“Oh, gosh, that’s not necessary.”
“You’d rather pay?”
“That’s not it.” Money wasn’t theobject; I just didn’t want to tear her fiancé and his friend away from their festivities.
“Drop me the pin.”
A blinding set of headlightsslowed on approach and pulled over to the shoulder, tucking behind my car.
“Just a sec, Lil.” I locked my doors for good measure, having read too manyhorror stories on the internet. “Someone’s here.”
Aheartbeat later, after a door slam, and a silhouette cut through the lights as the figure moved around the back end. It disappeared and a hand tapped on my driver window.
I lowered it just enough and held my phone in front of me. “Lily, hang on. There’s a guy here.” I stretched out my neck to speak through the three inches of space between the frame and window. “Can I help you?”
He laughed, a deep baritone sound. “Think I should be the one asking you that. Looks like you got a flat.”
“I do.”
“Want some assistance in changing it?”
“Thanks, my sister’s onthe phone. I’m just working that out right now.”
“Who is it?” Lily asked.
“No idea,” I whispered back.
As ifI knew. It had been too many years since I’d been out this way, and those I knew had likely left and moved into the big city.
He tugged on hisred ball cap and glanced down the road. “Well, I’m here, and I have all the tools needed. Can have you back on the road in five minutes.”
Five minutes? That sounded too good to be true.How did I say no to that?
“Okay,thank you. Just a second.”
His silhouette reflected once again in the rear view mirror as he walked back to his truck.
“Lil, some guy is going to change my tire. I’ll send you my location. If you haven’t heard back from me in tenminutes, track me and call the police. However, if this guy’s on the up and up, it’ll save Eric drive time.” Sort of. For now, I was putting the guy into a holding pattern.
“Are you sure?” Her voice had all the hesitation I wanted to unload. No way was I making myself an easy target though.
“I’m sure.” I fiddled on my phone and dropped the pin. “Give me ten minutes.”
“Fine. I’ll be waiting. Stay safe.” She clicked off.
Iput the phone in an inside pocket to keep it warm and to stop the battery from dying. Inhaling the last of the not yet frozen air, I exited the safety of my car and went to the trunk.
Keeping a safe distance from the interior, lest he toss me in my own trunk, I popped it open and stepped aside.
“I appreciate the help…” Itightened my jacket to the frigid air.
“Name’s Jesse.”For a heartbeat, he locked his eyes on mine.
“Well, yes, thank you, Jesse, for your assistance. I was driving and suddenly, it just blew.” I huddled into my jacket. The air was damp which made the cold seep into the depths of my bones.
“Figuredas much when I saw fresh pieces of rubber a little ways back.” He reached under the mat and pulled out the spare, leaning it against the side of my car. “Just give me a minute to grab a jack and an impact wrench. Hop in my truck to keep warm.”
“No, that’s okay.”I’d rather shiver uncontrollably than give the stranger any opportunity to kidnap me. Paranoid? Sure, but I was also a realist. “I’ll watch, if you’re okay with it?”