“Fuck.”
The car had been perfect when Kate drove it off her mother’s drive a week ago. She’d asked to borrow it for a drive, snatched up the keys from the bowl mom kept beside the door, and not looked back since. This tiny town, Merrock, hadn’t necessarily been her intended destination, but mom worked quickly, and when Kate didn’t come back that evening, she made quick work of cutting off her credit cards - a not so subtle threat that she wanted her car (but probably not her daughter) back. Kate had to make decisions, quickly, and, short of going home, she only had one.
That was how she found herself driving down a street she didn’t know as the Buick convertible, reliable and, until now, in perfect condition, spluttered on its last dregs of fuel. She’d just managed to pull it to the side of the road to park when the old car gave out.
“Huh.” Kate bit her lip, sitting back in the driver's seat, and glanced around. Her phone was on its last legs, and she didn’t want Jamie to know she was in town until she’d prepared exactly what she was going to say to him, anyway, so calling him was off the table. Kate peeled her bare thighs off of the leather seat, the heat of the day making her stick to the fabric and, feet on the seat, leaned her denim-covered backside against the headrest as she surveyed the street, looking for any signs about parking restrictions. She pushed her tongue into her cheek and glanced, again, at her phone, assessing the 12% battery that flashed up at her.
