“Are you okay?” Londyn asked, leaning into my side.
“Me?” I gaped at her. “Someone tried to run you off the fucking road. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She blew out a long breath, resting her cheek against my arm. “I won’t be later, but at the moment, I’m okay and that’s all that matters.”
I clutched her hand, holding it tight like I had over the past hour. She was keeping it together at the moment, a credit to her incredible strength. But every five or ten minutes, a tremor would run through her body. Her grip on my fingers would tighten. If and when she fell apart later, it would be in the safety of my arms.
Whoever had done this to her would pay dearly.
We were standing on the side of the highway, waiting for the sheriff’s deputy on the scene to finish taking photos of her car. He’d already taken her statement.
I’d listened with silent fury as Londyn had recapped the details of the accident. I should have thrown her keys in the damn lake and refused to let her leave town.
It seemed like days since she’d left me standing on the sidewalk outside the motel, not hours. For a moment, when I’d caught her looking at me in the rearview mirror, I’d thought maybe she’d turn back.
Maybe she’d prove us both wrong—maybe she’d make my life—and stay.
But she’d kept on driving. When her car had disappeared around a bend in the highway, it had been over. I sure hadn’t expected her name to flash on my phone’s screen so soon after she’d left—if ever.
The fear in her voice had had me racing through town in the tow truck. I’d been a goddamn scared mess when I’d shown up to find her car toppled sideways in the ditch. I’d pulled her in for a hug and hadn’t let go, even when the cop had shown up. But the time to worry had passed and now I was fucking pissed.
This was attempted murder in my book and that meant years in prison. It didn’t seem like enough.
“Brooks.” The deputy waved me over. I refused to let go of Londyn’s hand, so together, we met him by the hood of his cruiser, the lights still flashing on top. “I’m done here. You can load it up and take it back to town.”
“Can I get going on repairs? Or do we need to leave it as is?”
“Hold for now. Let me confirm we don’t need anything else for the investigation.”
“There’s no hurry,” Londyn said. “Thanks for your help.”
“Ma’am.” He tipped his hat, then walked to his car, his notepad in hand. He stayed parked, slowing traffic, until I had the Cadillac winched out of the ditch and loaded on the flatbed.
It took me over an hour and I hated leaving Londyn alone in the truck, but I didn’t want her standing on the road. Finally, as the afternoon faded to evening, I waved goodbye to the deputy and drove us down the road to Summers.
The time outside hadn’t cooled my anger in the slightest. While I snarled over the steering wheel, Londyn kept her eerie calm in the passenger seat.
“I’m going to drop you off, then take the Cadillac to the shop.”
“Okay.” She sagged against the door. “Feels like we’ve been here before.”
“Yeah.” I barked a dry laugh as the motel came into view.
Londyn could sit at the motel with Meggie for an hour while I dropped off her car. There was no way in hell I was leaving her anywhere alone until we found the sick bastard who could have killed her today.
“I’m going to leave you with Meggie while I take the car to the shop. You can get settled at the motel. She’ll be glad to have you back.” We’d all be glad to have her back in Summers.
“The motel?” She sat up straight, then slapped a hand over her forehead. “Oh. Oh my God. I’m an idiot.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing.” She turned to the window. “Never mind.”
I wasn’t in the mood for never minds. “What did you mean, you’re an idiot?”
“It’s nothing.” She waved it off.
“Londyn.” My jaw clenched tight. “I’m hanging on by a thread here. Talk to me.”
She hesitated, then looked my way. “You asked me to stay.”
“And you said no.” I remembered that word quite clearly from our conversation.
“You didn’t ask again, and I thought you were just being understanding. I’m an idiot because I didn’t even consider you might want me to go. That you were just in this for the short-term.” Her voice cracked and she dropped her gaze to her lap.
“What the fuck are you talking about? How hard did you hit your head?” I studied her face. It was too pale. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”
How could she think I didn’t want her to stay? Watching her drive away had been ten times harder than I’d expected.
“I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
“If you think I wanted you to leave, then you’re not thinking straight.”
“You want me to stay?”
I nodded. “Very much so.”
“Then why didn’t you ask me again?”
“Because you said no.” I tossed a hand into the air, the hold on my temper nearly a thread. “I got the message. Over and over. You’re leaving Summers and not looking back. I’m not the type of guy who asks a question when I already know the answer.”
“Oh.” She lifted a hand to cover a smile.
I reached across the truck and pulled that hand away. “You’re not leaving?”
“I’m not leaving. I was looking for a place to turn around when that truck tried to run me off the road.”
But she’d been so set on going. “For how long?”
“I haven’t really put a time limit on this. Would you mind if I stayed?” She paused. “With you?”
Would I mind? Fuck no, I wouldn’t mind. She could stay with me for as long as she wanted. Forever, if that suited her fancy. With Londyn, each day was brighter. I didn’t want to live the rest of my life alone. But I didn’t want just any woman to share my life.
I wanted Londyn.
Something I wanted to talk about, but not while I was driving a goddamn tow truck.
“Hold that question for me, honey. I need to see your face.”
She nodded, folding her hands in her lap. Damn it. Had that come out as a rejection? Because that’s not what I’d meant.
Son of a bitch. I was pissed about the asshole who’d run her off the road and things weren’t coming out right. I hit the edge of Summers and pulled the rig to the side of the road. Then I hopped out, jogging around to the other side to open Londyn’s door. “Climb down.”
She nodded, undoing her seat belt. Then she stepped on the running board before jumping to the road.
“Start over for me. You’re staying?” I needed to hear it again.
Londyn nodded. “I’d like to stay.”
“And I’d like you to stay. With me.”
“Yes, please.” She giggled.
I wrapped her up, pulling her into my chest. Then I laughed with her, long and loud.
She was staying.
“What made you change your mind?” I asked, dropping my cheek to the top of her head.
“The truth? I’m scared.”
I let her go, taking her chin under my finger to tip up her face. “Why?”
“I’ve always been the one to leave.”
One sentence, and it all made sense. Running away was how Londyn stayed in control. It was her protection mechanism. “I get it.”
“What if you leave me?” Sheer vulnerability washed over her face. She stripped away all the guards, making her even more beautiful. “I’ve never stuck around to see the pieces fall apart. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to take it.”
“I’m not going anywhere, honey. If you stay, we’re going to make a real thing out of this. Mark my words.”
“How do you know?”
I took her hand and placed it over my heart, then I covered it with my own. “I feel it. Deep.”
Londyn wasn’t in the place to hear three little words, not yet. Hell, I wasn’t ready to say them. But there wasn’t a rush. We had time.
Because she was staying.
I took her mouth in a kiss, sweeping my tongue against hers for the taste I’d crave for the rest of my life. This was a big risk on her part, and I’d make sure she never regretted it. She’d never second-guess a life in Summers.
I broke the kiss and dropped my forehead to hers. “This is a better end to the day than I’d expected.”
“Me too. Except for the whacko who ran me off the road.”
I muttered a curse. “Let’s get home.”
She nodded and let me help her up into the truck.
“Want to come along with me to the shop?” I asked, easing onto the road. “Or sit at the motel with Meggie? I don’t care either way, I just don’t want you alone.”
“I’d like to stay with you.” She shivered, reaching over for my hand. The fear she’d been hiding was leeching through her calm exterior.
“This has gone too far. The vandalism was one thing, but you could have been hurt.”
“Who would do this to me?” she whispered. “I don’t know anyone in Summers.”
“I don’t think this is about you. It’s got to be about me.”
“Well, it’s not Moira. So what other enemies do you have in town?”
“Hell if I know.” Up until today, I would have said I was a fairly well-liked guy. I got along with most folks in town. My entire family was well liked too. I couldn’t think of the last time I’d had an unhappy customer at the shop.
It didn’t take us long to get to the shop, but unloading the car took some time. When it was in its regular stall, we both walked around the Cadillac, taking in all the damage. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t a quick fix either.
“Mack’s going to be able to send his kids to college on all the money he’s making to fix this Cadillac.”
Londyn laughed, leaning against me. “It’s only seven o’clock but I’m so ready for bed.”
“Dinner first. What would you like?”
“Pizza.”
“Pizza it is.” I nodded. “I’ll call Wyatt and have him bring one over for us.”
“He’s not at Moira’s tonight?”
“He is, but if I tell him you’re staying indefinitely, he’ll come with an extra-large meat supreme.”
She smiled up at me. “With the veggies.”
“With the veggies.”
“It looks so sad.” Her eyes raked over the car, the scratches and the dents. It would take considerably longer at the body shop to repair this wreck. It might even require some new parts.
“I’ll fix it,” I vowed. “Then . . .” I’d gotten so used to saying that she’d be on her way.
“Then I’ll drive it around Summers.”
“What about returning it to Karson? What about taking it to California?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Someday, I’d like to track him down. I’d like to give him this car and let him have it for a while. But maybe when that time comes, you’ll come with me.”
“I’d like that.”
“We could wait until Wyatt is in college. If we pick a time when you can be away from the garage, maybe that wish I made might actually come true.”
“You’re sure?” I put my hands on her shoulders. “You’ll wait? You’ll stay in Summers until then?”
“I’m staying. Would you come with me to California?”
“Yes.” Without a doubt. Londyn would have a hard time taking a trip across the country without me. “That’s a lot of long-term thinking for a woman who just wanted to roam America.”
Londyn laughed. “I want to roam, just not alone.”
“Turns out I haven’t had a decent vacation in sixteen years. Think I’m overdue.”
“California first. Then where?”
I let out a long breath. “Are we really talking about this? You and me?”
“I feel it.” She put her hand over her own heart this time. “Deep.”
“Then California first. We’ll decide where to go from there.”
She crashed into my arms, winding her arms around my waist. I breathed in her scent, grateful I wouldn’t have to search for it on the sheets tonight because she was here. I could hold her. Touch her.
Keep her.
We stood there, holding on to one another, until her stomach rumbled and forced us apart. “Let’s get home. We’ll eat and then call it a day.”
The police would likely have a ton of questions tomorrow. All I cared about was that they found the person who did this.
Londyn unwrapped herself from around me and stepped away, taking another crushing look at her car.
I turned too, inspecting it once more. It was a fucking mess. The paint was scratched to hell. A couple of the panels were dented. The mirror on the passenger side was barely hanging on. The bumper was loose.
“What color was the truck again?” I asked. She’d told the deputy, but I’d been so fucking furious and scared, I hadn’t absorbed the details.
“Blue.”
“What kind of blue?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Bright. Electric blue, maybe?”
Electric blue. “And what kind of truck? Do you remember any details?”
“No, not really. I just remember it was really tall. When it was beside me, I couldn’t see inside.”
An electric blue truck with a lift kit.
I’d seen a truck like that parked in my own driveway more than once.
“What the hell?” I stood, fisting my hands on my hips. No way.
“What?” Londyn came to my side, staring at the spot where I was looking. “What am I looking at?”
“You’re sure it was bright blue?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
I snatched up her hand and marched for the back door. I hit the button to close the overhead door and locked up as soon as we were outside. Then I put us both in my truck, not uttering a word.
My mind was stuck on a possibility I didn’t even want to consider.
“Okay, what am I missing?” Londyn asked as I backed away from the garage.
“A hunch,” I answered through gritted teeth. And if that hunch was right, I was about to lose my shit.
I sped down the streets toward home, skidding to a stop when I hit my driveway. The second Londyn and I were out of the car, I whipped out my phone and dialed my son’s number.
“Hey, Dad,” he answered.
“Get home. Now.” I ended the call without explanation.
“What’s going on, Brooks?” Londyn touched my forearm as I paced on the grass beyond the front door.
“Describe it all to me again. Start at the beginning.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “The truck came up behind me while I was on the phone with Gemma. I didn’t even see it until it was right behind me, and only then all I could really see was the grill. I was trying to watch the road. It bumped me a couple of times, then drove up beside me. I thought it would pass, but it stayed close. There was a car coming the other way so I hit the brakes. I swerved, overcorrected and veered into the ditch.”
“When the truck was beside you, what did it look like?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Tall, mostly. Blue. It wasn’t shiny though, not like the Cadillac.”
Matte electric blue. I was seconds away from nuclear, but I kept it together because I didn’t want to scare Londyn. “Okay. What else? Did you see the driver?”
“No. I was just trying to stay on the road.”
“Understandable. Was there someone else? A passenger? Or was it only the driver?”
Her forehead furrowed as she thought it over. “I-I don’t know.”
We’d find out soon enough.
I stayed in the front yard, my arms crossed over my chest, until Wyatt drove up in his white Ford F-150. We’d bought the truck about six months ago on his birthday. He’d chipped in a third from his savings, and I’d covered the rest.
If I was right, that truck was about to become a lawn ornament.
“Hey.” He stepped out and waved to Londyn. “You’re back.”
She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could speak, I held up a hand. “Truth, son. I expect the truth.”
That’s all I had to say. His frame crumpled. “It wasn’t my idea.”
“Fuck.” I ran a hand through my hair. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
“It was Joe’s idea.”
Fucking Joe. An idiot of a kid who, at best, had two brain cells to rub together. The kid came from absentee parents who thought restoring an old Chevy truck, complete with a monster lift kit and custom paint job, was the way to their son’s heart.
“Joe’s idea. That’s not a reason!” I roared. “You could have hurt her. You could have killed her.”
Wyatt’s face paled. “We were just trying to scare her. Joe wasn’t supposed to run her off the road, just tap her bumper a couple of times. Scare her into turning around.”
“Oh, Wyatt.” Londyn touched her hand to her heart. “It was you?”
My son’s frame sank even lower as he hung his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Why?” I demanded, my fury barely in check. How could my son do this to me? How could he put the woman I loved—absolutely fucking loved after only weeks—in danger like that?
“You seemed happy,” Wyatt whispered. “I saw you on the rock together. That night I delivered Thai to Meggie. I forgot her extra carton of rice, so I brought it over. You were laughing. I thought, if she stayed longer, you might . . . I don’t know.”
He thought I’d stay happy.
So he’d vandalized the garage. He’d slashed her tires. He’d done it all to get Londyn to stay.
My anger dulled from a raging boil to a hot simmer. “Son, this was not the way.”
“I know.” He hung his head. “I just . . . I was trying to help.”
Christ. I cast a glance at Londyn. She wasn’t even mad. She stared at Wyatt with a soft smile on her face. “You might have hurt her. Things could have ended much differently.”
“I told him not to hit her car. I told him over and over to back off. But he didn’t listen.” He lifted his head to Londyn. “I’m so sorry. I saw you swerve into the ditch and I’ve never been more scared. I begged Joe to go back for you, but he said the cops would arrest us. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” Londyn sighed. “Scared, but otherwise unharmed.”
Goddamn it. I rubbed my temples. What was I supposed to do now? I pulled out my phone from my pocket and handed it to Wyatt.
“Call the sheriff’s station. You can explain what happened.”
Wyatt’s face twisted in agony, but he nodded. “Okay, Dad.”
Then I stood there and watched my son make probably the hardest phone call of his life.
The deputy who’d been on the road with us came over and took our statements along with Wyatt’s confession. Londyn refused to press charges. An hour later, Wyatt had been issued a warning and the deputy was on his way to Joe’s house to deliver a reckless driving ticket.
It was a slap on the wrist, but one I knew would sink deep for my son.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” Wyatt said as we sat in the living room. We still hadn’t eaten, but I’d lost my appetite. I’d offered to get a pizza delivered, but Londyn hadn’t been hungry anymore either.
“You’re grounded. Until . . . college.” Maybe longer. “I’m assuming the keying and the tires and wrecking the garage was you too?”
He gave me a solemn nod.
Wyatt was the other person with a key to the garage and the thought that he’d do that to me or a customer hadn’t even crossed my mind. “You’re paying me back for everything. With interest.”
He hung his head. “Yes, sir.”
Londyn’s hand came over mine as she shifted closer on the couch. She looked up at me, her eyes begging me to take it easy.
Maybe I would, but I certainly wouldn’t tonight. Vehicles were weapons. I’d taught that lesson to Wyatt many times, so why hadn’t he learned? And the vandalism? That was petty bullshit. I’d raised him better than that.
And as far as I was concerned, Wyatt wasn’t hanging out with Joe for the rest of his life.
“Go to bed,” I ordered. I’d already texted Moira what was going on. Thankfully, she’d always been in sync with me as a parent. We supported one another when it came to punishments for Wyatt.
She’d promised that while he was grounded at my house, he’d be grounded at hers too.
Wyatt stood from the chair, turning for his room, but before he walked away, he came over to Londyn, bending low to give her a hug. “Sorry.”
She patted his shoulder. “Good night, Wyatt.”
He sulked to his bedroom.
When his door was closed, I let my head fall back into the couch. “Shit. He did it for the right reasons, but damn. I don’t even know what to say.”
Londyn stayed quiet for a minute, then her hand flew to her mouth. I sat up, expecting tears. Instead, she had a fit of giggles. Her hand muffled the laughter, but her eyes watered.
“Is this really funny?”
She pulled herself together, swiping her eyes dry. “Do you think we should tell him I was turning around anyway?”
“Yes,” I muttered. “He needs to suffer for his stupidity.”
“But not too much.” She curled into my side. “His heart was in the right place.”
“Yeah.” He’d been thinking of his dad. He’d seen right from the start, before even knowing her, that Londyn was someone special. “I didn’t get your suitcases from the Cadillac.”
“I don’t think I need any clothes tonight, do you?”
Tonight. Tomorrow night. All the nights after that. “No, you don’t.”
We’d get her suitcases tomorrow, she’d unload them into my closet, and she’d stay. She might not realize it yet, but she was home. In Summers. In this house.
The next time she wanted to leave and find a new adventure, she’d have company.
We’d drive that runaway road together.