Chapter Nine
Karissa
As the week began to draw to a close, I visited Darryl the mechanic to see how he’d done with salvaging parts and figure out what that meant for my cost of repairs.
Fingers crossed, I found his feet sticking out from under an ancient Ford, cursing about as much as I had when the truck broke down on me.
“Darryl?” I called, “It’s K-Katie.” I’d never get used to the false name. Lucky I was almost done using it.
He jerked, and I heard a sickening thud from under the car.
“Are you okay?”
He emerged, legs then torso then head, a goose egg rising on his temple.
“That’s my fault!” I felt terrible. “Can I get you some ice?”
“No. I don’t have any ice here. Just don’t scare a guy like that.” He climbed off the rolling bed he’d been lying on and wiped his hands on a rag. “Except for the concussion, I’m glad you came by. I wanted to update you on the truck.”
Concussion? “Are you sure I can’t get you anything? I can run and get some ice from the diner?”
“No.” He waved a hand, still coated with black grease despite the wiping off. “I’ll live. But I have bad news for you. Your truck is a classic, and that makes used parts hard to come by because anyone who has one has already gone through the scrapyards. I’m afraid I’ll have to order new.”
“I see. I might need a little longer to come up with the money, then.”
“It’s all right. The parts might take longer, too. I just wanted to tell you.”
Thanks.
Even though I was earning money, and the motel was reasonable, I wasn’t earning enough to cover living and saving for the full price of the repairs.
Leaving Darryl to deal with the head injury he swore wasn’t a big deal, I stumbled out onto Main Street and found a bench to sit on.
Running numbers in my head, I tried to come up with a way to make it work.
If I couldn’t, I’d have to ask him to just keep the truck instead.
He seemed to like it and wanted to restore it.
Not that it was mine to give away… I thought he might be able to keep it anyway with some kind of lien, so he should be all right and not lose anything.
What would I do? There was no bus line anywhere nearby that I could use to continue on my way.
My computer time had confirmed that much.
My only option if I couldn’t pay for the truck was to strike out on foot.
My wolf could cover more ground, but that would land me in a strange place naked and with no possessions at all.
I closed my eyes and fought back despair. Was this really the end of the road? Could I hitchhike hundreds of miles?
“Katie?” The warm voice broke into my spiraling thoughts, and the bench creaked as someone sat down next to me. “What’s wrong?”
I opened my eyes to see Poe’s green gaze searching mine. “Are you three everywhere?” Realizing how ungracious that must sound, I grimaced. “I’m sorry. You were being nice, and I was awful.”
“You couldn’t be awful if you tried. And to answer your question, Holt is everywhere, I am some places, and Vaughn generally stays on the property we share.”
“I see.”
“Now answer my question.”
“What was it again?” He was so close to me, and he smelled so good, it was hard to think.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing, everything.” I sniffed back the tears that threatened to pour out at his sweet concern. “I’ll be all right.”
“Of course you will, but why don’t you tell me what has you huddled here and about to cry.
” He picked up my hand and cradled it between his.
I tried to tug it back because it felt too comforting, too kind, and my walls could not stand up against it.
He held firm. “Omega, you’ll feel better if you tell someone instead of letting your troubles fester inside you. ”
“I can’t…I…it’s not your problem. I have to figure it out for myself.”
“Really?” His quizzical gaze held me as captive as his hands. “Why is that?”
And then the tears came. My throat swelled nearly closed as I spilled the amount I could without entirely giving myself away. He was an alpha, so even if he didn’t want to, he’d recognize that I belonged to the pack. He’d have to turn me in.
“It’s the truck. If I keep paying for the motel, I’ll never be able to get enough money together to pay for the repairs. I don’t know what to do.”
“Omega, it’s just money.”
Spoken like someone who had enough of it.
And of course it wasn’t “just money.” That was the only part I could share.
I was still trying to formulate an answer when he said, “If you need a way to save more money, we have a guest room at our house. You could stay there and not have to pay a motel bill.”
“Oh, that’s so kind of you to offer, but I couldn’t possibly take advantage of you.” Also, three alphas, despite how they’d been so far…
“I can promise we’ll be on our best behavior, no strings attached. We don’t have many visitors, and Vaughn would love to have someone besides us to cook for.”
I refused a few more times, but his fingers stroking the back of my hands and his oaths not to be evil alphas and insisting I’d be doing them a favor finally wore me down.
“Just a week or so then, no longer,” I asserted. “I don’t want to take advantage.”
“Let’s go get your things.”
What choice did I have? As long as I didn’t let my guard down, it would probably, maybe be fine.