Page 93 of Lucky In Love
Now what?
Like any self-respecting car owner, after turning on the hazard lights, I reached over and dug through the glove compartment box until I found the owner’s manual. Grateful that the lights in the car were still working, I sat in my well-lit driver’s seat and flipped through the booklet until I found the page with the dashboard icons. My heart dropped when I found the matching icon and its description.
My transmission was the problem.
Shit. Now what?
I took several deep breaths. There had to be a way out of this. I pulled out my phone and shot off a text.
Mindy: < My car just died. >
Sarah: < What? What happened? Where are you? >
Mindy: < If my dashboard icon is any indication, my transmission just went out. >
I tried to load the map on my phone, but it showed nothing but the base grid. Stupid dead data zones out here. What road did I turn onto?
Mindy: < The map won’t load. I’m on one of the roads near my parents' old house. I just turned off County Line Road, but I don't remember which turn I took. >
Sarah: < Well, shit. Now what? >
I looked around. There had been a house not terribly far before that last turn, and I was pretty sure I'd seen lights on. Is a stranger’s house better than sitting out here in the dark?
Mindy: < I’m a sitting duck here. There’s a house close. Should I go take a walk? >
Sarah: < In this weather? You know that’s how horror movies start, right? >
Mindy: < Yeah… I know… but is sitting out here any better? >
As I took a few more measured breaths in an attempt to keep myself calm, headlights appeared in my rear-view mirror. My heart raced again at the unknown arrival, and I sent out a text.
Mindy: < and now I have an incoming truck. >
Sarah: < Stay safe and don’t take candy from strangers. >
Mindy: < It’s not a white van. I think I’ll be okay. >
Sarah: < I’m going to call you incessantly in three minutes if I don’t hear anything. >
Mindy: < Thank you. >
The pickup truck slowed to a stop next to me, and the window in the passenger side door rolled down. Letting out a tense breath, I rolled my window down a couple of inches, just enough that I didn't get completely soaked by the rain.
“I saw your hazards. Everything okay?”
What do you think? “No, there’s something wrong with my engine.”
There was a pause before the man spoke again. “Wait. Mindy? Mindy Sullivan?”
My attention snapped to the truck to see the face belonging to a very familiar voice, and I lowered the window a bit more. The dome light was now on, and sitting behind the wheel of his green pickup truck was none other than the man I had a huge crush on not all that long ago. There was only one man I knew with red hair and grey eyes. “Aiden?”
He nodded as a grin spread across his face, showing off his dimple. “What are you doing out here? Did you move back to the area?”
I let out a defeated and frustrated sigh. “No. I’m out here visiting my best friend. I actually just left a bad date, and then my car died. It’s just been a shit night.”
Aiden glanced around as another bright bolt of lightning flashed overhead. “You can’t stay out here, Mindy. There are some really bad storms coming in.”
I was about to make the most smart-ass comment when a deafening boom of thunder echoed around us, making me shake my head. “Got nature on your side to back you up?”