“Are you okay, miss?” Still confused and a little embarrassed, I nodded. He held up his hand, “Stay right there, I’m coming around.” I bobbed my head in agreement, looking around the inside of my car for clues as to what had happened.
Everything was intact. There was no blood anywhere, and I didn’t feel any broken bones. I hadn’t crashed into anything, at least I knew that. The Good Samaritan walked to my window. “Can I help you?” He repeated his questions and I tried to answer him. He seemed worried, and that began to worry me too.
A wave of heat swept through me. My heart was racing. My limbs felt foreign and uncontrolled. I raised my hands to my face, they were cold and clammy. But I felt a pendant necklace I didn’t realize I was wearing. I pulled the rearview mirror down to check it, a beautiful ruby heart mounted in white gold. The good-looking man stared down at me, concern in his furrowed brow. He had an air about him, a certain glow which I couldn't quite trust or explain. Maybe it was the setting sun, but his blue eyes were stunning, nearly paralyzing me. My chin must have dropped and I could feel my cheeks burning. We shared a smile and I knew it wouldn’t be the last.
He looked about ten or so years older than me. He was strong but slender, lean but not skinny. He had a graying black goatee, he was manly and ruggedly handsome. It was a look not every man could pull off. His jeans hugged him in all the right places, his white t-shirt under a plaid long-sleeved unbuttoned shirt that seemed to flow in the breeze. His voice was as soothing as his smile was genuine, warm and inviting, teeth white behind his smooth lips.
“Well,” he said, “you seem okay, I’m glad of that.” And while I was enjoying his reassuring presence, I couldn’t help notice that he seemed as shaken by this whole situation as I was. It couldn’t have been every day he found a confused passed-out woman in a car on the side of the road.
He wiped his hand on his jeans, pushed his baseball cap up slightly and then held out his hand to shake mine. “James.”
I shaded my eyes with one hand as I shakily extended my other. “Uh, hi. Hello. I’m Elizabeth.” His hand was warm and strong. His electric touch sent shockwaves throughout my entire body.
While still holding my hand, he caught my gaze. “Where were you headed?”
My mind went blank. I knew what I wanted to say, but struggled to form the words. “I’m not sure. I mean, I guess I don’t remember.” He cocked his head, confused or maybe even not believing me. “I must have pulled over on my way to … ” I pointed slowly right, then even more slowly left … but only became more confused.
He let go of my hand and took a step back, looking at my car. “Doesn’t look like you were in an accident.” He glanced around. “Glad I saw you, anyway.”
His cell phone rang and he pulled it from the back pocket of his jeans. He gestured to his phone and stepped back to his truck. I continued to look around inside my car, trying to figure out what had happened. There wasn’t any sign of a struggle. My seatbelt was still fastened, and my purse lay neatly on the passenger’s side seat. There were no tears or rips on my skirt or my shirt, and not even a scraped knee or elbow. And the transmission was in park. So, I sat there, wondering, what in the world happened?
“Yes, everything is fine then,” my rescuer said into his phone. “Sounds good … Okay, bye.” He turned back to me, pocketing his phone. “I was on my way out, but it seems there’s no need. Oh, I’m sorry, how rude of me.” He pulled out the phone and handed it me. “Like to make a call?” I looked down at my lap and thought about his question for a moment. It felt as though I should make a call, just to let someone know I was okay. But I had no idea who to call, which was also quite embarrassing. James paused for a moment to allow me time to answer. “Would you like to follow me down to my house?” He pointed back the direction from which he came. His eyes met mine again. “The sun is going down, and it gets foggy fairly quickly. It probably isn’t the best time to be driving around on these twisting and turning roads right now.”
I looked around for my phone. “Really,” James said, “I’m concerned about a concussion. Come down to the house until you feel well enough to drive.” I was nervous about following some strange man to his house, no matter how handsome or charming he may have been. But the alternatives weren’t so sunny either, so I decided to take this Good Samaritan up on his offer.
He smiled with a knowing little chuckle. “I’m not a serial killer or anything, I promise.” We both chuckled. I looked into his eyes again, feeling completely safe.
My keys were still in the ignition, so I started the car, the low fuel light flashing.
He motioned to follow him as he got into his truck. The setting sun highlighted the vineyards in the distance and the sky burst with purples and yellows and oranges. The California autumn day was chilly with a gentle breeze.
I followed him to his house, a nervous curl growing in my stomach. Am I really doing this? I had to ask myself. Can I really trust this guy? I don’t know him or anything about him, and nobody even knows I’m here. How did I end up here in the first place?
I was trapped between an uncertain past and unfamiliar surroundings.
Doesn’t matter, I reassured myself, I’ll figure it out. Just need a little time, gather my wits, maybe let this guy run me to the nearest gas station, then I’m gone!
But the more I searched my memory for answers, the fewer I found. Not only couldn't I remember how I came to be sitting in my car on the side of the road, but I couldn’t remember why I’d left home in the first place or where I’d been going.
I must have been going somewhere, I assumed, or was I just … just driving? Was I running from a potentially harmful situation, or was I running to something or someone?
I knew my own name, and for that I was increasingly grateful. There was no wedding ring on my finger, my only indication that I wasn’t married. But … what about my parents, my kid sister. Wait, do I even have a kid sister?
We drove down a winding road, a crystal-clear lake in the distance, boathouses clinging to the banks. The breeze whipped through the window, refreshing, calming. And in that dizzying confusion and growing fear, I needed all the calming I could get.
Diamonds in the Rough Page 27