Robin Wasserman - Pride

Not that she expected some drug-crazed mugger to pop out from behind the scrub brush-but still, it was dark and quiet, and she was miles away from civilization. If you could call it that. Her father had once told her there were jackals and coyotes roaming the land-and she’d seen enough cheesy horror movies to at least wonder what else might be out there, lying in wait.

Kaia could take care of herself. She’d had plenty of experience, hadn’t she? It’s not like anyone had ever looked out for her, or let her believe there was someone ready to catch her when she fell. But fending off a crazed pervert on the subway-or a crazed ex-boyfriend in a high school parking lot-was one thing. Being stranded, isolated, helpless? That was another.

Still, she sat motionless in the car, posing for an invisible audience, calm, cool, and collected. She didn’t call someone, anyone, just for the comfort of the sound of another human voice. She didn’t wrap her fingers around the steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip, and she didn’t whirl her head around at the slightest sound or movement coming from just beyond her peripheral vision. And when the tow truck finally arrived, an hour later, she didn’t crack a smile.

Especially not when she recognized the driver. It was that slacker from school, that scuzzy, stoned, frustratingly sexy guy who lately seemed to show up everywhere she turned. He wore a grease-stained T-shirt and oversize jeans with a gaping hole at the left knee, and as he hopped out of the truck and loped toward her, Kaia noted with disgust that his shoes were held together with duct tape. His scruffy black hair was crying out for shampoo, and his face was covered with dark stubble-five o’clock shadow, maybe, but from which day? This was her conquering hero: tall, dark, and dirty.

“Took you long enough,” she grumbled as he helped her into the cab of the tow truck.

“Nice to see you again, too, Kaia,” he said, checking one last time that the BMW was firmly attached to the back of the truck and then climbing into the driver’s seat.

“Do I know you?” she asked, wrinkling her nose to make it clear that an acquaintanceship with his type seemed unlikely.

“You’ve seen me around,” he grunted.

Nice of him not to bring up the time he’d rescued her from some drunken barfly looking for a new floozy for his harem. Kaia had done her best to forget. But now to be rescued yet again by the same deadbeat? It was bringing all the sordid details rushing back. Not that she was ready to offer her thanks. Or even her acknowledgment.

Instead, Kaia snapped her fingers as if she’d just made the connection.

“You’re the pizza guy!” she said triumphantly. “Weed, wasn’t it?”

“Reed.” He shook his head and scowled. “Reed Sawyer.”

“Of course, of course. Can’t imagine what made me think of weed.” Could it be the stench of pot following you around everywhere you go? she added silently.

“Maybe it’s because you keep tossing me away and I just keep coming back,” he suggested, seeming to take cheer from her discomfort.

“So you drive a tow truck now?” she asked. As if she cared.

“It’s my dad’s garage. I help him out sometimes.”

A grease monkey? It figured.

They drove in silence for a while, Kaia doing her best not to admire the way his sinewy body moved beneath the grungy black T-shirt and decaying jeans. Such a shame, a prize specimen like this, buried beneath so much grime. But if I cleaned him up a little … she mused-then caught herself in horror. Now was not the time to be taking in a stray. No matter how his taut, tan forearm brushed her skin as he shifted gears, no matter how firmly his long, thin fingers massaged the steering wheel, no matter how- stop, she warned herself. Just stop .

“So, you okay?” he finally asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I pick up a lot of women out here,” he explained. “Being alone, stranded for all that time in the middle of nowhere, it drives ’em crazy. By the time I get there, they’re usually pretty shaken up.”

“And I guess when they see you and that sexy smile of yours, they just fall into your arms, swooning with gratitude,” she sneered. Her voice quivered as he turned his head briefly toward her. She ignored it. “Yours for the taking-is that what you’re waiting for?”

“I’m waiting for a thank-you,” he answered, unruffled. “But if you’re in a swooning mood…”

“Thank you,” she said grudgingly, turning to stare out the dusty window and watch the shadowy scenery fly by.

“You’re welcome.” There was a pause, and then, “So, I’ve got a sexy smile?”

Damn.

“Forget it,” Kaia snapped. “I guess you desert cowboys are as unfamiliar with sarcasm as you are with personal hygiene.”

She didn’t turn back to face him, and he didn’t say anything, but she could imagine the superior look on his face, the mocking smile.

And, for the record, it was sexier than ever.

Adam pulled into the lot and hopped out of his car. He was late. He’d wanted to greet Harper as soon as she’d finished her first shift. But the coach had kept him after practice to work on his free throws.

“You seem off today,” the coach had observed.

Wonder why.

Now he jogged toward the entrance-he hated making her wait.

But the figure standing in the entryway anxiously scanning the parking lot wasn’t Harper, it was Beth. A fact that he registered only moments before sweeping her into his arms.

Instead, he stopped short, and gave a halfhearted wave.

She offered him a weak smile.

“Picking up Harper?” she asked, and he wondered whether she, too, was suddenly remembering all the moments they’d shared in this doorway, Adam rescuing her from a long night of work.

He nodded.

“She’s getting changed,” Beth told him, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Thanks. And… I guess you’re waiting for…”

“Kane. Yeah.” She looked over his shoulder into the parking lot again, as if willing the Camaro to appear. It didn’t.

“So anyway, how’s-”

“Adam, I wanted to-”

They spoke at once, then stopped abruptly and laughed.

“Well, this is awkward,” Beth admitted.

“Tell me about it.” Adam idly rubbed the back of his neck. Where was Harper? “Maybe I should just go inside and-”

“Adam, wait.” She put her hand on his arm to stop him, then snatched it back-they both froze. It was the first time she’d touched him since… since the last time he’d pushed her away. He’d forgotten how soft her hands were. “Adam, there’s something I’ve been really wanting to say to you. I know you think that-”

She broke off, and he waited, wondering. It was the first time in a long time he’d been able to look at her without flinching, without needing to turn away or worse, to hurt her. Did this mean he was finally getting over her? It certainly felt like he was getting over… something.

“Well…,” she began again hesitantly, “I want you to know that, even after everything that’s-”

“Adam!” Pushing past Beth, Harper came flying into his arms. “So sorry I’m late. You have no idea what kind of a day I had.”

He gently extricated himself from her embrace and took her hand. “You can tell me all about it in the car, Harper. I’m sure you did great in there today.”

Harper gave him a kiss on the cheek and then put a possessive arm around his shoulders.

“Oh, I couldn’t have done it without Beth,” she gushed, smiling at Beth, whose face had begun to pale. “I can’t wait to tell you what a wonderful help she was today.”