Page 27 of Hearts on Ice
“The car isn’t going to be fixed today, I’m sure. Even if it’s something like the alternator or the starter or something, it’s going to take them some time to get the part and replace it. No point waiting at the mechanic. I’ll drive you home.” He looked over his shoulder to change lanes.
“Oh, ah. You don’t have to do that. It’s far.”
He looked over her, frustration furrowing his brow. “Well then where do you want to go? I mean, you won’t have a car to get around, so you may as well be at home. Maybe you can get a ride share to get your car or whatever when it’s ready, but it won’t be today.”
She resisted the urge to massage her temple as she tried to figure out what she was going to do without a car. She couldn’t make practice, couldn’t get food. She could maybe afford a ride share a couple of times, but not more than that, and she’d need at least one of those times to go get her car, hoping that didn’t cost too much.
Maybe Archie had a car she could use, though she hated asking him for another favor. She had been awful to him when she was growing up. He was already doing enough for her letting her live rent free for a couple of months. Maybe by then she would have a couple more clients and could afford to get her own place. But first she had to address her need for a vehicle.
“Okay, I guess take me home. But it’s not the house I lived in when Mom and Archie were married. It’s over on the northeast side of town. I know it’s out of the way.”
“No, I said I’d do it, and I’ll do it.”
Well. Nothing like sounding cheerful about it. They rode in silence and she wished she could peek inside his head to figure out what he was thinking.
He pulled up in front of the small house where she was staying while she pulled out her keys.
“Are you going to need a ride to the rink tomorrow? I can come get you.”
She stared at him. “Do you want me there that bad?”
“You are getting paid to coach those kids.”
“I don’t think one day will hurt. I mean, where do you live, anyway?”
“Not far from the rink.”
“You’d have to get up an hour earlier to come get me,” she said. “I’m sure no one would mind if I missed a day, you least of all.”
He made a noise in his throat. “Just once. Tomorrow.”
“If you’re sure. I don’t want you doing something for me you don’t want to do.”
He looked over at her, his expression unreadable. “I’ll pick you up at five. Be ready.”
Colby was still yawningwhen she walked out of the square brick two-story the next morning, the only light from the dim light next to the front door. At least she was on time, though, and Declan didn’t have to wait for her, or have to go up to the door. She shifted her bag on her shoulder and walked around the front of the truck to the passenger door.
“Do you think we can stop to get coffee?” she asked without even a greeting.
He nodded toward the cup holders. “You still like mochas, right?”
She widened her eyes as she picked up the paper cup. “You mean you actually found a coffee shop already open?”
“There’s a bakery I like that opens early. I don’t go all the time, but I thought today would be a good day to stop by.”
“Thank you,” she said, picking up her cup and guzzling it before she even buckled her seatbelt.
“You’re welcome.” He waited for her to buckle in before he pulled away from the curb. “Did you hear anything from the mechanic?”
“Ah. Yeah. It’s the, ah, alternator? But he isn’t going to be able to get to it today, he said, so I will probably not be able to make practice tomorrow.”
“I can do this one more time,” he said, “as long as I know it’s just going to be a little while.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she protested. “I’m sure Josh and Lexi will understand.”
“I’m not sure enough of the routine yet to teach it myself,” he said. “So it would make my life easier to have you there.” He huffed out a breath. “Something I never thought I would say.”
“Thank you again for being so nice to me.”
