Have Bouquet, Need Boyfriend. Rita Herron

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СКАЧАТЬ are you all right?” Hannah and Mimi both asked at once.

      “Yes.” Rebecca wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, slipped her wire-rimmed spectacles back on her nose and grabbed the door to pull herself out. Thomas slid a hand in to help her. She was still shaking but managed to get out of the car, not meeting his gaze.

      He silently surveyed her again and was thankful not to see any blood.

      “But I ruined Thomas’s car.”

      The entire family pivoted, each gaping at the mangled metal with various stunned looks. She had collided with the driver’s side, smashing the front door like a piece of cardboard. The windshield and windows had imploded with the impact, and glass pellets covered the beige leather. Her own station wagon had suffered as well. The bumper was warped, the tailpipe bent at an odd angle. But the clunker had already seen its better days; the faded green paint was chipped and peeling off in strips.

      “It is kind of dented,” Mimi said in a low voice.

      “The passenger side is still intact,” Hannah added cheerfully.

      As if to mock her, the hub cap from the right-front tire fell off, rolled toward her and settled into a spin at her feet.

      “Mercy me,” Grammy Rose whispered.

      “You can still open the door,” Jake offered, obviously trying to be optimistic.

      But when he yanked on the door handle to prove his point, the wretched metal came off in his hands with a crunch. The left tire let out a whooshing sound, then popped and the tire deflated right in front of their eyes.

      Rebecca’s sob caught in horror.

      “But you’re all right?” Hannah inched forward as if to emphasize that Rebecca’s safety was more important than the automobile.

      Mortification stung her face as she pointed to the broken piece of metal. “I can’t believe I did all that.”

      “Shh, now, don’t fret.” Grammy Rose patted Rebecca’s back. “We all have accidents, sweetie. I’ll never forget the time I ran my car into the front porch. Broke up a hornets’ nest. Those dad-gummed bees attacked me, almost bit me in the behind.”

      “Yeah, I’ve had some fender-benders myself,” Mimi chimed in. “Even worse than this. Right in our own driveway.”

      “I can vouch for that,” Seth added.

      Mimi poked him with her elbow. “It wasn’t my fault that garbage can jumped in the way. Or that you parked the minivan so close to my Miata.”

      Seth opened his mouth to argue, but Mimi’s mutinous glare stopped him. Thomas almost laughed at Jake and Wiley’s skeptical expressions. Apparently Rebecca and Mimi had a reputation for freak crashes.

      “Well, it’s just metal,” Grammy Rose said, smacking her lips.

      “Pricy metal.” Jake whistled, propping the door against the side of the car.

      This time Hannah’s glare cut across the crowd. “Fixable metal,” Hannah added. “All it needs is a good body shop mechanic.”

      “Or a miracle worker,” Rebecca muttered between sobs.

      “Nah, baby, it’s fixable.” Wiley hugged her to his side. “It’s just not drivable now.”

      “He’s right.” Thomas’s gaze flickered to the customized paint chipping off from the collision.

      Mimi bounced the baby on her shoulder. “You want Seth to call a tow truck?”

      Thomas nodded. “Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”

      “Nonsense.” Wiley waved a beefy hand. “I’ll phone my service to tow it. You can borrow a car from my used-car lot till yours is fixed. Now, pull yourself together, Bec, darlin’.”

      Rebecca sniffed as she accepted her uncle’s handkerchief and swiped at her nose.

      “That would be great, Mr. Hartwell.” Thomas cast another look at Rebecca, grateful she’d stopped crying. What had she expected him to do? Turn into a tyrant because she’d totaled his car?

      REBECCA DABBED AT HER EYES with her uncle’s hankie. How could she have done such a stupid thing?

      And how could Thomas stand there so calmly when she had destroyed what must have been his dream car, a Porsche that cost more money than she earned in two years. Men usually obsessed about their automobiles. They worshipped them more than their women, more than the remote control.

      Worse, now her insurance would skyrocket, she’d probably have to take a second job to pay her bills, and everyone in town would talk about her klutzy ways, just as they had in high school years ago.

      Thunder rumbled above, the darkening sky hinting at a winter storm. Rain began to drizzle and chaos erupted, everyone suddenly racing for the house.

      Grammy Rose hugged her one more time. “Don’t fret, everything will work out all right. At least the hope chest wasn’t damaged.”

      Rebecca bit the inside of her cheek. Great. She had a hope chest but no man. And the only man she’d wanted since her dating disasters in high school was standing beside her, his car crunched like a tin can because she lost control of her senses every time he was near.

      For all she knew, the crash could have broken some of the things in her chest, too. She was too afraid to look.

      Lightning streaked through the cluster of pine trees, another clap of thunder booming closer. “I’ll make sure the tow truck picks up the car,” Wiley offered. “Bec, you wanna give the doc a ride back to town?”

      Rebecca’s face blanched.

      “Good idea,” Thomas said with a grin. “You don’t mind taking me home, do you?”

      Rebecca gaped at him in surprise. She couldn’t very well turn him down when she was responsible for his dilemma.

      “I…sure.”

      Thomas pointed inside the station wagon. “It looks like some of your stuff spilled out. We’d better put it back before we go.”

      The bride’s book lay on the floor, a blue garter belt beside it.

      “No, it’s all right.” She pushed Thomas toward the car. “Let’s go before the storm gets any worse.”

      And I do anything else stupid. Rebecca ran to the other side and jumped in. Thomas took the passenger seat, buckled his seat belt, then stretched his left arm along the back of the seat, calm as a cucumber.

      Darn him.

      Rebecca glanced at her clenched hands, then slowly met his gaze. “I’m surprised you’d want to ride with me. Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you on the way home?”

      THOMAS CHUCKLED. Hell, yeah he was, but he couldn’t admit it without seeming like a coward. “No, of course not.” He shifted, but the broken springs from the tattered seat protested, then СКАЧАТЬ