“No harm, you lied to me.” Olivia glanced at her daughter out of the corner of her eye. It was hard to look stern, when focused on the road.
Ivy gave her a look that made Olivia feel like she was looking into a mirror and not at her eleven-year-old daughter. That same stern lecture look. “I had my reasons for lying.”
“As did I.”
Olivia huffed, knowing this was an argument she couldn’t win. She had been lying just about everything. Ivy had only told one, but she still needed to nip it in the bud, before it became a habit. “You know why I did. No more lying, please.”
“No more lying.” Ivy promised.
Suddenly, the car made a pop and hissing sound, before smoke started coming out of the hood. “Oh, no,” Olivia groaned. Not now. Olivia pressed the gas pedal, but there was no response. The speedometer needle dropped slowly to zero. She pulled over on the side of the road, as the car died.Great.
They got out and lifted the hood, and Olivia jumped back, as a cloud of steam rolled out. She waved it away and looked at the car, but she didn’t know what she was looking for.
“Well, now what? Do we walk?” Ivy asked.
The car had died around the halfway point. They were miles from town and miles from the trailer. She debated who to call to help her. Heath was the first name to pop up, but she knew that was a bad idea. Kathy could come pick them up.
Olivia grabbed her purse but couldn’t find her phone. Where was it? The last place she remembered having it was the bar. Had she dropped somewhere? She tore her purse apart looking for it, but it was nowhere to be seen. “Ivy, where’s your phone. We need to call Kathy.”
“It’s dead.” Ivy winced.
“What do you mean it’s dead? How could it be dead already?”
“Susan and I found a game on an app and started playing it, and then there was funny videos and texting.” She rambled off.
“Texting who?”
“Susan.” Ivy said, as if it should be obvious.
“You were texting Susan, who was sitting next to you on the couch?” Olivia asked, striving for patience but was losing it quickly.
Ivy opened and closed her mouth several times not coming up with an excuse. Olivia would take the phone from her, if she didn’t need it to stay in touch, while Olivia was at work. “Sorry, Mom.”
“Start brining your charger with you and ease up on the videos and no more texting, when you are together. That’s just a waste.” Finished with her tirade, Olivia announced, “I guess we’re walking.” Olivia wasn’t looking forward to it. It was growing dark out, and the road to the trailer park wasn’t lit. If anyone happened to be driving by, they would never be seen, until the car was on them.
“To town or the house?”
“The house.” She didn’t want to impose on Kathy more than she had. Kathy was still her boss, and she felt like she was taking advantage of her generosity.
Head lights suddenly appeared, coming up the road from town. She debated flagging them down and hitching a ride. She had never taken a ride from a stranger and heard all the horror stories. It was a risk she had to take, though. Their options were already limited.
“Wait in the car.” Olivia waited for Ivy to listen, and then flagged the car down.
Chapter 20
Heath walked straight to Kathy’s diner. It was the only place he knew to try and find Olivia. She owned a small house behind it for her and her daughter. Heath glanced through the front window, seeing it pretty empty. With the diner being quiet, Kathy was most likely home.
He had been worried about Olivia, since he was told she left due to an emergency. He would have gotten here sooner, if he hadn’t been stopped by so many women, wanting him to buy them a drink or take them home. It was downright annoying. He didn’t remember it always being this bad. Even the guys told him to leave Olivia be, and that she would call him and explain, but then, one of the girls found her phone in the bathroom. She must have left it in a hurry. Fed up, he pushed past everyone without a word and came straight here.
Heath walked past the diner through the small alleyway next to the house. Heath could see the living room light on through the curtains. He knocked on the door and only had to wait a moment for Kathy to answer. She greeted him with a warm smile, as was her nature, except when cross. Then, it was best to back away slowly.
“Well, what do I owe the pleasure of you showing up at my door?”
“I’m looking for Olivia.”
“Ah,” Kathy chuckled knowingly. “She left a few minutes ago heading home.”
“And where is that?” He snapped. He just wanted a straight forward answer, so he could see Olivia. Everyone seemed to be keeping her from him, and he was tired of it.
