CHAPTER ONE
The Ditch
“Ma’am? Ma’am, can you hear me?” a masculine, gravelly voice asked.
“Don’t call me ma’am!”
There was a brief pause, followed by, “What should I call you then?”
“Annoyed.”
I punched the airbag out of my way and glared in the direction of the voice. Between the darkness outside, the infernal unblinking internal car light due to the open door, and white powder from the detonated airbag coating my glasses, I could only discern a faint shape of a tall man.
“Ma’am—er—miss, have you been drinking?”
“You’ve got a lot a nerve, buddy!” I snapped. “Have I been drinking? No, I haven’t.”
“It’s a logical question.”
“It’s rude,” I muttered.
“Are you hurt?”
“I don’t think so. I wasn’t going very fast.”
“You were going fast enough that the airbag deployed when you crashed into the ditch. You might have a concussion or a neck injury.”
I fiddled with my seat belt and beat the offensive, now deflating, airbag again.
“Hey,” he said. “What are you doing? Let me help you?—”
I didn’t wait for his aid and spilled out of the car, hitting damp grass with a soft thud. “Ow.”
“Now can I help you?”
“Stay where you are,” I commanded. “Stranger danger.”
I was almost positive the man held in a sigh.
I removed my caked glasses and used the hem of my shirt to clean them before returning them to my nose. As I tilted my head back to peer up at him, I held in a squawk of surprise.
Of course,the raspy voice belonged to a muscular man wearing a cowboy hat.
Yeehaw.
His angular jaw was clenched so tight I was sure he was about to crack a tooth.
I scrambled off the ground and wiped soggy grass and dirt from the knees of my jeans. “I don’t live around here, okay? I’m not used to nature. A mama and a baby moose decided to cross the road. I swerved. Hence, the ditch. Oh man, the rental car company is totally going to charge me for this. This is bad. Right? I mean it can’t be good. I’ve only had my license for three weeks. I’m babbling. I don’t mean to babble. It’s just been a really bad day. Actually, it’s been a really bad week.”
The man just stared at me, which made my cheeks flame with embarrassment.
And then like a total maniac, I burst into tears.
“Oh, uh, I’m sure the rental car company will understand if you just explain it to them.”
“Are you kidding me?” I wailed. “They already gouged me on a last-minute rental! They’re heartless. They won’t understand. And I just spent fifty bucks at Dusty’s on wine and chocolate, and I have a hundred dollars left to my name. And now I don’t have any way to get to The Regal Beagle!”
I continued to sob, burying my face in my hands as the stranger just stood by, witnessing my shame.
