Chapter 2
Amy awoke to an unfamiliar rattling noise. She lifted her head, her stiff neck protesting, and turned to see a garage door roll up. Rubbing tired eyes with one hand, she stretched her cramped limbs, trying not to awaken her daughter.
Kallie pushed herself upright in Amy’s arms and looked around, bright-eyed.
Holding Kallie close, Amy climbed out of the car.
A man stood in the large, open doorway of the first bay of the garage, watching her. With the sun in her eyes, she couldn’t see his face, but she could tell he was tall and broad-shouldered. He turned and walked back into the repair shop.
Heat warmed her cheeks, and she raked her fingers through her hair.Great.He caught me sleeping in my car.
Swallowing her pride, she slung Kallie’s diaper bag over her shoulder and approached the garage. Despite the tidy appearance of the inside of the shop, the odor of grease and oil hung in the air. Shiny tools hung in organized rows against the back wall.
Amy stopped a few feet behind the mechanic and cleared her throat.
He turned, and she sucked in a sharp breath. He had the most striking, sapphire-blue eyes. With eyes like that, Amy would consider him handsome if it wasn’t for the full beard covering his face and the sandy-brown hair hanging past the collar of his blue shirt. The distant way he regarded her and lack of a welcoming smile gave him an intense, brooding appearance.
“Can I help you?” His low, firm voice was not as gruff as she expected.
“Um... I need... some help with my car.” She gave herself a mental shake. He was probably a nice man, even if he looked like he belonged on a Harley.
Before he could respond, Kallie cried and squirmed in Amy’s arms. His eyes shifted to her daughter. A flash of unreadable emotion crossed his face. His gaze remained on Kallie while Amy explained what happened with her car.
“How old is she?”
“What?”
“How old is your daughter?”
Surprised by the question, Amy hesitated before responding. “Sixteen months.”
“What’s her name?” he asked, his voice huskier now.
Kallie frequently drew people’s attention, but it was usually women, not men. Was this an attempt to be friendly?Maybe he should try smiling.
The mechanic’s gaze never left Kallie’s face, and Amy’s chest grew tight. Something about his eyes made her look closer. The bleakness she’d read as distant seemed more like sorrow.
Unnerved, Amy stepped back, rotating Kallie away from him. “Kallie, spelled with a K.”
His eyes narrowed, and he sucked in a sharp breath before turning away, his hands balled into fists.
What’s his deal?Her brow furrowed as she stared at his back.
After a long moment, with his back to her, he cleared his throat. “Would you like me to check out your car now?” The husky quality of his deep voice sent a shiver of awareness through her. His voice sounded every bit as sexy as Lance’s.
She contemplated going to a different garage, but this was the only one she’d seen when coaxing her car through town last night. Besides, she’d barely made it here, it’s not like she could drive her car somewhere else.
Perplexed, she pulled her keys from the diaper bag and extended them toward him. “Yes, please. Is there a restroom where we can freshen up?” Kallie needed a diaper change, and for reasons she couldn’t explain, she needed to put some distance between her daughter and the mechanic with the most beautiful and saddest eyes she had ever seen.
* * *
Ben turned,took the keys, and motioned inside the convenience store, his gaze once again on the baby.
He watched the woman walk away with the blond, blue-eyed toddler in her arms. The woman looked nothing like Melanie, but the baby... even her name was similar. Pain gripped his chest, and he fought to catch his breath for the second time this morning. The first had been when she climbed from her car; the sun reflected off her platinum blond, creating a halo around her head.
Something happened inside him at that moment. Something foreign and powerful—a complete contrast to the emptiness and darkness that had filled him for so long. He’d retreated into the garage, trying to analyze the feeling. He didn’t think it was physical attraction, although she was certainly pretty with her curly, blond hair, sky-blue eyes, and slender, but-with-an-appealing-amount-of-curves figure.
Forget about the woman and do your job.
