lack of water. Inside the house, laundry cascaded out of the basket. In her bedroom, the bed whispered sweetly. Bed won hands down. She set the alarm and slipped between the sheets.
At five the alarm pulled her from bad dreams. The moment she woke she forgot most of the details, something she had trained herself to do. Of course she had been running. That part wasn’t new. Nor was her pursuer, a man who was larger and faster than she was. More than that she didn’t need to know.
Having the house and the bathroom to herself was a luxury. She let a long shower wash away what was left of the nightmare.
When she got back in her car, she had just enough time to stop for a rotisserie chicken and salad fixings on the way back to town. Wanda had made the girls a luscious chocolate “Vesuvius” pie, and they would be thrilled with dessert.
Plans changed when she turned her key in the ignition and nothing happened. Lately the car had been harder and harder to start. Now there wasn’t even a rumble in response.
Grunting words she would never say in front of her daughter, she slid out and popped the hood, although she wasn’t sure what she was looking for. As she’d feared, she saw a complicated engine, and despite an auto maintenance class, she couldn’t remember one thing that might help now.
She didn’t hear footsteps until Pete Knight was just a few feet away. Startled, she stepped back.
He held up his hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Maybe we should tie a bell around your neck.”
He nodded, casual, nonthreatening. “I was over at Tracy’s house doing some work on her gutters. Saw the hood go up. It’s a distress signal.”
“I wasn’t signaling anybody.”
“Then you have the problem taken care of?”
“Not exactly.” Her shoulders drooped a fraction. “I’m guessing the battery finally expired. I should have replaced it a while ago.”
“Words we’ve all said.” Pete leaned under the hood.
“You don’t have to help,” she said.
He backed away and straightened. “Okay. Would you like me to anyway?”
She imagined Olivia and Lizzie waiting impatiently for her arrival. She imagined the mother who would, by now, be more than ready to have her house back. She imagined trying to call a cab, or asking one of her neighbors for a ride—if any were home.
As if he had all the time and patience in the world, Pet watched her decide. She supposed if Pete Knight had followed his fortunes to Hollywood, the studios would have cast him in Gary Cooper remakes, the strong, silent cowboy putting the world back together all by himself.
“Maybe you and I ought to start over.” She summoned the shadow of a smile. “I’m not always this prickly.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“I’m just used to doing things alone.”
“I know the feeling, but nobody’s expected to be good at everything. Me, I can’t imagine raising a little girl.”
“Me, either.”
This time he smiled, which softened his face. Tracy had told her Pete was ex-military, but now she thought there might be more to the man than following orders and doing his duty. He had a dimple in one cheek that hinted at another side.
“I’m sorry I’ve been so…” She shrugged.
He gave the hint of a nod. “Let’s take a look at the battery. The car’s old enough it’s probably not maintenance free, so it could be low on water.”
Dana had babied the Geo Metro for years, but love wasn’t going to hold it together forever. She watched as he slipped on sunglasses, then leaned over again and began to unscrew battery caps.
“It’s got six cells,” he told her, as he unscrewed. “A couple look about empty. Make that three. There’s a mark inside each, and the water should be level.”
“Water will fix it?”
“You have distilled?”
“No, darn it. And I’m supposed to pick up Lizzie and Olivia in town in a few minutes.”
“I have some in my truck. I’ll get it.”
“You’re really handy to know.”
He left for Tracy’s, and she admired the view. He was wearing shorts, and his legs were long, tan and muscular. She imagined she wasn’t the first woman who had appreciated the way his shorts fit his well-toned, masculine body.
He drove back in his SUV and pulled up alongside her before he got out. He opened the back and retrieved a gallon jug of water. “We’ll have to jump it afterward, but might be the water will give you a little more life before you have to buy