Page 16 of Hot Chicken

Jeez. Am I dreaming right now?

I’ll allow myself this one night to get swept up by him. But after we leave this bar, it’s time to get my head back on straight. Nothing good can come from letting him back in my thoughts.

Or my pants.

Chapter 17

Matt

Bam!

“Holy Shit. That was close!” I exclaim as I drive through the torrential rain toward Mom’s house. I realize the farther I go, the loud noise is more likely, a blown transformer versus the ground-shaking thunder I’ve grown accustomed to.

Using the Bluetooth technology through my dash, I instruct my phone to call Harry.

“Hello?”

“Hey, man. I was just verifying you were relieving the sitter to stay with Mom tonight.”

“Yeah, I’m here now. Why? You got plans in the middle of this storm?”

“No. I’ve got a bad feeling about this thing.”

“What do you mean? You’ve been gone too long. We get these all the time.”

“I know. But I didn’t tell you the other night. I drove Ellie home a few days ago after her truck broke down. Hell, Harry, she and her grandpa live in a double-wide in the middle of nowhere. It makes Eminem’s place in8 Milelook like The Ritz. I honestly don’t know how it’s still standing after the storms that’ve blown through here in the last few years. The roof looks like it’s patched together with duct tape, and the front porch could fly off if I sneezed too hard.”

“Shit.”

“What’s worse, her Pops is on oxygen twenty-four seven. And you need power for that. I can guarantee if they have a generator, it doesn’t work.”

“No, you’re right. Now I have a bad feeling.”

I scratch the back of my head, stumped as to what I’ll do if I can’t convince them to come with me. I can’t take them back to Mom’s house. It’ll only rattle her more than she already is, having people in her home she doesn’t recognize.

“You still there?”

“Yeah. I’m just trying to figure out what to do once I get there. I can’t bring them to Mom’s.”

“You’re right. You could use my place, but I’ve rented it out for the week. Wait. I think I have an idea. You check on them, and I’ll message you in a bit.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

As his call disconnects, I attempt to see through the sheets of rain coming down to get my bearings on where I am. It’s challenging without any street lamps. They don’t live far from Salty Jo’s, so I direct my GPS to head in that direction and decide to continue driving until I see a mailbox I recognize.

Twenty minutes later, I’m still driving, unsure where her farm is.

Bzzz. Bzzz.

“Hey, Harry. Any idea what their address is? I drove past Salty Jo’s, but with this downpour, I can’t see any landmarks, and I’ve been driving for a while.”

“I don’t know the exact address. But try searching for Albright Farm.”

I pull the car over and type Albright farm into the GPS, and immediately the address pops up. “You’re a genius. I past it about two miles back.” I make sure no headlights are in the distance before making a U-turn in the middle of the highway to head back in the right direction.

“Once you get there, head to The Sugar Plum Inn. They’ve got one room left and are holding it for you. Those two are proud, Matt. They won’t accept handouts. They’ve worked hard and taken care of their neighbors for as long as I can remember. I think you’ll have to convince Ellie that you’re staying there and focus on getting her grandpa’s oxygen working and a safe place to eat and sleep until the storm blows over.”

“You’re right. Thanks, man. I owe you.”

---