Chapter 2 Evan
I”d been all set for an easy, uneventful night. Ready to lock up the shop, climb into my truck, and head back up the slope to my cabin for another quiet evening. Just how I liked it. Peaceful, simple, free of complications.
So much for that plan.
The dusty BMW pulling into my station immediately put me on alert. That was no local”s ride, which could only mean a tourist.
Thing was, tourists didn’t usually show up at the station at sunset. At this time of night, tourists were safe and sound in their resorts, BBs, campsites. None of which were nearby, which meant this person’s plans must have gone awry.
When the driver”s side door opened, my suspicions were confirmed. This was a city girl lost and in way over her head.
I wasn’t happy about it, but there was no way I was leaving this young woman -barely more than a girl, as far as I could tell -to her own devices out here.
Living at the base of Mount Carson had its perks. The quiet, the majestic views. Being far from people. Growing up in a small town, me and my friends had either gone one of two ways. Most, like my brother, moved to bigger towns or away altogether. Some, like me, retreated farther into the woods.
When my father passed and left his gas station to me and my brother, he’d been shocked to find out I didn’t intend to sell my share. Ben did right away, selling his share to me to open up a cafe in town instead. I threw myself into the work of updating my dad’s old cabin into something more livable and used what I had left to make some small upgrades to the station, which ended up being nothing much.
Last Chance Gas Station made it possible for me to live out on the mountain, peacefully, answering to nobody, apart from the occasional tourist or local family.
This woman clearly fit into the former category.
And as much as living out here was perfect for a reclusive asshole like me, I wouldn’t wish a night out here alone on any city girl like her. I didn’t like the way the weather was turning, either.
A pang of protectiveness stirred in my chest.
These mountain roads weren’t kind to locals who took a chance driving on a rainy night, maybe after an ill-advised beer or two. There was no way I was leaving this young woman high and dry tonight.
So I invited her in.
Instead of taking my pickup up the steep driveway to my place for an evening in with a game and a cold beer, I was down here in the cramped shop after closing with this petite, curvy woman eyeing me like I was some kind of predator she didn”t dare to look away from.
The refrigerators hummed in the background. Damn, somehow she still looked stunning under the fluorescent lighting that always gave me a headache by this time of day.
“So, can I use Apple Pay?”
I furrowed my brow. “If that needs Wi-Fi, I can”t take it, sweetheart.”
“Why not?”
“This place hasn”t changed much in the past few… decades. No reason to. We never set up card payments. Cash does just fine.”
“Except I don”t have any.”
She had a mouth on her. Not just in the sense that those full lips were stirring up dirty thoughts I hadn”t had in ages… but in the sense that the more she spoke, the more she was starting to get on my nerves.
I grumbled.
I didn”t want to seem dismissive -I”d invited her in to help her out, not to turn her away -but she”d surprised me at being so quick to get snippy with me.
“You”re really able to run a business profitably like that? All the way out here, too?”
I set my jaw. “I make enough to live. Don”t need much as long as I can make it to town for groceries once in a while. And my cash is welcome there.”
She blinked a couple of times in response and I realized there were tears in her eyes.
Was it what I”d said?
Damn it.
“Sorry,” she said, her tone softening. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “I couldn”t care less if you take credit cards or not. It”s not that at all. It”s… It”s just this day in general has been an absolute shit fest and this is like a cherry on top. Not your fault. Of course it”s not. Sorry again, now I”m rambling.” She took a slow, deliberate breath.
I didn”t know what series of events had brought this young woman to my gas station this evening, but clearly this had been a very difficult day.
At this proximity, it was damn near impossible not to drink in every lush detail of her: the lavender-tinged scent of her dark hair pulled into a long ponytail across one shoulder, the tantalizing curves hugged by well-worn yoga pants and a snug hooded top, her full lips… With visible effort, I tore my eyes away and cleared my throat, roughly.
“What”s your name, sweetheart?”
“Becca.” Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were still a little flushed from the threat of tears, but her breathing had steadied. “You?”
“Evan. Look, you have a checkbook with you or something?”
Now, she laughed as if I”d told a great joke. I meant it seriously, but of course this polished little thing was cashless.
“No, Evan, I don”t. I just have my phone and like a couple credit cards with good rewards that I keep on me. I was going to come in and ask if you have an ATM in here, but I don”t even have my debit card with me.”
Before I could even respond, she gasped and began talking again.
“Wait, you can withdraw from an ATM with a credit card, right? I know it”s not financially great, but in this situation I”d totally do it.” She glanced around the tiny shop, her excited expression starting to fade as she took in the shelves of snacks and the coolers.
“Nope. No Wi-Fi, no ATM. There”s a few in Larkwood, but your tank is near empty, right? You won”t be able to make it there.”
Way to go, stating the obvious. If she teared up again on my account, I might do better to shut up and not say another word.
She just sighed. “You”re right.”
Looking at her crestfallen face, that protective instinct surged again, stronger than ever. She seemed so lost, so alone. I rarely got the chance to really help someone out here, to make a real difference. Tonight was different.
“Look, it”s too late to drive into town. And dangerous with this kind of weather driving the roads up here.”
As if on cue, a gust of wind rattled the shop”s ancient windows, the first harbinger of the storm rolling in through the foothills as they often did on cold spring nights. Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance.
I paused. Should I even offer this? Not the smartest business decision, maybe. And There didn”t seem to be any other option.
“I don”t know what to do,” she said, softly, staring at the linoleum while she said it, mostly to herself.
“I can comp you a few gallons,” I grunted.
She looked up, meeting my gaze. Those big, pleading brown eyes hit me like a sucker punch. Damn it all to hell. I was a goner and she didn”t even know it. This young woman had me wrapped around her little finger already, but I”d do everything I could not to let it show.
“You don”t have to,” she said, quickly. “I can… I can try to figure out something.”
“I”m comping you a few gallons in the morning when it”s safe to drive, and you”re staying here tonight.” That really made her jaw drop.
“Um…”
I grabbed my keys from the counter and opened the shop”s back door to where my pickup was parked. “Come on. It”s just up the driveway.”