Page 7 of Iron Willed Warrior

I stayed very still as I leaned against my car door. Didn’t smile, but a resting frown came naturally to me anyway. I just took another drag.

She cleared her throat. “So. Uh. It appears my equipment has seen better days. The hook snapped off.”

“I noticed.”

“And I made that whole speech about not needing anything from you. Which makes me feel kind of stupid right about now.”

I exhaled in an almost-laugh, hooking a thumb toward my trunk. “You’re welcome to borrow whatever you need.”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

I almost added that there was no shame in needing help. I’d needed plenty when I’d been in PT learning to walk again. But she seemed embarrassed already. I didn’t want to add to that.

And secretly, I felt a jolt of deeper satisfaction than I’d gotten from the nicotine.

She waited by the hood while I went to my trunk for the jack and tools. I’d checked the equipment before leaving the rental lot.

I returned to her. “Are you in a rental car? Sometimes the agencies try to save a few bucks by buying junk.”

“No, this is mine.” She waved sheepishly at the beat-up Subaru. “But my ex used to borrow my car a lot. Who knows what he was doing. I mean, I know some of it, but…” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m not sure why I just told you that.”

“Because you’re having a bad day?”

Her shoulders sagged. “It’s trending that way. That’s why I’m going to swallow my pride and ask for your help. You seem like a good guy, and four hands will work faster than two. I’d really like to get back on the road. I have somewhere I need to be.”

“Sure.” I had half my cigarette left, but I stubbed it beneath my boot heel.

Faster we could get this done, faster we’d both be on our way.

“No gloating? No I-told-you-sos?”

“I’m just not being an asshole. Is that all it takes to be considered a good guy? I don’t think my ex-wife would agree.”

The brunette laughed, a soft sound that burrowed into my chest, and when it ended, she was smiling. A pretty, gratefulsmile like that was another hit straight to my bloodstream. I was so predictable. It was embarrassing.

We worked together on putting the jack into place and lifting the car. “Thank you again for this,” she said. “I’m glad you didn’t drive off.”

“Happy to help.”

Crouching beside her meant she was almost close enough to touch. She was younger than me, though I couldn’t tell how much. The skin at the nape of her neck looked soft, sloping gently into the collar of her coat. Her pale coloring had a hint of pink at the cheeks. Was that from the cold? Or some reaction to me? I didn’t flatter myself.

But yeah… She was something all right.

I almost asked for her name. In fact, I wanted to ask where she was from, where she was going. But I figured that was too friendly considering we were about to go our separate ways.

Still, I couldn’t resist leaning in just as we finished. She smelled sweet, like flowers dipped in honey.

“There you go,” I said. “Should be all set.”

We both stood, taking off our dirty gloves.

“Thanks for loaning me your equipment.”

I tapped my left thigh. “Well, I do know a thing or two about the benefits of good equipment.”

In an instant, her pretty smile went hard. Then vanished altogether. Her eyes flashed down my body, then back up again, narrowing.

“Good equipment, huh?” She folded her arms over her chest. “Let me guess. You really know how to use it? Was that going to be your next line?”

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