Her laugh was humorless this time. “No husband. And no family. We moved to Qualicum for a fresh start and although we have friends there, it’s so late I would never call them to come get us.”

  “So not those kinds of friends.”

  Her heart shrunk. “I guess not.” She frowned. “I mean, I could call my landlords. But they’re older and definitely asleep. I can’t do that to them.”

  “Well, I’m happy to follow the ambulance to the hospital, then drive you home once he has his cast. All I have waiting at home for me are goats and chickens and my neighbor will have already put them to bed for me tonight.”

  Emotion made her throat grow tight. “You would do that? We don’t even know you.”

  “Sure you do. I’m Dax. You’re Jennifer, and he’s Levi. See, we know more about each other than I know about …” he pointed to a random person giving a statement to a cop, “that guy. I don’t know his name or what he drives. Or where he lives.”

  She chuckled. “I would really appreciate that, Dax. Thank you.”

  His smile stirred butterflies in her belly. “Of course.”

  Even though they arrived there in an ambulance, it was still nearly two hours before Levi was admitted for proper imaging and fitted for a plaster cast. Jennifer felt so bad for Dax. But every time she went out to the waiting room to check on him, he said he was in no rush and to take all the time they needed.

  By the time they climbed into his truck, it was nearly midnight and Levi was exhausted. The doctor gave him something for the pain, so he fell asleep in the backseat before they were even back to the crash site.

  When they passed it, she was torn whether she wanted to look or close her eyes.

  Ultimately, she looked. Her Venza and the Tesla were still on the side of the road, being hooked up by tow trucks. She’d have to deal with that later.

  Before they headed to the hospital, she and Dax made sure to grab everything out of the Venza and fortunately, his truck had the canopy on. Though, the back was pretty full of music equipment.

  So the guy was also a musician in addition to a goat-and-chicken-owning saint?

  And he was single?

  What was the catch?

  Did he have halitosis?

  A weird foot-fetish?

  Did he buy women’s farts in a jar off the internet? Because that was a real thing.

  There were people weird enough out there that they wanted hot girls to fart in jars, and paid good money for the women to ship those canned flatulence to them.

  What were his flaws? His red flags? His deal breakers?

  Because all men had them.

  At least all the men Jennifer had ever dated and gotten tangled up with. The worst of course being Levi’s father.

  She shuddered at the memory of Tom and all the terrible things he’d done to not only her, but so many others, as well. She craned her neck around to take a glimpse at her sleeping, casted son.

  Thank god, he was nothing like his father.

  Besides the similar hairline and color, nose and jawline, not much of Tom was present in Levi. Her son was sweet and gentle and easy going. Sure, he was a little video game obsessed for her liking, but when she asked him to put it down, he did. He didn’t throw a fit or get upset. And when she said he needed to trade the screen for a book, he met it with a grumble of resistance, but ultimately acquiesced.

  The single mom thing was hard. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it when Levi was a baby and Tom went to prison. But the alternative would have been so much harder. She couldn’t stay in that relationship, constantly living in fear for not only her life, but her son’s.

  Facing the road again, she closed her eyes, letting the sound of heavy traffic on a wet road become a white noise.

  “Don’t fall asleep,” came a rumbly voice tinged with amusement. “I don’t know where you live.”

  Jennifer blinked open her eyes. “Sorry.”

  Dax chuckled. “It’s okay. I just don’t know where you live, so you can’t sleep for long.”

  Smiling, she nodded just in time for them to come around a corner and see a blinding sea of red taillights in front of them.

  “Shit,” Dax murmured. He brought up his phone to check the map app and Jennifer glanced over only to see a red line for what looked like the next several kilometers on the highway. “Bet you it’s another accident. With this weather, crap visibility and potential for hydroplaning, it’s not surprising.”

  Her eyes went wide. “H-how will we get home?”

  His lips twisted. “We’ll have to take the long way.”

  “The long way?”

  She wasn’t overly familiar with the area yet. She knew the area near where she lived, and the highway, but that was about it.

  He nodded. “Yeah, we can duck down here, which takes you into Nanoose, then head down into Parksville and take the old highway to Qualicum.”

  She exhaled in relief. “At least you know the way.”

  That made him grin. “Stick with me, darlin’. I’ll get you home safe.”

  It was about half an hour before they were actually able to get to the turn off that they needed to even begin their alternate route, and by that point Jennifer’s bladder was close to bursting.

  She must have been squirming in her seat a bunch, because Dax kept looking at her funny. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “No. You’re not. What’s the matter? Whiplash bothering you? I’m seriously surprised they didn’t give you a collar to wear home.” They turned off the highway, finally, along with a whole lot of other vehicles. It was still slow going, but at least they were moving at a little above a snail’s pace now.

  “My neck is sore, but it’s fine. I just need to pee. Like really, really bad.”

  “My house is only five minutes away. If you’re comfortable, we can stop there so you can pee. Then I’ll take you guys home.”

  She shook her head. “No, no. It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I can hold it.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Or, you can not be in discomfort for the next half hour and just go pee at my house.”

  It was like her body knew a bathroom was close and her need to relieve herself grew even more intense and painful.

  Finally, she gave in and nodded, crossing her legs in the process.

  “Good choice. I’m just up here.” They drove another four minutes before they reached a gate on the side of the road that led down a small dirt and grass driveway.

  All Dax had to do was hit a button on a fob stuck to the driver’s side visor, and the gate silently swung open. He pulled through, his bright headlights illuminating a quaint little two-story house with blue shake siding, white framed windows and a small barn of the same color right beside it.

  “Bathroom is inside the front door. First door on the left.” He handed her his keys, holding onto the one that would let her into the house. “I’ll stay out here with Levi.”

  She was torn.

  She didn’t really know this man and yet, she was also getting no weird feelings from him, or red flags. Was it safer to leave him outside with her son? Or have him accompany her into the house leaving her son in the truck alone? They could both be hurt.

  Even though her bladder screamed at her, she didn’t move, just pivoted in her seat to stare at Levi.

  Dax must have realized her dilemma and fear.

  So he opened the driver’s side door. “How about this? We both get out of the truck. You lock the truck. Then you go into the house and lock the house. I’ll stand out here. This way, you’re safe in the house, and Levi is safe in the truck. I could tell you that you have nothing to fear with me, but in this day and age that kind of a promise has been ruined by a lot of terrible men. So whatever I can do to make you comfortable, I’ll do it.”

  His gray eyes bore into her with earnest.

  She paused another moment, then finally nodded and they both got out of the truck.

  The wind hammered the rain into them like a million tiny cold bullets all at once. She felt terrible making him stand out in this kind of weather.

  He met her around the hood of the truck, the headlights casting his body into an endless shadow along the gravel driveway. “It’s pouring and cold,” she said, having to holler.

  “Then best get a move on so I don’t freeze to death,” he said, tilting his head to the side toward his house. “I’m going to go stand under the eaves. But I won’t come into the house. Lock the truck and the house so you feel safe.” The he jogged toward the house and did just as he said, his hands in his pockets as he shook slightly to keep warm under the terrible protection of the eaves.

  She only stood there for another second before she nodded and ran to the front door. And yes, she locked it and made sure she locked the truck, too.

  She nearly peed her pants by the time she found the bathroom and sat down, taking in the immaculately clean and very masculine bathroom. Browns and dark greens accented the space. Was the rest of his house this clean, too?

  The relief nearly brought tears to her eyes, but nobody would be able to tell, she was so drenched from the rain, leaving puddles all over his floor and counter.

  Normally, she would have mopped it all up, but Dax was probably already soaked to the bone outside, and what if Levi woke up and she wasn’t there?

  So she washed her hands, just tidied up the drips off the counter with the hand towel and beelined it out of the house and back to the truck.

  Dax, true to his word, seemed to stay under the eaves the whole time, but met her at the front of the truck again, when she exited the house.

  She unlocked the truck with the fob and they climbed back in, both of them dripping.

  Levi was still asleep, thankfully.

  “Feel better?” he asked, hitting the start button for the truck again.

  She exhaled and leaned back against the headrest. “Infinitely.”

  “Good.” He did a two-point turn in his driveway, then headed back out of the gate, turning left on the road. A road with no streetlight and terrible visibility. But with Dax’s high beams on, the world didn’t seem nearly so bleak. She had no idea where she was, and they randomly passed farms, fields and the odd house for quite a while, taking the turns slowly in case an oncoming vehicle was driving recklessly. Soon enough, she started to notice familiar landmarks.

  They were now in Parksville. Just another fifteen minutes and they should be home.

  Traffic was chaotic even here, though. Probably because everybody had the same idea as Dax and was using the alternate route because the inland highway was clogged.

  Her knuckles ached from how hard she gripped the door handle, even though Dax took no risks and didn’t appear to go even a kilometer over the speed limit.

  But after her car not starting on the ferry, and the accident, Jennifer’s nerves were officially shot. She just wanted to get home. Get her son home and forget every minute of this day.

  Well, maybe not the parts with Dax.

  But definitely the rest.

  “Heading into Qualicum pretty quick,” he said, his deep rumble like defibrillator paddles, shocking her back to life, to reality.

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  “It’ll be okay, you know,” he said, offering her a small, crooked smile but keeping his eyes on the road. “You’re both safe and will be home soon enough.”

  Her breath escaped her on a stutter and she had to bite her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. The pain also helped keep the tears at bay. “I just … I just keep thinking about how bad it could have been.”

  “I know. And you will for a while. It’s human nature. We’re programmed for some reason to focus on the bad, on the negative. On all the possible terrible outcomes, rather than celebrate the good outcomes and manifest positive experiences.”

  “Why is that?”

  He lifted one big, broad shoulder. “If I knew, I’d be a millionaire. But if I were to guess, I’d say it’s a survival mechanism. Risk analysis. We think about all the terrible things that could happen to us, assess every angle, then do whatever we can to prevent those things from happening so that we live to see another day. Then, when something bad does happen, we analyze it from every angle so that nothing like that happens again, and we live to see another day.”

  She exhaled deeply. “That makes sense. It’s just so …”

  “Exhausting? Depressing? Anxiety inducing?”

  “Yeah,” she breathed out. “All of the above.”

  “And I’m sure having children just makes all of that a thousand times worse. Because you’re not only doing risk management for yourself, but for your child, as well.” He braked for taillights in front of them at a red light. “I know when my sister had kids, she stopped doing a lot of things she used to do. She doesn’t like crowds anymore. She doesn’t go to big concerts, or festivals. Especially not with the kids. She says that crowds are where kids go missing, and where terrorists drop bombs and she couldn’t imagine something like that happening to her children. Or her and her children ending up motherless.”

  Yeah, all those thoughts coursed through Jennifer’s mind after Levi was born. And she definitely took more precautions and assessed which crowds were worth the risk joining, and which she’d rather avoid. She wasn’t as bad as Dax’s sister, but then again, she just had Levi. If she had more children, she’d probably implant tracking devices into all their skulls and make them wear a leash until they were eighteen. But Levi never left her side when they were out in public, even at ten. He was very good about sticking close by and he even still held her hand sometimes.

  She knew those days were coming to an end very soon, though.

  The light turned green and Dax followed the car in front of them.

  They rode in silence for a little while until the area became even more familiar and the turn off to their house was coming up. “Next left after the lights,” she said, pointing up ahead.

  He nodded. “Roger that.”

  Back into silence they fell.

  He took the appropriate left, then she gave him directions until he pulled into her driveway. She and Levi lived in an above ground basement suite in a very nice neighborhood and just a short walk to the elementary school. Her work at the law office on the other hand, was a ten-minute drive. How was she going to get to work in the morning without her car?

  She’d already used up all her sick days and a lot of her vacation days when Levi got strep throat in October.

  Just as they pulled into the driveway, Levi stirred in the backseat. Careful not to exacerbate her neck, Jennifer spun around in her seat to face her son just as he blinked open his eyes. “Are we home?”

  For some reason, her little boy asking her that made tears spring to her eyes. “Yeah, buddy,” she croaked out, “we’re home.”

  Her landlords were a lovely, older, retired couple who acted more like parents to Jennifer and grandparents to Levi than landlords at all. Their baby blue Honda CRV was parked in the driveway in front of the garage, and knowing they would be upstairs eased the trepidation in Jennifer’s heart significantly.

  Dax turned the truck off and opened the driver’s side door, stepping around to open up the door for Levi. “All right, big guy, out you go.”

  Jennifer climbed out of her door and met them at Levi’s open door. “I can help him,” she said, after Levi used the running boards to hop down to the driveway.

  “I’ll start unloading your stuff,” Dax said, flicking his coat hood over his head and ducking around to the back of his canopy.

  Jennifer took Levi around the side of the house and opened the door, getting him settled onto the couch before she headed back outside to help Dax. He met her at the doorway, his arms loaded with their stuff.

  “Where do you want it?” he asked, water dripping off the brim of his hood.

  “Just in the kitchen on the floor is fine,” she said, pointing so he knew where to put everything before heading out into the dark, wind and rain to grab more stuff.

  He was behind her in seconds and together, they managed to unload the rest of her and Levi’s belongings in just one trip between the two of them.

  “Sorry for the puddles everywhere,” he said, after setting the last bit of stuff on the kitchen floor.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she breathed. “I left puddles on your floor, too.”

  He chuckled, but she could tell the man was exhausted.

  His eyes drifted around her kitchen for a moment, scanning the countertops. He spotted the notepad she used to scrawl down her grocery lists, and a pen. Then he quickly scribbled something on it.

  “This is my number,” he said. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.” Then his gaze met hers. “Okay?”

  Her throat grew tight and fresh tears burned the back of her eyes.

  “I mean it, Jennifer.” His gaze intensified.

  Her voice shook as she said, “Okay,” and nodded.

  “See you around, Levi. Be careful with that wrist, okay?”

  Levi waved at him from the couch. “Thanks, Dax.”

  Jennifer saw him to the door. “I don’t know …” she swallowed, “I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t …”

  “I’m gonna hug you, okay?”

  Another defibrillator to her senses. Her gaze snapped up to his.

  He was waiting for her permission and she instantly nodded.

  He swooped in, wrapping her up in his big, warm, safe embrace. She had to go on her tiptoes to get her arms around his neck, but dear god, it felt good to be in his arms.

  He smelled good, too.

  She shuddered against him.

  “Hey,” he cooed, rubbing her back as the tears began to wrack her body. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Just call me if you need anything.”

  They stayed where they were for a moment longer before he let go of her and stood up to his full height. She wiped her wrist beneath her nose and used her thumbs to wipe her tears.

  Her soul was shredded, but just being there with Dax, and being home with Levi, eased so much of the strain and fray inside of her.

  He tucked a knuckle beneath her chin. “Put Levi to bed, then have a nice warm shower to warm up. Don’t let the chill settle in. It just makes everything else worse.” He flashed her a wink, and took off back into the dark, wet night.

 

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