Late to the Wedding by Briggs Laura

Author:Briggs, Laura
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romantic comedy, sweet romance, romance ebook, romance novella, wedding romance, late to wedding
Publisher: Laura Briggs

Chapter Nine

“Could’ve happened when you had the fender bender,” Handy Henry mused, his head deep inside the Sedan’s engine. “But could've been potholes. I see lots of potholes shakin' things loose. Engine's built to take a beatin', but only so much. Probably jolted the wires, is why they separated."

He emerged, wiping his hands on a rag. "It was just a matter of time, seeing as how your battery is more or less shot. See those fine cracks in the casing?" He tapped the black battery box. "It's been on death's doorstep for awhile.”

Brian looked uncomfortable, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Right," he answered. "I’ve been meaning to replace that for a couple months now.” He shot an apologetic, almost pleading glance in Evelyn’s direction.

For once, she didn't reach automatically for a stinging retort. Maybe that brief moment of camaraderie in the car had softened her, or maybe she was simply too tired. “How soon can you fix it?” she asked. Daring to hope the mechanic would say “immediately”, despite the business hours posted on his sign, suggesting he was close to closing time.

It had been a long, hot afternoon of waiting for their turn behind a Cadillac with a muffler complaint and an Oldsmobile’s oil change. Evelyn had turned the pages of dusty magazines faded by sunlight, the tips of her fingers avoiding the brown stains of tobacco here and there. Brian had drummed his fingers on the torn vinyl arms of his chair, eyes wandering hopefully from the waiting area to the glass window framing a small piece of the garage’s inner workings.

“Well, let’s see…I’m fresh out of batteries, wouldn’t you know. But I’m expecting a shipment tomorrow–should be here sometime around seven in the morning.”

Evelyn’s eyes sank closed in resignation.

The next voice that spoke was Brian’s, a sort of subdued gruffness in his tone. “Is there a place nearby we could stay?” he asked. “A motel maybe? Or cab service to the nearest room rental?”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing around here,” said Henry, closing the Sedan’s hood. “That is, there used to be a motel, but it burned a couple years ago. The owners didn’t see much reason to rebuild.” He tossed the greasy rag in a nearby waste basket.

Evelyn was floored. “No motel? But–but where do tourists stay?” A question that drew a chuckle from the mechanic.

“They don’t ma’am, to be frank. Plain View is a town that lives up to its name, and what you see out these windows is pretty much what you get. Next big town is Dresden, and there’s a whole lot of nothin’ in the thirty miles between’.”

This was too much. Surely this much bad luck couldn’t be meant for one person; the cosmos must have made a mistake in divvying up its coincidences and random twists of fate for the week.

“Look, you folks seem like you’re having a hard time,” guessed the mechanic, with a nod towards their wrinkled and dirty clothes. “Why don’t you ask old Felix

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.