Page 25 of Shadows of You

Cady chattered on and on about the Hartleys as we walked to my station wagon. I loaded her into the back seat and climbed behind the wheel. I turned the key in the ignition, and the engine sputtered. I winced and tried again. Still nothing.

My palms started to sweat. This wasn’t happening. Not here. Not now.

I closed my eyes and tried again. Only sputtering.

A knock sounded to my left, and I jumped.

Roan’s face filled my vision: slightly wild light brown hair, angular jaw, and piercing blue eyes. He made a motion for me to roll down the window.

I did it automatically.

“Problem?”

“This happens,” Cady answered helpfully.

Roan arched a brow, and my cheeks heated.

“It just takes a second to catch sometimes,” I explained unhelpfully.

“Pop the hood.”

“You don’t need—”

“Pop the hood,” Roan repeated, his tone brooking no argument.

I ground my teeth together but did as he asked. “Overbearing, grumpy, too gorgeous for his own good,” I grumbled.

Roan lifted the hood, blocking himself from my vision.

“Is he gonna fix it?” Cady asked.

“I don’t know. I hope so.”

“Mr. Grizz is the best,” she said with a sigh.

He was certainly something.

A few minutes later, Roan shut the hood and came back to my window.

I rolled it down again.

He bent, the faint scent of sandalwood teasing my nose. “You’ve got some corroded cables. Need to get them replaced.”

I winced, wondering how much that would set me back. “I’ll take it in tomorrow. Is it drivable?”

“Give it a try.”

I turned the key again, and the engine caught. The air left my lungs on a whoosh. “Thank you.”

“I’m going to follow you home.”

“What?” The word came out as more of a squeak.

Roan’s expression hardened. “It’s not safe for you to drive an unreliable vehicle home in the dark.”

I bit back an annoyed retort. “It’ll be fine. It never dies while I’m driving. It’s just hard to start sometimes.”

Roan’s gaze drifted to the starry horizon as if he were searching for control. “Just gonna make sure you make it home. Should check on the deer anyway.”

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