Deal Of A Lifetime. T. R. McClure

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       CHAPTER TWO

      AS HE HEADED for the front doors, the big overhead lights dimmed, leaving the terminal lobby in shadows. The young woman in the yellow poncho was his only option. Despite the nagging feeling of uncertainty in his chest, he followed.

      That quick, she had disappeared. The sidewalk and road in front of the terminal were empty. His cousin owed him big-time after this. The least he could do when requesting a favor would be to pick him up at the airport. A sign read Taxi Stand, but the space was empty. Not unlike Scooby’s car rental agency.

      He was wondering if he should try to call Cy when a truck badly in need of a paint job jerked to a stop in front of him. Smoky exhaust poured out the back, blending with the rain. He looked around for a shiny pickup truck. But the parking area was dead.

      The window rolled down. Serafina Callahan propped her elbow in the window. “You aren’t waiting for me to open the door for you, are you? Because that’s not part of the service.”

      Alex continued to stare at the monstrosity. Silver duct tape rimmed the front wheel well. The original bed had been replaced with a wooden flatbed. “Is this thing safe?”

      “Old Blue works just fine. She gets me where I’m going.” She rolled up her window, her shoulder rising and falling with each rotation of the handle.

      Alex took a breath. He walked around the front of the truck and pulled open the passenger door. The floorboards were about three feet off the ground with no running board. He set his carry-on on the seat, grabbed the edge of the dash and jumped in. “I guess that’s all that counts.” The door screeched as he pulled it shut.

      The lights over the main terminal door dimmed. Inside the ticket agent leaned against the glass doors and waved. “Interesting characters.”

      Sera shrugged. “What’s your point?” She turned the truck out of the parking lot and onto the narrow road. The truck stalled in the middle of the two lanes.

      Alarmed, Alex looked over his shoulder for oncoming traffic. “We’re in the middle of the road.”

      “No kidding.” Sera tried the key. The engine turned over once, twice, coughed, died.

      “Do something.” He was wishing more and more he had opted for the plastic seats in the lobby. At least he wouldn’t be roadkill.

      She switched off the headlights.

      Alex pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. He hadn’t called his mother in three weeks. He would die without saying goodbye.

      The engine turned over, coughed and caught. Sera flipped on the headlights and shifted into first gear. “You’re a nervous sort, aren’t you?”

      Alex put his hand to his chest. “Only since I arrived here.”

      With the rain and the overcast sky, darkness had come early. The headlights lit up trees and shrubs close on both sides of the narrow road.

      Looking for his phone, his hand felt the Hershey’s bar in his coat pocket. Maybe she was low on sugar. He offered her the candy bar. “From Mike. He seems to think you like chocolate.”

      Her eyes lit on the bar held in his hand. She snatched the bar from his fingers. “And he would be right.”

      They both saw the tree branch in the middle of the road at the same time. She slammed on the brakes. His hand shot forward and gripped the dash.

      “Sorry. Tree branch. Middle of the road.” She ripped the paper from the candy bar and bit off a huge chunk. And then glanced his way guiltily. “I haven’t eaten all day.” She downshifted.

      Except for the roaring of the big engine, the hiss of the tires on the wet road and the ripping of the candy bar wrapper, the next few miles passed in silence. The old truck seemed to find every pothole, which didn’t help his headache one bit. Alex held on to an overhead handgrip as they bounced down the road in the dark. “There’s no interstate highway between the airport and Clover Hill?”

      In the glow of the dash lights, he thought he detected a small smile. “There is, but I don’t think my truck will float. This way gives us the best chance of getting home without ending up in the Chesapeake.” She cut him a quick glance. “Is that okay with you, Mr. Kimmel?”

      “Call me—” His eyes widened as he saw the obstruction in the road while at the same time realizing she was looking at him. He opened his mouth to warn her but nothing came out. When she jerked her gaze back to the road, she twisted the wheel to one side, steering them toward a tree on the side of the road. Alex’s head slammed sideways and bounced off the window.

      He caught a brief glimpse of a white tail and a big tree СКАЧАТЬ