attention back to the tire. Her long, black hair was down in her face, making it impossible to get a clear view of her as she replied, “No, thanks. I appreciate you asking, but my husband is on his way.”
“He is?” the kid asked, sounding surprised. “You haven’t even talked to him. How would he know to come?”
“Sean.”
“What?” The boy let go of the wrench and stood. “I didn’t hear you call him.”
“He’s coming, Sean. Now, hush,” the lady fussed as she pushed on that fucking wrench like her life depended on it. She was freaked out, and she had every right to be. It was dark, and she and her son were alone on the side of the highway with the likes of me—a roughneck biker from the wrong side of town. I could only imagine the terrified thoughts that were racing through her head as she whispered to her son, “He’ll be here in a minute.”
The kid looked about eleven or twelve with dark hair like his mother. I hadn’t been around many kids, but he seemed like a nice enough one. His blue eyes were fixed on me as he stood there considering a way out of the mess he and his mother were in. He was really giving me the once over, like he was trying to decide if I was an okay guy or if I was going to kill them both right then and there. After several moments, he looked back over to his mother, and when he saw that she wasn’t making any progress, he said, “Come on, Mom. Why can’t he just help us?”
“There’s no sense in putting him out when your father is on his way.”
The kid turned back to me as he asked, “We aren’t putting you out, are we?”
“I wouldn’t have stopped if I wasn’t willing to help.”
“See? He wants to help.” When she didn’t respond, the kid pushed a little harder. “Come on, Mom. I’m hungry and really want to get home. Just let him do it.”
She gave the wrench one more hard push, showing just how fucking stubborn she was. When it didn’t budge, she let out a frustrated sigh. “Dammit!”
I knew she wouldn’t be able to do it on her own, so I tried one last time. “I can have you outta here in ten minutes tops. Just need you two to step aside and let me get the job done.”
“Okay. Okay.” She stood, quickly brushed the dirt and rock from her jeans, then turned to face me. With my headlight illuminating her face, I was finally able to get a good look at her, and holy shit. The sight of her nearly knocked me on my ass. The chick was a total fucking knockout. She was tall, curvy in all the right places, and had a face that looked like it’d been cut right out of a men’s magazine. There was just one problem. She couldn’t hide her emotions. A look of absolute fear was written all over her beautiful face as she asked, “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
I didn’t immediately respond. I couldn’t. I was still taking her in. Fuck. I was struggling to get a grip, and that shit didn’t happen—ever. I forced myself to shake it off and replied, “Wouldn’t have offered if I did.”
“Okay...well, I’d really appreciate it.”
She took an apprehensive step back, then quickly reached for her son, pulling his back protectively to her chest. As strange as it might seem, I liked the fact that she was protective of her son. I knew firsthand there were some mothers who didn’t give a shit about their kids wellbeing, so I tried my best not to be offended by her skittish behavior. I knelt down and took the wrench in my hand, and after a few quick turns, I had the first lug nut off and was onto the next. Behind me, I heard the kid gasp, “Holy shit. You got it off.”
“Hey,” his mother fussed. “Watch your mouth.”
“Oh, come on, Mom,” the kid pouted. “Shit isn’t all that bad. Definitely not as bad as some of the ones Corry uses.”
“So, that doesn’t make it right.”
“Okay, whatever.” I didn’t interject. I simply kept my thoughts to myself as I finished the last of the lug nuts. I got the car where it needed to be and was getting ready to take the flat tire off when the kid said, “It’s really cool of you to help us. Mom and I