Her heart lurched. Sweat streamed from her brow, burning the corner of her eye.
Real stupid, Cissy. Stupid, stupid, stupid. What had she done? What was she thinking packing the boys up and dragging them all over the state of Georgia?
The cell phone, though silent, seared through the pocket of her shorts, scorching its presence into her thigh. She relinquished her clutch on the steering wheel and readjusted it with trembling fingers.
Okay. She’d screwed up again. Big-time. Lost her temper. Her home. Her direction in life.
Wrapping her hands tighter around the wheel, she willed the car on. It didn’t have to be as bad as it seemed. All she needed to do was buy some time and find a bit of work to tide them over until she found something permanent.
And she would. She always managed to pull through.
Her chest tightened. Only, it had always been just her. It wasn’t just her anymore. She had two children to consider now. And the damage was already done. What was she going to do?
Cissy swallowed hard and renewed her grip on the steering wheel. A motel was probably right over the next hill. Just a few more miles.
“Come on, ol’ girl,” she cajoled, patting the dash.
A loud pop and a sharp jerk of the steering wheel had her gasping as the car veered off the road and jerked to a stop.
“What’s wrong, Aunt Cissy?” Jayden mumbled.
Squaring her shoulders, she mentally directed herself to calm down and glanced in the backseat. Jayden was struggling to keep his eyes open. Kayden had long since been out for the count and sprawled with snoring abandon in his booster seat.
“Nothing, baby,” she whispered. “Go back to sleep.”
Nothing? She yanked the keys out of the ignition. That was the understatement of the year. Or, at least, the biggest lie she’d ever told. It was pitch-black outside. They’d just blown a tire. She was sure of it. And, now they were stranded on the edge of a ditch, in the middle of nowhere, without a soul in sight.
Cissy dug out a flashlight from the glove compartment and went to survey the damage. The low beam glowed over a deflated heap of rubber pooling on the grass. It was a lost cause.
She rotated to take in her surroundings, the flashlight bouncing in her shaky grip. There were no houses or driveways. The dim light flickered over wire fences and the edges of empty fields. Only menacing darkness lay beyond.
Cissy dropped her head and kicked the ground. How irresponsible could she be? She’d panicked and taken a chance without weighing it first. She’d jumped without a net, and instead of landing on her feet she was plummeting facedown toward the dirt.
What should she do now? What would Crystal do?
Her mouth twisted. Crystal would never have gotten the boys into a mess like this to begin with. Her sister may have been weak in the head where Jason was concerned but she would never have taken such a gamble on their security. She would’ve sweet-talked any sleazy landlord if it meant keeping a roof over the boys’ heads.
Cissy slapped the flashlight against her palm. Heck if she’d do that. She’d never beg a slimeball like him for charity.
Keep our boys together, Cissy. Crystal’s plea whispered in her mind and wrapped around her on the humid summer air. Give them what we never had. Promise me...
And she had promised.
A salty tang hit Cissy’s mouth, tears settling in the corners. Licking them away, she blinked hard and dragged the back of her hand over her cheeks.
Fat lot of good it would do to stand here and cry by the side of the road all night. She had to think. She had to focus.
She shoved the flashlight into her back pocket, then flipped on the hazard lights, and then leaned against the trunk. Moments later, the rumble of an engine rattled the dinky car at her back. Bright lights emerged over the hill and flooded her face.
She threw an arm up to shield her eyes as the loud truck drew to a halt. A large male frame emerged from the truck’s cab and positioned itself in front of the headlights. Uneasiness seeped into her gut.
“Hey!” Cissy shouted over the growling vehicle.
The silhouette placed its hands on its hips and the outline of a Stetson dipped in response.
“You want to shut that thing off? It’ll just about make a person deaf, you know?”
No response.
Crap. She squinted against the lights and dropped her arm to adopt a more defensive stance. “Look, I have a flat. Is there a tow-truck service around here?”
The figure took a few steps toward her but didn’t answer.
Great. Just great. Now some psycho redneck was going to butcher her and toss her body parts in the ditch. She reached around her back and gripped the end of the flashlight.
“Hey, I asked you a question.” Her heart pounded as he drew closer. She snatched the flashlight out of her back pocket and threw out a hand. “Stop.”
He didn’t. He just kept on coming. Adrenaline shot through her veins. She cast a quick look over her shoulder to the backseat, glancing at the boys’ blond heads illuminated by the headlights.
“I said stop.” Cissy jerked her arm over her head and flung the flashlight, clenching her fists in victory when it thumped against the silhouette’s head.
“Ow! Dammit,” the voice boomed as the figure folded over.
She almost collapsed with relief at the familiar tenor. “Dominic.”
He shifted closer, blocking the headlights and bringing his face into view. A bright red lump was appearing right below the brim of his hat. “What are you trying to do? Kill me?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you.” She slumped back against the car. “You shouldn’t have walked up on me like that. You scared the crap out of me.”
Dominic removed his hat, rubbing a hand over his brow and through his hair. The midnight strands fell forward in tousled waves.
“Good,” he growled, settling the Stetson back on his head. “You should be scared. You never stand outside your vehicle like that. You’re just asking for someone to snatch you up.”
Cissy lifted her chin and dragged her attention away from his dark eyes. “Well, seems to me like you wouldn’t have had much success in snatching me up, as you put it.”
Dominic grunted. He retrieved the flashlight from the ground, shoved it into her hand then banded his blunt fingers around her wrist. “What were you gonna do if this thing missed? Kick my kneecaps? You’re too short to reach much else.”
“Actually, I had something higher in mind,” she smirked, spinning the flashlight with her fingers.
Dominic’s luscious mouth twitched. He flattened it and rolled his eyes. “Right.”
Releasing
