Page 25 of Fierce-Baker

But somehow being home just meant she was safe, regardless of the pain she was going to feel when she climbed out and knew this was going to cost her a few hundred dollars.

She lifted her head, pushed herself back, squared her shoulders and opened the door with the confidence of a woman who could tackle anything life threw her way.

Just not a tire sitting on the rim.

Her head tilted to the side, trying to get a better angle. It didn’t look like she bent anything, so guess that was a positive.

She pulled her phone out of her purse to search for a garage to call knowing she was going to get hammered with a bill she didn’t need or want, but shit happened in life.

Seemed to happen a lot to her.

“Looks like you’ve got a problem.”

She turned so fast that her feet tripped over herself and had her reaching for the hood of her car.

There was the man who was avoiding her.

Or maybe she was just reading more into it because it’d been so long since she’d ever thought of spending time with the male species. One not related to her.

“Do you think?” she asked, putting a hand on her hip. “I’m glad I made it home without too much damage.”

He pulled behind her in the driveway, the tail end of his SUV hanging out. “Got a spare?”

“I think so. I hope. Good lord, I sound like a complete idiot. Would you ever guess I’ve never had a flat before?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head yes. “Pop your trunk and let me check it out.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking, I’m offering.”

No reason to argue with his jaw set the way it was, so she hit the button on her fob and up it went, and down Baker’s head went lifting the carpeted back and uncovering her spare. Which was really tiny.

“That isn’t going to fit, is it?”

“It’s a donut.”

“Not of the yummy variety,” she mumbled.

He laughed and pulled it out, then the jack that was also in there.

She stepped back out of the way. “How did you know I had a flat? It’s not like you need to come this way to get out.”

“I was getting in my vehicle when you passed my street.”

“How did you know it was me?” Her radar went up. She didn’t know why. It was not as if he screamed someone she should fear.

“I recognized your car. Well,” he said, putting some serious muscle into turning the iron to loosen the bolts on her tire. “I really noticed a car tilted sideways and then it hit me it was you.”

“Because no one else other than a woman would be stupid enough to keep driving it like that?”

“I didn’t say it or think it. I figured it was smart if it happened close to home. Pulling over with a baby in the car isn’t exactly smart either.”

At least he wasn’t insulting her.

“It happened not far away. The light came on with less than a mile to go. I’m assuming I ran over something for it to go that flat so fast.”

“A nail. See it right there.”