This Heart of Mine. Brenda Novak

tell me it was illegal to do those doughnuts.” If he got a ticket while he was with her, that wouldn’t please Riley, not when he was so concerned about the kind of influence she’d be.

      Jacob didn’t answer that, either. He just changed gears and sped up, so she twisted around to see for herself.

      She didn’t find a police car following them—but there was someone driving so close behind them, she was afraid they were about to be rear-ended.

      “What’s going on?” she asked. “Why is that guy trying to hit us?”

      Jacob’s jaw tightened. “That’s no ‘guy.’ That’s Buddy.”

      Fear blasted through her, wiping out all the laughter and fun. “Mansfield?”

      “Yeah.” He spoke through gritted teeth. But she could recognize the driver herself now, even with the limited view she had through the front window of his oversize truck. Buddy had changed a lot. From what she could see, he was now sporting a full beard.

      “Pull over, Jake,” she said.

      “That wouldn’t be a good idea,” he responded.

      “Why?” Tristan shouted. “He’s gonna crash into us!”

      Phoenix was too focused on her son to explain. “You have to let me out.”

      “No way,” Jake said. “That’s what he wants. Then he could do anything.”

      This was so dangerous. She was terrified that Jake or his friend would get hurt—because of her. “Stop now. Please!”

      Her son’s eyebrows jerked together. He was obviously thinking fast, trying to decide the best course of action. But she just wanted to get him and Tristan out of this situation as soon as possible, before something tragic could occur. “What will you do?” he asked, sounding torn.

      “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

       “Against someone like that?”

      Buddy tapped their rear bumper, giving them a small jolt.

      “I don’t want you in the middle of this!” Phoenix cried. “Do what I say! Now!”

      “No!” he snapped, suddenly adamant. But they’d reached town. He had to brake at the light, so she released her seat belt and jumped out, not even trying to take the backpack that held her laptop and purse.

      “Mom!” Jacob tried to stop her but she slipped out of his grasp.

      “Get out of here!” she yelled back. “Go home!”

6

      Riley had just finished mowing the lawn and was leaning against the kitchen counter, cracking open a cold beer, when his cell phone went off. Leaning over, he slid it toward him so he could see who was trying to call him.

      As he’d expected, it was Jacob.

      “’Bout damn time,” he muttered. His son had chores and homework to do before school tomorrow. “There you are,” he said after pressing the talk button. “Where’ve you been? I thought you were going to drop Tristan off and come home after you picked up a coffee.”

      “Dad! You got to come now!”

      At the panic in his son’s voice, Riley slammed down his beer, which splashed all over his hand. “What’s going on? What’s wrong, Jake? Are you okay?”

      “I’m okay, but...”

      Although he couldn’t be sure, it sounded as if his son was crying, and that nearly paralyzed him with fear. He hadn’t heard Jake cry in a long time. “Did you get into an accident?” He rinsed off his hand and grabbed his keys. “Are you hurt?”

      Jacob cleared his throat, obviously struggling to get the tremor out of his voice. “No. But...Buddy saw us and was...and was acting crazy. So she jumped out. Then he veered toward her. It didn’t look like he hit her hard, but she fell. And now she’s bleeding!”

      He was speaking so fast he was leaving out pertinent details. “Who’s she?”

      “Mom!”

      Phoenix? Riley was at the front door, but at this revelation, he paused. He couldn’t help feeling betrayed, as though they’d held some kind of secret meeting. “What were you doing with her?”

      “I ran into her at Black Gold, and I...I just wanted to give her a ride in my Jeep.”

      Riley could easily see that happening. Jake was so excited to have his license, so damn proud of that old Jeep. And of course, Phoenix would never refuse his offer.

      He threw open the door and hurried outside. “Where are you?”

      “At the corner of Sutter and Kennedy, just as you come into town.”

      “I’m on my way.”

      “She fell into a ditch, Dad. I think she hit her head on a rock, but she won’t let me call 9-1-1. Tristan says I should do it, anyway. I would but she doesn’t like him to even mention it. And she keeps trying to get up.”

      Riley climbed into his truck, fired the engine and threw the transmission into Reverse. “Where’s Buddy now?”

      “Gone. He took off as soon as he did it.”

      “Sit tight,” he said. “I’ll be right there.”

      The drive took only a few minutes, but it felt like forever. Jake’s Jeep, when he finally found it, was parked off the road, halfway in a field, as if he’d pulled over and stopped wherever he could. Next to it, Riley saw Jake and Tristan leaning over someone else, who had to be Phoenix, although they were blocking his view.

      Riley left his truck next to the Jeep and hopped out.

      Jake met him before he could even round the back bumper. “I’m glad you’re here. She’s hurt, but she says it’s not bad, that head wounds bleed a lot.”

      Riley didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say until he’d seen her injuries.

      “I’m okay.” Phoenix waved him off when she caught sight of him. “I told Jake there was no need to bother you. I’m just a little scraped and bruised, and embarrassed to have caused a scene.”

      She’d hit her head, all right. There was blood running down the side of her face. Jake pressed her back when she tried to get to her feet. Riley got the impression he’d been doing that since it happened.

      “What do you think, Dad? Shouldn’t she go to the hospital?”

      “There’s no need for that,” she said.

      Riley crouched beside her and examined the gash above her temple. He was no paramedic. He wasn’t sure how deep it was or if she needed stitches. It was even possible she had a concussion, but she seemed coherent, and that was a good sign. He’d seen a friend get hit pretty hard during a football game in high school and could still remember how he’d repeated himself over and over and babbled on about strange things that weren’t even taking place.

      Phoenix wasn’t doing any of that.

      “What happened?”

      “I told you...” Jake started, but Riley cut him off.

      “I’d like to hear her tell it.” He wanted her perspective, but he also thought this might be a good way to judge whether or not she was thinking as clearly as it seemed.

      “It was Buddy,” she said. “He was trying to run Jake off the road to get him to stop, and I was afraid...I was afraid he’d wind up causing an accident. So I got out, but it was just as the light turned green, which gave Buddy the chance to gun his motor and come straight at me. I jumped into the ditch, so he didn’t actually hit me and I...fell awkwardly