Page 9 of Needing His Touch
“Boyo, you find our girl?” He tries to change the subject.
“Not yet. I’m running out of places to look. And you’re not getting in your truck either. I’ll deal with Sanders after I find Carsynn. You stay near your phone. I’m going to broaden my search and head toward the interstate.” I turn my truck away from the area with a handful of stores and restaurants. Not much of a downtown square in our tiny town. More like a few stoplights, a mom-and-pop place here or there, the library, a post office, the diner, the grocery store, and my auto shop. Other than that, you’ve got to go out of town to get anything Plaine Hill doesn’t offer.
“Good idea. You better call me the second you find her, or I’ll whoop your tail like I will Sanders’.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll see how elections go next year. That will make him think again. I wouldn’t be on the roads as long if he’d answer the damn phone and do his job.” The palm of my hand beats down on the center console. I’m driving entirely too slowly for my liking, and it would have been fucking helpful to have two trucks on the road to find Carsynn rather than one. Hell, Gramps could have driven if I’d had the forethought to drop him off at the shop to grab a bigger truck. Selfishly, I didn’t want to worry about two people I care about, and now I’m in a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.
“Damn straight. Alright, I’m getting off the phone in case our girl calls. Be safe and don’t forget to call,” Gramps states.
“I won’t have to call. You will in another ten minutes,” I make light of the situation even though worry is settling in deeper and deeper by the minute.
“Yeah, yeah,” he replies. I hear the click of the phone call ending, and I’m back to having my full attention on the road. My foot presses down on the accelerator faster than I should, testing the abilities of my tires and skill with the way the ice is thickening on the asphalt, but I’ll be damned if Carsynn is out stranded on the side of the road. Gramps nodded to her car when we walked out of the diner, putting thoughts in my head without so much as saying a word. Us McCoy men know what we want once our eyes are locked on the prize. It’s a story Gramps tells over and over again. Why he’ll never move on and start a new life with someone else. When he vowed‘til death do us part, he meant it, and he said he’ll meet her again on the other side.
One look at Carsynn, and I knew she’d be mine. Now if only I could find her. I hit the two-lane highway, flick on my high beams, and drive like a bat out of hell. The curves are a nasty bitch. I make it work, though there are a few that are a little sketchy, making me slow down, pissing me off.
“Goddamn it, where are you, Carsynn?” I hope to hell she isn’t broken down on the side of the road because her car should have seen a junkyard ten years ago. All I know is once I find her, she won’t be in that car anymore. I’ve got plenty of extra vehicles that run in the back of McCoy’s shop, a few that other owners didn’t want to put the money in and I bought off them for a fair value. A fuck of a lot newer than Carsynn’s car, that’s for damn sure. I shook my head when I saw the state it was in, there wasn’t much time to jot down a list of things I noticed, the tires were one of them, damn near bald. There wasn’t anything I could do right then and there. I’d only met her, and she hadn’t said too many words to me. I was going to wait until my little fairy was at Gramps’ later this week, stop by and use him as an in.
“Oh, Jesus Christ, fucking hell.” I round the last embankment and see all too clearly what I didn’t want to see. Through my truck and the road noise, I can hear the horn like someone is pressed against it. A car is flipped over on its roof, and judging by the color, my worst fucking nightmare has come to life. I slow down, making sure I stay on the road and don’t hit the iced grass of the shoulder, or I’d be right there beside the car. As soon as I’m stopped, I throw my truck inPark, fling the door open, and climb out. The cold-as-fuck weather does nothing to deter me. The smoke coming from her car is either a blown head gasket or from the airbags. Either way, I’m getting Carsynn the fuck out of there, and I’m not waiting on an ambulance.
“Carsynn, baby, I’m coming.” I plant my feet as I slide down the ditch. Not hearing her call out to me makes me worry even more. Christ, this is a clusterfuck. I should have made Gramps call Nikki or Denny as soon as I had this gut feeling. The rain has turned into snow, pushing the weather further into the lower digits. I’m not wearing nearly enough clothes for this shit, and I know Carsynn isn’t either. Even if she had a thick winter jacket, most take it off while they’re driving. Now that her windows are shattered, she’s more than likely freezing her ass off.
“Carsynn, it’s Gabe. I’m here,” I tell her once I make it to the passenger door. The driver's door is wedged against the ditch, trapping her in. Luckily, from this side, the window is out and I can crawl through.
“Gabe?” Thank Christ she’s not unconscious, or worse. I gulp down the rest, refusing to put the words to the what-ifs. Carsynn is hanging upside down. Her lip is cut, her eyes glossy, and her arms are a bit banged up from what I can see so far. All things considered, shit could be so much worse.
“Yeah, fairy. It’s me.” I meander closer, wondering how I’m going to get her out of here without dropping her on her head once I press the seatbelt button.
“Okay, I must be dreaming. Maybe I won’t die a virgin after all.” Her amber eyes are open, lids fluttering, eyelashes wet, and I know it’s time to get her out of here. Even with the words she just spewed, there’s no guarantee she’ll remember them tomorrow. Hell, she could have a concussion for all I know, and while yes, I’m well fucking aware I should call Sheriff Sanders as well as an ambulance, the likelihood of them coming is slim to none, especially with the way the snow is falling. It won’t be too long before we’ll all be snowed in, which means I need to get a move on things.
“You save that for another time, fairy. Is there anywhere you’re hurting before I get you out of this tin can?” I’m on my stomach, hands going to her body yet scared to touch her too much in case she’s in pain or has a broken bone.
“Just my head a little bit, and I’m really cold,” she replies, eyes shuddering closed.
“Stay with me, alright? I’m going to get you out of here, but first, I want you to lean on me as much as you can while I get your seatbelt off.” The dash isn’t pinning her legs in place, and the steering wheel looks to be good. I’m imagining she wasn’t speeding, so that means her flipping was in slow motion, probably the reason she’s not in worse shape than she is.
“Okay.” Her voice is soft, sweet, and all too trusting. Damn if that doesn’t hit me square in the solar plexus. I move closer, feeling her hands go to my shoulders while I locate the seatbelt button to release her from its hold.
“Almost, fairy, we’re almost out of here.” As soon as I feel her holding on, I press the button, my back taking her weight, and then I’m trying to figure out a way to move her as little as possible, which is going to be near impossible given the current situation.
“Oh God, I feel so much better.” Carsynn sounds delirious.
“Alright, use my shoulders to get your knees beneath you. I’m going to slide backward and help guide the way, but it looks like you’ll be crawling.” She doesn’t respond. The only thing I can hear is a soft hum and her breath across my neck. This is going to be a bit more difficult if she manages to fall asleep. I’ll make it work, but fuck will it make shit take longer.
“So tired,” she mutters, but I watch as she drops her body, landing on her knees with a loud thud, and I’m sure there will be more scrapes I’ll have to take care of.
“Don’t go to sleep just yet, Carsynn. Grandpa Bernie would be pissed as hell at me. You wouldn’t want that now, would you?” I feel her chest lift and a chuckle is let out.
“Okay, I can do this. Bernie is the best, you know?” I slide back, my jacket covering the way as I practically arm crawl out of the car, Carsynn’s hands on my shoulders the entire time.
“You can do this. A few more paces, and we’re home free.” The crunching plastic can be heard around us along with my labored breathing. I’ll never forget the feeling of coming up on her vehicle and her, not knowing what I was going to see. She’s damn lucky. An angel was definitely looking out for her.
“Almost there,” she agrees. My legs hit snow, the sweatpants doing nothing against the cold and wet. At least I had enough sense to put on a jacket and boots, or I’d really be cold.
“Yep, I’m going to get the rest of the way out and help you up, okay?” Carsynn doesn’t respond. “Need you to talk to me, fairy,” I nudge.
“What? Oh yeah. I’m good with whatever.” Her teeth chatter, and that’s the end of going slow. I make quick work until I’m out of the car, losing her hands on my body in the process, and squat down waiting for Carsynn to crawl out.
“Oh wow,” she greets me on her hands and knees, eyes on the outline of my dick. Fuck, I really didn’t think this through. My gray sweatpants are soaked, plastered to my body, and now she’s getting one hell of a show.