Chapter 260: Roadside
*Don’t know much about European cars. Check with Gearhead, he deals with more specialty shit. – Repo*
The kids had been disappointed when Mr. Chance did not come back after lunch. But they finished their cards and Rye laid them out to dry during movie time. They all grabbed their pillow and blanket and laid down.
Rye was singing along with Dwayne Johnson when Karan snuck into the room. Carefully walking through, around and over the sleeping mass of children, she made her way over to Rye’s desk.
“You okay?” Karan asked softly.
“Yeah, I’ve never told her no before.” Rye whispered. “She suffered a lot to keep me safe.”
“If you ever want to talk, I’m always willing to listen.” Karan said leaning against the desk.
“Not around little ears, even if they are sleeping.” Rye smiled.
“Are you okay with Chance?”
“I don’t know.” She whispered as her eyes filled with tears. “He’s been a good friend for the last few weeks, and I don’t have many of them. I’ve been told I’m not very approachable.”
“I like you.” Karan grinned. “That’s all that matters.”
She gave a soft chuckle. “I never expected it to happen. I tend to keep men at a distance. But I didn’t expect my first kiss to be followed by the guy apologizing and running away.”
Karan felt her jaw go slack. “You have got to be kidding me.” She whispered and Rye shook her head. “Do you know how many women want to be kissed by him?”
“I’m sure he kisses a lot of women.”
“No. Not for years. Would it make you feel any better if I told you that he’s shaken also? He’s confused. Even more, he’s worried he’s going to lose you as a friend.”
It did not help. She thought about it for the rest of the day. She was still thinking about it as her car started making a weird noise on her way to the hospital.
Two blocks from the hospital, her car died. She pulled over to the side of the road and coasted to a stop. Grabbing her phone Rye automatically called Chance.
“Hey.” Chance answered and she could hear the background noise from the clubhouse.
“My car died.” Rye said quietly.
“Where are you?”
“About two blocks from the hospital, on Elm.”
“I’m on my way.” He handed his pool stick off to a prospect on his way to the president’s office. “Hey, Trigg.”
“I’m headed home, make it quick.”
“My woman is broken down on the side of the road.” Chance said and did not realize what he had called her. “I need a car to get her.”
Trigg wanted to ask Chance about having a woman, but his wife had called, the house was empty, she was naked, and he needed to get home quickly. With that in mind, he grabbed a set of car keys and tossed them to the younger man. “Red Camry.”
Chance caught the keys and headed for the front door. A blonde bunny that he did not recognize, stepped in front of him. He stepped around her, not even acknowledging that she was there.
“Yo, where you headed to?” Repo asked as he answered the phone as Chance sped down the streets.
“That little hatchback, can you get it to the Shack and get me the keys tonight?”
“Yeah. You good?” came from the speaker phone as it sat in the cup holder.
“No.” Chance replied. “She’s broke down on the side of the road and if it was next week, she’d have the baby with her.”
Repo was about to give him hell about Chance of all people being worried about a woman. But then he said the word baby.
“I’ll have a prospect run me over to the shop. Who do you want me to leave the keys with?”
“Cookie.” He said pulling up behind the damned Volvo. “Can you get the car towed?”
“Text me the location.”
Chance ended the call as he grabbed the phone and got out. He snapped a picture of her Georgia license plate as Rye got out of the car. As he was texting the picture and location to Repo, she approached him with her teeth chattering.
“Come here, duchess.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She wrapped her arms around him under his leather cut. He kissed the top of her head.
“I didn’t know who else to call.” Rye chattered.
“Me. No matter what, you call me. I don’t care when or where I am, if you need me, you call me.”
The sob that she had been fighting, caused her body to tremble. He wrapped her tighter in his arms and ignored the cold wind hitting his bare skin. After a few minutes, she looked up at him and he brushed tears off her cheeks with one hand and kept his other arm around her.
“I don’t think that I’ve had anyone to call on since dad died.” Rye told him.
“Now you have me.” Chance said and then kissed her. It was a light brush of his lips against hers, followed by another. He raised his head, and she pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.
Headlights and then the flashing lights of the tow truck shone on them. He kept her close as he talked to the prospect that worked for Repo. Then he put her in the passenger seat of the still running car before getting behind the wheel.
They were pulling away as her Volvo was hooked up. “Why did you kiss me?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“I want to know if I’m just a conquest-”
Chance slammed on the breaks in the hospital parking lot. He took a calming breath before turning on the interior lights and facing her.
“Ryanne, believe me, you are not a conquest. If anything, you are the conqueror.”
“Because you kissed me?”
“Because I kissed you.” He confirmed as he touched her gray patch.
“Why?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “That is not a talk to have in a parking lot. I promise we will have it. Not tonight.”
Turning back to the steering wheel, he turned off the overhead light and found a parking spot. They walked to the elevator and then the nursery in silence. They were each thinking about the kiss for similar reasons.
They also each thought about the conversation afterwards for completely different reasons.
