“Ripley. I was driving home from my brother’s house. Is there a tow company in…what was the town I just passed through?”
“Oliver Creek. And no. The towing company and the mechanic are one and the same. It’s Taggert’s Towing, and they are closed until the new year.”
He put his fists on his hips and reached into the cab to pop the hood. “Maybe there’s a way I can rig it.”
I let out a snort, garnering a squint from him. “I thought you were joking. Because your name is Ripley and rip and rig it up. Sorry, I’ve had a lot of sugar lately.”
Ripley cocked his head to the side as though I were a new species but went to work cursing the engine and pressing on things. “Maybe there’s a towing company in the next town? The next city?”
“In this snowstorm? Not likely.” The wind kicked up, bringing Ripley’s scent to me, an overdue and surprise Christmas gift. My wolf picked up the notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and molasses. I was staring at the embodiment of a gingerbread man. The Goddess must like cookies because I would bet she made him with her best ingredients.
Ripley grabbed a wrench from the back of his truck and banged on something in the engine. The smoke stopped for a second but, after a few more hits, it started again, this time worse thanbefore. He cursed under his breath, rested his palms against the edge of the open hood, and leaned his head down. Puffs of warm air made clouds against the chill of the winter air. “What am I supposed to do until then?” he asked, not looking at me.
“There’s no motel or hotel with a free room in town but I have a guest bedroom. The snow is really coming down and there’s supposed to be a snowpocalypse starting tonight.”
Fate must’ve heard me because the snow thickened, clinging to everything.
Ripley turned his gaze on me, and I stepped back from the force of it. He was an alpha, sure, that part was easy to read, but something about the way his deep-chocolate eyes saw through me made my breath catch and my wolf howl inside me. “That’s nice of you but I think there may be a way I can fix it up. At least to get somewhere I can stay.”
I almost walked away. Almost. But my wolf nails me in place.
He can’t fix his engine and there’s a warm cabin only a few feet away.
He’s a stubborn one.
I wrapped my arms around my torso and watched him. Well, if he was going to be mulish, then I would help him.
“Hey, I have a toolbox in my shed. Let me get it.”
Chapter Five
Ripley
Oliver Creek. I’d never even hear of it, but whatever the town was, my options for getting away from it were limited…as in nonexistent. Jude, the omega who was currently trying to help me, had made it clear that no mechanic or tow company would be coming until after New Year’s Day. He was kind enough to agree to let me use his tools to try to fix whatever was wrong, but my mechanical skills were far less than adequate.
Staring into the engine, I tried to convince myself that I should be able to figure this out. If a big issue had occurred, something that involved replacing parts, I’d be stuck, but if it was something I could jury rig?
I’d already made it past Christmas, but for the next week, there would still be lots of holiday celebrations, and my urge to climb into my den and hide had never been stronger. I’d left my own tools at home after having my truck broken into while traveling last year,but even if they were there, they were not the type for working on engines. Probably. I’d never spent much time learning about cars.
“Here you go.” Jude appeared around the corner of the cabin, lugging an ancient toolbox. “I inherited this from my grandfather, so I’m not sure what all is in there. But he was a car guy, so presumably there are some useful things.” He set the box next to my truck and came to stand next to me. “Any ideas what’s wrong?”
“None.” I moved a hose a little, checked the cap on the radiator. “I can build a house from the ground up, but the internal combustion engine is a huge mystery to me.”
“You can build a house?” Admiration rang in his tones. “For real?”
“Well, generally I am supervising a crew, but I do know how to do the tasks I ask of them. Just cars…never made sense to me.”
“Me either, really.” Jude studied some wires. “Do you know what these do? They lookkind of burned.”
“They sure do. But maybe that’s soot from whatever was smoking.” As an alpha, I always felt like I should be in control of a situation. The person who solved problems and made things run smoothly. Probably why being a general contractor was such a great fit for me. “I just don’t know.”
“No. I wish I’d spent more time with Grandpa. He’d know what to do.” Jude stepped back and shook his head. “You’re all right, aren’t you? Not hurt?”
“I think so.” I did a kind of mental check through my body for anything that hurt. “I wasn’t paying enough attention.”
“Anyone can hit a bad patch of ice,” he said. “Don’t feel bad about that. As long as you are okay, anything else can be dealt with. When the garage opens again, they can check it out and it will probably be a small thing. You’ll see.”
The omega was the one providing comfort here. His kindness radiated from him, warming the edges of the icy tension that build inside me at this time of year. If we’d met in summer, he’d have found me an easierperson to be around. But that was no excuse for not trying to be my best self.
