One Magic Moment Read Online Free

the time she would have otherwise spent looking for it. She tossed the latest victim into the pile of mirrors languishing behind the tree, then got back in her car and started off again. The village was small, and any business she could provide for it, she went out of her way to see to. She’d been knocking off side mirrors for almost a year, because it gave her an excuse to go to town, and it gave Grant, the owner of the local garage, something to fix. He’d been the first local to be pleasant to her as the new owner of the hall up the way, and she’d shown her gratitude as she could.
    But he wasn’t there any longer. He’d sold his shop at the end of the summer so he could retire to France. Tess imagined that the new owner, no doubt as dour and crusty as Grant had been, would welcome a friendly hand extended. Giving him a little business was the least she could do. It might take her mind off the things she wasn’t allowing to bother her.
    She turned onto the main road and started toward the village. She had been in England for several years, so the vagaries of driving on the left had long since ceased to be anything she even thought about. Narrow roads didn’t bother her, nor did passing trucks that took up more space than they should have.
    Of course, trying to pass trucks with expensive black sports cars keeping a safe following distance of approximately six inches from her back bumper was a novelty, but she was nothing if not flexible.
    She passed the lorry, fully expecting the black car to speed past her after she did so. He didn’t. He merely swung in behind her as if his front bumper had been magnetically attracted to the back of hers. What was it about guys in sports cars? She suspected the bill of sale came with detailed instructions on how to tail little runabouts to intimidate and unnerve their innocent drivers. Tess was tempted to slam on the brakes to get him to back off, but she had money in her budget for side mirrors, not rear-end restorations.
    She finally had had enough. She rolled down her window and motioned politely for the gentleman to pass her. Could she be blamed if she’d felt compelled to use an extended middle finger to do the like?
    He took the hint, then blew past her so quickly she barely had the time to get her window back up before bits of road hit her in the face.
    She rolled her eyes, then put the encounter behind her. She had more important things to do, like support her new mechanic.
    The village wasn’t a large place, as villages in her part of southern England went, and it was fortunately far enough off the beaten path that the traffic was light. And while that likely didn’t do much for the local economy, it certainly contributed to a rustic, step-back-in-time sort of charm.
    But not too far, thankfully.
    Tess pulled into the front of the mechanic’s shop, turned off the engine, then crawled out of her car. She wrapped her intentions to do good around her like a cloak and walked into the garage. A guy who couldn’t have been more than about twenty popped up from behind a car and walked toward her with a welcoming expression.
    “Oh, hello,” he said, smiling. “Need a tune-up?”
    Tess gestured back toward her car. “I’m afraid I’ve lost a mirror,” she said. “It happens with surprisingly regularity, so I imagine I’ll be in again soon.” She smiled. “I don’t think we’ve met, though. Are you the one who bought the shop—”
    “Me?” he interrupted with a laugh. “Oh, nay, miss, I’m not the owner. He’s in the—”
    “Enough, Bobby,” a voice said curtly.
    Tess turned in time to see a shadow detach itself from the back of the shop. She had the impression of broad shoulders, long legs, and a lithe grace that seemed somehow completely out of character for an old geezer who’d taken on a shop where he could work on his vintage whatever it was he loved. She was half tempted to readjust her intimidation chignon, but she didn’t dare attract any more