Chapter Seventeen
Britt’s day had turned on its head after saying goodbye to Chad. She and Evelyn were supposed to go to Rockville that morning, but something was wrong with her car, so they’d had to switch around their plans.
Britt did check on Kash’s fort and was impressed all over again at how well it had fared in the storm.
It didn’t look like it needed anything, so she took a moment to sit just inside the small door and breathe in the quiet of the morning and the fresh air.
A porcupine even waddled by, totally ignoring her.
Chad had texted when she was on her way to the auto shop to meet with Walt and Barry to work some more on the inventory. He’d kept his text short and sweet, saying he’d be back in a bit and not to worry, that he’d tell her all about his meeting when he returned.
She understood that he probably couldn’t go into detail in a text, but she was still anxious to hear what was said and what Chad thought.
Did he think she was being paranoid? Had Otis explained everything in a way that assuaged Chad’s concerns?
She didn’t know, and she didn’t have the bandwidth to stress about it right now.
She had to concentrate on entering car parts.
While she was working at the computer with Walt, explaining more about how the software worked—while he explained to her what they used various parts for—Camden pulled Evelyn’s car into the shop and slid beneath it.
She had no idea what was wrong—it seemed fine yesterday—but she felt better when Barry ambled over to talk to Camden, presumably about the vehicle.
She finished up with Walt at the same time Camden finished with the CR-V. He backed it out of the bay and parked it near the house.
“Have fun in town,” Walt told her as she prepared to leave the office and head to the house to see if Evelyn was ready to go.
Britt looked back at him with a raised brow.
He chuckled. “The woman loves to shop. Doesn’t matter if it’s for groceries or fabric she’ll never use.”
Britt smiled. “Woman’s prerogative,” she told him with a wink.
He nodded. “Got to say ... it’s nice having another woman around for Miss Evelyn to talk to. She’s had to deal with nothing but testosterone most of her life.”
“She’s a doll,” Britt returned.
“That she is. Later, Britt.”
“Later.”
As she walked toward the house, the familiar sound of Chad’s truck hit her ears. Turning eagerly, she grinned as she saw him pulling down the driveway. She waited for him to park and get out, then threw herself at him.
He caught her and hugged her hard.
“Is everything all right?” she asked, hating the stressed-out look on his face.
“Yes. And no. I need to talk to my brothers.”
Britt frowned. That didn’t sound good. She desperately wanted to ask if he believed her. If he thought there was something wrong, as she did, but she held her tongue.
As if he could read her mind, Chad whispered in her ear, “I think your suspicions are more than founded.”
Britt’s heart felt as if it was in her throat. She was both relieved and sick to her stomach at the same time. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. If it wasn’t for you, who knows how much more money would be stolen. You been to town and back already?”
It was an abrupt change of topic, but Britt didn’t mind.
She was impressed he’d remembered her schedule, considering everything he was dealing with.
“No. Something was up with your mom’s car.
The guys looked at it, fixed whatever it was, and I was just going to the house to get Evelyn so we could head out. ”
Chad frowned and looked over at the Honda CR-V. “What was wrong with it?”
Britt chuckled. “You’re asking the wrong person. Sorry.”
He glanced over to the auto shop, probably thinking about heading over to find out what they’d done with his mom’s car, but Lincoln shouted from across the way, near the rental.
“About time you got back. Get your butt over here!”
“Are they upset that you weren’t here to help them?” Britt asked.
Chad shook his head. “No. But they like to pretend they are. They’ll milk this, call me a slacker, and make fun of me for weeks, insist that I purposely skipped out on helping. It’s what brothers do.”
Britt didn’t think that sounded fun, but she’d never had brothers or sisters, so what did she know?
“Have fun with Mom. Be safe.”
“I will, and we will,” Britt told him.
The more she was around this man, the more she wanted to be around him. He kissed her. Long and deep, right there in the middle of the driveway for everyone to see. But Britt wasn’t embarrassed. When he pulled back, they were both a little breathless.
A loud wolf whistle sounded from where his brothers were working. Chad grinned down at her. “Now that is something I’ll happily take a ribbing over.”
Britt was glad he had something to smile about, because she had a feeling once he told Lincoln, Knox, and Zach what was going on with Otis and the finances of Lobster Cove, no one would be in the mood to joke around or smile for a while.
“Love you,” Chad said almost nonchalantly as he backed away from her.
The casual way he threw that out there startled Britt for a moment, then she smiled. “Love you too.”
If she could freeze a moment in time, this would be the one.
The look on his face was everything she’d ever dreamed about.
He looked at her as if she was the most important person in the world.
As if the sun rose and set with her. She’d never been looked at that way in her life.
It made her feel cherished ... and loved.
She watched his butt for a moment when he finally turned and walked away, then headed into the house.
“Evelyn,” she called when she opened the door. “You ready?”
“Finally!” the older woman said as she stood from her chair in the living area. “I’ve been waiting forever.”
Britt chuckled. She was being dramatic, but in a cheerful way. “Well, get your stuff and let’s go check out this quilting store.”
It took ten minutes for Evelyn to get everything together that she needed for the outing, then they were on their way.
The drive into Rockville was gorgeous. Lobster Cove was south of the city, and there was a narrow, winding, miles-long back road they had to navigate to get to the main road into Rockville.
One thing Britt loved about the route was all the water.
Everywhere she looked throughout the drive, there was a pond or a glimpse of the ocean, a cove or a bay. Sometimes even a river.
There was just something so calming about looking out the window and seeing the sun glint off water at almost any given time.
After turning onto the main road, it was a straight shot into town. It took a bit to find a parking space; now that summer had arrived, there were a lot more people in town. The two women walked arm in arm toward the quilting shop, stopping to talk to several people Evelyn knew along the way.
Their time in the shop was hilarious, as neither of them even knew what they were looking for.
The woman who owned the store was very patient and sweet, and she helped Evelyn pick out a project she could start on that wasn’t too difficult.
It took longer to pick out the fabrics Evelyn wanted, as she kept getting sidetracked by each pretty pattern and changing her mind.
An hour after they’d arrived, they left with several bags of supplies and smiles on their faces.
Evelyn decided she was hungry and needed a snack, so they stopped at a local pub.
Thankfully it was after the lunch rush, so they got a seat quickly.
Britt ordered some gooey, yummy cheese fries, and Evelyn enjoyed the seafood chowder.
It was later than she expected when they headed back to the car. The weather had also changed. The sun was nowhere in sight, and a light drizzle had moved in. By the time they got to where they’d parked, they were both a little damp.
Evelyn asked Britt to drive, and she got into the driver’s seat without hesitation.
She turned on the heat once she got the car started, so Evelyn wouldn’t get a chill.
Even though it was warmer than it’d been when she’d arrived in Maine, here on the coast, it was still in the lower seventies despite July being just a few days away .
.. which Britt loved. She wasn’t a hot-weather girl, so the climate here in Maine was perfect for her.
They began the drive home as Evelyn babbled happily about starting her wall hanging and where she wanted to put it when she was done.
They’d just turned off the main highway, onto the back road that would lead them to Lobster Cove, when Britt felt the vehicle acting funny. It wasn’t anything she could put her finger on, but the steering felt ... sluggish.
Not wanting to worry Evelyn, just deciding to say something to Chad when they got home, she did her best to control the vehicle as it went around the twisting curves.
She was already driving slower than she normally would because of her uneasiness, when all of a sudden, she lost all control of steering.
“Shit!” she swore, struggling to pull the wheel to the right as they headed toward yet another curve. But it was no use. The car wasn’t responding. Britt stomped on the brake.
And to her horror, nothing happened.
How the hell could both the steering and the brakes go out at the same time? Especially right after it had been in the shop this morning?
“Hold on!” she yelled, giving up on trying to control the car and throwing herself toward Evelyn as they headed straight for the curve. It was awkward, since she had her seat belt on, but out of the two of them, the older woman was far more vulnerable.
As if in slow motion, Britt watched the CR-V go off the road, bounce over some of the huge rocks lining the shoulder, then tilt forward drastically, headed down the steep embankment and straight for the water in the bay below.