Badass and the Beast: 10

by Shrum, Kory M.

  “If you get me killed, I’m haunting you.”

  “Will you be less annoying as a ghost?” Mae made a face and looked out the window.

  She stared at the cars zooming past, while Mindy opened her door to let in air. After about twenty minutes, a tow truck came in their direction. She hesitated to point it out to her sister, because she didn’t want to have the argument about whether or not they were actually going to accept the ride. They would take it. Period.

  The truck was a rusted and faded contraption with a scruffy shirtless man driving it. Mae mopped the sweat off her forehead and crossed her fingers that he would stop. Anything was better than slowly baking in the car. Unfortunately, the truck drove past, and Mindy sighed in relief. Mae bit her tongue to keep from saying something mean to her sister. Hurt feelings wouldn’t improve the situation, even if she was sighing every two seconds. Twenty minutes later, their tow truck arrived—it looked brand new.

  Mae glanced in her side mirror before opening the door and hopping out. The guy came around the truck. The first thing she noticed was that he was dressed in khakis and a polo. Mindy would approve. The next thing she noticed was his walk. It was slow, smooth as glass, and full of purpose. She couldn’t really see his face because his baseball hat was pulled down low and he stared at the ground. He stopped directly in front of her and slowly lifted his head. She nearly dropped her purse. His eyes were the color of sapphires, lined with thick black lashes that women everywhere would kill for. But it wasn’t just the beauty. He looked at her like he had known her for years, like she was his best friend and lover. All moisture vacated her mouth while other parts of her heated considerably.

  “Are you Mae Gibbs?” his low, rough voice ran down her spine like a caress, making her shudder.

  She was tempted to say she would be anyone he wanted her to be, but that was more of a Mindy thing to say. Obviously, the heat had gone to her head. After a couple attempts, which the man politely ignored, she managed to say, “Yes. Thank you for coming.”

  He gave her an ever so slight smile and hooked his thumbs into his belt loops. “What seems to be the trouble?”

  Her sister finally got out of the car and came over. The man blinked and did a double take of the two girls standing together. His eyes widened as he openly stared at them—Mindy returned the favor by ogling him right back. His response wasn’t unusual. Apart from their haircuts and a birthmark, the girls were the mirror image of each other,

  Mindy’s smile grew, her whole face morphing into one Mae had seen far too often. She was on the prowl—Mae didn’t stand a chance. Mindy was always the one to get the guys, and Mae was the one who had to pretend to be Mindy to break up with them. She had been through more breakups than relationships. She stifled a sigh and dove into explaining what happened with the car. He listened and nodded a couple times, then asked her to pop the hood. While she went around to the driver’s side, Mindy had her hand on his arm, purring something about him being their hero.

  When Mae came back around, the man had removed Mindy from his arm and was already peering inside. After a few minutes, he cleared his throat and looked over at Mae. “I don’t see anything. You’ll have to run a diagnostics test. Is there a particular place you would like me to take you?”

  She brushed her long, side swept bangs out of her eyes. “I don’t even know where I am. Just the nearest mechanic who can get me back on the road would be great.”

  He looked at the ground, but he nodded before closing the hood. “If you girls would like to wait in the truck, I will get the car hooked up. I have the AC going in there.”

  Mae took Mindy’s arm and pulled her back to the truck. Mindy volunteered for the middle with a gleeful grin.

  “Woof,” she said, peeling her long, sweaty hair off her neck. It was times like this that Mae was most thankful to have short hair. It allowed her neck to breathe. “That man is smoking hot.”

  Mae shook her head and nudged the crowbar at her feet further under the seat. “Try to control yourself and just let him do his job. He isn’t interested.”

  “Yet,” Mindy said. “Just give me time.”

  After what seemed like an eternity, the man climbed back in the truck. “Well, I can tow you back to Oklahoma City. We might be able to find someone there who is still open. If not, there are lots of places you can stay until morning.”

  Mae shook her head. “Isn’t there anywhere closer? I don’t want to go back. That’s more than an hour away.”

  He pressed his lips together in a thin line. “I can tow you to Mission Valley for $50. There is a mechanic there, but he is closed for the night. There is a motel nearby. It’s pretty run down though.”

  “How far is Mission Valley?” Mae asked

  “About thirty minutes, that way. It’s where I live.”

  “That’s perfect,” Mindy gushed before Mae could say anything. Not even being able to speak with a mechanic until tomorrow wasn’t ideal. She glanced at her watch. By the time they made it to Oklahoma City, nothing would be open anyway and it would cost her something close to her first born child.

  “Fine,” Mae grumbled. She really wanted to get to Texas tonight, but that wasn’t going to be possible.

  The driver flashed two neat rows of pearly white teeth. “You two twins?”

  “Only in our birthday and appearance,” Mae told him, still annoyed with her sister for having agreed so easily, though she kept reminding herself this wasn’t Mindy’s fault—it was her libido’s fault.

  He laughed.

  “I’m Mindy and she’s Mae. Thank you so much for helping us.” She held her hand out to him with a wide-eyed “do me” look. Mae knew it was a mistake to go on this trip with Mindy. Why did she ever agree to it?

  “Wes.” He shook her hand and glanced over, giving Mae a wink, which warmed her all over again. Was a red-blooded male honestly passing over Mindy for her? Wonders would never cease. Not that Mindy would ever stand for it.

  Just as Mae expected, Mindy talked the whole thirty minute drive to Mission Valley. Wes didn’t speak, and the only indication her sister made that she even noticed was when she gushed for five minutes about what a good listener he was. Mae also chose silence, but hers had nothing to do with Mindy. She spent the entire drive trying to figure out how much she could afford to spend fixing her car before she would have to borrow money from her parents, not something she relished doing in the first three days of being a self-sufficient adult.

  The truck pulled to a stop in front of a small gas station that was obviously closed and miles from the highway. Wes got out of the truck to unhook the car, and Mae waited a couple beats before she couldn’t stand it and got out too.

  She slipped her hands into her back pockets and walked up to where he was working. “They look closed. They’re probably not open over the weekend, huh?”

  He glanced up. “Not normally, but I’ll call Jeff. He owes me favor or two. He’ll probably be able to look at your car in the morning.”

  “Really?” A grin broke out over her face. “Thank you so much.” Mae blew out a breath. “That is such a relief. You have no idea. I could kiss you right now.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them. Her face colored, starting with her ears.

  He leaned back on his heels and took his baseball cap off, then ran his fingers through his black hair before his smiling eyes met hers. “I’ve had worse offers today.”

  Mae’s lips parted but no words came out. Did he really want her to kiss him? They just met. One corner of his mouth lifted and she found her own lips matching the expression.

  “Promises, promises.” His voice was soft and he bit his full bottom lip before he looked back at what he was doing.

  She walked slowly back to the truck, glancing back at him several times on the way, and climbed in.

  “So what’s the plan,” Mindy asked, staring at her cell phone.

  “A mechanic is supposed to look at it in the morning. If all goes well, we’ll be on the
road by afternoon. We’ll have to get a hotel for tonight.”

  Mindy finally looked up. “The cell service sucks in this town.”

  Mae rolled her eyes. “Now, that’s a tragedy.”

  “It is a tragedy—” she cut off as Wes got back in the car.

  “What’s a tragedy?” he asked with a vaguely interested look.

  Mae wondered what he must think of them. Since they met him, Mindy had prattled on and on about nothing, and then to make matters worse, Mae threatened to kiss him, a perfect stranger. Maybe all the women he rescued acted like idiots.

  “No cell service,” Mae said, shaking her head. “She can’t check Facebook.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, no one around here uses cell phones much. No towers for miles. Sorry.”

  “I imagine she’ll survive.” Mae winked at him.

  “Especially with good company.” Mindy laid a hand on his thigh, wiping the grin from Mae’s face as she turned back to the window.

  Wes cleared his throat. Mae couldn’t help but look at him. Mindy’s hand was back on her own lap and Wes was leaning forward so he could see them both. He frowned at Mindy, but his face softened considerably when he looked at Mae. He licked his lips, then looked down at the steering wheel for a second. “Like I said earlier, we only have one motel. It’s a little rough around the edges.”

  Mae shrugged. “Then take us there.”

  He started the truck and drove them back in the direction of the highway. It was a single story, brown, run-down building that had two cars parked out front.

  “Do they sell rooms by the hour here?” Mindy asked, scrunching her nose.

  “It’s great.” Mae elbowed her sister. “We’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll wait here. Make sure you get checked in okay.”

  Mae and Mindy went into the lobby that looked practically deserted. The wallpaper was yellowed with faded brown flowers and peeling in spots. Part of the ceiling was sagging from old water damage. Mindy tugged on Mae’s arm.

  “We aren’t staying here, are we?”

  “We don’t have a choice,” she whispered, even though no one was at the front desk. Mae stood for a second, craning her head to look around the corner, but couldn’t see another soul. “I don’t think this place is still in business. Hello,” she called out.

  Gong!

  Mae jumped, her heart skipping several beats. She spun around. Mindy was behind her, laughing and standing in front of a big metal disk with a stick in her hand.

  “Oh, so not funny.”

  Mindy laughed harder and pointed at the sign that said ring for service. “You should have seen your face. My only regret is I can’t do it again and film it. That would so go viral on YouTube.”

  “Whatever.” Mae shook her head and turned back around, letting out a little yelp.

  An old gnarled man stood in front of her with his thinning hair slicked back from his face. He looked the twins up and down, then smiled more to himself than anyone. “Aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes? What can I do for two such lovely ladies?” His thick tongue ran over his lips as he looked them up and down again.

  “Uh…” Mae had her doubts about whether or not sleeping in the car would be a better option. She glanced back at Mindy, who appeared to agree whole-heartedly.

  “They’ll be needing a room, Eddie,” Wes said from behind them. “A clean one.” Wes focused those intense blue eyes on the desk clerk who pursed his lips but nodded.

  “One room, coming right up.” He fumbled with arthritic fingers to pick one of the keys off the peg board they were attached to. “Lucky thirteen, my favorite. The nicest room we have.”

  Mae smiled tightly and took the key from him, careful not to touch his skin. “Um, don’t we owe you money or something?”

  He looked at Wes who simply nodded to him. “Nah, it’s okay, dear. You can settle up in the morning. If Wes vouches for you, I know you’re good for it.” He flashed a decaying smile, and she backed up.

  Mindy grabbed her arm. “Great, thanks.” She half waved at the man then hauled Mae out of the office. “Let’s get out of here before Creepy McCreeperton decides to show us the room,” she said as the door closed behind them.

  Wes followed along after about thirty seconds. “All set?” he asked.

  “You seem to know him pretty well,” Mindy said.

  “It’s a small town,” Wes replied.

  “Or nonexistent,” Mindy said under her breath.

  Mae really looked around for the first time. Her sister was right. There was absolutely nothing around them in any direction. “Is there somewhere we can get dinner within walking distance? A gas station? Anything.”

  Wes beckoned them forward as he walked them down to room thirteen. “There aren’t really any restaurants out here. The town is about ten miles that way.” He pointed down the road. “Too far to walk, and everything closes pretty early.” He took the key from Mae, brushing his fingers against hers and sending tingles down her hand and up her arm. “I could pick something up for you and bring it back here.”

  “Only if you join us,” Mindy said.

  Wes smiled at Mindy, but looked at Mae. She nodded. The least they could do was eat dinner with him after he went to all this trouble.

  “Either of you vegetarians?” Both girls shook their head. “Great, then I’ll be back in about an hour.” A stray cat meowed loudly behind him and his eyebrows pulled together as he watched it go by. “Um, it can get a little sketchy around here. Don’t let anyone else in, okay?”

  The creepy innkeeper came to Mae’s mind. Yeah, there was no way she would let him in. “Not a chance.” She flashed him her brightest smile and he returned it.

  “See you soon.” He waved over his shoulder as he walked away.

  The girls looked at the plain brown door with a thirteen scrawled on it in white marker. They made eye contact, bracing themselves for the scurry of cockroaches when they opened the door. But the room was as harmless as any other hotel room. They stepped in hesitantly, waiting for the catch, but none came. Mindy tossed her bag on the bed and a puff of dust billowed in the air, making Mae cough.

  Mindy slung an arm over her shoulder. “Well, sis, this sucks.”

  Mae nodded. “It’s only for a night.”

  “Then we should make the best of it.” Mindy went to the bed and opened her suitcase, pulling out a short black jersey tank dress and her toiletries.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Exactly what you should be doing. Standing there staring at the room isn’t going to make it better. We have a hot tow truck driver coming back with food.” She pulled a bottle of wine from her bag. “I have alcohol, and I bet if you ask really nicely, he’ll take us into town where we can find a bar. If we have to sleep in this rat hole, then we at least deserve a buzz.”

  Mae gripped her bag in her hands even tighter. She had a really bad feeling about all of this. She didn’t want to stay here or drink or do anything other than leave. One night, one night, one night, was the silent mantra in her head as she forced her hand to let go of her bag. She took the outfit off the top and clutched it to her chest as she waited for her turn in the bathroom.

  Forty minutes later the girls were standing side by side, applying their makeup.

  “I was serious, you know,” Mindy said while working on her eyeliner.

  “About what?” Mae asked before applying her lip gloss.

  “You need to ask Wes to take us into town.”

  Mae rolled her eyes. “I’m tired, Min. Can’t we just eat and go to bed?”

  Mindy shook her head. “I’d call dibs on Wes, but I’m not his sister of choice. If I asked, he may or may not do it. However, if he thought you wanted to go—”

  “Which I don’t.”

  “—then I bet he’d move heaven and hell to make that happen.”

  “You’re so full of crap. He was nothing but professional, and I was nothing but professional. You were the only one making things awkward.” Mae’s cheeks c
olored as she remembered telling him she could kiss him and the look in his eyes: pleased and hungry.

  Mindy scoffed. “Whatever you say. I have never seen you blush this much in my entire life.”

  Mae rolled her eyes. “We’re staying one night. What on earth do you expect?”

  “For you not to end up in this fleabag motel tonight. Ask yourself this: What could it hurt to have a fling? As you said, we’re here one night. It’s perfect. You don’t want to tie yourself to him and you don’t have to. Tomorrow we leave, and you’ll never see each other again, but you’ll be a lot happier.”

  “That’s something you would do, not me. You’re the slutty one. One cute guy and you lose all sense.”

  “That man isn’t cute. He’s hot.” She flashed herself a grin in the mirror, checking her teeth. “Who would’ve thought all the way out here in Nobodyville we’d find a hottie?” Mindy smoothed out her dress. “Just think about it. It would do you some good to loosen up a bit. I mean, look at what you’re wearing.”

  Mae glanced down at her dark skinny jeans and loose, gray, lace tank. “What’s wrong with this?”

  “Nothing, if you were going to parent-teacher conferences for your three kids.”

  “This is what I’m comfortable in. If I wore something like that, I couldn’t even sit down.” She pointed to her sister’s dress that was cut low enough her bra peeked out and was so short it barely covered her ass.

  Mindy clasped the last of what must have been ten bracelets on her thin wrist and put her hand on her hip. “Why do you think I always have a boyfriend and you never do?”

  “Because you’re easy?” Mae blinked innocently at her.

  Mindy narrowed her eyes, but there was a knock at the door.

  Mae checked the peep hole before opening it for Wes, who was also showered and clean.

  “You look nice,” he said with a possibly flirtatious brush of his hand down her arm. Those dark blue eyes glittered at her earnestly.

  Mae’s vision tunneled as she stared up at him. Her lungs burned, but she didn’t care. He was gorgeous and unbelievably interested in her.