Page 26 of Fight for Me
Lexie slowly movedto the shoulder, her car thumping wildly with every inch and her dashboard flashing like a carnival game. After turning on her hazard lights and cutting the engine, she eased her door open and circled around to the back of her Infiniti, finding exactly what the fancy sensors said she would.
A flat tire.
Fabulous.
Just another shiny sprinkle on a perfectly exhausting day. The phone call with her father wasn’t even cold yet.
“It’s time to get your act together, Alexis! How long will you insist on dragging this family down with you?”
Lexie sighed, trying to relieve the pressure in her chest. Nothing she did was ever good enough. Not the years of formal cotillion classes she’d endured with a smile, not her college scholarships or honors standing, not her coveted internship position.
She couldn’t even manage todrivecorrectly.
A visible piece of metal poked out from the rubber, and she nudged it with the toe of her shoe, wincing as the hissing noise got louder. She glanced first one way and then the other down the empty back road, shading her eyes from the glare of the setting sun while she considered her options. Her first call was to INFINITI Roadside Assistance, which of course came standard with the car. After giving her location to the operator, there was a long pause that made her stomach feel heavier with each passing second.
“Ma’am, I’m so sorry, but our closest location to you is more than an hour away, and all the attendants are currently on other jobs,” said a friendly woman’s voice, and Lexie could hear the sympathy in her voice. “It could be two hours or more until they reach you. I’m happy to put you on the list if you’d like, but is there anyone closer who might be able to assist you? I’d hate for you to wait that long.”
Lexie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ward off the headache she knew was coming.
“I’ll find someone, thanks,” she mumbled, hearing the apology that followed before the line disconnected. Scrolling through her frequent contacts, she hovered over Colt’s name.
Colt was not a tire-changing kind of guy. He was a hire-a-tire-changing-guy kind of guy, and besides, he was in Dyer County for dinner with a new client. He would probably send one of his buddies to get her, and the last thing she wanted to do was sit on the side of a dark, lonely, two-lane waiting for Jason Arnolds.
She called Olivia instead and got her voicemail, remembering at the last minute that her roommate was in a late study session.
“Alright, Lexie,” she said out loud, not caring if the cattle watching from beyond the fence thought she was nuts. “You’re a smart, resourceful young woman. You just have to take the screws”—she furrowed her brow, not sure that was the rightword—“off the old tire and put on the new one. How hard can it really be?”
She threw her shoulders back, walked purposefully to the trunk and then popped it open. Seconds later, she stood staring down at the clean, beige trunk liner, feeling stupid. Of course it was empty; she’d known that. It’s not like she loaded her groceries around a spare tire, just waiting to be useful.
“Okay, think. If you were a spare tire, where would you be?” she asked herself, glancing back up at the cattle who stood chewing their cud without comment. At least she had company.
Gathering her long hair into one hand, she quickly bent to check beneath the car. Nothing looked promising. She stood and scanned the empty expanse of her trunk again before reaching inside and feeling along the closest edge.
“Yes!” she shouted as she found a small perforation where she could insert her fingers. She tugged the bottom of the trunk up, revealing a compartment that mercifully held a small tire. Then she shoved her hands underneath and managed to wrestle it out of the trunk and lean it against the fender.
“Look at that!” she told the cows. “I’m not totally useless after all!” Breathing hard after the unexpected effort, she planted her hands on her hips and tried to think of what she needed next—some sort of tool, obviously, though she wasn’t sure what she was looking for. But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, since there was nothing else in the hidden compartment. She went to rummage in her glove box—nothing useful there either.
Lexie tipped her face toward the sky and reminded herself that the frustrated tears she could feel gathering wouldn’t do anyone any good. She’d be even less competent if she started blubbering like a child. Muttering under her breath, she weighed her phone in her hand. There was an obvious option she hadn’t tried. Colt wouldn’t like it, but then again, Colt wasn’t there.
She frowned at the ruined tire, which now resembled a deflated party balloon, and scrolled back through her contact list. He was probably busy, and even if he wasn’t, he probably didn’t want to talk to her—judging by the last week of radio silence.
Lexie took another deep breath and dialed anyway.
“Hey,” Jake said, answering on the fourth ring. His voice was guarded, but he didn’t sound angry, so that was something, at least.
Lexie leaned against the side of her car and closed her eyes, as if focusing on the dark insides of her eyelids would make the whole night easier.
“Hey. I know this is probably a huge imposition, and I’m really, really sorry to ask, but I was wondering if you... well...” She trailed off, hating how awkward it felt to ask him for help when a week ago she wouldn’t have hesitated. But she couldn’t just stand outside all night.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“How much do you know about changing a tire?” she blurted before she could overthink it anymore.
“A good bit,” he answered.
She waited for him to go on, but he didn’t, and her cheeks flushed in acknowledgement of the fact thatshehadn’t learned what he obviously considered common knowledge.
“If you’ve got a flat, I’m sure your boyfriend can change it for you.”
