Chapter 2
MICHELLE
I t felt like an eternity before the truck pulled up alongside her car, but when it did at long last, Michelle wished it had taken even longer. She let out a long, low groan.
Why?
Did the universe hate her or something?
Sure, a tow truck turning up as if by magic in the middle of nowhere when she was stranded in a storm would usually count as a miracle. But… not this time.
Michelle was suddenly face-to-face with a whole heap of trouble.
For starters—this was the Dalton Garage tow truck, and she was a Singer. Going by her father’s near-daily rants, the decades-deep feud between the two families was still raging.
A sharp tap on her passenger window made Michelle jump. Her potential saviour had wound down his window and was leaning across to get her attention.
As if he didn’t already have it!
Michelle could just about make out a pair of dark eyes and the quirk of an unforgettable smile.
Even though rivers of raindrops were cascading down the glass separating them, turning the outside world into a dark and moody watercolour, she had a nasty feeling that might be Danny Dalton in the driver’s seat…
Whoever it was, they were busy making frantic gestures for her to wind down her window.
Unfortunately, Michelle was too busy behaving like a stranded guppy, so it took her several long moments before she cottoned on.
Thanking her lucky stars that her car was old enough to have winders instead of buttons, she eventually leaned over to face the music.
Even with just a couple of inches of the storm exposed, Michelle got a faceful of sideways raindrops. She let out a squeal as the cold water splashed a little bit of sense into her. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, Michelle blinked stupidly up at the tow truck.
Urgh. Worst fears confirmed!
That definitely wasn’t Keith Dalton, head of the family and the only person her lovely dad called a sworn enemy.
It was his son. Danny Dalton.
Two years her senior at school. Wearer of leather jackets, hints of engine oil, and a decided air of danger. He also had the dubious honour of being the most frequent guest star in Michelle’s teenage fantasies.
Even so, Michelle had never really dared talk to Danny. She hadn’t been allowed to. Her dad would have had her guts for garters. She didn’t know why he’d fallen out with the Daltons, but he’d always made it clear that, like Keith, Danny was trouble.
As far as Michelle had always been concerned, that was a huge part of the appeal.
‘Are you hurt?’
Michelle shook her head—both in answer and in an attempt to clear her head.
She was stranded in a broken-down rust bucket on the side of one of the remotest lanes in the area.
Yet, here she was, letting herself drift back into her favourite teenage fantasy.
Though… when the fantasy in question was staring right back at her, who could blame her?
‘Are you alright?’ His voice was softer this time.
Michelle shook her head again, doing her best to summon up the nerve to actually say something.
‘No. I’m not. Duh!’ she growled as she found her voice. ‘I mean… what do you think?’
Nice . Years of wishing she had the guts to speak to Crumbleton’s bad boy, and now the moment had finally arrived, she’d gone all gremlin on the poor guy.
Danny, however, didn’t look like he’d taken any offence at her less-than-friendly response.
He simply grinned, and Michelle was suddenly grateful that she was already sitting down.
She wasn’t quite so grateful when a quick glance in the rear-view mirror revealed that she looked like she’d been dragged through a hedge backwards.
Clearly, humping boxes around all afternoon, followed by the stress of navigating the sodden marshes, wasn’t a very effective beauty treatment.
‘I’m sorry,’ she sighed, surreptitiously trying to flatten down the fright-wig that had taken up residence on her head. ‘I’m just a bit wiped. The last thing I needed tonight was to break down!’
‘What happened?’ said Danny.
‘See that lake pretending to be a puddle?’
‘Ah.’ He nodded slowly, looking very much like he was doing his best not to smirk. ‘Well, there’s no point trying to get you started in this weather.’
Michelle’s heart sank. Damn . If he wasn’t going to get her started again, she was well and truly stuffed.
‘Why don’t you hop into the truck?’ he said, scratching his chin. ‘I’ll give you a lift back into town and then tow the car to the garage. I’ll get it under cover for the night and then look it over tomorrow.’
Michelle swallowed nervously. On paper, it sounded like a great plan, but if she turned up at her parents’ place in a Dalton tow truck, she’d never live it down.
Her dad clearly had the ability to hold an epic grudge.
Sure, she might be his little girl—the apple of his eye—but she had a feeling his adoration might not extend to anything involving the Daltons.
Then again, the idea of turning Danny down was just daft! Stranded in the middle of nowhere in the piddling rain, with no hope of rescue and a very long, wet walk ahead of her? No thank you!
Michelle had to admit that the inside of Danny’s truck looked remarkably warm and cosy. A familiar country song was blasting from the speakers, and the thought of his working heaters was intensely inviting.
Maybe if she played her cards right, her dad would never have to know. With any luck, he’d be safely tucked up in the bar of the Dolphin and Anchor for a good few hours of darts yet.
‘You sure you’re not hurt?’ said Danny, frowning slightly.
‘Huh?’ Michelle shook her head. She’d clearly been staring into the middle distance for too long again. ‘Oh, sure… yeah. No. I mean… I’m fine. Just wondering what to do about the boxes I’ve got in the back.’
Danny shrugged. ‘Problem for another day. I’m just going to pull in front of you, then you can hop in while I get the car hooked up.’
Michelle nodded. ‘Great.’
‘Oh, and watch out for Elvis,’ Danny shouted as he started to wind his window up. ‘He’s asleep and hates being woken up.’
‘Elvis?!’
Michelle was too late, though. Danny had closed his window and was already edging past her on the narrow lane.
With a long sigh, Michelle wound the window back up and stared at the blurred flare of Danny’s brake lights ahead, followed by the dash of yellowy white as he began to reverse into place.
She hadn’t even said thank you, had she? Or told him that he was a lifesaver. Then again, she wasn’t sure she should… what would her dad say?!
‘Get a grip, idiot, you’re a grown woman.’ She paused. ‘Besides, Dad’ll never find out… at least, not if I get my way!’
With that comforting thought, she threw the strap of her handbag over her shoulder and then, as an afterthought, grabbed the blanket she’d been snoozing under. She didn’t have a raincoat with her, but the dusty bit of patchwork might help keep the heavy drops at bay on her short dash to the truck.
‘Here goes nothing!’ she muttered.
Throwing the door open, Michelle hopped out and yanked the blanket over her head. Without a backwards glance, she scuttled towards the truck, huddling under the blanket as if there was a horde of paparazzi after her.
Despite the pelting rain, the sight of the Dalton Garage logo emblazoned across the passenger door made her pause. Great . If her dad did happen to be home when she got there, she was so busted!
She’d just have to deal with that if and when it happened!
With a shrug, Michelle yanked open the door, tossed the blanket in ahead of her, and scrambled up into the mercifully warm, beautifully dry cab.
It was only after she’d pulled the door closed behind her with a crash and was busy wiping raindrops from her face with the sleeve of her jumper, that she realised the damp blanket next to her was wriggling.
‘What the?—?’
The blanket let out a delicate sneeze, followed by what sounded like a creaky little yawn. That’s when Michelle remembered Danny’s warning about not waking Elvis.
Whatever Elvis was.
Shrinking away from the heap of wriggling blanket, Michelle pressed herself against the door.
For a moment, she debated hotfooting it right back out into the rain.
Maybe she could sit in her car on the back of the tow truck?
Sod being warm… at least she wouldn’t be eaten by whatever horror was lurking next to her!
Michelle shot a nervous glance over her shoulder. She could just about make out Danny’s figure as he dashed around in the downpour, working as quickly as he could to secure her car.
Okay, nope… there was no way she was going back out in that. Besides, whatever this Elvis was, it wouldn’t be dangerous, would it? Danny wouldn’t have suggested she got in with it if it was.
Then again… he was a Dalton…
A little snuffling squeak came from beneath the blanket, and the edge of the faded patchwork bobbed up and down for a couple of nerve-racking seconds. Then a large, wet nose appeared, twitching in her direction.
Michelle raised an eyebrow. Okay… nothing with a nose that cute could be remotely scary, could it?
One more little toss of the blanket revealed a large, glossy head, and Michelle found herself eye-to-sleepy-eye with a black labrador.
‘Elvis?’ she said, her heart instantly melting.
The dog blinked at her, clearly surprised to find a complete stranger sitting next to him. Not surprised enough to bother to sit up properly, though. He opened his mouth in a wide, smiling yawn and started to pant.
‘Nice to meet you too,’ chuckled Michelle. She thought about introducing herself properly by holding out her hand for him to sniff but decided against it. He might look like a big softy, but for all she knew, he could be the Dalton Garage guard dog!
‘Or not,’ she laughed, as the big, scary guard dog somehow managed to shuffle his bulk towards her without dislodging the blanket and dropped his head right into her lap.
Michelle laid her hand very carefully on the top of Elvis’s heavy head, and the blanket next to her thumped a couple of times. Clearly, there was one very happy, waggy tail under there somewhere!
She smiled down at the already snoozing dog, feeling some of the tension seeping from her shoulders.
‘Okay… what on earth?!’
Danny had just opened the driver’s side door and come to an abrupt halt. Clearly, the sight of his guard dog cuddled up on her lap had taken him by surprise.
Michelle couldn’t help but grin at him. ‘Erm… I hope you don’t mind, I think I’ve made friends with your dog!’
‘Mind?’ laughed Danny, quickly unfreezing and hurriedly hopping up behind the wheel. He slammed the door and shook a cascade of raindrops from his dark hair. ‘It’s brilliant. I’m just surprised he’s taken to you so quickly, that’s all.’
‘Why, because I’m a Singer?’ she muttered, doing her best not to stare at the way his soaked grey tee-shirt was clinging to him.
Danny chuckled easily. ‘No. Because he’s a rescue. He’s usually a bit nervous of strangers. I mean… not nasty or anything, just a bit of a wimp.’
‘Maybe the blanket won me brownie points,’ said Michelle, gently stroking Elvis’s silky ears and earning herself a blissed-out sigh.
‘You might be right,’ laughed Danny, turning the key and setting the tow truck rumbling. ‘But don’t think you’re ever getting that blanket back—you’ve made an offering to The Hound. It’s his blanket now!’
Michelle grinned. ‘He’s welcome to it.’