Black Water Creek Read Online Free Page A

I’ve ever seen?”
    Keegan looked to the floor and Kelly patted his head. “Can you say hi?” she asked. Keegan buried his face into her leg which made Cheryl laugh.
    Kelly asked if there was a restroom they could use. After changing Keegan and freshening up, they returned to the waiting room. Keegan ran to the two vending machines in the corner and pressed his face to the glass, fascinated by the rows of candy bars and bags of chips in front of him.
    Her own stomach growled. Kelly hadn’t eaten a thing all day and even a packet of little powdered donuts was looking pretty good. They were $1.25 for a packet of five. Maybe if she gave Keegan three…
    Cheryl sidled up and quietly whispered to Kelly, “I don’t know about you, but I try not to let my little one eat this kind of garbage. I’ve got a stash behind the counter of healthier stuff when I need to bring my daughter with me to work once and a while. You’re welcome to help yourself.”
    “Oh, I couldn’t,” Kelly said.
    “No, don’t be silly,” Cheryl protested. “Do you want something to snack on sweetie?” she asked Keegan.
    His shyness suddenly evaporating, Keegan answered with an enthusiast yes and took Cheryl’s hand while she guided him behind the counter. Ten minutes ago he wouldn’t even look at her but with the promise of food, they were suddenly best friends. Typical male, Kelly thought with a smile.
    Cheryl handed him a juice box and gave Kelly a couple of granola bars, two bags of crackers, and two bags of trail mix. “Help yourself to as much as you want. I usually stock up at the warehouse store over in Tillman once a month. I actually have too much of this stuff around the house. Drives my husband nuts.”
    “Thanks so much. I’m Kelly by the way, this is Keegan.”
    “Nice to meet you two.” Cheryl pointed to the name on her sweatshirt and nodded. “I’m Cheryl in case you didn’t notice. I talked to Eddie while you were in the bathroom. They’re taking a look at your car right now. He’ll come in and let you know what the plan is as soon as he can.”
    Kelly thanked her again and they sat down on the plastic chairs in the corner to wait. Keegan quickly tired of the snacks and ran about the room, poking at the tire displays and banging on the vending machine buttons. Kelly wished she’d taken a minute to grab some small toys or books before they left the house but she had nothing to keep him occupied. The only thing laying around in the waiting room were some out of date Motor Trend and Field and Stream magazines. Those bored her to tears, much less a toddler.
    Finally, a heavy-set man in a blue uniform came through the shop door and sat down with an exaggerated groan on one of the chairs. He put on a pair of reading glasses and looked over a grease-stained work order full of car diagrams and scribbled notes. “Well Miss, like I think Steve already mentioned, your timing belt broke.” He eyed her over his glasses and nodded.
    “The bad news is, when it breaks like that when you’re driving it can cause some damage before the engine seizes up and dies on you. If the valves hit the pistons we could be looking at some serious engine damage that I guarantee will cost more than what your car is worth. The only way we’ll know for sure is to put on a new belt and do a compression test. You’re looking about $375 parts and labor just for the belt. Plus the cost of the tow. ‘Course, it might turn out to be a waste if it gets into the thousands from engine damage. You get what I’m saying?”
    Kelly was speechless. She stared at the floor and envied Keegan, lying under one of the chairs and knocking on the bottom—not a care in the world. She finally looked up and stared at the man for a moment before muttering, “All I have is ten dollars after the tow.”
    He cleared his throat and glanced awkwardly down at the work order again. “I really wish it were something simple we could just patch up and get you on your way.