Since it had been a private bathroom, she’d taken care of Charlotte and then to Trevor’s great delight, he’d been allowed to go in by himself. Sara and Charlotte had waited at the end of the candy aisle. She’d peered out the glass storefront, expecting to see that Stranger Danger was long gone. Instead, she’d seen him climbing into his truck.
Part of her had been relieved he was leaving, but a bigger part had been disappointed. She hadn’t had a visceral reaction to a man like that since…well, ever. All of her life, she’d waited for that flash of heat, the fireworks, the thing she’d read about in all of the romance novels that she’d poured over since she was in high school to happen to her, but it never had. At least, not until today.
The second her gaze had locked with those haunting green eyes, her entire body had gone up in flames. Every rational, or even irrational, thought had instantly evaporated from her brain. She’d forgotten where she was, what she was doing, even her name. Then, before she’d figured out how to extinguish the blaze, Stranger Danger had spoken. Just one little word. Hi. That’s all it had taken for the heat to spread like a wildfire.
It had consumed her to the point where even trying to get out a simple apology for her son’s rambling had been a struggle. If it weren’t for her munchkins snapping her back to reality, she might’ve spun off into another dimension of outer-space arousal.
When she’d seen the very man she’d shared her close encounter of the sexy kind with was sitting in his truck and was getting ready to leave, it had been more than a little disappointing. She’d waited, expecting any second for the flame igniter to drive into the sunset, or midday sun, never to be seen or heard from again.
This was her life, after all. She didn’t get the man of her dreams. She didn’t get the happily ever after. She didn’t get the knight in shining armor. And that was fine. She’d always been perfectly capable of not only caring for herself, but for her siblings, and then for her own munchkins. And she’d done it alone. No hero, no help, no problem. Her expectations were low when it came to her own luck and happiness. It was just easier that way.
Which was why, when he’d gotten out of his truck and proceeded to fill both of her back tires, taking the time to check each tire with his gauge, she’d been so shocked someone could’ve easily knocked her over with a feather.
Talk about a plot twist.
When they’d left the gas station, she’d walked directly toward him, Trevor and Charlotte each holding one of her hands, and all she’d planned to do was thank him. But when the moment had come, she’d found herself questioning him instead. Sara had wanted to know why. Why would a stranger that was all kinds of sexy danger, take the time to fill up the tires of someone like her?
Sara didn’t have low self-esteem, but she was realistic about her appearance—which was fine. Attractive, even. But today she was not looking her best. When she’d caught her reflection in the mirror while helping Charlotte wash her hands, she’d found not one, but two Cheerios stuck to her blouse. Her hair, which she’d pulled up in a messy bun, was rebelling, and most of it had fallen in her face. The dark circles beneath her eyes were closer to those of a boxer that had gone ten rounds than a single mom who was exhausted. Disheveled would be a kind way to describe her appearance. Hot mess would be more accurate.
Then there was the fact that she had two little ones. One of who had already talked the poor man’s ear off, the other who had just thrown a mini temper tantrum, which Sara was pretty sure he’d witnessed.
So why?
Why had he done it?
Was it out of pity?
Or had he thought Sara couldn’t handle it? That she hadn’t been taking care of oil changes, tire pressure, diapers, doctor visits, chicken pox, dinners, baths, homework, and everything else since she was barely old enough to take care of herself?
For some reason, she had to know.
When he’d simply answered that he couldn’t drive away knowing her tire pressure was low, it was all she could do to not break down in tears. He’d actually just wanted to help her. No ulterior motive. No judgment. He’d simply wanted to make sure she and the kids were okay.
Sara couldn’t remember the last time someone had just wanted to help her. Even before she and Jack had decided to get a divorce, he hadn’t been present, physically or emotionally. Out of the eight years they’d been married, he’d been home a grand total of fourteen months—and that included the seven he’d spent there when he’d gotten home and they’d tried to be a real family.
Which hadn’t worked. Jack was a good guy, but he just wasn’t used to the day in and day out of having kids, and the responsibilities that came along with them.
So to have a man who didn’t even know her, know them, not be able to drive away knowing the tire pressure was low had overwhelmed her. Even now, sitting at the sandwich shop, she wasn’t sure how to process it. Which probably had more to do with the fact she was exhausted, starving, and had made several life-altering decisions over the past week, leaving her emotionally raw and less to do with the kind act of a stranger.
“Here we go.” Deb returned to their table with delicious-smelling food. “Grilled cheese and chips for the princess. Ham and cheese and fries for the prince, and a BLT and potato salad for the queen.”
Charlotte giggled as she lifted her spoon.
“Thankyousomuch,” Trevor rushed out as he stuffed his face with fries.
“Thanks.” Sara smiled up at Deb.
“No problem. Just let me know if you need anything else.”
Lifting her hand, Sara stopped Deb. Her calling them princess, prince, and queen had brought up a question she’d been wondering about. “Actually, I was wondering about the decor.” She motioned her hand to the walls. “It’s adorable and I love it, but I noticed that the gas station had a similar theme.”
Trevor had been the one to point out the three bears on the pumps and only then had Sara put the theme together with the name Goldilocks Gas N’ Go. She wondered if the businesses being fairytale themed had anything to do with the town having a legitimate castle.
“Well, now, this is all fairly new. It’s because of the show.”
“The show?” Sara questioned.
“Fairytale Love,” Deb responded as if it was obvious. “It was filmed up at Stone Castle.”