Chapter 16 #2
I finally got the car loaded and strapped down. With a wave at Officer Kelley, I climbed into the truck and looked at Tessa. “Are you okay?”
Her eyes met mine. “I mean it when I say that I’ve never been so scared in my life. I get that I cut the guy off, but I truly didn’t see him. His reaction feels over the top.”
“I don’t disagree with you. And I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you weren’t hurt. The car has a fair bit of damage, but you don’t need to worry about that. We’ll get it fixed up for you.”
She shot me a small, appreciative smile. “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed.” Reaching over, I gave her forearm a squeeze. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
A moment later, we were on our way back to the body shop. Tessa had been quiet for most of the drive, but when we were just minutes away, she asked, “Does Phoenix know?”
“I told him before I left that you’d called and had been in an accident, but I shared that you said you weren’t hurt. He asked me to call if things were worse than you let on.”
“Well, at least there’s that. I’m glad you didn’t find it to be worse than whatever you’d imagined.”
My eyes narrowed slightly, my gaze still focused on the road. “I don’t know if I’d say that.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means, I didn’t expect to learn that someone had run you off the road,” I explained. “That’s a bit unsettling. Are you sure you didn’t recognize the truck?”
Tessa didn’t immediately respond, so when I pulled up to a red light, I glanced over and saw her looking at me. Her features were pinched, like she was trying to figure something out. “Do you think I should’ve recognized it?”
I shook my head. “No. I just want to be sure.”
“Why? If I recognized the truck, that’d mean that someone I know did this to me. Why would someone do this to me intentionally?”
Her voice was growing more panicked, and I immediately regretted saying anything at all.
My job was to make Tessa feel safe and reassured.
I’d just done the opposite. The light turned green, so I reached for her hand, took it in mine, and started driving the remaining distance to the shop.
“I’m not saying that’s what happened, Tessa.
I just thought, since you had some time to sit in the truck and calm down while I loaded your car, that perhaps a new detail popped into your head. I didn’t mean to insinuate anything.”
I couldn’t miss the hesitance and uncertainty in her tone when she replied, “Oh, okay. Well, I don’t remember anything other than the blue truck, the sound of the engine every time he sped, and the terror I felt.”
Unwilling to say another thing that might create more doubt, I simply gave her hand another squeeze and continued to hold it until we made it back to the shop. No sooner did we pull up, Phoenix walked outside and took in Tessa’s car.
I got out, and by the time I’d rounded the front of the truck, he had already opened his sister’s door. “Are you okay?” he asked her.
“I’m alright, Phoenix.”
“What happened?”
Tessa looked at me, her eyes pleading. “Will you tell him the story? I want to go visit with Faye for a minute.”
I nodded. “Sure. I’ll come in once we get this unloaded and inside.”
“Thanks.”
Phoenix and I watched Tessa as she walked away. Only after she’d walked inside did he speak. “She said she’s okay, but it doesn’t seem like it. What’s going on?”
“Someone ran her off the road.”
“What?!”
“I felt the same way, man.”
After letting out a deep sigh, I went on to tell him the story about what happened with Tessa just as she’d told it to me, adding in the specifics of the conversation I had with the officer on the scene. While I did that, Phoenix and I worked together on getting her car unloaded and into the shop.
When I finished sharing, Phoenix said, “Seems extreme, doesn’t it?”
“I thought the same thing. I’m hoping it was somebody who was just having a bad day, but with everything swirling with her ex, I feel a little uneasy.”
“But it wasn’t Hastings in the truck, was it?” he asked as we pushed the car the remaining distance inside the building. It would likely still start, but until we could fully assess the damage and be certain it was just cosmetic, there was no point in taking any chances.
“Tessa didn’t recognize the driver, nor could she even say the make and model of the truck. It doesn’t seem like it was him, but I think we’re both just being paranoid.”
Following a heavy silence, Phoenix asked, “Can I assume you’re going to be on top of this?”
“You don’t even need to ask. I’ll take care of both her and the car.”
“If anything pops up, you’ll let me know.”
“I will.”
At that, Phoenix shut down the garage door while I opened the unimpacted side of Tessa’s car. Her purse was still inside, along with her water bottle and phone. I grabbed those for her and followed behind Phoenix as he made his way toward the office.
Faye and Tessa were in the middle of a conversation, but once we entered, it stopped. Phoenix moved to his sister, kissed her on the cheek, and said, “I’m glad you’re okay. If you need anything, call me.”
She nodded. “I will.”
When her eyes came to mine, I held out her things. She took them from me, and I asked, “Are you all set to go? I’ll take you home.”
“Yeah. I’m ready.” Tessa returned her attention to Faye. “It was good to see you.”
“You, too. I’m sorry about the accident.”
“Thanks.”
After the four of us said goodbye to one another, I led Tessa outside to my truck. I’d barely gotten behind the wheel when she turned to me and asked, “Do you have plans for dinner?”
“Other than the plan to make sure I eat it, no.”
“Instead of dropping me off at home, would you like to stay and join me for dinner? I’d like to show you my appreciation for today.”
It seemed I was going to get what I’d been hoping for just before she’d called me today. We might only have tonight, but at least I’d have the opportunity to spend some time with Tessa.
“I thought I already told you that you don’t need to thank me.”
“You did, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to do something nice for you in return.”
I grinned at her. “In that case, I’d love to have dinner with you.”
“Really?”
“I don’t know if you recall, but when I answered the phone earlier, I mentioned that I’d just been getting ready to call you.”
“Oh. That’s right. Why were you going to call me?”
Unable to avoid touching her, I lifted my hand to the side of her face and stroked my thumb along her cheek. “Because I wanted to see if you had any free time this weekend and wanted to spend some of it together.”
“So, this is perfect.”
My grin grew. “It is.”
Tessa sat back in her seat, looking the happiest she had since I’d arrived at the scene of the accident. “Take me home, handsome. And let me feed you.”
I’d do anything she wanted.
And since I particularly liked hearing that endearment from her, I turned on the car and drove to Tessa’s place.