of the county.”
“Thank you,” she said, relief spilling through her. “I really appreciate it.”
“It’s what I do,” Will said. “See you soon.”
Lissa slumped back against the seat and took a deep breath. As soon as she got out of this mess, she was going to rent an SUV with the best GPS available. She just hated that she’d let Melba down by wrecking her car.
Twenty-five minutes later, a male voice called to her outside her window. “Will. Thank goodness,” she whispered and started the car. She pushed the button to lower the window. “Will?” she called, pleased that the snow had slowed to a slight white drizzle.
“It’s Gage,” the man said as she craned to see him.
“Oh, great,” she muttered to herself.
“I guess you decided not to wait until this afternoon,” he said.
“I didn’t want to waste time,” she said. “I’m going to need a giant can opener to get out.”
“Not quite,” he said, as he jumped in front of the car. His facial expression no-nonsense, he waved his hand. “Put it in Reverse and don’t gun it. Steady pressure,” he said.
“Okay,” she said and attempted to do what he’d told her. All she did was spin her wheels.
“Okay, now I want you to rock it. Put it in Drive, then Reverse.”
She followed his instructions and rocked the car. She was still spinning, but she tried it again and suddenly, the car made several inches backward. “Yay,” she cried.
“Good job,” Gage said, jumping to the side of the car. “Rock again a couple times then I’m going to give you an extra push.
She followed his instructions. “Reverse,” he shouted.
Lissa slammed into Reverse and gunned the pedal while Gage pushed and suddenly she was halfway out of the ditch. “Turn the wheel hard and brake,” he said.
The car miraculously didn’t slide back into the ditch. Gage tapped on the door. “You ready to get out of there?”
He had no idea, she thought. Lissa released the lock and scrambled from the car so quickly she lost her footing.
“Whoa,” Gage said, pulling her to her feet. She felt his brown gaze assessing her and something inside dipped. “You okay?”
She took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of leather and a hint of cologne. “Of course,” she said breathlessly. “I’m just embarrassed and I hate that I probably messed up Melba’s car. And I couldn’t get out—” She broke off when she realized her words were running together and took another quick breath. “I’m fine.”
His lip twitched. “Okay. What I’m gonna do now is pull the car the rest of the way out of the ditch. I tow stuff all the time, so this shouldn’t be any different.”
Ten minutes later, Gage was pulling the car behind his truck. Lissa sat beside him as he slowly made his way toward the main road.
“I’m sorry I caused you extra trouble,” she finally said, glancing at him.
“It happens. It could have been worse,” he said with a shrug. “You’re lucky you didn’t get hurt.”
“I really do know how to drive in the snow. I just haven’t done as much driving since I’ve been living in Manhattan,” she told him.
“You’re just a little rusty. You’ll get better with practice. You just might want to take it easy heading out into the snow. We can’t be digging you out every day,” he said with a chuckle.
“That won’t happen,” she said a little more sharply than she intended. “I’m not here to cause problems. I’m here to help.”
He shot her a quick glance. “Rust Creek Falls needs that help. You just need to remember you’re in a different place. This isn’t Manhattan.”
“I know that,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Then check the weather and take it seriously the next time you decide to head out into the far parts of the county,” he told her.
He was right. She hated it, but he was right. “Will do,” she muttered.
“Good. Things will go better that way.”
They drove the rest of the way in silence. Gage pulled into the driveway behind the rooming house. Because of all the snow on the vehicle, Lissa wasn’t sure how much damage she’d caused. Hopping out of Gage’s truck, she rushed to look it over and was shocked to only find a few dents.
“Good grief,” she said. “I was sure I totaled it.”
Gage walked to stand beside her. “Not Melba’s Blue Bomb. It’s lasted through floods, blizzards, bumps, wrecks. Everything.”
Lissa shook her head. “Do you think Melba will be upset about the scrapes and bumps I left on it?”
Gage chuckled. “She’ll be hard-pressed to find ’em. Once you tell her about your little bump with the ditch, she’ll be more concerned about your safety than her car.”
Melba waddled toward them from the back of the house. “Glory be, thank goodness you’re alive,” she said, wrapping her arms around Lissa. “I heard all about it from Nanette Gilbert. She heard from Sadie Brown. I think one of the teachers told her when she overheard the conversation with Will. I was sure you would end up in the hospital after such a terrible wreck.”
Gage covered a chuckle. “It wasn’t all that terrible. She just fell into the ditch and couldn’t get out. Everything’s okay now.”
“Well, you can be sure I’m not going to let you drive if there’s any chance of snow. If you’d been hurt, I don’t know what I’d do. Come on in and let me give you some soup. You can come, too, if you want, Sheriff.”
“That’s mighty tempting, Melba, but I’ve got to get back to the office.” He glanced at Lissa. “I’m sure she’ll take care of you now.”
Lissa met his gaze. “Thank you again for getting me out of the ditch.”
He touched his hat. “You’re welcome.”
* * *
Gage walked to his car and drove to his office, the whole time thinking about Lissa and the spark in her eyes. He could tell she felt bad about driving into the ditch. He just hoped like hell she wouldn’t do the same thing again. When Will had called him with the news, it had given him a jolt. Will had wanted to go after her, but Gage had insisted, and now he was glad he had. Lissa had been well wedged in that ditch.
Lissa’s combination of determination and humility got to him. She had a twinge of pride, but it didn’t keep her from going after her goals. She made something inside him rumble and burn, and he didn’t like it one bit. He didn’t have time for any sort of attraction or distraction.
Frowning,
