Chapter 5
After sending Alaric on his way home, Anna sat in her living room and tried not to cry.
What a terrible person Zeno was, and he thought that she was the bad person in all this?
Since she’d not known what he was talking about—she did know what mates were, but not on his level of meanness—when he said she was going to listen to him.
He’d spouted off other things as well, but none of them made sense to her since she’d met him.
She’d been pissed at him since last night when he’d made Harri cry.
“Are you all right, mommy?” She cuddled up next to her daughter and told her that she’d had a bad day. “Was it that old, mean man? I wanted to sock him in the nose, he was so mean to me.”
“He’s not mad at you, honey.” Though in his mind, she didn’t know.
“He didn’t get his way in something, and he’s taking it out on the world.
We can handle him. We’ll just ignore him and go about our day.
We won’t have to see him anymore after next week anyway.
I’m going to go back to my regular route by then, and he’ll be nothing to us. ”
“I don’t like him.” She didn’t either, but held her daughter. “Can we please go get a burger? We both had a bad day, and we need a treat.”
“All right.” She didn’t feel like cooking anyway, and this would mean that she didn’t have any clean up to do either. “You change into your comfy clothes, and we’ll hit the burger place in town. You can even have one of those pies they have. We really did have a bad day.”
After they got dressed in comfy things to go to town, she hoped her car would start.
It was old, she knew that, but it would have to at least wait until her next day off, when she could get to town while Harri was at school and shop for a new car.
She had decided that she was nervous about how it decided to just strand her and was worried it would do that again while she was out with Harri.
The drive into town was fun. Harri was making up jokes, what a four-year-old thought of a joke anyway, and telling them to her.
Once they ordered their food, her daughter ordered her dessert first thing, so she’d allow her to have it before she changed her mind.
They took a seat in the place. It was fairly busy in the restaurant while they were there, and she liked that.
Not one that did well with crowds of people, the two of them enjoyed the talk going around the room about the melon festival.
“Since you have no school tomorrow, we’ll head down to the river and see what’s going on.
I heard from someone that I work with that the tractor pulling is the best thing to watch.
” Harri ate her meal and wanted more fries.
Since she’d already eaten hers, she got her another order and shared them with her.
“We do all right together, don’t you think, baby girl?
I mean, I’m not messing you up too bad, am I? ”
“You make me perfect.” That was wonderful to hear, and when they were ready to go, dessert eaten too, she headed out to her car and tried to start it.
The stupid thing decided that it wasn’t going to go, and she was ready to walk home when she thought of Alaric.
He’d told her that if she decided to call him, he was going to be in town.
Maybe he was still there. “Are we going to get home, mommy? The car won’t start. ”
“I know, baby. I’m going to call Mr. Dresden and see if he’s still in town.
Maybe we’ll have him drop us off at the dealership, and we’ll get us a new one.
I know what I want.” She cheered her on while she was pulling out her cell phone.
When he answered, she launched right into what she’d called him for.
“I was wondering if you’re still in town.
My car broke down again. You won’t have to take us home if you could just drop me off at the dealership here close to us, and we’ll get that car I’ve been searching for. ”
“I’m with my brother.” She said that it would be all right, she’d call an Uber driver. “No, I can get you. My brother Aaron said we could be late. It won’t take but a minute for me to get to you. Where are you anyway?” She told him.
“It’s not that far from the car I’ve been searching for online. I’m sick of depending on a car that’s older than I am.” He said that she should be able to see him now. “I do see you. You look just like your brothers. I’m sure you’ve been told that before.”
“We all look like our dad. Mom is all right with that. She said that as boys, we’d be too pretty to look like her.” She put her phone away when they pulled into the restaurant. “I know nothing about cars, even enough to help you out. This is my brother Aaron. He works with us at the stationhouse.”
After shaking his hand, she felt a jolt of something race up her arm.
He didn’t say anything, and she didn’t either.
Whatever had happened must have been her imagination, so she let it go.
After getting permission to leave her car there for a couple of hours, true to his word, Alaric picked them up and dropped them off at the dealership.
The two of them hung around with them to make sure that they were able to go off the lot with a new car rather than being stuck somewhere else.
She knew just what car she wanted and didn’t need a salesperson to try to talk her into something else.
Aaron was very helpful with Harri, and she wondered why Zeno wasn’t more like the rest of his family.
Deciding not to think about him anymore today, she smiled at the salesman and told him just what she wanted.
If they didn’t have it, she would go someplace else.
“We do have that one in stock. However, it’s not green but blue. I hope that’s all right?” She said it would be so long as he didn’t try to pressure her into something more. “No, I wouldn’t do that. Besides, Aaron and I go way back, and with him here, I know better than to upsell you.”
The paperwork was filled out, and they were going to pick up her old car for her. In a matter of a couple of hours, not only did she have the car that she wanted, but Aaron made sure she got a discount on it, too. Yes, she wondered why Zeno wasn’t more like his brothers. They seemed stable.
“I’m sorry about my brother.” She said that she would be gone in another week and he’d be on his own. “If you have anymore trouble with him, just let one of us know. There is no point in his treating you the way he has been. Even if you are his mate.”
“I didn’t pick him out to be anything to me.
” He said that he knew that. “I just want to get on with my life and avoid him as much as possible. Like I said, just another week on this route and I’ll be on my own again.
I only picked this up because we traded vacation times.
Harri and I are going to go on vacation as soon as school lets out and take the entire two weeks. ”
“That sounds like fun.” She said she was sure that it was going to be and smiled. Aaron grinned back and asked her where they were going. “I’m sure wherever it is you have it planned out to the minute.”
“I do, and we’ll be going to the happiest place on earth.
Don’t tell Harri. She’d be bothering me something terrible if she knew where we were going.
” He promised he wouldn’t say a word. “Thank you for going out of your way to help me out. I shouldn’t have any more trouble from now on. At least not with the car.”
“It was our pleasure, and I’m glad to meet you.
You’re nothing like I thought you’d be.” She asked him if he thought she was some bitch who didn’t get her way and took it out on others.
When his face turned red, she felt bad. “No, I just thought of you as a woman. I didn’t know you’d be so beautiful. ”
“Now it’s my turn to be embarrassed.” She laughed a little and told him that she was sorry again. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you at all. Just that my mouth gets ahead of my brain and I tend to say things that aren’t appropriate.”
“My wife says the same thing about herself. She is just as lovely, too. Mac will be jealous that I got to meet you.” Thanking him again, she was ready to go when they brought her car around.
It was perfect, and she was glad that she’d gotten it tonight.
“You drive carefully and don’t hesitate to call if you need one of us. ”
She was ready to get going and got Harri into her car seat.
The dealership had brought her old car to their lot, and she was able to get her car seat out of it with the other things that she’d left behind.
She knew that Aaron wanted to ask her questions, but she didn’t want to have to answer anything right now.
One more week to go and she’d be on her own again.
She was just glad that she’d been able to get help with her car.
It was more than she could have hoped for.
Anna drove the two of them home and was glad that it wasn’t too late for her to get Harri in bed.
Even though she didn’t have school tomorrow, she liked to be on a schedule.
As soon as they were home and in front of the television, the two of them started yawning.
She’d bet that they’d both sleep in a little late, as stress had a way of doing things like that.
By eight-thirty, they were both in their pajamas and ready for bed.
Harri was usually in bed by nine, so this was just a little early for her.
Anna went to bed at ten on most nights but wondered if she could make it tonight.
It had been a long couple of days for the two of them, and she wanted things to be normal.
As soon as her lights were out, she was fighting sleep in order to set her alarm for nine.
She usually didn’t sleep that late, but she had promised Harri they’d go to the melon fest in the morning, and she was going to keep her promise.