spread out on the passenger seat. He couldn’t help noticing the yellow highlighted roads from Denver, or that two of the highlighted roads had been x-ed out with pen. “Where are you headed?” he asked as he shut the car door.
Blue Eyes blinked. She folded her arms over her middle uncertainly.
Luke smiled at her. “You know the marauding mountain men up here usually have long beards and dirty clothes, right?”
Her eyes widened slightly, but then she slowly smiled, producing a dimple in one cheek. “Is
that
how I spot them? Thank you—that’s information I need to have.”
He grinned. “No offense, but you look a little lost. I’m from around here, and can probably point you in the right direction.”
“Pine River,” she said, dropping her arms. “The guy at the gas station told me to take Sometimes Pass road. He said it was straight up the road I was on, but I can’t find it.”
“You’re on it.” Luke casually flicked his gaze over her. Definitely a nice figure. Not too thin, curvy in all the right places. He wondered what business she had in Pine River. “The problem is, only the locals call it Sometimes Pass. It’s only a pass after the snow season. Hence the name.”
“No wonder I couldn’t find it! Would you mind?” she asked, and crowded in beside him, brushing against his arm as she leaned into her car—way in—affording Luke an excellent view of her derriere. He had only a moment to admire it before she emerged holding the map. She spread it on the hood of her car and clicked her highlighter for action. “Where am I?”
Luke pointed at the county road that was Sometimes Pass on the map.
“
Aaah
,” she said, and highlighted it.
She stood back, admired her highlighting for a moment, then glanced up. She seemed surprised to find him still standing there and peered up at him with those Caribbean blue eyes. “So which way is Pine River?” she asked.
A man could definitely lose his way around those eyes,
Luke thought. “West.”
“And that would be…?” She pointed north.
Man, she really
was
lost. He pointed down the road. “That is west, the direction you’re headed. Pine River is about ten miles down.”
“Great. Thank you.” She picked up her map.
“Welcome.” He looked at those sparkling eyes again and moved to the safety of the back of the car. He discovered she had taken out the spare, the change kit, and had laid out the tools in a neat row. He took a look at the back tire that had gone flat. “Probably a nail or something like it,” he said.
“I worried about that when I drove into the construction site,” she said.
Where the hell was there a construction site around here? Luke paused to look down at the tools lined up.
“Oh, ah—I’ve been reading the manual,” she said, and hopped around him. “It says to loosen the lug nuts first.”
“Does it?” He reached for the Mickey Mouse car jack. “Not to worry. I’ve changed a lot of tires in my life.”
“Sure, sure,” she said, looking at the jack in his hand. She didn’t look as if she fully agreed with him. “I just thought maybe, since it’s a small car… you know.”
No, he didn’t know. He stepped around her, going down on one knee to slide the jack into its little sleeve beneath the car. He started to jack it up, but she was standing too close. He paused, looked up. “It’s probably better if you stand back.”
“Right,” she said, stepping back. But her feet, stuffed into her heels, were in his peripheral vision.
He removed the flat tire, then fit the spare donut onto the rim. He noticed her turn the page of the manual, as if she was following along. He secured the spare and stood up. “You’ll want to get that tire fixed as soon as you can.” He began to toss the tire change implements into the trunk. “Those donuts are definitely not made for the roads up here.” He shut the trunk, put his hands on his hips. “Anything else I can help you with?”
“I think that
Jonathan Green - (ebook by Undead)