I don’t want to be stranded for the next few days while we wait for the water to recede. But please, give Mattie my love and tell her that Derek and I will be up to visit in the next couple of weeks.”
“I’ll drive myself and leave Mike here to take you wherever you need to go. If you change your mind, have him drive the two of you up to the ranch.”
“I will, but don’t count on us,” she suggested, smiling.
After his sister left, Zach returned to work. But soon his thoughts were straying to Arielle Garnier and how absolutely amazing she’d appeared that morning. There had been a glow about her that he found completely fascinating.
He frowned. As unbelievable as it seemed, she was even prettier now than she had been when they’d first met.
But he wondered what brought her to Dallas. When they first met, she’d told him that she’d been born and raised in San Francisco and how much she loved it there. Had something happened to change her feelings? And why hadn’t she moved to Los Angeles or Nashville to be closer to one of her brothers?
By the time he left the office for the day, Zach was filled with far more questions than he had answers. Something just didn’t add up. And even though where Arielle lived or what she did was none of his concern, he decided to stop by the school on his way out of town. He had every intention of finding out why a woman who had been perfectly content with her life a few months ago would make such a drastic change.
“Thank God it’s Friday,” Arielle muttered as she pulled her raincoat close and splashed through the ankle-deep water covering the school’s parking lot on her way to her red Mustang. “The whole day has been one big royal pain in the neck.”
The gentle spring rain that had started shortly before lunch had quickly turned into a torrential downpour and had continued throughout the afternoon, causing the pre-K field trip to the petting zoo to be canceled. Then, if thirty extremely disappointed four-year-olds hadn’t been enough to contend with, one of the little girls in the three-year-olds ‘class stuffed a bean up her nose during craft time and had to be taken to the urgent care facility around the corner to have it removed.
Opening the car door, she quickly closed her umbrella, threw it into the backseat and slid in behind the steering wheel. She couldn’t wait to get home to her new apartment, slip into a baggy pair of sweats and forget the entire day ever happened. Since becoming pregnant, she’d started taking a nap when the children took theirs. Having missed hers this afternoon, she was not only tired, she was cranky, as well.
But her well-laid-out plan to spend a quiet weekend at her new home came to a swift end when she backed the low-slung car from her reserved space, drove halfway across the parking lot and listened to the motor sputter twice, then die. When all of her attempts to get the car going again failed, she closed her eyes and barely resisted the urge to scream. She should have known when Zach Forsythe showed up first thing this morning that it was going to be one of those days.
She sighed heavily and, reaching for her cell phone, quickly dialed the number for roadside assistance to send a tow truck. But her already low spirits took a nosedive when, after holding for ten minutes, a representative came on the line to inform her that due to the high number of calls from motorists with stalled-out cars, it would be several hours before one of their drivers could come to her aid.
As she ended the call, she glanced at the water covering the parking lot, then at the school’s front entrance. She couldn’t just sit in the car until they arrived and trudging back into the school through inches of water wasn’t appealing, either.
But her mood lightened considerably when the reflection of car lights in her rearview mirror drew her attention. A Lincoln Navigator pulled to a stop beside her. She briefly wondered if she should err on the side of caution and refuse any offer of help from a stranger. But she instantly dismissed the thought. They were in an exclusive, very affluent area of the city, it was still daylight and how many criminals drove luxury SUVs?
But when the driver got out, opened the passenger door of her car and Zach Forsythe got in, Arielle’s gratitude died in her throat. “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.
His knowing grin caused her heart to flutter like a trapped butterfly. “It would appear that I’m going to be rescuing you.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t need help.” Especially from you, she added silently.
“Then why are you sitting here in your car in the middle of a flooded parking lot?”
“Maybe I just want to.”
“Start the car, Arielle.”
“No.” Why couldn’t he just go away and leave her alone?
His grin widened. “Is it because you don’t want to or that you can’t start the car?”
She glared at him before she finally conceded, “I can’t.”
He nodded. “That’s what I thought. It’s stalled out, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that tells me you are in need of my help.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m sure you’ll understand why I have to decline,” she said stubbornly. If he was her only alternative, she’d just as soon fend for herself.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Arielle.”
“I’m not. I’ve already called my auto service.”
“Really?” He didn’t look at all convinced. “And just when is it supposed to arrive?”
“I’m sure it will be here any minute,” she lied, staring at the street. Maybe if she wished long and hard enough, a tow truck would miraculously appear and Zach would disappear.
“Nice try, darlin’. But I’m not buying it.” He leaned close as if he was about to share a secret. “Remember, I’m from Dallas. I know how it is around here in the spring and how long the auto club will take to get to you at this time of day. I also know that calling a cab would take just as long.”
“I don’t mind waiting,” she repeated.
Why did he have to be so darned good-looking?
“In case you haven’t noticed, it’s pouring and doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon. You’ll be lucky if anyone can get here until this time tomorrow.”
“Surely it won’t take that long.”
“Trust me, it could be even longer. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to leave you sitting here in your car all night.”
“I’ll just go back inside the school until they get here,” she decided, thinking quickly. Sleeping on the narrow couch in her office held very little appeal, but it would be a lot better than accepting aid from a lying snake like Zach Forsythe.
After a long staring match, he finally insisted, “Let me make this clear for you, darlin’. Either you get in my SUV and let me take you home or I’m going to stay right here with you for as long as it takes to get your car towed.”
“You can’t do that.”
He
