Page 24 of Fierce-Baker

7

CRANKED A DIAL

“Isee it! I see it!” she snapped a week later.

Tasha hated raising her voice or losing her patience with anyone or anything.

That included the red flashing triangle on her dashboard screaming at her to pull over and check out her tire.

She wasn’t listening though.

Not when she was a quarter of a mile to her development and a half a mile from there until her place.

No way she’d turn around for her father to look at it either, not when she’d just left her parents’ house and it was five miles away.

“Come on, come on. It’s not like you’re going to die on me.”

But it’d be limping at the rate her car felt as if it was tilting.

Yeah, she was positive she had a flat, but she wasn’t pulling over on the side of the road either.

If she could just get in her development, she’d feel a little bit safer. She could park on the side and walk home if she had to and call a tow truck. It’s not like she had anyone else other than her father to change a tire for her.

She sure the hell wasn’t strong enough to do it.

Her blinker came on, horns were blaring at her as she’d pulled her hazard lights for them to go around. Some were even pointing.

“No shit, asshole,” she yelled. “I know!”

Oh wow, that felt good to get out.

A giggle escaped after and she wondered how she could find humor in this when her heart was pounding, her fingers were slick on the steering wheel and her bottom lip might bleed where her teeth sank in.

“It’s in reach now. Just got to crawl my way down three streets.”

One of them being Baker’s. Her head turned to look like it always did now when she drove by. Crazy how, now that she knew where he lived, she couldn’t pull her eyes away from his location.

Not that it mattered all that much.

They hadn’t talked to each other again since she had seen him a week ago walking Micah.

She passed him at work twice this week; he gave her a short wave and moved on.

Message heard loud and clear and for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why she thought it’d be more.

No one wanted to get involved with a single mother!

And it wasn’t as if she was ready to set herself up for it either.

Which didn’t explain why she was coming home all alone to an empty house for the night.

Her townhouse was in sight, her teeth released the hold on her lip and she hoped to hell it wasn’t swollen or she left marks when she pulled into her driveway and killed the engine.

The moment her forehead hit the steering wheel she released her death grip and laughed hysterically.

See. She made it.

“Told you!” she shouted to the car that couldn’t care less at how proud she was of herself.