Chapter 9
Missy
We were quiet for the rest of the ride, both stuck in our own thoughts.
It was easy to get lost in the fun of flirting with a good-looking guy—with really distracting arms—but our conversation had gotten to the core of it.
I’m a mom and he didn’t want to be a dad.
I was raising a kid with next to no support, and getting all worked up over one more person who wouldn’t be there when Sophia needed him wouldn’t lead to anything good.
I pulled into the thankfully half-empty parking lot at the store and jumped down from the truck.
Sophia had kept herself content for the ride, but odds were she needed a bum change and a snack.
I walked around to grab her, only to find Blair already had the back door open and was unbuckling her.
Huh, it was kind of nice to have a second set of hands.
Or hand, anyway. There was a small patch of grass to the side of the building, and I laid a blanket out, changed Sophia, and set her up with a snack.
“I can stay here with her if you want to go in and pay.” He handed me a piece of paper with a list of what I needed. I walked inside, and within a few minutes, I had swiped my card and was coming out with an alarmingly small bag of parts.
I headed back to the patch of grass to the sound of an enticing baritone singing three little ducks.
I paused in my walk toward them to watch.
Sophia’s eyes were glued to Blair as he sang and made swimming motions with his one good arm.
My heart went all gooey. He was so good with her, and it was sad what a novelty it was for me to be by myself for a few minutes to run an errand.
“Can I get an encore?”
He smiled up at me. He was laying on his side, propped up on his good arm so he was at face level with Sophia. She looked as enamored with him as I was.
“I’m not sure you can afford tickets to my next concert,” he replied.
“What will it cost me? Dinner again, or lunch this time?”
He pushed himself easily to his feet, looking at me like I was the meal he wanted. He moved forward until his face was a few inches from mine. “You wait and see what I want to eat.”
Holy shit.
I let out a strangled laugh and bent down to grab Sophia, hoping he didn’t catch the look of pure lust I was sure was on my face. I was suddenly overheating and either needed some air conditioning or to get naked.
We piled back into the truck, and he settled into the passenger seat like he hadn’t given me enough fodder to fill my spank bank for the next decade. I suppressed a shiver and pulled out into traffic.
AJ’s place was about twenty minutes away, depending on traffic.
I wasn’t sure how long it would take to switch out spark plugs, but I couldn’t imagine it would take long.
Then I would have to figure out my next step.
Sophia’s appointment wasn’t until tomorrow.
There were lots of hotels closer to the hospital, and my plan had been to book one once we had Sophia’s appointment.
Since I’d done that on the phone and had to figure out this car bullshit, I hadn’t booked anything.
There was no point in driving four hours home to Kamloops, then back to Vancouver tomorrow.
That would be too long in the car for Sophia, and gas was too expensive.
Maybe AJ and Sam would let me bunk with them for another night.
That seemed like the easiest route. Of course, nothing ever goes the way I expect.
As we neared AJ’s place, something started to feel off. I had the wheel pointed straight ahead, but it was veering slightly to the left. I corrected, but it did it again. It almost felt like we were driving at an angle. We were off the highway now and on a side road, so I pulled over.
Blair, who had been turned around making faces at Sophia, turned forward. “What happened?”
“The truck was pulling to one side.”
He jumped out of the truck and met me on the driver’s side. The problem was obvious. A chunk of metal was embedded in the tire, and it was flat as I was in high school.
He took his hat off, scratched his head, and put it back on. “I have good news and bad news.”
“I’m glad to hear there is good news; this just looks bad to me.”
“Well, the good news is that I have a spare and everything we need to change the tire so we can limp my truck home. The bad news is that I only have one arm, so you’re going to have to swap the tire.”
I whipped around to face him. “What? I can’t do that.”
“I can talk you through it,” he said.
Images of my mom flirting with the neighbors’ husbands flashed through my mind. She’d run a hand up their chest and call them her hero to get them to fix a leaky sink or hang a picture frame. Pretty girls don’t do dirty work.
I didn’t want my daughter to grow up thinking there were things she couldn’t do.
I’d have to suck it up, get my nails dirty, and change the tire.
I picked up Sophia from her seat and handed her to Blair.
I pulled my long hair back into a ponytail at the nape of my neck.
I usually kept it down. Twirling it around my finger was a nervous habit, and I liked the fact that it hid some of the extra weight I gained in my face while pregnant.
There was no time for that now. “Alright, tell me what to do.”