Maybe she had been. But she was trying to change that now. Starting with being more independent. Doing things she wanted to do.
Perhaps she’d make some friends and take up a hobby. Maybe Shaw still lived there, he might want to be her friend. She didn’t know. But it was her choice to make.
And right now she was choosing not to stand here and put up with these two glaring at her. One with clear disapproval. The other with cold dismissal.
She pulled on her haughty mask. The one that had gotten her through a number of scary situations and social functions.
“I don’t know who the two of you are or why you stopped to give me your opinion about what I’m doing. But I didn’t ask for you to do any of that and now I’m leaving.”
“Someone could have crashed into your car,” the one in the jacket said. “They could have pulled over and assaulted you. No one would have known. And you clearly have no idea about watching your surroundings. You need more situational awareness.”
Situational awareness?
Who talked like that?
“Come on, Eli. Let’s go.” That came from the quieter brother. The one with cold, brown eyes.
So the bossy one was Eli?
Eli narrowed his gaze at her. “Next time you want to stop on a quiet road when it’s nearly dark with no one else around. Don’t.”
Her temper stirred. She was doing nothing wrong. In fact, if anyone was in the wrong here it was these guys.
“The next time you decide to stop and scold someone for doing nothing wrong and just minding their own business. Don’t.”
With a huff, she moved around them toward her car. It took a lot to turn her back on them and she had to concentrate on her steps, not wanting to make an idiot of herself by tripping. By the time she made it to the car, she was trembling.
She sat behind the steering wheel and watched them get into their late-model SUV.
Eli gave her car a once over and shook his head.
Now he didn’t approve of her car, either?
Jeez. What gave him the right to judge? Yes, it was an older model sports car and a bit rusty, but she hadn’t wanted to spend too much money on a car.
Shit. What if people judged her by her car choice?
It’s not your problem. People will think what they’re going to think and you can’t change that.
The other man just shook his head and shrugged.
Obviously he didn’t care what she drove.
Urgh. And why do you care? You’re never going to see either of those guys again. They didn’t look like they’d live in a small town in the middle of nowhere.
Although they had headed the same way as her . . . no. They were probably just driving through.
That was all.
Shaking off her nerves, she restarted her car. But just as she started driving again, something raced past the front of her car, causing her to slam on her brakes.
Her heart nearly burst out of her chest and she put her head down on the steering wheel as she attempted to catch her breath.
Then she realized that she’d stopped on the road and was going to cause an accident if she didn’t move.
But what was that? An animal? It had to be, right?
She didn’t think she’d hit it.
