Black Water Creek Read Online Free

The flashing lights were beginning to make her head hurt.
    “I wanna go home,” Keegan whined from the back seat.
    After a couple of minutes the officer returned and handed her license back. “Here you go, Miss Raney. There’s a tow truck on the way. Would you like me to stay here until they arrive or will you two be okay?”
    “No, that’s fine,” she said with a rush of relief. “I’ve got a cell phone, just in case. We’ll be okay.”
    “All right then, you take care,” he said. “Good luck with the car. Hope it’s nothing serious.” He turned to Keegan. “Keep an eye on your mom, Sport!”
    Kelly realized she was holding her breath and finally exhaled when the strobe lights stopped and the officer’s car drove off. Was she being paranoid? Probably. Maybe Don did call the cops but at least the word hadn’t gotten out here in Hicksville yet.
    “Mommy, I wanna go home,” Keegan said again.
    “Honey, the car is broken. We have to wait for a guy to come fix it for us. Come on, you can come up here and wait with me.” She unlatched his car seat and Keegan crawled up and sat next to her. He put his thumb in his mouth and she leaned his head against her chest.
    Ten minutes passed before a tow truck appeared coming in opposite direction. The truck pulled over to the other side of the road and the driver hopped out. He was a skinny looking kid wearing grease stained blue overalls. Looked barely old enough to drive. Kelly rolled down the window as he sauntered over.
    “How’s it goin’? I take it you’re the lady the cops called in?”
    “Yeah, it just died and it won’t start.”
    He asked her to pop the hood and stuck his head under there for a minute. Kelly bit her lip and hoped for something simple like a hose or wire that fell off or something.
    He slammed the hood and returned to the window. “Timing belt snapped. How many times you try to start it after she died?”
    “Just once.”
    He nodded and looked down the road. “Well, you ain’t driving from here, that’s for sure. I’ll have to give you a tow to the shop. Standard rate for a hookup is fifty bucks. It’s only ‘bout five miles away so I can let the mileage slide.”
    Kelly ’s heart sank. She knew whatever was wrong with the car wouldn’t be free or cheap but hearing it out loud was like a slap in the face. After the tow, all the money she had left in the world would be down to $10.59. She sighed and tried hard not to cry again. One step at a time. All she knew was that she couldn’t spend the night on the side of the road with her son in the middle of October.
    She helped Keegan into the cab of the truck and he watched with fascination as the kid winched the Corolla up the ramp and onto the back of the truck. He finished securing her car to the bed and they were off.
    They passed a sign on the edge of town that read Welcome to Black Water Creek. It was your standard small town found in this part of the state. Average looking homes, several bars, a few churches. Next door to the Black Water Creek High School (home of the 1997 girls softball champs according to the sign out front), sat Ed’s Automotive Service.
    Kelly gathered Keegan’s car seat, her purse and diaper bag, and they went into the small office while her car was unloaded from the truck. A woman sporting a huge head of frizzy red hair greeted them from behind the counter.
    “Hi- ya Hon, looks like you two had to make an unscheduled stop, huh?” She wore a grey sweatshirt with the name Cheryl embroidered under the Ed’s logo.
    Kelly could tell Cheryl was looking at her bruised nose and hoped she wouldn’t ask about it. She blew the hair out of her face and shrugged. “Yeah, just my luck. I never had any problems with the car until today.”
    “That always seems to be the case, doesn’t it?” Cheryl walked around from behind the counter. She bent over and beamed at Keegan who was hiding behind Kelly’s leg. “Well, aren’t you just the cutest little thing