Double Fault Read Online Free Page B

relief. At least it was mended, so now she could ask for a bill she probably couldn’t afford, and leave. Her hopes were short-lived however, because when he saw her, the man gave an apologetic shrug.
    “The head gasket’s a goner. I’ll have to tow it back to the garage.”
    Kerry’s heart plummeted.  It sounded expensive, far too expensive for her meager resources if she and the twins were to eat well until the end of the month.
    “Are you sure? I mean couldn’t it be something…a bit…smaller?” She hurried forward and peered into the intricacies of the open bonnet.
    “Cheaper you mean,” he chuckled as he wiped his hands on a strip of oily rag.  “Afraid not.  And your tires are near the legal limit too.  You need to trade this one in and start again.”
    “But I’ve only had it for a few months. The man who sold it to me said it was extremely reliable with years of wear in it,” Kerry wailed, forgetting about Pierce as she concentrated on her car.  How on earth was she going to manage without transport and how was she going to pay for a new head gasket.
    “A private sale,” the mechanic shook his head sorrowfully.  “You’ve been taken for a ride sweetheart. I see it all the time. Now do you want me to patch it up or don’t you?”
    “I suppose you’ll have to,” she sighed, searching in her bag for a scrap of paper.  “Here’s my name and telephone number. Let me know when it’s ready to be collected.”
    He pocketed her hastily scribbled details with a nod and then started whistling as he unhitched the rope from his tow truck.  The shrill noise grated on Kerry.  He had no right to sound so happy when her world was collapsing around her.  That car had taken everything she had left in the bank and it was her one material donation to Melanie’s Kitchen. Mel had provided everything else from the initial financial outlay to a new van with a company logo to impress clients.  All Kerry had done was buy an old estate car to cope with the bulk shopping and to transport prepared food to Mel’s apartment when her friend didn’t have time to collect it.  That and her cooking skills were all she had to offer while on the debit side she had the twins constantly demanding her attention, interrupting phone calls, even spoiling food left on the kitchen counter if she turned her back for a moment.
    “You look frozen,” Pierce’s voice, close to her ear, brought her attention back to the cold wind whipping across the tarmac and for the first time she realized she was shivering. 
    “I am,” she acknowledged the damp winter weather with a grimace.  “This blouse was not designed with windy car parks in mind.”
    The expression in Pierce’s eyes as he looked down at her reminded her that her blouse was not really designed at all. Instead it resembled something particularly unattractive that might have been left over from her school days.  She raised her chin.  He could think what he liked.  Designer labels cost money better spent on car repairs.  She pulled out her cell phone, hoping there was enough credit left to call Mel’s father.
    “I’ll wait in reception while I arrange for someone to collect me and all the boxes.” She hoped desperately that George had finished his Good Samaritan act by now so she wouldn’t have to order a taxi.
    “Don’t be any more of a damn fool than you can help Kerry,” Pierce’s over-tested patience finally gave way as they retraced their steps across the car park.  “I’ll take you home or back to your work base, whichever you want, assuming you can bear to stay in my company for another hour or so.”
    “But that’s ridiculous,” she forced herself to ignore his sarcastic reference to her bolting act three years ago. “There’s no need for you do that when I can easily ask a friend to help?”
    He pushed open the door and motioned her inside. “I’m not doing it out of the kindness of my heart. I’m doing it because I’m curious.