Free Chance of a Lifetime by Jodi Thomas Page A

until they reached the first of two doors.
    “What are you doing?” Emily asked. “Aren’t you going to stop in and check on her?”
    “You’ve already done that. I’ve got my hands full of problems tonight. She won’t know if I’m there or not.”
    Emily hesitated as she glanced out at the stormy night. “She asked me to stay and hold her hand. She’s so afraid of storms. It was raining the night of the wreck, you know. A terrible storm, she told me.”
    Tannon swore under his breath. “No, it wasn’t. I drove up from Denton. I had to drive right by the wreck to get home. My folks and yours were already gone, but I saw the car. The flares were still burning on the road. It hadn’t been raining.”
    She started to argue. He’d been in shock. He probably hadn’t noticed.
    Tannon’s arm circled her waist. “I’ll run with you to your car. This rain isn’t letting up for a while.”
    “No, that’s—” was all she got out before he shoved the door open and they were running. The mountain of dirt by the construction site seemed to be melting across the temporary boardwalks. His arm held her solid against his side.
    When they reached her car, she dropped her keys. As they both knelt to pick them up, he noticed the flat tire.
    “I’m not changing that in this weather.” He shoved her car key in his pocket. “I’ll take you home, then come back and take care of this when the rain stops. I’m guessing it was probably a nail with all this construction going on.”
    “It’s not your problem,” she shouted over the rain. “I’ll call someone.”
    He opened the door to his truck parked beside her. “I’m already out in this mess and wet. I’ll take you home, Emily.”
    She wanted to argue, but in truth she had no idea who she’d call for help. The few staff at the library were older and didn’t need to be out on a night like this. Pamela Sue would probably never find her and she didn’t know her neighbors’ phone numbers.
    She climbed in, more mad at herself for being so helplessthan at him for being so bossy. She was already shivering by the time he walked around to his side and started the engine.
    “It’ll be warm in a sec,” he said. “I can hear your teeth rattling.”
    They sat listening to the pounding outside, and then he put the truck in reverse.
    “Your mom was happy this afternoon. She seemed happy and funny almost like I remembered her.”
    “Great.” He didn’t sound like she’d just given him good news.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Mom lives in a mountain range, Emily. For every high, there is a low.” He took a deep breath. “Thanks for visiting and making her day bright. Maybe she’ll be on the road to recovery.”
    “Is it all right if I visit her again?”
    “Of course. Just don’t get caught up in her moods.” He shook his wet hair. “Speaking of moods, I was in a bad one when I yelled at you back there. I’m sorry. It’s turning out to be one hell of a night.”
    “And now you have to deal with me.”
    “You’re the only bright spot, believe me.” He pulled into her apartment’s underground parking garage and parked by the elevator. Pulling a card off his sun visor, he offered it to her. “If you ever need anything, call me. No matter where you are, I’ll come get you.”
    She wondered if he could tell she was trying to think of a friend who could help, or maybe he was just reading her mind again. “Thanks for the ride.” She didn’t take the card. He wasn’t that close of a friend. If she let him too close, she might let long-hidden memories see light. “Don’t worry about my flat tire. I’ll call someone to fix it tomorrow and I can walk to the library in the morning.”
    He didn’t say a word as she opened the door and jumped out. He just watched her as she ran for the elevator being held open by one of her neighbors. When she stepped insideand pushed the top floor, he was still sitting in his pickup watching.
    The next morning, her car was