“Yeah, that’s why I called Ridge. Speaking of, he just pulled in.”
“Are you sure it’s him?”
I can’t help it. I laugh. “I know my brother.”
“You can never be too careful.”
“It’s him,” I reassure him. “I’ll call you when I’m back on the road.”
“I’m on my way home. I’ll call you when I get close to town.”
“Good. I missed you,” I tell him again.
His voice softens. “Missed you too.” We end the call, and I roll down my window as Ridge approaches.
“Sister,” he greets me.
“Brother, thank you for rescuing me.”
He laughs. “Pop the trunk and sit tight.”
“I can help,” I tell him, popping the trunk and climbing out of my car.
“Do you ever listen to anything you’re told to do?”
I stick my tongue out at him and begin helping him load all my purchases for the shop to the back seat of his truck.
“Why don’t we just put it in the back?”
“It’s supposed to rain. I assumed you didn’t want it getting wet.”
“Really?” I say, looking up at the clear blue skies.
“Pop-up showers.”
“Just my luck,” I mutter, going back to my car for another armload of supplies. By the time we get everything moved to the back seat of his truck, dark clouds are starting to roll in.
I stand over by the ditch while Ridge pulls out my spare tire. “Uh, Reagan, how long has it been since you had to use your spare?”
“I’ve never had to.” I step toward the car and peek into the trunk.
“Makes sense considering you don’t have one.”
“What?” I ask, pulling up the lining to see for myself.
“Nope. Must not have had one when you bought it.”
“Damn it,” I mutter. “Who checks to see if the car has a spare when they buy it? It was barely a year old when I bought it.” I kick the offending flat tire for good measure.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have looked either. Grab anything else you need and lock it up. We’ll head into town and have them tow it to the garage and just fix the tire or put a new one on, whatever you need to do. I’ll make sure they give you a decent spare as well.”
“Fine,” I grumble. “Thank you for rescuing me.” Reaching in through the passenger side door, I grab my purse and my phone. I scan my car; there is nothing else of importance.
“You good?” Ridge asks.
“Yeah,” I say, dragging my feet to his truck. As soon as we’re inside with the door shut, the rain starts pelting the windshield. “Lovely. This day just keeps getting better.”
Ridge looks through the windshield and hesitates. Storms never used to bother him until the night he found Knox’s biological mom in an accident. He’s extremely cautious now. Not that I can blame him. Thankfully, the rain lets up enough for him to see the road clearly. Nothing is coming, so he pulls out onto the road. The reprieve doesn’t last long as huge drops begin to pepper the windshield yet again.
“Just take me to your place until this blows over.” He lives closer, and I can get my nephew fix for the day. There is nothing I can think of that can turn this shitty day around than spending it with Knox. Well, maybe Ty, but he’s traveling too. I’m tempted to text him to tell him to be safe, but I don’t want him texting and driving, so I leave it alone. He’ll call me when he gets close to town.
Ridge parks his truck in the driveway, and we make a mad dash for the front porch. As soon as we enter the house, we’re greeted with Knox’s laughter. Following the sound, my brother makes his way toward the living room, with me hot on his heels. There we find Kendall and Knox under a fort made of sheets and the furniture moved all around. The lights are off, which makes it easy to see the glow of the flashlight.
“Knox,” Kendall says excitedly. “I bet that’s Daddy. You think we should show him our fort?”
“Dadda,” Knox’s excited little voice echoes through the room.
“Reagan, have you seen Knox?” Ridge asks me.
“No. Knox,” I call out for him.
He giggles.
“Aunt Reagan’s here too,” Kendall tells him.
He squeals in delight, and the next thing we see is his little body appearing from underneath the fort. He stands on wobbly legs and rushes for Ridge. After he gets some loving from his daddy, his little arms reach for me. Ridge hands him off and goes to Kendall to help her off the floor. I keep my attention on my nephew, knowing that my brother is kissing the breath out of her right now.
“How’s the car?” Kendall asks.
Ridge explains to her about the missing spare tire, and then the downpour of rain.
“Sorry to intrude.”
“Never,” she says adamantly. “You might as well stay for dinner. It’s nothing special, just chicken casserole in the crockpot. I’m using that appliance more and more these days.” She places her hand over her still flat belly.
“Nothing wrong with that,” I say, kissing Knox on the cheek. “You ready to eat, little man?” I ask him.
He squeals and claps his little hands in delight. “I’m thinking that’s a yes.” Kendall laughs.
Following her and Ridge into the kitchen, I get Knox set up in his high chair and keep him company while Kendall gets his food ready, and Ridge makes all three of us a plate. “I can feed him,” I tell them. “You might as well take advantage of the break while I’m here.”
“You sure?” Kendall asks.
“Positive.” I get busy feeding him some macaroni and cheese, which he loves. “Look at you, eating like a big boy,” I praise. His reply is to open his little mouth like a bird, ready for more.
“Thank you,” Kendall says as Knox takes his last bite.
“Sure thing.” I place his bowl in the sink, and sit back down to the plate Ridge made for me.
“You know, he’s getting better at that on his own,” my brother tells me.
“I know, but then you would have had to give him another bath.” I laugh. “I can tell by his lotion smell that he’s already had his for the night. The point was to give you guys a break.”
“A break we appreciate,” Kendall chimes in. She peeks out the window. “It’s really coming down. You might not get your car until tomorrow,” she says.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.”
“I think we should call a tow truck. We don’t want to leave it out there all night. Hard to tell what might happen to it.”
“Yeah.” I sigh, reaching for my phone. “Sh—crap,” I say, catching myself. “I must have left my phone in your truck.”
Ridge reaches into his pocket and comes up empty and grins. “Mine must still be out there too.” He stands as if to run out to his truck and get them when a monsoon of rain falls from the sky.
“Use mine.” Kendall hands me her phone, laughing. “Only a crazy person would go out in this for their phone.”
Taking her phone, I search the number for the local repair shop and have them tow my car to them to repair the tire and ask them to add a new spare to the order. “Thanks.” I hand Kendall back her phone. “They said the truck is out right now, but as soon as he gets back in, they’ll send the guy back out to get mine. I feel bad they’re out in this.”
“That’s their job,” Ridge says, just as there’s a pounding on the front door. Ridge holds up his hand, telling us to stay put, and stalks to the front door. Of course, we don’t listen. I grab Knox from the high chair before Kendall, and I peek into the living room. Ridge’s shoulders are tense as the pounding on the door continues, so loud you can hear it over the downpour of rain. I don’t realize I’m holding my breath until the door swings open and Tyler is standing there. His hands tense at his sides, water running down his face, his clothes soaked.
“Where is she?”