Until We Touch (Fool's Gold #15)(60)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
JACK LOOKED OVER the weekly report that listed ad buys for various clients. Mostly he left this sort of thing to Taryn, but there were a couple of accounts that he monitored more closely. Mostly because the connection with Score was personal. Each of them had brought in clients who were also friends. It was part of how they did business—making sure the personal touch never went away.
He made a few notes on the report, then wrote a couple of emails to update the clients in question. Just as he pushed Send, his cell rang.
He glanced at the screen and saw Larissa’s picture. Taryn had mentioned something about Larissa not coming in today because of an animal rescue. He hadn’t stayed to hear any of the details. There was no reason. Whatever she was doing would manifest itself later, most likely in his living room.
Now he took the call as a nibble of worry took up residence in his gut.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
On the other end of the phone there was a second of silence. “I want to say nothing,” Larissa said quietly.
“But?”
“My car died. I’m east of Modesto with a group that’s rescuing chiweenies. A lady was breeding them and the situation got out of control and now she’s going to surrender them. I was one of the volunteers who would walk the dogs on the trip back.”
“They’re not being driven?”
“Of course they’re being driven. But it’s several hours. They’re going to need a chance to go to the bathroom.” She sighed. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” she said softly. “I’m trying to do a good thing.”
“You are doing a good thing. The weak link is your car. It’s what? Thirty years old?”
“Fifteen and I guess it needs servicing.”
“If you’d let me buy you a new car,” he began, only to realize that wasn’t the point. At least not now. Larissa needed him. “Is your location finder on your phone turned on?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Good. I’ll be there within the hour.”
“Not even the way you drive. Jack, you don’t have to come get me. I just wanted you to call a tow truck.”
“Not happening. I’ll be there in person.” He wrote down the route she’d taken that morning and told her to stay with her car. “Lock the doors.”
“I’m perfectly safe,” she assured him.
“Lock your doors.”
“I promise.”
He hung up and headed out the door.
* * *
“SHE SHOULD BE right around here,” the helicopter pilot said, pointing to the ground.
Jack nodded. He glanced at his cell phone and saw the blinking red dot that was Larissa was nearly under them. He looked through the trees and saw her aging import pulled off the side of a two-lane road. The knot of worry that had been growing since he got her call finally eased. He was here. Whatever was wrong, he would fix it.
The helicopter set down on a dirt road only a few yards away from her car. Jack pulled off his headset and climbed out as the dust swirled around the whirling blades.
Larissa got out of her car and shook her head. He knew what she was thinking. He couldn’t take a car like a normal person? Sure, he could have, but then the trip would have been much longer. She needed to be rescued and he was the man to do it.
They walked toward each other. She had on jeans and T-shirt under a hoodie. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wasn’t wearing any makeup. But when her gaze met his, he felt the pull all the way down to his soul. Whatever they were going through now, this was Larissa and she would always be a part of him. As much as she needed him, he needed her more.
He held open his arms and she ran to him. When he drew her against him, he knew that he was done fighting the inevitable. How could he resist a woman who wanted to rescue chiweenies—whatever the hell they were? A woman who claimed to love him and wanted to use sex to get over him?
Hunger burned inside of him. Hunger and need and desire, but they were all second to what he really ached for. He didn’t have an itch to be scratched. He had a bad feeling that if he gave in to what they both wanted, the trouble to follow would be cataclysmic. Yet there was an inevitability in the moment. He could run but he couldn’t hide. So maybe it was time to stop running.
She buried her face in his chest and trembled slightly. When she finally raised her head, he saw tears in her eyes. “Everything I touch turns to crap,” she murmured.
“That’s not true.”
“It is. I just wanted to help walk some dogs.”
“They’re still going to be rescued and if I know you, you’ll be arranging for a dozen or so to be fostered in Fool’s Gold.” Possibly half that number in his house, but so what? “You care, Larissa. That’s rare. Treasure your compassion. I do.”
“I just feel stupid. I do this to myself. I’m so busy running from crisis to crisis, I don’t take care of the important things like getting my car serviced. What if I’d been the only one going to get those dogs?”
“I would have brought a bigger helicopter.”
He hoped she would smile, but she didn’t. She stepped back. “I’m serious, Jack. Look at me. I’m twenty-eight years old and you’re still rescuing me. How can I save the world if I can’t keep my car running?”