6

 

Tallia pulled away from the curb and followed the SUV, thankful to have Blake leading the way.

She reached across the front seat to pull Kelsey’s hand into hers, forcing away the memory of Blake doing the same thing less than an hour ago. She felt a flash of guilt and then shoved it away.

His father smokes pot all the time. It’s no big deal.

Could that be true, though? She didn’t know Blake that well, but from what she’d seen tonight it was really hard to believe the man was still doing drugs. Maybe she’d jumped to conclusions, but she couldn’t take any chances. Surely, Eli knew his own father well enough to know the truth. On the other hand, according to Blake, Eli had been handfed half-truths and outright lies about Blake for years. Maybe he didn’t know his father at all.

Kelsey’s sobs broke through her musings.

“It’s OK. We’re safe now.”

“I know.” The girl sniffed and dried her tears on her coat’s sleeve. “It’s just…how did it all go so horribly wrong? It was supposed to be fun and romantic. We were just going to sit together on a blanket and…oh, no.”

“What?”

“I forgot all about the blanket. It’s still there.”

“We can’t go back. Does it matter?”

“It was yours. That blue fuzzy one. I found it in the cabinet in the bathroom.”

Tallia had bought it for ten dollars. She started to tell Kelsey not to worry about it, but then thought better of it.

“We’ll consider it a contribution to the homeless. You can pay me back.”

“OK.”

“So you didn’t see the night turning out this way?”

“No! I thought…I didn’t think it was that big a deal. We’d sneak out, come down, listen to some music, and get home before you ever knew we were gone. It was supposed to be an adventure.”

Kelsey. The adventurous one.

Tallia had always been so careful and practical. The most daring thing she’d ever done was quit her teaching job, and at the time, she’d been pretty sure her parents would die of shock.

“But that park and this whole area is so…yucky. And the music wasn’t that good. And Eli was so angry.”

“What was he mad about?”

“His father, of course.”

“What did Blake do?”

“I don’t know. I guess they decorated a Christmas tree and his dad made spaghetti. It actually sounded like a good night, but Eli…I don’t know. I guess he thinks his father has ulterior motives.”

“Like …?”

“He thinks his dad moved here to clean up his image. That he’s going to move back to Hollywood as soon as he can convince the world he’s a family man. He thinks his dad’s trying to get a part or…I don’t know.”

Tallia’s heart picked up speed.

“I just feel sorry for Eli. This wasn’t my idea, but he wanted to get away from his dad’s house. I thought it would be OK.”

“Why do you feel sorry for him?”

“His mom’s remarried. And he feels like a third wheel there, like they can’t wait for him to grow up and get out. I’ve met his mom, though, and I don’t think she makes him feel that way. I think he just…does. And of course his dad is, you know,” she sniffed, “Blake Carmichael.”

“Has it ever occurred to Eli that his father moved here because he loves him and wants to be with him?”

Kelsey seemed to consider the question. After a moment, she said, “I don’t know. I doubt it.”

“I guess it would be hard for him to believe if he’s still smoking pot. That makes everything else he says suspect.”

“Yeah…” Kelsey sounded unsure.

“That’s what you said, right? That Eli said his father smokes in front of him?”

“Well, not exactly. He said he thinks his father still smokes pot. But I don’t think he’s ever actually seen him do it. And, well…”

“What?”

“He also said that his father wouldn’t care if he sneaked out. That he’d be mad if his mother found out, but his dad probably wouldn’t even find out, because why would he check on him? And if he did, he wouldn’t care. But tonight, he didn’t seem like a guy who didn’t care, did he?”

“No.” Tallia remembered the accusations she’d hurled earlier. Her heart dropped. She remembered the hurt look in Blake’s eyes after she yanked her hand away in the car, remembered how that look had lingered into the park while they’d looked for the kids. She’d been so quick to judge and so very wrong. “He definitely cared. He was scared to death for both of you.”

“So maybe…”

The engine died. No weird noises, no warning.

“What happened?”

The car slowed to a stop.

Tallia shifted into park and turned the key. Nothing. She was in the middle of the road.

Blake’s taillights grew smaller in the windshield and turned at the corner.

Tallia grabbed her purse to get her emergency auto card out and then remembered. “No! No, no, no! He has my wallet!” She reached into her coat pocket for her phone and panicked. “I don’t have his number, either.”

“I’ll call Eli.” Kelsey dialed the number. A moment later, she hung up. “His phone is still off.”

Tallia prayed the car would start and turned the key. Nothing. She counted to ten and tried again. Still nothing. She had to get in touch with Blake. Without her wallet, they were in serious trouble.

“We can’t just sit here,” she murmured.

A truck pulled up behind them.

Tallia checked the rear-view mirror and through the glare of its headlights, saw a tall figure step out and walk towards them. She locked the car doors and met Kelsey’s gaze. “It’s OK.” Her voice shook. “I’ll call 9-1-1.”

The figure knocked on her window.

She could only see a coat. A familiar coat.

He stooped down and looked inside. “Tallia? Are you guys OK?”

Blake. Thank God.

She breathed the prayer with heartfelt relief and rolled down the window. “Yeah. The car just…died.”

“Huh. OK. Sorry it took us so long to get back to you. I had to circle the block. This is a one-way street.”

“Right.” She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. “Thank you for coming back for us.”

That same look of hurt crossed his features before he slid on a polite mask. “Of course. Let me try. Can you step out, please?”

Blake pushed the seat all the way back before folding his extra-large body inside the compact car.

She stood by the window and watched him.

“Hmm, interior lights are on, dash lights are on.” He turned the key. Nothing happened. “No clicks. Probably not the battery.” He turned the key again.

“Huh.” He turned to Tallia. “Were any of the warning lights on?”

“I don’t—”

Kelsey interrupted. “The check engine light, the oil light, and the brake light are always on.”

He nodded slowly. “I see. Well, we can’t stay here. We’re blocking the road. Kelsey, can you get behind the wheel please?”

“Sure.” Kelsey walked around the car, and after Blake stepped out, climbed in.

“Tallia, will you drive my car, please?”

“Sure, I guess.”

“Thanks. Put on the hazards and follow us.”

“OK.”

“Kelsey, put it in neutral and keep your foot off the brake. Turn left at the corner. You won’t have power steering, so you’ll have to really yank it. Can you do that?”

“OK. But how…?”

Blake addressed Eli, who was standing beside Tallia. “Looks like we’re pushing.”

A moment later, father and son leaned against the back of the car, side-by-side.

Tallia followed in the SUV as the car rolled towards the intersection and made a wide left. A few minutes later, the car pulled over to the curb across the street from a well-lit building.

It was the diner with a neon sign that read, Always Open.

“Pull over here, Kelsey.” Blake called as he gave the car a final push. It rolled to a stop. He pointed to the diner’s parking lot across the street, and she pulled in.

Kelsey stepped out of the car and looked around. “Is this all right?”

“You OK?” Eli asked him.

“I’m not that old.” Blake said, and then looked at Kelsey. “You did great.”

“I can’t believe you guys pushed it so far,” Kelsey said. “Thank you.”

Eli puffed up beside him. “No problem, babe.”

Blake turned away to hide his rolling eyes. “Let’s go inside and warm up, shall we?”

“Yes! I need a bathroom!” Kelsey said.

The two women headed through the glass doors into the diner.

Eli cleared his throat. “Thanks for…that.”

“For what?” Blake said. Why make it easy on the kid?

“For helping Kelsey out.”

“No problem.”

“Should we call a tow truck?”

“Let me have a look at it first,” Blake said. “Maybe I can fix it.”

Eli said nothing, but his tight lips and narrowed eyes spoke volumes. Apparently, Eli was skeptical of Blake’s ability to fix a car.

As they neared the building, he could smell the strong, pungent scent of coffee. He looked at his watch. Almost four in the morning. He yawned and walked through the door.

Tallia almost crashed into him. His keys, which had been in her hand, fell to the ground with a clatter. “Oh, sorry.”

“Excuse me,” he said at the same time. He picked up the keys, pocketed them and met her eyes. “You OK?”

“I need to get my wallet,” she said.

“I’ll get it for you after we order.”

“But then—”

“Don’t worry.” He gave her a wry smile. “It’s definitely not a date.”

“Definitely not.” She turned and walked back inside.

“What was that all about?” Eli said.

Blake exhaled his frustration. “Nothing.”

The four ordered drinks. Eli, Kelsey and Blake ordered food, too.

At the table, a silence settled and the longer it drew out, the more uncomfortable it became, until Blake was sure he could feel the tension seeping into his skin like the frigid air outside. He hurried to finish his muffin.

Eli polished off his eggs. The boy had a cinnamon roll resting on a napkin, waiting to be devoured.

Blake stopped him.

“Eli, finish that later. I need your help.”

Eli gazed longingly at the food before looking up. “Right now?”

“Yes. Let’s see if we can figure out what’s wrong with that car.”

“How? We don’t know anything about cars.”

“Speak for yourself. Come on. Maybe you’ll learn something.”

Blake turned to the girls as Eli wrapped his snack in a napkin and handed it to Kelsey.

“You two stay inside please,” Blake said.

“OK.”

“Thank you.” Kelsey held out the keys to her car and smiled.

Blake grabbed the keys and really looked at Kelsey for the first time.

She was cute. Long, straight brown hair, brown eyes with a girl-next-door kind of look. And she seemed sweet and tenderhearted.

Blake could see what his son saw in her.

Back outside the air was cold. Of course, he’d worked up a sweat pushing the car. And back at the park he’d been too keyed up to notice the temperature. He wrapped both hands around his Styrofoam cup of coffee as they walked.

“Since when do you know how to fix cars?” Eli said.

“Oh, a long time. My uncle owned a gas station and garage when I was growing up.”

“In Colorado?”

“Uh-huh. I went to work for him when I was about thirteen. At first, I just filled up tanks. But he started teaching me, and after a few years there weren’t very many jobs he wouldn’t let me do.”

“Huh. I didn’t know that.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

The statement hung like their foggy breath in the cold air as they closed the distance.

Blake unlocked the door to Kelsey’s car and climbed inside. After sliding his coffee cup into the cup holder, he tried the key in the ignition.

Nothing.

He popped the hood, climbed out, and walked to the front of the car, propping the hood up. He stared at the engine.

It was really dark.

He pulled his keys out and held them out to Eli. “Run to my car. There’s a flashlight in the glove box. And there might be a rag, or some tissues in there, too.” Blake pulled the Broncos cap off his head. He hated wearing hats, and in this darkness, it shouldn’t be necessary. “Here,” he said, handing the hat to his son. “Throw this in the backseat.”

Eli set his coffee on the sidewalk, and then ran to the SUV.

Blake checked the battery connections. Solid. He really didn’t think it was the battery.

A streetlight buzzed on the far corner, illuminating the area slightly, but the car’s hood cast the engine in shadow. He couldn’t see much at all. He searched and found the dipstick handle just as Eli returned.

“Here you go.” He handed Blake a handkerchief.

“Thanks. Shine the light for me.” Blake pulled the dipstick out, wiped it off with the handkerchief, and slid it back inside. He pulled it out again. “Shine it right there.”

Eli did so, illuminating the end of the dipstick.

Well, that’ll do it.

He pulled out his phone.

“What’s Kelsey’s cell phone number?”

Eli rattled off the digits, and Blake dialed. A moment later, the girl answered.

“Hey, it’s…” Mr. Carmichael sounded wrong. Blake sounded too familiar. He sighed and said, “Eli’s dad. We need to have it towed. Is there a garage your family uses?”

“Um, not really. My father always fixes the cars. Are you sure it’s dead?”

“Yes, I’m sure. There’s no oil in the engine.”

“Oh. Can we just put oil in it?”

Blake resisted the urge to laugh. “I’m sorry. It’s too late for that. What’s your address?”

“You can’t have it towed to my house! My parents will find out and they’ll kill me.”

Blake grabbed his coffee from inside the car, listening to Tallia’s voice in the background. It was muffled, but he could imagine what she was saying.

Finally, Kelsey came back on the line. “I guess I’ll have to call my parents.” She gave him the address and hung up.

Blake felt sorry for the girl as he dialed his auto service.

Eli caught Blake’s gaze. “I’m going to put this stuff back in your car, check on Kelsey, and get another coffee. Want one?”

Blake nodded.

A tired female voice said, “Sorry for your wait. How can I help you?”

After explaining the predicament, Blake rattled off his membership number and told her where he was. He was looking at the street sign on the corner to confirm the street name.

She gasped. “Oh, wait! Are you the Blake Carmichael? From the movies?”

Tonight, he was too tired not to use his fame in his favor. “I am, yes. And I’m in a bit of a hurry. I’m stranded here with a couple of kids and a beautiful woman, and it’s not a very nice part of town.”

“OK, Mr. Carmichael, we’ll have someone out there ASAP.”

“Thank you very much.”

“My pleasure. I’m a big fan.”

“Thanks. If you get that tow truck out here fast, I’ll be a big fan of yours, too.”

The woman giggled as she ended the call.

Sometimes fame worked for him. In fact, it worked for him a lot—but never when it came to his son.

Never when it really mattered.