When it rained, it poured! Seriously, Evie’s entire life as of late had become a storm. Her bank account was declining rapidly, and her last stop for twenty dollars at the ATM had left her twelve dollars and thirteen cents, which wasn’t going to pay for a new hose. Her truck was parked at the side of the road, two doors down from her dad’s barbecue stop, which was currently closed for the night. To make matters worse, it was practically in front of the new chain restaurant, which was nearly packed, and everyone was watching through the window. So, with a roll of duct tape and a jug of water to fill the leaking radiator, she’d figure out some way of patching it up so she could at least get it home and figure something out. This was just one more sign that her heap of rust was one step from the junkyard.

She saw two people standing by her truck, one a guy, the other… Shit, Danny and Charlie! Of all people, why did it have to be them? Evie was itchy and sweaty and tired, and she wanted to go home and climb into the shower and try to forget what a disaster today was turning into.

“You ran into a little trouble here,” Danny called out to her just as Charlie smiled brightly and lifted her hand in a wave as if they were the best of friends. Not! They definitely ran in different circles, Charlie fitting the mold of the all-American girl and Evie trying to just fit.

“What can I say? Thought I’d add some entertainment to the area, breaking down in front of the new chain, just adding some humility to my day.” She took in the smile from Danny. The blue of his eyes had only gotten better with age. He was shaking his head. “So have you stopped to help, or is this just…?”

Danny took in what she was carrying. “I can understand the water, but not sure the duct tape is gonna work here,” he said. “Took a look at that hose, and it’s likely beyond repair.” He actually took the duct tape from her hand and rested it on the lip of the truck. She could see he already had grease smudged on his forearm and the edge of his white shirt. Then there was Charlie standing there.

“Didn’t you know there’s nothing duct tape won’t fix?” Evie said. “Just put enough on there and it’ll hold it together to get me home. Aren’t you two on your way to a movie?”

A date, actually. She’d seen how Charlie had set her eyes on Danny the moment she’d pulled in that afternoon, but then, she’d always had a thing for him, whispering it in the halls of school and to Evie time and again when she was between guys. Evie’d just thought Danny had enough smarts not to fall for all that flash, glitz, and a pretty face. Guess he was just like every other guy.

“What kind of friend drives right on by and doesn’t stop to help? You got an old rag, a wrench?” He was leaning in her truck engine again, touching the steaming hose. He pulled his hand back and shook it off as he hissed. “Yup, way too hot to touch right now.”

“I got a pair of work gloves in back, pliers in the glove box,” she said.

Danny walked around her, leaving her standing by the open hood of her truck with Charlie. She glanced over to where he was pulling open the back of his Bronco.

“Danny saw you broke down and wouldn’t drive away and leave you,” Charlie said. “He’s quite the guy. Chivalry seems to have missed most, but Danny’s brought it back—kind of like he’s the last of a dying breed of men who know how to be men.”

Evie just stared at Charlie, stunned. She’d always figured, with her looks, she was more airhead than brains. Then Danny was back with an old rusty toolkit. He dropped it on the ground and grabbed an old pair of work gloves from it, then set to work figuring out how to fix the unfixable. With a greasy rag, he wiped the hose, and she found herself just watching his focus.

“Evie, rip off a strip of duct tape and hand it to me. Let’s hope it holds enough to move the truck.”

She pulled at a length of the heavy gray tape and used her teeth to rip it, then took in the intense gaze leveled her way as she handed it to him. He’d been her friend since they were kids, but he was a man now, handsome, with strength in his forearms, broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, and even his butt, which she tried not to glance at. She could see why Charlie was chasing him down.

He was wrapping the duct tape around the hose, holding it with one gloved hand, and she knew by the expression on his face that it was hot. “Rip off some more, keep it coming,” he said, and thankfully she had something else to focus on.

“You think it will work?” Charlie asked.

“Just a patch job, but enough to get Evie home,” Danny said as she bit off another piece and handed it to him. He shook his head at her. “Using your teeth? I can just hear your mother, if not mine, saying dental work is expensive,” he teased and then winked.

Now why did he have to do that?

“There, that should hold it,” he said, then opened the water reservoir. “You got more antifreeze?” he asked.

Evie just shook her head. “I’ve got water, which will work just fine.”

Danny gestured to the jug and took it from her to pour it in, handling the fix that she could have done easily, but this was the first time it felt as if he were taking care of her, and she liked it more than she should have. Instead of feeling good, she felt alone, and she didn’t understand why, not really. His romantic interest would be played by Charlie, the all-American hot babe, who had everything—including the guy Evie had never allowed herself to think of as more than a friend.

“Okay, that should take care of it,” Danny said. “Climb in, start it up, and I’ll follow you to your place.” He closed the hood and tucked the tools and gloves in his kit.

“Thanks, Danny, but it’s likely good. I wouldn’t want you two to miss the movie, so why don’t you…?”

Danny was shaking his head. “It’s just a movie, Evie. There’ll be another,” he said, glancing down to Charlie, who was now standing closer to him than before, resting her slender hand with its red painted nails on his arm and rubbing.

“Danny’s right,” she said. “Don’t be silly, Evie. We’ll just go to the movies another night.” She smiled up at him, and it wasn’t lost on Evie that she was saying exactly what he wanted to hear. How was it that this kind of flirting came so naturally to some and had completely left Evie?

Danny was holding out his hand. For what, she didn’t have a clue, and she wondered whether her expression showed how rattled she was. “Keys, Evie,” he said. “On second thought, I’ll drive your truck. You can follow in the Bronco with Charlie.”

She slid her hand in her pocket and pulled out her keys. “You don’t need to drive my truck,” she said, but at the same time, as all the townspeople were still gawking at her broken-down truck, she wanted to breathe a little easier knowing Danny would take it off her.

He took her keys, pressing his into her hand and leaning closer. “Yeah, I do,” he said, then glanced back to the people watching. He knew. Damn him for being so sensitive!

Then he was walking back to his Bronco and tucking his toolkit in back. As he got into her truck, she was seeing Danny in a way she never had before.

She was still holding the jug and tape, and she tossed them in the flatbed of her truck, where the old spare tire was, before walking on shaky legs to the driver’s side of his Bronco and climbing in. She searched for the lever to slide the seat all the way forward, and it wasn’t lost on her that she could barely see over the wheel. Yeah, Danny was tall, and his Bronco was made for a tall guy.

“Isn’t Danny amazing?” Charlie said as she closed the passenger door and pulled on her seatbelt.

Evie started the Bronco, sitting up as straight as she could, seeing Danny already driving away and turning right. “Guess that’s why we’ve been friends since forever,” she said. She’d never driven his Bronco before, and she was surprised, frankly, that she was behind the wheel now. She jammed the brakes a little too hard at the stop sign, and the tires squealed, jerking it to a stop. “Go figure, he’s got good brakes,” she muttered. That meant she likely needed new brake pads or something.

She couldn’t help the unfamiliar nervousness that had crept into her, maybe because this was the first time she was in a confined space with one of the popular girls she was pretty sure had looked down her nose at her all her life. She was damn uncomfortable, especially as she could see Danny way in the distance, now turning down the side road that led to her parents’ small acreage, where she still lived. A lack of funds meant a lack of choices, another reason she needed to figure out a lot of things rather quickly.

“You’re lucky to have a friend like that,” Charlie said. “Can honestly say he kind of surprised me when he pulled that knight in shining armor thing, needing to make sure you were okay, and then not just driving away. Honestly, it was the first time I ever experienced that kind of thing. It’s damn attractive, which is why I can’t figure out why Danny doesn’t have a steady girlfriend. I have to say I’m very happy about that, though. It’s as if fate is on my side, and the stars have all aligned. You know, like when you meet that guy you know is the one, and just being near him takes your breath away and makes you want to do everything he wants, no questions asked? He’s so dreamy, and I’ve never felt this way before. Is this love?”

Evie nearly missed the turn as she glanced in horror at Charlie. Why was it some girls needed to spill everything they were thinking and feeling? Talking about Danny this way wasn’t helping.

“You know, you should come with us tonight,” Charlie said. “We were going to eat after the movie, but let’s just go someplace and have a bite, the three of us.”

The way she said it, it was as if they were the best of friends. She wasn’t being a snob or stuck up, and for a minute Evie was trying to remember why she didn’t like her.

She could see that her dad was home, his old Buick parked in front. It had seen better days, and she cringed, driving in. Danny hadn’t been there in a long time, and Charlie never. There was something about how old and rundown her home was that had her wanting to keep everyone away instead of letting them have a glimpse into her life.

“Yeah, not tonight,” Evie said. “I’ve got a truck to repair.”

With only twenty dollars and a few cents in her wallet, there wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to tag along and waste the little money she had left eating in town when there was a perfectly good loaf of bread inside and a can of tuna with her name on it. Any restaurant was a luxury she couldn’t afford, though that was something she had no intention of sharing.

As she parked the Bronco, she saw her dad outside in front of her truck, talking with Danny.

“Well, you go, girl—but it would’ve been my treat,” Charlie said. This time Evie looked over at her, and whatever was in her expression seemed far too much like pity.