She shrugged. “Thanks, but it wasn’t a huge thing for me. I mean, it sucks that she died, but I never met the woman.”
Again, I sensed her discomfort and changed the subject. I started rambling about Croftridge and things to do around the area, which admittedly wasn’t much.
“You seem to know a lot about Croftridge. Have you always lived here?”
“No, I was born in California and lived there until my parents died in a car accident when I was 15. My father’s parents died before I was born, so I moved to Croftridge to live with my mother’s parents.”
“You’ll love the Blacks. Gram and Pop are two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet,” Aaron interjected.
When Annabelle’s brows furrowed in confusion, I knew what was coming. “How is your last name Black?”
I chuckled. “Caught that, did ya? Oddly enough, my mother and father had the same last name.”
She seemed to relax as we continued talking and getting to know each other. Completely enthralled with her, I failed to pay attention to the others around us, or the time. I had never met anyone like her and was fully captivated from the moment we exchanged our first words.
It was hours later when she looked at the time and gasped. “I need to find Macy and get home before I miss my curfew.”
She stood and scanned the area for her friend. I stood as well and looked for Aaron, but didn’t see him anywhere.
“Shit,” Annabelle cursed. “Her car’s gone.”
“I can take you home,” I offered.
“No, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask. I offered. Come on,” I said and nudged her with my elbow.
“I don’t know…” she said warily.
“I had one beer tonight and that was hours ago.” I held my hands up and met her eyes. “I promise, I just want to make sure you get home safely. My Gram would whoop my ass if she found out I knowingly left a young woman stranded in an unfamiliar place with strangers at night.” That was the truth, too. Gram and Pop had taught me to look out for others and offer help when help was needed.
While we walked to my truck, I pulled out my phone and called Aaron. “Where the fuck are you?” I growled into the phone when he answered.
The sounds of heavy breathing and female moaning filled my ears, causing me to sigh. “Never mind, I know where you are.”
“You’re gonna take her girl home, right?” he asked, clearly not taking a break from his exertions.
“It’s a little late to be asking, don’t you think?” I snapped.
“Nah, I knew you would take care of her.”
“Fuck off, Aaron.”
“Trying to,” he laughed and ended the call.
I opened the passenger door for Annabelle and gestured for her to get in. “Your friend left with Aaron.”
“She’s not really my friend.”
“Oh? You mentioned your mothers worked together, so I just assumed you two were friends.”
“My mother cleans her parents’ house. She was sick a few days last week and I had to fill in for her. While I was there, I met Macy and she invited me to this party,” she said with a shrug.
“I’m glad she did. I enjoyed meeting you,” I said softly.
“Yeah, me, too.”
I followed the directions Annabelle gave me to her house. When I pulled up to a rundown house on the outskirts of town, I didn’t want to let her out of my truck. But, I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want her to feel embarrassed. I didn’t care where she came from or how much money her family had, but I did care about her safety.
