“Course.” He holds out a hand to shake mine. “Cash Rhodes.”
I glance down at his hand and then back up to his face. I probably look like an idiot, standing there staring at him, but I’m not used to this. To handsome Alphas introducing themselves with their movie star smiles. I’m used to being invisible, to handling everything myself. It’s been that way for months now, ever since I grabbed Cora and ran.
Cash’s intervention leaves me feeling grateful, but also wary. Because Alphas who help Omega strangers always want something in return.
Cash walks over to the hood of the car, fanning away some of the lingering steam with his hat. “Looks like you are actually in a spot here,” he says. “Overheated?”
“I think so. The engine was making some troubling sounds too, but I was just hoping we could make it to a rest stop or something before it gave up on me.”
He smiles again. “Ain’t that always the way. You’re not far from Silver Falls now,” he says. “And there’s a mechanic in town. Should be able to get you back on the road again.”
It’s a blessing and a curse. Who knows what a small town mechanic might charge for whatever’s wrong with Lettie.
As if he can sense my hesitation, Cash steps over to me again. “Silver Falls takes care of its own. And anyone who happens to come wandering through. I’m guessing it wasn’t your final stop.”
I shake my head. “No. Probably would have stopped for gas and snacks and that’s about it.”
“That’s usually how it goes. How much of your trip do you have left?”
“Not much,” I say, not giving him more than that. He doesn’t need to know the details.
He looks at me for a second, and I worry that he’s going to start pressing for more answers. But instead he just smilescrookedly. “Well, the way I see it, you have a couple of options. You want to hear them?”
“Uh, sure?”
He smiles again. “I can give you a lift into town, and we can get a tow for your car. The mechanic will see to it, and you’ll hopefully be on the road again in a few hours. A little behind, but…” Cash shrugs. “Not the end of the world.”
That’s easy for him to say. Something like this—an unexpected expense that I have no idea how to ballpark—could ruin everything I’ve been trying to do.
“What’s the second option?” I ask him, keeping my voice steady as I can. He doesn’t need to see how shaky this whole thing has made me.
“You can call for a tow and wait here on your own if that would make you more comfortable. Maybe you have one of those fancy roadside assistance things that can come help you out.”
Cash doesn’t say it like he knows I don’t, but I think we both know that isn’t really an option. Still, it’s… nice. For him to throw that out there. Proof that he would leave me alone if I wanted him to.
And if I didn’t have Cora, if she wasn’t depending on me to make sure she got food and a place to sleep tonight that’s better than the back seat of Lettie, I would have taken the second option in a heartbeat.
But having her makes things more complicated and more dangerous.
I take a breath and nod. “Okay. I guess… option one, then.”
Cash nods too, putting his hat back on and tipping it toward me. “Then let’s get you out of here.”
“Wait,” I tell him. I go to the back seat of the car and open it up, leaning in to make eye contact with Cora. She doesn’t seem bothered by the delay, but she doesn’t seem bothered by much these days. She barely reacts to things, and I know that’s becausethe pain she’s been through is worse than anything else going on right now.
“Hey, baby,” I say to her in a soft voice. “So we’re going to get out of here. A nice man has offered us a ride into town, okay? Is that okay?”
She stares back at me and then nods minutely, clutching her elephant closer.
“We’re just going to go into Silver Falls, and then we’ll figure out what’s wrong with Lettie and get ourselves back on the road.”
She nods again, and I smile and help her out of the car.
Cash is watching curiously, as her little feet in their little shoes hit the pavement, and Cora looks up at him and clings to my hand.
He glances at me, and if he’s surprised to see me with a kid, he doesn’t say anything about it. Instead he just turns on that bright smile again and crouches down to be closer to Cora’s eye level.
“Well, good afternoon, little miss,” he says, all cowboy charm. “I didn’t see you back there.”