Page 6 of As They Are
To her, I was her perfect, smart doctor that she was proud of. Though she didn’t get why I chose small-town life over a higher-paying gig in the city, she loved me. And I loved her.
But she didn’tgetme. There was a look she would wear whenever I was overwhelmed. Her head would tilt to the side and she would frown. She’d never understood it and I didn’t blame her. She was from a different time when traits like mine were hidden. Hell, I didn’t understand it until I was an adult.
Sometimes, I was grateful for her lack of understanding, for the way she’d push me to be better. I’d learned how to pretend to be normal for everyone else.
At least for a while.
My battery was low, though. And I knew better than to tell her that her loud speech about Nurse Janice had sent me over the edge.
“Work calls. I understand.” She pulled me into another hug, and my smile dropped for all of one second before she pulled away. “I’ll call you soon.”
“I look forward to it.” And I did. At least on the phone, I could turn down the volume. The picturesque city street would be charming to some, but a siren a few roads over nearly sent me over the edge. It was always like that here. More people meant more noise. It was never quiet, even in a smaller city like this.When I’d lived here, I found the little pockets of nature, hoping to find a quiet place.
Anywhere I’d found was temporary.
Thankfully, I was only a visitor. I was able to leave in the end, and once I had, my GPS couldn’t count down to zero fast enough.
As noise gave way to silence, my exhaustion fully hit me. My dress shirt was too tight and the ambient sounds of the highway were grating. I didn’t have the radio on, and not even my health and wellness podcast could pull me out of the mood I was in.
It didn’t help that I had to drive past the house where I had once spent a lot of my free time. Ace’s house hadn’t changed much, even though he posted that he’d bought it from his parents. The car in the driveway belonged to his wife Norah. I knew that car because she had had it since high school, whenItaught her how to drive it.
I’d been a different person then. I pushed myself more, desperate to keep up with all the things Ace did. I ignored it when things were too hectic and loud. And when I finally started to lose my cool and looked like a complete ass, it had pushed them away, toward each other.
With a sigh, I unbuttoned my shirt to give me room to breathe. The irritation I tried to hide waned. Silence continued on, feeling like a salve on my emotions as I got out of the city and returned home.
I checked the GPS some time later. I was twenty minutes out. Instead of buildings and other people surrounding me, there were fields of green. If not that, it was a tree-lined hillside. This was one of my favorite parts of the drive, where everyone else vanished and I was enveloped by the country.
It also meant I was close to home.
Then, in the distance, there was a red truck on the side of the road. One of the tires was flat, and the owner was kneeling, staring at it.
I slowed immediately. Was I too tired for this? Yes. Did I know how to change a tire? No. But if there was one thing I’d learned about small-town life, it was that you offered whatever help you could give. And if it meant I Googled how to change a tire, then that was what I did.
I pulled over behind the truck, trying to think of who in town owned that kind of vehicle. Most people here still believed the myth that red cars got pulled over the most, even though the sheriff didn’t even do traffic stops anymore unless there was a major infraction.
“Hey!” I called as I got out of my Honda. The sun was hot on my skin. Summer was going to be brutal this year. “Need some help?”
The person looked over at me and my heart stopped. This wasnotsomeone from Strawberry Springs.
The truck’s owner was a woman with strawberry-blonde hair tied back into a ponytail that glistened in the sun. Her green eyes were framed with light lashes and a smattering of freckles painted her face.
She eyed me up and down, and I resisted the urge to run and hide. I always tried not to appear imposing to women, but I wasn’t sure that was possible with her. She stood, and I realized she was almost my height. Maybe an inch or two shorter.
She was the prettiest woman I’d ever seen—I knew that without a shadow of a doubt. Though it was nearly impossible, the entire earth warmed up in her presence, and I was sure I was about to get burned if I stood too close to her.
“You from around here?”
Even her voice was incredible. Melodic.
“Y-yeah.”
She looked at her tire and at me. “I guess I got one heck of a welcome. I don’t think I’m lucky enough for this tiny town to have a tire shop.”
“Unfortunately, no. But there are a few people who can fix it if you ask nicely.”
She huffed out a laugh. “I’m not the biggest fan of asking for help. I’ve got this.” She walked around to the back of her truck and pulled down the tailgate. She cranked something, sending a spare down for her to grab.
“You know how to change a tire.” I said it like a fact.
