Page 9 of The Tomorrows After You
“I locked my keys in my car,”I waved likewhat a silly wench I am,“and I heard he’s practically a magician with a Slim Jim.”
The Chewbacca narrowed his eyes at me and blinked, considering. He stood with a grunt and brushed past me. I couldn’t help but catch the smell of motor oil, grass clippings, and something else familiar I couldn’t put my finger on.
He disappeared into a small room, and I opened my mouth to yell“excuse me”when he returned with the flat tool in his hand. He paused at the front door.
“Where?”
God, did this walking carpet only speak in one and two-word sentences?
“Outside the Piggly Wiggly.”
Without looking at me or saying another word, he stalked in that direction.
“If it’s an inconvenience, I can wait for Riot to get here,”I said, skipping to keep up with his long, brisk gait. I hissed when my ankle reminded me that it was still sore from my midnight second-floor escape.
Captain Whiskers twisted his head slightly at my sound but kept moving forward. I almost demanded he stop and answer me about Riot, but I reminded myself I was here on a delicate mission. I had to remain professional and not show my hand. I didn’t have the luxury of alienating anyone. Even though this guy had certainly not extendedmethe same courtesy.
He stopped in front of my car.
“Got ID?” he asked.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
His eyebrows twitched with surprise.
“How do I know it belongs to you?” he asked.
“So, hedoesspeak in actual sentences!”I put my hand to my chest, feigning shock.
He glared in response, but I caught his eyes move briefly to where my hand was pressed below my throat. Professionalism be damned. I wasn’t going to get any kind of story withFuzzy Wuzzystanding in my way.
“You woke me from a dead sleep by pounding on this window a few hours ago.”I smacked my hand against the driver’s side.
One side of his lips twitched. But he didn’t flinch, only crossed his grizzly arms over his muscled chest and stood his ground.
Heat crept up my neck. Did he have that many muscles earlier this morning?
Stomping my foot, I winced again; how had Grizzly Adams managed to turn me, Nicolette Parker, the Bloodhound of New England, into a petulant child?
“My ID is in the car.”I made overt gestures with my hands and enunciated my words.“If you open it — then I can show it to you.”
He narrowed his eyes again, and I reminded myself that I still needed him to open my car.
Just like I needed Chelsea to pay for my groceries.
Just like I had needed Jacob’s house to stay at.
Mythroat tightened. I was suddenly tired and sad and angry with the foreign feeling of being so goddamn dependent oneveryone elseall of a sudden.
“Look, I’ve had a really bad night and morning. Please, can you justhelp me?”
At that, Hairy Houdini pressed his lips together reluctantly, or I think he did, it was hard to tell through all thatfur.
He took one stride and towered over me, his defined chest inches from my face. His arm brushed mine, and we both looked down as if the connection had created something tangible to examine. I took in another deep breath of his musk before stepping aside where he went to work on opening the car door.
When it popped open moments later, I let out a giant breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“God, thank you…”I whispered. I ducked in to grab my wallet to show him my ID but when I turned around, he was already walking back toward the garage.
