“I’m fine,” she croaked at last, licking her lips in an attempt to get some much-needed moisture. “There was a dog,” she explained helplessly.
The man opened the door the rest of the way and extended both hands to help her from the car. “I saw,” he said. “It came out of nowhere.”
“I’m sorry,” she sputtered. Another shiver rushed through her as she placed her hand into his and allowed him to help her out of her wrecked car.
“It wasn’t your fault,” he said in earnest. “I’m just glad no one was hurt.”
Heat rose to Amy’s face as he checked her over again. To distract them both, she paced toward the back of her car and took in the damage. Her entire back end was crunched up like a soda can.
Great. Just perfect. This was so not what she needed today.
“You’re not hurt. Are you?”
“I’m Amy,” she answered pathetically. It had to be the shock of the accident, causing her to lose her wits like this. At least she hoped that’s all it was. A handsome face had never managed to turn her into a stuttering fool before, and she sure as heck didn’t want that to happen now.
“I’m Trent,” he said, smiling now. “Here.” He closed the distance between them and pressed a small object into her hand.
She glanced down at the clean white business card, then back up at him.
“So we can exchange insurance info,” he explained. “My car just has a little dent in the bumper, but it looks like yours took a lot more damage.”
She glanced toward his vehicle, then back at the card in her hand.
He pushed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Well, if you’re all right then, I guess I’ll be going. I need to pick up my kid before after-school care closes for the night.”
“Bye,” she said, only half comprehending his words as her head continued to swirl from all that had happened in the last five minutes. She stood mutely by and watched as Trent settled himself back into his car and merged into traffic.
Like the dog, he quickly disappeared. Funny how someone could make such an immediate impact on her life, only to never be seen again.
At least no one was hurt.
Chapter 7
Amy hesitated while deciding which of her friends to call for help. As much as she hated to bother any of them, she ultimately landed on Bridget, who’d been granted bereavement leave from her job as a vet tech for the remainder of that week. It certainly didn’t escape Amy’s notice that she once would have called upon her mother.
“Of course, I’ll come get you!” her friend cried. “On my way now!”
People called Anchorage the biggest small town in the world for good reason. It took less than ten minutes for Bridget to arrive, and in that time, nearly a dozen people stopped by to see if they could offer help in some way. No doubt the gossip vine would inform the others at school tonight, and she’d arrive to flowers and fresh-baked goods waiting at her desk—the same as her colleagues had done to show their support when she’d first received her mother’s terminal diagnosis.
That was the thing about this town—folks took care of one another. Amy had always enjoyed being on the giving end of that equation, but she was more than ready for everyone to forget anything extraordinary had occurred in her life.
“Whoa. What happened?” Bridget asked as she arrived on the scene.
Amy shrugged. “There was a dog.”
Her friend’s eyes widened. “Please tell me you did not hit him.”
“Of course, I didn’t,” Amy assured her. “But my not hitting the dog caused some guy named Trent to hit me, and now here we are.” She motioned to her wrecked car, which still took up the better part of the next lane, and groaned.
Bridget glanced as far as she could in either direction, then turned back to Amy. “Okay, but where is he?”
“Gone,” she said simply.
“Well, I hope you got his insurance information.”
Amy nodded. “I did.”
Bridget spun around and continued to search the scene. “Did you see what happened to the dog?”
“He ran away in that direction.” Amy pointed and watched as Bridget’s eager gaze followed the direction of her finger. “Can we just get out of here?” she begged after a brief moment of silence.
“Sure.” Bridget gave Amy’s shoulder a quick squeeze and then motioned toward her car, which idled at the curb. “I bet you’re ready for this day to be over, huh?”
She nodded and followed her friend wordlessly. Honestly, she was ready for this entire year to be over, even though they hadn’t quite reached February.
“How was your day?” Amy asked, once they’d both settled into Bridget’s over-sized sedan and had begun following the GPS instructions to the mechanic shop that was attached to a nearby car dealership. It was the same place the tow truck planned to deliver her crushed-up car.
“Disappointing,” Bridget answered with a frown, leading Amy to wonder if her friend was finally ready to talk about the impact of her mother’s recent death.
“Want to tell me about it?” Amy kept her face neutral as she waited to see what Bridget would say next.
“I called work and asked if I could go back early,” she explained with a sigh. “They said no.”
Amy bit her lower lip to keep from arguing. Bridget’s manager was absolutely right in this situation. What would happen if Bridget finally acknowledged her grief and broke down while treating an animal patient? That wouldn’t be good for anyone.
Bridget suddenly rearranged her features into a mischievous smile. “I decided to turn my lemons into lemon martinis, though.”
“Oh?” Amy rubbed her sweaty palms on her skirt. Her heart still beat wildly from the shock of the accident and then meeting Trent immediately after.
When Bridget nodded, her chubby cheeks shook from the movement. Amy had always found it strange that Bridget had a teeny, tiny waist, thin arms and legs, and big, full cheeks to go with them. It gave her a childlike appearance that only further supported the others viewing her as a kid sister.
“I figured, if my job can’t use me this week, there are plenty of others that can. So I signed up to do some volunteer work.” Bridget pushed back against her seat and sped up to take them through a yellow light.
“What happens when you go back to work next week?” Amy asked pointedly.
“Well, I’m still off school until August, so I have plenty of time to spare. When school starts again, I’ll just have to figure something out.”
Volunteering was, of course, a noble way to spend her time, but Amy worried about what would happen when Bridget finally crumpled under the weight of her overpacked scheduled. “But isn’t it a lot? I mean—”
“No, it’s perfect, and I’m really excited about it.” Her friend tightened her hands on the steering wheel and set her expression into a scowl.
Amy swallowed down the last of her arguments. “Okay, then good,” she said, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the seat rest.
“Aren’t you going to ask where I volunteered?” Bridget pressed.
Amy turned to her friend and waited.
“The animal shelter!” Bridget squealed, not letting Amy’s lack of enthusiasm dampen her own in the least. “Isn’t that just the perfect fit?”