Chapter 12
Nick
Nick sat with Zoey on the hood of the truck, waiting for the tow- truck guy to show up, but mostly waiting for the look on Zoey’s face when he did so in a tiny truck not much bigger than Nick’s.
Nick had been through this before: he’d cheerfully got himself bogged, then paid the exorbitant fee for the diminutive tow truck to pull him back out.
Tow Truck Guy, a thin guy whose gums were stained from chewing tobacco, lived approximately a five-minute drive away – Nick could see his property from his own hill.
Tow Truck Guy did have a large tow truck with the traditional massive cross-like winch.
But he also had a teeny-tiny two-door Jeep-type vehicle bearing an anchor-type thing that was used for de-bogging people in their own backyards.
(This was a lucrative pastime in this neck of the woods, especially during the wet months, which was most of them.)
‘Where is he?’ muttered Nick. ‘He’s usually pretty timely.’
‘Usually?’ Zoey turned those sharp hazel eyes on him. ‘Just how many times have you called the tow-truck guy?’
Busted. ‘This would be the third.’
Zoey’s eyes were fiery. ‘And you didn’t warn me … why?’
‘Sometimes it’s good to see how someone works through a problem. Or doesn’t. And it seems as if you like to figure things out the hard way.’
Zoey sighed. ‘It’s probably not the best way to go about things. You don’t want to know how long it took me to figure out that if someone stops paying, you should probably stop working.’
‘Expensive lesson, huh?’ Nick grimaced. ‘I think every small- business owner has been there.’
Zoey sighed. ‘Probably. It’s just hard to let go of habits honed over a lifetime.’
‘Oh, definitely. I know better than to enter a bathroom without knocking. Or to expect access to a bathroom at all. Not with Cleo around. I’ve seen skincare routines that would get you on an FBI watchlist.’
‘I should’ve known you’d understand.’ Zoey fiddled with the truck’s hood ornament – a gleaming silver ram that somehow hadn’t been stolen over the years.
‘It’s just been my experience that the only person I’ve been able to rely on is me.
Well and Maeve, who owned The Smoothie Maven. But then she went and died.’
‘So selfish,’ said Nick. ‘It’s just the worst when people do that.’
Zoey shoved him, but her heart didn’t seem to be in it. Nick barely had to plant his feet. ‘It’s scary sometimes, to put your trust in someone – to trust that they’ll be there when you really need them. Because life is weird. Things can go wrong at any time.’
‘Well, no one person can be your everything.’ Nick leaned back, regarding her thoughtfully. ‘The right person can be your better half, your complementary self, but you still need a community around you. Like if, say, per our previous conversation, there happened to be a zombie apocalypse.’
‘Ugh,’ said Zoey, with a shudder. ‘I hate zombies. I hate the way they lurch around.’
‘And the way they cut their hair?’ teased Nick, for Zoey was doing an excellent Julia Stiles impression.
Zoey blinked. Apparently she hadn’t seen 10 Things I Hate About You. Something Nick would have to remedy.
‘What? No, I mean, unless they have that fashy haircut everyone was into a few years ago. But, c’mon. Of all the weird beasties you could choose from. Give me a gargoyle or a werewolf any day.’
‘I can see the appeal of a gargoyle,’ said Nick. ‘They can help with water runoff during the wet months. But werewolves? Think of the drain clogs. And all the clothes you’d ruin.’
Zoey scoffed. ‘I mean, there’s an easy workaround for that. A simple dress code of kaftans and dressing gowns during the full moon. And those Adidas slides.’
‘You’ve thought this through.’
‘Never a dull moment in this brain.’
Nick teasingly rubbed the top of her head. ‘I quite like your brain.’
Zoey’s smile was bright in the glow of the truck’s headlights. ‘Yours isn’t so bad, either.’
Nick shielded his eyes: he could see the hazy yellow lights of the tow-truck guy’s truck pulling onto the property. The little vehicle chugged towards them, using the gravel trails instead of the marshy fields the way Zoey had.
‘Wait, that thing’s going to pull us out? For five hundred bucks I was expecting some shock and awe. Or at least some pyrotechnics.’
‘The pyrotechnics are extra.’
‘Pretend I didn’t mention it, then.’
‘Evening, folks,’ said Tow Truck Guy. He had fingers stained from working on cars and teeth stained from tobacco, and wore an impressive set of overalls that had more patches than original fabric. ‘This field again, huh?’
‘It must be cursed,’ offered Zoey.
Tow Truck Guy spat effusively. ‘Nah, not this bit of the property. Maybe back there.’
He nodded in the direction of where the mushrooms were growing at breakneck pace in the shadow of the lightning strike. Although, now that Nick looked closely, the line of the strike did seem to travel all the way out here.
‘All right. Let me just hook her up …’ Tow Truck Guy fiddled around with the winch, hooking it under the truck, then heading back to his own vehicle. ‘Watch for flying mud.’
Nick and Zoey stood aside as Tow Truck Guy revved his engine. Alice raced back and forth, tail wagging as she attempted to herd both vehicles.
There was a roar from the tow-truck guy’s truck, then a pop, and Nick’s truck burst up from the ground. The little truck dragged Deirdre a few feet back to drier, rockier ground, then the tow-truck guy killed the engine and hopped out, dusting down his hands.
‘That’s it?’ Zoey sounded disappointed by the lack of spectacle. ‘How do I pay you? I have Venmo, Zelle, Apple Pay …’
‘Cash. If it doesn’t have a president’s head on it, I don’t take it.’
‘I have it back at the house,’ said Nick. ‘I’ll drop it around for you tomorrow.’ Urgh, the money was meant to be for the chainsaw signage guy who was going to come by later this week, but never mind. He’d have to work his magic on someone else’s tree stumps instead.
‘Sure, or I’ll have to send the wife by, and she doesn’t mess around.
All right. I’ve got another vehicle to tow.
Someone’s in a ditch down by the creek. See you next time,’ said the tow-truck guy, climbing back into his tiny truck and roaring off.
The cab lights on top of the vehicle were so bright that Nick wished he’d been wearing a lead apron – he’d probably just been X-rayed against his will.
‘I’ll pay you back,’ promised Zoey.
Nick shook his head. ‘None of that. There’s no owing or paying back or any of that. Stuff happens. It’s our job to look after each other.’
Zoey gave him a long, curious look. ‘You’re an interesting one.’
‘Interesting good, or interesting bad?’
‘So far, so good.’ Zoey’s brow, which had relaxed for an instant, furrowed again. ‘Did you hear that?’
The wind had picked up, howling through the trees along with something that sounded a tad more ominous. For some reason, Nick had flashbacks of Darina’s strange psychotic break. He really hoped she was getting the help she needed.
Nick shrugged. ‘Probably just coyotes.’
Off in the distance, the tiny tow truck’s cab lights flickered and flashed.
The following day, it would be found by the creek, battery flat and driver gone, only a trail of dragging footsteps hinting at what might have happened to him.