“Um, I think so? It all happened so fast, I thought we hit some ice but it might have been the brakes.”
He grunted and leaned inside the car, rattling the brake pedal. Looking over his shoulder, she could see it was flat to the ground. She was no mechanic, but she was pretty sure that was a bad thing.
“Looks like your brake lines burst,” he said. “That’s your brake fluid all over the snow there. I have a friend who might have a spare tire, but I’m afraid you’re not going to be going anywhere until the brakes are fixed.”
“Great, just my luck.”
On the other hand, she and Riley had survived the crash relatively unscathed, and a very hot guy was currently playing the hero. If she had to be run off the road and almost killed, at least there was a silver lining.
She gave herself a mental slap, and as Chase discarded his jacket and got to work loosening the bolts, she tried to focus on the cell in her hands, and not on the muscles she could see bulging in his forearms. Hot hero or not, this was not the time to be enjoying the view. She absentmindedly tapped at his phone, wondering if she was really making the right decision asking if she could stay with him. It wasn’t too late... In the end, she decided to make sure she wasn’t going to be putting him out too much first. He really might not have meant his offer at all.
“Is it okay for you to be helping me like this?” she asked
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” she said, biting at her lip, “weren’t you working? I assumed that was the reason you were here after closing.”
“Sure, I was working. But nothing was happening anyways, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“But won’t you get in trouble for leaving?”
“No.” He twisted round to send a grin her way. “My boss pretty much leaves me be. Besides, I offered to be here tonight. He won’t mind.”
She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t.
“That must be tough,” she commented. “Putting in all those extra hours, I mean.”
“Not really.” Chase’s casual tone of voice suggested he really meant it. Hailey heard a small pop as the tire was removed, and then he set it down in her trunk, tucking it away where it wouldn’t be stolen. “I love my job—even the late hours. I wouldn’t give it up—not a single aspect of it—for the world.”
“Yet you still went out of your way to help me,” Hailey pointed out, a small smile pulling on her lips.
He winked at her. “True. Guess I can’t resist a damsel in distress. But I promise, you’re not imposing, so don’t worry about it. I’m happy I was able to help you out.”
He smiled again, wide and genuine, like helping her really did make him happy. He sure was a charmer. Hailey blushed lightly, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind one ear to distract herself. If nothing else, it was good to know her being here wasn’t causing him any trouble.
“So, what about you?” he asked, leaning against the snowbank.
“What about me?”
“Do you have anything like that? Something difficult in your life you think is worth the effort?”
Hailey wasn’t sure how to answer that. At first, the question brought up bitter memories of how Michael had convinced her to drop out of school early. She could scarcely remember a time in her life when she’d had a ‘dream job.’ Then she looked over at her sleeping son and a soft smile crept onto her lips.
“Yeah, I do.” She watched his tiny fist tighten around Mr Jeffries. Well, that ought to about do the job of scaring Chase off. There was no faster way of sending single men running for the hills than reminding them she had a young son, and that her son wouldalwaysbe her number one man. But when she turned back to Chase, she found him regarding her with a gentle smile of his own.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but he seemed to be lingering unnecessarily, looking for ways to keep the conversation going. Feeling encouraged by his willingness to stick around, Hailey pushed her gaze back up to his eyes, and then felt abruptly shy. Ugh, she needed to get over it. This was for Riley. It wasn’t like she was asking Chase to hook up with her.
“Hey Chase, is it, um, is it okay if I change my mind about staying with you?”
“Of course.” He glanced down at her hands, which had started to go numb again, and a look of concern creased his forehead. “Why don’t we head back now and get you and Riley settled in for the night before it gets any colder?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “That might be for the best.”
Hailey didn’t know what time it was by this point, but she was guessing it was getting pretty late. He seemed to be okay right now, but Riley would sleep a lot better in a proper bed.
Scooping her son back up, she noticed Chase grabbing her bags for her alongside his own tools. She thought about protesting, but it was so nice to get some help for once that she stayed her tongue. It feltright, somehow.
She rolled her eyes and shoved the ridiculous notion aside.
