“Yes, I know, Ell, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Em did all she could legally and he’s making restitution.”
Our sister, Emily, was a lawyer and had been trying to deal with my issues from a legal standpoint for years.
“A hundred bucks a month is bullshit.”
“I agree. I’m hoping Emily can find more in his financials.”
Elliot studied me for a few tense seconds. “Okay, I’m going. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six-thirty.”
“Thank you. You’re the best big brother on the planet.”
He grinned, his body relaxing a bit. “Don’t I know it.”
He gave me a quick hug and then he was out the door, and I locked up and flopped onto the sofa. I pried open the plastic wrapping containing the flip phone, plugged it in, powered it up and called Kim.
“This is Kim.”
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Well, hello ‘me.’” Kim giggled. “Got your text. Brilliant.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“I assume you’re home and safe?”
“No, I’m buried alive in a ditch on the side of the road.”
“Oh, where? I’ll come rescue you.”
I laughed. “I love how you’ve always got my back.”
“I’m a giver,” she retorted.
“On that note, can you give me the number I texted those pictures from, please?”
“Ah, sure? But you have to tell me why.”
“One of the guys said he’d call me tomorrow with an update on my car and I want to give him the new number.”
“Hmm-mm, I bet you do,” she said. “Tell me the real reason.”
I both loved and hated that my best friend could see right through me. “That is the real reason.”
“Is he hot? Your ‘the guy’ that’s ‘one of the guys’?”
Ohmigod… was he hot? That was an understatement. “He’s a thug, Kim.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Yes, he’s good looking… in a rough sort of way, I guess.”
“Hmm-mm, right,” she retorted. “I’ll text it to you.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you need a ride tomorrow?”
“You’re willing to come and get me at six-thirty?”
She gasped. “In the morning? Ah, no. Sorry, I just don’t love you quite that much.”
I giggled. “I know. Ell’s picking me up.”
“Oh, how I love him.”
“I know, babe. Everyone does.”
“Okay, I’m gonna text you his number and then hit the hay.”
“Thanks, Kim. See you on Tuesday for lunch, right?”
“Definitely. ‘Bye.”
“‘Bye.”
I sat on the sofa staring at the phone for what seemed like an eternity before Kim’s text came through. The number popped up on my screen and my heart raced in excitement. It was just after ten and I was typically in bed by now and wondered if he might be too. Maybe he wouldn’t answer, and I could leave a message. I bit my lip. I didn’t really know what to do. I felt compelled to call him. Like if I didn’t hear his voice before I went to bed, I wouldn’t be able to sleep.
“Dani, you are ridiculous,” I told myself, but it didn’t negate the fact that I was attracted to him. In a big way.
I set the phone aside and sipped my wine, then picked the phone up again and stared at it. I set it aside again and repeated these actions for several minutes as I contemplated my stupidity. In the end, I chalked it up to the fact that he had my car and I was just calling him to give him information. It didn’t matter that it was past ten on a Thursday night. It was business, so I dialed the number.
“Yo.”
“Um, hi. Is this Austin?” I asked. No response, so I glanced at my phone, then put it back to my ear. Maybe I’d dialed wrong. “I’m sorry. I must have the wrong number.”
“You got me, Dani.” His voice washed over me and sent a chill down my spine.
“How did you know it was me?” I asked.
He chuckled. “No one else calls me Austin.”
“Oh. Right. Um, I just wanted you to have my new number for when you know what’s wrong with my car.”
“And you had to tell me that now?”
I was officially an idiot. “Well, no, I guess not. But it was either now or really early in the morning because I have to be at work at seven and I figured if you were asleep, you wouldn’t answer so I was going to leave a message. I didn’t expect you to pick up.” Crap, I was rambling again.
“Got it, darlin’.”
“Well, good. Okay. I’ll let you go.”
“Probably a good idea.”
I should have hung up. But as always, I was a glutton for punishment. “Why is it probably a good idea?”
“Dani, I’m not the man for you.”
I gasped. “Excuse me? I never said you were.”
“You don’t have to say it out loud, babe. It’s written all over your face.”
“It is not! Wow. Are you always this rude, or am I just lucky?”
He chuckled and damn if I didn’t squirm a little at the sound. “Your car’s a piece of shit.”
“I’m guessing it’s both,” I grumbled.
“You really shouldn’t be driving it,” he continued, ignoring my astute observation.
“Well, it’s all I can afford, so I don’t have much choice in the matter.”
“Why is it all you can afford?”
“Um, excuse me, Sir Rude-a-lot, that’s none of your business.”
He chuckled again.
I sat up straighter. “Well, have someone call me with how much it’s going to cost me to fix it and I’ll have someone drive me down to pick it up.”
“Four-thousand, seven-hundred, ninety-two dollars is the current estimate,” he said.
I choked. “What?”
“Your engine’s pretty much shot, Dani.”
“I don’t have that kind of money,” I whispered, blinking back tears. I tended to get a bit emotional when I was exhausted.
“Pickin’ up on that, darlin’. Wonderin’ why.”
I dropped my head back and stared at the ceiling. “If you must know, an ex stole my savings and my identity. I have spent the last four years trying to clear my name and get him prosecuted, and now I’m lucky enough to get a hundred bucks a month in restitution. He apparently spent the money he stole… or more likely, hid it… and spent thirty days in county. Bonus, he got three years’ probation. I, on the other hand, have a credit rating that’s in the toilet and have to use the credit card my daddy gave me in order to deal with emergencies, which this certainly is; however, I don’t really want him having to pay five-grand for a car that’s not even worth that much.” I groaned. I couldn’t believe I’d just shared all of that with a virtual stranger, particularly because outside of my family and the asshole who stole my money, Kim was the only other human being who knew the story. “Sorry. Too much information.”
“How much did he steal?” Austin asked…no, demanded.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.