92 Pacific Boulevard - Debbie Macomber [81]
He shrugged in response.
“Or even every other day.”
He grinned.
“You don’t need to hold the family together anymore, Linc. We’re all adults. And we’re all capable of making our own decisions, learning from our own mistakes. You’re sweet to want to protect me, but it really isn’t necessary.”
Then, to his utter amazement, Mary Jo rose up on tiptoe, placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed his cheek.
As he drove away, Linc considered what she’d said. The truth was, he realized his sister was right. Mel and Ned didn’t like him looking over their shoulders, either, any more than Mary Jo did.
Rather than take the ferry home, Linc decided to drive across the Narrows Bridge. He hadn’t driven more than a mile down the freeway when he saw a car parked on the side of the road. The vehicle’s taillights flashed, indicating some kind of mechanical problem. A woman stood helplessly outside, obviously waiting for someone to stop.
Cars zoomed past. Linc didn’t want to stop. He’d had a long day, it was now dark, and he was tired. Besides, he had a ninety-minute drive ahead of him. As he neared the woman in distress, Linc knew that he couldn’t in good conscience drive by.
Parking his truck, he climbed down and walked toward the woman. She was delicate-looking, blond, petite. Smaller even than Mary Jo, who stood five-three.
“What’s the problem?” he asked.
The woman stared up at him as if he’d stepped out of a Friday the 13th movie. Her eyes widened in what appeared to be genuine panic.
Linc supposed he could be intimidating, although what she expected him to do to her on the freeway with cars barreling past, he couldn’t imagine.
“My name’s Linc Wyse and I’m a mechanic,” he explained, hoping an introduction would put her at ease.
“It…just stopped running. I was on my way to Gig Harbor and out of the blue, my car just stopped. I was fortunate to get it off the road before it went completely dead.”
“Did you call Triple A?” he asked.
“Ah, no…Well, yes, I did and learned that my membership had expired. I—I’ve gone through a bit of emotional turmoil lately and it must’ve slipped through the cracks.” She seemed ready to break into tears. “You don’t want to hear any of this. Sorry.”
She was right about that. He wasn’t interested in her personal problems. “Did the car choke before it quit running?”
She shook her head. “I tried to look under the hood, but I couldn’t figure out how to open it.”
Typical. Most women barely had a clue about the fundamentals of operating a vehicle.
He must have given some indication of his thoughts because she added, “I’m not stupid, you know.”
Linc knew better than to respond to that comment. He leaned in and released the hood lever, then walked around to the front of the vehicle. He raised the hood and quickly checked all the easy fixes.
The woman stood next to him and studied the engine. “That’s not quite true,” she said.
“I beg your pardon? What isn’t?”
“The thing I said about being stupid.” She gazed past him to the traffic streaming by. “You’ve been very kind, and I’m grateful.”
Praise disconcerted him, so he ignored her remark. “I don’t see anything wrong with your engine.”
“I can’t believe this is happening now, on top of everything else.”
“Everything else?” Linc wondered if he was going to regret asking.
“My fiancé. Geoff. Ex-fiancé, I should say. He’s a thief.” She bit down hard on her lower lip. “I broke off the engagement, and my family’s upset—not because I canceled the wedding but because I didn’t have the sense to know that the man I loved is completely unsuitable as a husband and a failure as a human being.” She expelled a deep sigh. “I apologize. None of this has to do with my car. Frankly I have no idea what I would’ve done if you hadn’t stopped. Calling my father wasn’t an option.”
This was the first time Linc had taken a good look at her…and he saw that she was even lovelier than he’d realized.
“You think you know someone and you think you love him and then you learn the truth and it’s just so…so heart-wrenching