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JAXON
Running a hand through his hair, Jaxon stared at the mess around him. He was so far behind on his time schedule, he had no way to explain anything to Colin. He’d left his car charger back at his apartment in Seattle and hadn’t had a chance to stop and buy a charger for the car rental.
How many stores had he passed on his way to US-95? Plenty. He could’ve pulled in and gotten a charger anywhere and he hadn’t. Rationalizing that he wasn’t that far behind his schedule to arrive.
He really just wanted to get up to Sandpoint to see Colin, see if her interest had really increased to the point he could openly flirt with her and she wouldn’t flitter away. She’d said something about being matched, but that wasn’t possible. He’d taken the quiz in test mode, at least that’s what she’d said the program was in.
But test mode or not, she’d said at the start of their phone call earlier that week that they were matched. Not for the first time, Jaxon wondered if she’d taken the quiz as well while in test mode. Had she? To see if they were compatible? The possibility that she was softening toward him was intoxicating and not the least bit distracting.
Absence really did make the heart grow fonder. He couldn’t think of anything else since their phone call and his palms wanted to sweat his addiction to her out of him. She’d become the sole reason he did anything. Not talking to her for a couple weeks had been painful and if it was even possible, he’d become more entranced by her without even seeing her.
That didn’t mean he hadn’t looked up everything he could about her. He’d finally accepted he was morphing into some kind of stalker which made him feel better. Wasn’t acceptance the first sign he was getting better? If falling for Colin was better, he’d take it.
Red taillights in front of him didn’t stretch as far as the glowing headlights behind him. The sun had set a long time ago while he’d been sitting in traffic, waiting for the emergency services to clear up the debris from the wreck.
From his vantage point, there were four cars and a semi-truck involved in the mess at the bottom of the bridge. Bits of metal and glass littered the ground and he wasn’t sure if there were any casualties. The ambulance lights weren’t flashing which wasn’t a positive sign.
He had no way to text Colin and the time to meet her had come and gone. She had to think he’d stood her up. She probably wouldn’t trust him again and he had no way to fix it. He couldn’t believe that with every step forward with her, he was shoved back a yard.
The restriction from a dead phone was crippling.
At least it wasn’t raining or snowing, or whatever the inclement weather did in north Idaho. According to the memes he’d been able to find on social media, the weather did whatever it wanted in that part of the country and the expectations of seasons like spring and summer were more like wishes tossed down a wishing well. There was even snow reported in July one year.
Finally, about ten-thirty, when he’d been there for a solid seven hours and who knew how long the line of cars was behind him, the vehicles in front of him started to move, creeping forward like they weren’t sure what they were doing, but they were going anyway.
Some people had gotten out of their vehicles to stand and chat on the side of the road. A woman with her children had played in the grass while another group of men had smoked in the grassy divider beside their cars.
The movement of the cars surprised them and they scrambled back into their cars.
Elation filled Jaxon. He felt awful that he was happy to be going and only mildly concerned about the victims. But he had to get to Colin. She had to be worried. Hadn’t she said that was where the accident was when she’d lost her fiancé? Jaxon didn’t want to focus on that while he waited, but as they got moving, he couldn’t help his thoughts from turning that direction.
Hopefully, Colin hadn’t heard about the car accident. Jaxon wasn’t so egotistical that he thought she cared enough about him to worry like that, but he didn’t want to cause any painful rehashings of memories that would crush her.
He got to the office building, pulling into a parallel parking spot off the street. Night life had begun and Panhandle Cones and Coffee had closed hours before. Music poured from the doorway of the bar two buildings down.
Jaxon took the steps two at a time with his carryon bag in hand. He unlocked the door and let himself into the office and apartment, glad he’d kept it. He didn’t feel like checking into a hotel or dealing with people in general. He was exhausted and bothered that he’d let Colin down before they’d even had a chance to see each other.
It was too late to bother Colin. She would probably be in bed by that time. He’d meet up with her first thing in the morning, if she was still talking to him.
Setting the luggage on the bed, he pulled out the phone charger he’d brought from home and plugged it into the wall and then into his phone. After his cell got enough juice, Jaxon turned it on and brought the entire set up into the bathroom, plugging it into an outlet beside the counter. He started up his voicemail while his messages and email synced. On speakerphone, he could push through them while washing his face and brushing his teeth.
Turning on the water, Jaxon yawned. The travel day had been a long one. Hopefully, Colin wasn’t too upset and Jaxon could see her. He was really looking forward to her spunky sass and her forthright attitude. Somehow he’d grown fonder of her than he’d expected. He’d fallen for her long ago, but he hadn’t expected to like her so much. Love was one thing, looking forward to a future was one thing, but liking the person you wanted to be with was something entirely out of his experience.
The first voicemail was from Colin expressing mild curiosity on if he was okay or not. He smiled that she’d at least reached out to him. Her concern felt good. He deleted the message and the phone beeped, going through the time stamp of the next message before playing it. Colin again, and this time was filled with more concern. Then the next and the next until Jaxon realized just how worried she’d become.
The last one had a time stamp of fifteen minutes before. Drying his hands, Jaxon deleted the final voicemail and hung up. Texts beeped in on his phone. He lifted the still plugged in phone and selected the text thread he had with Colin.
Give me a ring when you get this.
If you’re not coming, that’s totally fine, I get it, but let me know you’re okay.
Carlisle said there’s an accident on 95. Are you okay?
Jaxon? Are you okay?
Do I need to call the cops? I don’t have the number for your secretary.
Jaxon, call me. I’m freaking out. If you’re in the hospital or something... just call me.
Are you there?
Her worry and concern tore at Jaxon and he shut off the water. He could feel her fear through the messages and his chest tightened. He couldn’t just call her. He had to see her. She sounded like she was close to a breakdown. Jaxon had to show her he was fine. She’d never believe he was okay at that point with just a phone call.
He had to make sure she was alright, too.
Her address was on the contract and he pulled up his email to get it for the Google Maps app. Jaxon then had to wait twenty minutes before he could leave to give his phone time to get to fifty percent. He couldn’t head toward her house without the GPS directions. If the phone died, Jaxon would never find his way back.