Page 9 of Finding You

It was his turn to nod. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be my top priority and I’ll start on it first thing in the morning.”

“Thanks.”

He motioned toward the phone. “Did you have any luck getting a room?”

“Yup. Two nights. I’m hoping that’s all I’ll need.”

“Which place?”

“Hmm?”

“Which place did you get a room at? The Cozy Corner or The Sweet Briar?”

“Oh, um…the first one.” Turning her head, she looked out the window. “It looks like the rain has finally moved on. The rest of the drive should be uneventful.”

He agreed with her and slowly pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway. Within minutes, they were back on the I-81 and heading toward home. When it became obvious that MacKenzie wasn’t in the mood to talk, Devin turned on the radio and figured he’d just let her be. It all had to be overwhelming for her. And besides, they’d just talked for three hours straight. That was a personal record for him.

An hour later, they pulled into the lot of Sweetbriar Auto Care and just the sight of it filled Devin with pride. This was his. He’d created this and he never seemed to get over the rush it gave him every time he pulled up to it.

Will was already lowering the Mustang into a parking spot along the side of the building. Devin parked and got out to help him. “Why not put it inside?” he asked as he walked over.

“Normally we’d have one bay clear for you, but Margie Ferguson couldn’t get in to pick up her car today, and she was having a fit about it being left in the parking lot overnight. I promised her we’d keep it inside until tomorrow morning.” He shrugged and gave Devin an apologetic grin. “I told her we’d have to move it first thing and she was fine with that, but she was pretty adamant about it not being out all night. She babies that car.”

Devin wanted to argue that the Mustang needed to be babied, but figured it was a pointless argument right now. Maybe after it was fixed, he’d have a talk with MacKenzie about the importance of taking care of a classic like this car, but not tonight.

He and Will got the car secured before Will pulled the tow truck around the back of the garage. While he did that, MacKenzie walked over and looked more than a little exhausted.

“I just need to grab a bag from the trunk,” she said quietly. “Um…how far is the B&B from here?”

“Just two blocks over,” Will said as he walked back over and joined them. “I’d be more than happy to give you a lift.”

MacKenzie smiled at him even as she shook her head. “Thanks, but…I think I’ll just walk over. After spending so much time sitting today, it’ll feel good to stretch my legs a bit.”

“MacKenzie…” Devin began.

“It’s okay. Really,” she said, effectively cutting him off. “Just point me in the right direction and I’ll be on my way.”

“Go right up the block here,” Will began, pointing to his left and make your first left. It’s one block up. You can’t miss it.”

Pulling a duffel bag from the trunk, MacKenzie carefully closed it, made sure the doors were locked, and thanked them. She looked at Devin and handed him her spare key. “I guess I’ll check in with you in the morning and see what you’ve found.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything. His mouth was set in a grim line as he watched her walk away.

An hour later, MacKenzie was crouching behind a bush, cursing. “For the love of it, why won’t he just leave?”

There had been no rooms available at The Cozy Corner and no rooms available anywhere within a twenty-mile radius, not that she was going to share that information with Devin. Her plan had been to simply sleep in her car–how was that for irony?–and be up and out of it before he came in to work in the morning.

Only…he wouldn’t leave.

She’d made a big scene out of walking away and making her way down the block and had even made it as far as the B&B just so she could say she had, but then had doubled back and hoped to slip into her car and sleep. She was exhausted–mentally and physically–and just wanted this day to end.

Resigning herself to the idea that she was going to have to camp in the bushes, a flash of headlights shone off in the distance and she realized it was Devin finally leaving the shop.

“Thank God,” she murmured, ready to weep with relief. Once the taillights were out of sight, she made her way toward her car. His lights were the only ones she’d seen since they arrived in town. Seriously, did people really live here? All she could see were some small businesses and lots of trees. True, it was dark out, but this was the quietest town she’d ever seen. Maybe it was a little more lively in the daytime.

“Hey, baby,” she cooed as she unlocked the door and tossed her bag onto the front seat. It wasn’t graceful, but she shimmied into the back seat and pulled the door closed and locked it. It certainly wasn’t ideal and it wasn’t all that comfortable, but there wasn’t any other choice. Lord knew it wasn’t the first time she’d slept in her car, but hopefully–after it was fixed–she wouldn’t have to do it again.

Pulling the duffel bag into the back seat, she fashioned it into a pillow and curled up on her side and tried to relax. Her entire body ached with exhaustion. Falling asleep shouldn’t be a problem at all. Closing her eyes, MacKenzie said a silent prayer of thanks that she wasn’t still sitting on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. And she even added a prayer of thanks for the man who came to her rescue.

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