stomped back to her car.
She watched him as he opened Shelly’s driver’s side door and grabbed her purse from the passenger seat.
He also grabbed her car keys, which she’d left in the ignition.
She flushed in embarrassment at her oversight.
He even locked her car up for her before stalking back to the truck.
The overhead light illuminated his thunderous expression as he climbed into the truck and handed her purse to her. She accepted it graciously and murmured a soft thanks under her breath. She stayed quiet as he started up the truck and set off down the road leading to Willowbrook.
The silence in the truck was taut with tension.
Neither one of them spoke as the miles passed.
The only sounds in the truck were Pickles’s soft snores.
As far as emotional support animals go, Pickles was not the best at his job at the moment.
If not for the extra catnip, he’d likely be yowling and howling at the injustice.
He hated car rides with a passion. She couldn’t blame him.
The only few times she’d taken him on a car ride were to go to the vet for his annual vaccines.
After the first time she brought Pickles to the vet, she’d been instructed to give him sedatives before his next appointment.
Apparently, he got extra feisty with the vet when they tried to give him his shots.
“I’m Quynh, by the way. Thank you for helping me.” Her voice echoed loudly in the truck. He merely grunted in response.
A minute of silence passed before his gravelly voice broke the quiet. “Where ya headed?”
“Um, I’m not sure. I was going to see if there was a hotel with availability tonight.”
His hands gripped the steering wheel in an unforgiving grip. Knuckles white, he turned to glare at her.
“There are no hotels in Willowbrook,” he said through gritted teeth.
No hotels? There are hotels everywhere.
“Willowbrook Inn is undergoing renovations. The nearest hotel is about twenty-five miles past town.”
“Oh.” Well, that put a damper on her plan. “Can you just drop me off somewhere, and I can get an Uber to the hotel? ”
She swore she saw steam coming out of his ears as he took in a fortifying breath.
“There are no Uber drivers in Willowbrook.”
Despite knowing Willowbrook was a small town, she would have thought it would have the basic amenities by now.
Silence filled the truck bed as she tried to figure out her options.
She didn’t really have much of a plan other than getting here as quickly as she could.
She still needed to visit her father, but she got little information from the single text message Ruth sent her.
So, she’d still have to track Ruth down later and figure out the next step.
Griffin let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his dark curls that were longer on top. The sides of his head was cropped short giving him a dangerous appeal. One she shouldn’t be noticing.
“I can set you up in the extra bedroom above my garage. You’ll have your own space and a bathroom. The kitchen is small, though.”
Taken aback by his kind offer, she was quiet for a moment. When he dared to look at her, she gave him a shy smile and nodded.
“If you don’t mind, that would be great. Thank you. I can pay you for the room.”
“No bother. I’ll send Ricky to get your car in the morning.”
Well, looks like she had a place to stay, after all.