Chapter 8

DIANA

During recess the next day, Rachel and I headed to the staff break room to grab some much-needed coffees. I had slept restlessly the night before. The accident had shaken me up, and so had Hudson.

"Okay, spill," she said. "I heard you rolled your car? Were you drunk? Are you becoming like your brother Jessie?"

I laughed. "Nothing that crazy. I didn't roll it. More like I put it on its side."

"How in the world did you do that?"

I took a deep breath and recounted the events of the previous day to Rachel, starting from the moment when I fell into the ditch to the moment I was rescued. The memory of the accident made my hands shake again.

Rachel's eyes widened in disbelief, her coffee forgotten in her hand. "What in the world were you doing out there?" she asked. "It's so dark out there."

"I was giving someone a ride to the hotel."

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked with confusion. "Who were you sneaking off to a hotel with?"

I wrinkled my nose. "A guy. A hitchhiker. But we weren't sneaking off anywhere. His car broke down."

Her mouth dropped open in disbelief. "You picked up a hitchhiker on the side of the road late at night?" She shook her head. "You're lucky you didn't end up the subject of a Netflix documentary. Holy hell, woman."

I shrugged, stirring sugar into my coffee. "It was just a guy caught in the storm of the century. And then he returned the favor less than five minutes later. I was stuck in that car, and he broke the window and pulled me out like I weighed nothing."

Rachel shook her head, a mixture of awe and concern in her eyes. "You really have a knack for finding yourself in the most unusual situations, Diana," she said with a chuckle. "But I'm glad you're okay. I can't do one of those interviews with the victim's friend, saying how you lit up a room. Don't put me through that."

"I won't," I replied, taking a sip of my coffee. "But he wasn't a bad guy. If anything, he was a real hero."

"You cannot be picking up strange men, Diana," she scolded.

"He wasn't dangerous."

"You didn't know that when you picked him up," she said. "Your dad would be horrified. I mean, I'm horrified. But if he finds out, he's going to have actual kittens."

"My dad is not the boss of me," I retorted, sounding like one of my third graders. "Besides, he's a nice guy. He's just here for a few days. At least I think he is. He didn't really say anything about when he was leaving."

"I am so glad you're okay." She shook her head. "What did your dad say about your car?"

"I haven't told him. I had Abigail come and pick me up."

"So, you were alone with this guy in your car?"

I smiled. "I was. And in his hotel room."

Her eyes widened. "Oh, I know that look, young lady! Tell me you did not hook up with a total stranger!"

"Shh, I didn't," I hissed. I looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. "But I did kiss him."

"You kissed a man off the street?" she asked. "What the hell, woman?"

"He saved my life."

Rachel slapped her hand to her forehead. "That doesn't mean you kiss him. He was being a Good Samaritan!" She shook her head, a look of disapproval on her face. "Diana, you can't just go around kissing strangers who happen to rescue you. Do you want herpes? Because that's how you get herpes."

I rolled my eyes, feeling defensive. "I know what I'm doing, Rachel. He's not dangerous, I could tell."

"You could tell?!" Rachel exclaimed. "Famous last words."

I sighed, knowing there was no convincing her otherwise. "Well, it's not like we're going to run off into the sunset together. He's just passing through."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "And is this mystery man someone we should be worried about?"

"No. I don't think so." The only thing about him that worried me was how smitten I already was with him.

I swooned at the memory of the kiss. It had been unlike anything I had ever experienced before—a kiss that had knocked me off my feet and left me breathless.

"Alright, so, is he hot at least? This drifter you made out with."

I grinned. "Hot enough I wouldn't even care if he was a drifter. The guy was a breath of fresh air in our little town. He's from Manhattan, looking to get away for a bit."

"Hmm, and the kiss?" she asked.

"It was incredible," I admitted, my heart still racing at the memory. "I've never been kissed like that before. It was the kind of kiss that curled my toes. It was so good, I had to go back for a second one."

"A second hitchhiker?"

"No, a second kiss, which was even more intense than the first. It was like fireworks popping all over inside me."

"Are you this excited because you don't kiss enough men?" she teased. "Or are you just into dangerous men? Because I know of a biker bar two towns over with some real scuzzy dudes."

"He's not dangerous, and that's not what I'm into," I said, laughing. "And all the men around here I've known all my life. I've either dated them or I don't want to date them."

"Already dated or already related," she said, sighing. "That should be the Cold Springs town motto."

Living in a small town like Cold Springs presented its own set of challenges when it came to finding a meaningful connection. In addition to the small pool of age-appropriate single men, everyone knew me as the mayor's daughter. It always felt like I was on a stage.

Everyone was judging me and evaluating what I did. They noticed who I dated and who I rejected. They would have had a field day if anyone had seen me with my hot hitchhiker.

"What is your dad going to say when he finds out?" she asked. "Isn't he trying to set you up with Kevin?"

I rolled my eyes. "My father has his eyes on several young men, but go figure, he has terrible taste in boys. None of them do it for me. Not like Hudson."

"Hudson the hitchhiker?"

I shook my head. "Hudson, my hero."

"What about Edward?" she asked. "He's decent."

Edward was a hotshot realtor who spent most of his time working in the surrounding towns. He made decent money and was well liked. "He's so vanilla," I said. "I want something exciting. Rocky Road or Mint Chocolate Chip."

She laughed. "You went out with Derrick. You said he was fun."

I groaned. "Derrick is nice enough, but there were no sparks."

The only other eligible young man that I could even consider dating was Troy. But that was a hard no. Troy was like a brother to me. I cherished our friendship. I cringed every time my father suggested him as a potential match. As much as I loved Troy, I couldn't picture us as anything more than friends, no matter how hard my father tried to convince me otherwise.

It didn't help that our fathers were both involved in politics and sat on the board of trustees together. It was as if our families were trying to orchestrate some sort of political dynasty through our relationship. I was the princess of Cold Springs and he was the prince.

"You want sparks," she said.

"Don't we all?" I shrugged. "A boring kiss is just blah."

I reminisced about the one time Troy and I had almost kissed years ago. It was a moment I preferred to forget, one that solidified our relationship as nothing more than friendship, because as he'd leaned in all I could think was how it felt like I was about to kiss my own brother. Yuck. I was sure he felt the same way. He had to feel the same way.

It just sucked because falling in love with Troy would be so easy. Our families would be thrilled. It would make everyone happy except us.

"Are you sure you weren't hopped up on adrenaline?" Rachel said. "You had just been through something pretty wild. The kiss might have felt wowzah but it was just okay. And he's a stranger. You know nothing about him. He could be married or an escaped convict or a ventriloquist."

"I didn't get any of those vibes from him," I said. "He looked like a regular guy having a bad day, who saved my ass."

She scoffed. "Or you just hit your head really hard in that accident. For all we know, Hudson is a figment of your imagination."

"The kiss we shared was electric," I sighed. "You can't possibly have that kind of chemistry with a hallucination. Or if you can, hit me on the head again."

Rachel laughed. "It's so hard to tell the difference between attraction and brain damage. I wouldn't trust a single kiss."

The kiss was addicting. It left me craving more. "I didn't say I wanted to marry him, but I would like to see him again."

"How long is he in town for?" she asked.

"I don't know," I admitted, feeling a flutter of anticipation at the thought of seeing Hudson again. "But I have his clothes. When I return them, I'm hoping to talk to him."

"Having the man's clothes is definitely a good excuse to talk to him again," she said. "Will you be keeping your clothes on?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Isn't that where you picked up your new boyfriend? The gutter on the side of the road?"

I laughed. "Okay, technically, yes. But I'm not going to jump straight into bed with him. I just want to know a little more about the guy."

"And kiss him again," she teased.

"That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world." I smiled. "But I know I need to get to know him first. Like you said, he might be a ventriloquist."

"I know," she said, grimacing. "It's like, keep your hand away from my butt, mister. That's not how you get me to talk."

"No, I'm pretty sure he's normal," I said.

"Maybe you should ask him to meet you in a public place," she suggested. "Have him meet you for coffee."

"And how would I do that?" I asked.

"You didn't get his phone number?"

"Honestly, I was so freaked out after the kissing I grabbed my clothes and ran," I said. "Very cool, huh?"

She smiled. "You were nervous."

"Duh," I said. "I wasn't really expecting a kiss. More like, I wasn't expecting to like it so much. I just want to figure out where we stand, if anywhere."

"Well, you have his clothes, so that's a start," Rachel said with a grin. "Maybe he'll be grateful enough to agree to take you to coffee."

I nodded thoughtfully. "It's worth a shot." It was time to return to the classroom. "Duty calls."

"Do you need a ride to return the clothes?" she offered.

I grinned, wagging my finger at her. "No, ma'am. I know what you're doing."

"What?" She shrugged, a look of pure innocence on her face. "I'm just being a nice friend."

"You want to meet my mystery man."

She grinned. "I just want to make sure he's real."

"Well, you can't because he's going to see you and I'm going to look like an old shoe."

"You could never look like an old shoe," she said. "And I would never swoop in on your man, drifter or not."

"He's like a juicy worm being tossed into a pond of hungry fish," I retorted. "I know all of you are going to be trying to get him. Well, I saw him first."

"You're calling dibs?"

"Damn straight." I winked and walked out of the break room.

I returned to my classroom, determined to focus on my students and the lesson at hand. Science was right after lunch. When I could, I liked to take advantage of the good weather and get my class of eight-year-olds outside to run off some of that energy while they learned. It shouldn't be too muddy where we were going.

"Is everyone ready to visit the garden?" I asked.

A chorus of cheers went up.

"Everyone bring your notebooks. Your task is to identify three flowers. I want you to sketch the flowers and describe them."

The children eagerly gathered their notebooks and pencils, practically buzzing with excitement. They followed me to the garden where the sun was shining brightly. The kids scattered around, their laughter filling the air as they bent down to examine the different petals and colors.

As I made my way around the garden, checking on each student's progress and offering gentle guidance, contentment washed over me. Teaching these children, fostering their curiosity and love for nature, was a job that never failed to bring me joy. I knew I was lucky to have a job I loved.

The car accident hadn't been bad and I wasn't injured, but it made me stop and take stock of my life. It wasn't perfect by any means, but I had been blessed with a lot. A great job, a comfortable town, and the best friend a girl could ask for. All I was missing was a man to share my life with.

Meeting Hudson had me thinking about how lonely I had been.

I went back to watching the kids. Naturally, the boys were drawn to the nearby weeds, eager to explore and play. I chuckled, knowing how boys tended to gravitate toward bugs and dirt. As I approached one of my students, Lily, I noticed her sitting alone on the bench, her brow furrowed in concentration as she sketched a flower with delicate precision.

"Hey there, Lily. How's it going?" I asked, taking a seat beside her.

She looked up, a bright smile lighting up her face. "I'm trying to draw this flower, but I can't get the shape of the petals right."

I glanced at her drawing and was impressed by the detail she had already captured. "You're doing a great job! Keep going."

After thirty minutes of play, it was time to corral everyone back together to head back inside. All their excited little faces reminded me of the other thing that was missing from my life. I wanted a little one of my own.

First I had to meet the right man. Hudson probably wasn't the man of my future, but he might help ease the loneliness that hung over everything like a dark cloud.

If nothing else, the man was a hell of a kisser.