“I think I can handle a tire.”
“I know you can, but I can hold something. At least then I won’t feel completely useless.”
“You’re not useless,” he said, squinting up at me through the bright sun. “You can talk to me and keep me company while I do the man’s work.”
“The man’s work?” I rolled my eyes again.
“Well, what do you think Ryder would say if I told him you had a flat and I let you change the tire?”
“I think if you called him at all, he would yell at you, and then tell you to hand the phone over to me, which he would then proceed to yell at me. So, best not to say anything at all.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
A glint of light reflecting on the horizon seemed to be moving our way. “Hey, I think someone’s coming.”
“I can handle a tire on my own,” he grumbled.
Shielding my eyes from the sun, I watched as the vehicle got closer and closer, until finally, pulling over directly in front of us.
“How’s the tire coming?”
“Fine, if only they hadn’t tightened them so much. Did they think you were going to rip the tires off somewhere along the way? Fucking hell.”
I glanced over my shoulder, grinning at him. “Are you telling me you can’t get the lug nuts off? Because a man just pulled over. Maybe he can help you.”
The glare he shot my way would have been hilarious if not for the strain on his face.
“Problem?” the man asked, tipping up his hat as he watched Jeff struggle to loosen the lug nuts.
“We’re fine,” Jeff muttered. “I can change a tire.”
“Are you sure? I can lend a hand?—”
“We’re fine!” Jeff snapped, stopping the man as he started to step forward.
I chuckled under my breath. Leave it to a Parker to get that upset over some lug nuts not coming off.
“Maybe I can take you into town,” the man said to me, moving a little closer.
“Uh, thanks, but we’re fine.”
“Really. It’s no problem.”
I took a step back, but he followed, crowding me. “Like I said, we’re fine.”
I turned to walk away, but he grabbed my arm, tugging me against him. “Jeff!” I shouted, my heart skipping a beat as fear spiked inside me.
Jeff was on his feet in an instant, the tire iron in his hand held out and ready to strike. “Let her go.”
“I don’t think so, friend,” the man said. I could hear the grin in his voice, the way his hand tightened around me in a bruising grip. Whatever was going on here, this was not going to turn out well.
I tried to calm my racing heart, to make eye contact with Jeff as the man pulled me even tighter against him. I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t trained in fighting or self-defense. Hell, the only thing I could say I even knew was the SING method from that Sandra Bullock movie, and based on the fact that I’d only watched the movie, I wasn’t sure now was the time to employ such untested tactics.
“Let go of her,” Jeff snarled.
“I don’t think so,” the man retorted.
One hand released me, but his other arm banded around my waist, making it impossible to move.
