“Probably thirty minutes,” he said. “I’m going to send you my pin right now, too, all right?”
“Okay, be safe, Ty.”
“You too, sweetheart. Just stay right where you are. You don’t need to try to do anything with the car. I’ll take care of all of it when I get there.”
“Okay,” she said.
The call ended, and Winnie was once again left alone in the silence. She wasn’t sure what she would do in this situation if she didn’t have someone like Ty.
She supposed she could call a tow truck and then pray that they had some sort of rideshare or cab service that would take her the fifty miles from Amarillo to Three Rivers.
She thought of all the people who were alone in the world who had to figure out solutions to problems like this when they happened, and a brand-new sense of gratitude filled her that she wasn’t alone right now, that she had Ty. And not only that, but she probably could’ve called any of his cowboy friends, and they would have come to help her.
Winnie’s head hurt and her stomach lurched with anxiety, so she laid her seat down again and closed her eyes.
There was something calming and soothing about the white noise of the rushing air, and the next thing she knew, someone had knocked on her window and pulled open her door.
Her eyes flew open and she yelped.
“Whoa, whoa, it’s me. It’s me.”
A sob tore through Winnie’s throat when she recognized Ty, and she sat straight up and flew into his arms.
He caught her and held her tight. “You’re all right,” he said. “You’re all right. The storm’s over, and I’m here.”
Winnie stepped back. “You scared me.”
“I called and texted, sweetheart.” He gave her a smile. “I can’t believe you fell asleep during this.”
Winnie could hardly believe it either, and she looked around at the world. Cars had been moved all over the parking lot, and the sky sat clearer than Winnie had ever seen it before. It was as if the storm had taken everything hanging in the air and blown it out.
“Wow. The world looks brand new,” she said.
“Sure does.” Ty took her hand and led her around the open door and then the hood. “Yeah, she pushed you pretty good into this.”
Winnie looked at the front bumper of her car, which seemed to be one with the cement pillar.
“And you’re right up against the truck too,” he said.
Their eyes met. “Should I try to move it?” she asked.
“Maybe just away from the truck and back into the right space,” he said. “And then I’ll drive you home.”
“Really? You don’t think I can take my car?”
“No, baby.” He swept his lips along her temple. “I think the tow companies will be really busy for a while.”
Winnie huffed out her frustration and then moved to get behind the wheel again. The car started, and she put it in reverse and started to ease it away from the pillar and the truck. She could easily drive this home, because?—
She sucked in a breath at the loud groaning of metal—really ahorrible, terrible, all-encompassing roar of metal—and immediately slammed on the brake.
Ty called, “Keep going,” and waved at her to continue backing up.
Since she trusted him, she did, and she felt the moment her bumper released from the truck next to her and broke free. The car almost lurched away from her, and Winnie once again applied the brake. When it didn’t fall apart around her, she pulled the sedan back into the space straight, stopping when Ty held up his hand for her to do so.
She got out again and went around the front, and he nodded to her bumper. “It’s dragging on the ground, sweetheart.”
Yes, she could see that. “We could take it off, and maybe I could drive back to Three Rivers.”
