Towed

And yet as he got ready to leave she heard herself saying, "Kash?"

He turned back around and then she said, "I like hugs, too."

His smile brightened as he took a step toward her.

"I'm not sure how clean these coveralls are," he told her.

Jordyn felt like she was beginning to tremble, another feeling she couldn't explain or even understand. Even more inexplicably, she said something else that later sounded somewhere between silly and ridiculous.

"I have a washing machine."

"If I get your shirt greasy, I'll replace it," he said as he reached out to hug her.

Jordyn hesitated then smiled at him and opened her arms, too. As he put his around her, tentatively at first, whatever part of her had wanted him to not move his hand now cried out to held. She slid her arms around his neck, and when she did Kash wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

Jordyn placed her cheek next to his and as she squeezed his upper body said, "Thank you for coming to rescue us today."

Kash ran his hand slowly up and down her back and said, "I kind of feel like you rescued me."

Jordyn started to pull back and ask what he meant by that, but she didn't want the hug to end so she buried her face in the crook of his neck and let him hold her until he felt ready to pull away.

When he did, he only moved far enough to look into her eyes again, and as he did, he smiled then said, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No. It...it wasn't bad at all," Jordyn replied as she smiled back at him.

Kash lowered his arms and as he did, he softly touched her hand then took her fingers in his before slowly letting them slide free.

"So should I just call first?" Jordyn asked. "Before Dax and I come by the shop?"

"Oh. Um, yes. Just in case I'm out on a call," he told her.

"Okay. I...I'll do that," she told him.

"I'll look forward to that, Jordyn."

"Me, too," she said very sweetly.

"I uh, I guess I'll be going."

"Okay. Thank you. Again. For everything," Jordyn said.

"You, too," he said, the smile back on his face.

This time she understood he was referring to her giving him a chance, and for the first time, Jordyn wondered if maybe somehow, against all odds, there might possibly be something there. Something that was making her feel like she hadn't felt since she and Josh were dating. It made no sense to her logically, but as her clarity returned she realized that love wasn't always logical.

Those thoughts and more ran through her mind as she watched this very unusual younger man climb up into the tow truck that had brought her and her son safely home. He fired it up, smiled at her from the cab, then put it in reverse and backed out.

When he hit the air horn she didn't know he had, it startled her more so than either he or the police officer had earlier that day, and yet she laughed happily as she shook a finger at him in mock scolding.

She didn't move until the truck was out of sight, and only then did she head back inside where Dax was still happily playing his video game.

She went in and sat down beside him then asked, "Can girls play, too?"

His face lit up immediately so she grabbed the other controller then said, "Okay, buddy. It's game on!"

After losing a dozen times in a row, but having the best time she'd had with her son in ages, she said, "Okay. That's enough for me."

She set the controller down then patted her son on the leg when he surprised her but pausing the game and giving her a hug.

"I love you, Mom," he said for the first time in so long she couldn't remember. He'd said it back to her many times, but this was the first time he told her that without prompting in so long it made her tear up.

"You okay?" he asked when he saw her eyes filling with tears.

"Yes," she said as she blinked them away. "I just feel...happy."

"Me, too," Dax said as he went back to the video game.

She got up to leave when Dax said, "Mom? When can we see Kash again?"

She smiled at him then said, "Soon, honey."

"Really?" he asked with hope in his voice.

"Yes. Really."

"Awesome!" he called out before returning to the serious business of destroying the enemy on the TV screen.

On Sunday afternoon, Jordyn needed something out of her purse and as she was looking she found the card from the police officer who'd helped her out. She sat there looking at his name and phone number and tried convincing herself he'd be a much better match. After all, he was probably pretty close to her age, and he wasn't a bad looking guy. He was no Kash Hardaway, but he was still very attractive.

So why then was she unable to gin up the slightest amount of interest to call him? She told him she'd think about it, and she'd meant it—at least when she said it. But now, it felt like having to drive her old Fusion after having taking the Mustang out for a spin, and the fact that the Fusion was older did nothing to change the way she felt.

"Why can't I drive a Fustang?" she thought. "Or a Mustion?

The question was absurd, and the answer was obvious. Because they don't make either of those. In other words, she had to choose. Older, safer, and more socially acceptable or younger, potentially dangerous, and getting all those looks from other people.

Jordyn set his card down then asked herself, "What other people? Who even cares? And of those who might care, who among them would I care about? And older doesn't mean 'safer' any more than younger implies 'dangerous'.

Just as her head was about to explode Dax asked if they could go see Kash today.

"Oh, honey, it's Sunday. This is his only day off. But tell you what. If the car is ready tomorrow, we'll go pick it up and stop by the shop, okay?"

"That will be so cool! Kash is gonna show me the other trucks. Did you know they all have girl names that start with 'B' like Betty, and..."

"Bertha and Barbara?" his mom said, loving the enthusiasm.

"Yeah. How did you know that?"

"Oh, a little birdie told me," she said with a smile. "How about something to eat?"

"No, thanks. I'm good," he told her.

He'd had two pancakes and a glass of milk for breakfast and hadn't asked for anything since. Jordyn couldn't believe he wasn't begging for food, and when she asked, he turned her down.

"Maybe in a little while, okay, Mom?"

"Yeah, sure, honey. Just let me know when, okay?"

"Can I look on the computer?" Dax asked.

"Um, I guess. Anything in particular?"

"I wanna check out tow trucks," he told her.

"Then I approve," she said.

Unable to get a certain tow truck driver off her mind, Jordyn looked over her son's shoulder and gasped when she saw that a new tow truck cost between $60,000 and a staggering $800,000.

"Oh, my Lord!" she said out loud.

"Mom! I didn't know you were looking," Dax said after the sound of her voice scared him half to death.

She put her hands on his shoulders and said, "Sorry, honey. I was just curious."

She left Dax there to look while she made a cup of tea then sat down and tried to sort through what she was feeling. She kept coming back to the notion that so far, at least, they hadn't even gone out. Why then was she looking at this as though she was making a lifetime commitment?

"Could it possibly be because that's what you want it to be?" she asked herself before again giving up on trying to sort this out with her logical brain.

Her phone rang early Monday morning. The service department at the Ford dealership called to tell her they found the problem.

"It's a bad EVAP control valve," the man told her as though he was talking to a fellow mechanic.

"Is that bad?" she asked before realizing what she'd said. "Wait. I know it's bad in that it doesn't work or something, but is it expensive bad?"

"It'll run you just under $200," he told her as though is was two or three dollars. Then again it wasn't $2,000, so she couldn't really complain.

"Okay, that's fine. And can you change the oil while it's in?"

"I was going to recommend that. And you really need some new tires. I can rotate these for you and you might get another 5,000 out of 'em, but that's it."

"Wow. No, I can't afford new tires right now so yes, please rotate them, and I'll start putting money aside for the tires. Can you give me an idea how much they'll cost?"

He let her know and Jordyn sighed loudly knowing it would take her at least three months to put that much away. If nothing else around the house broke.

"We'll have the car ready for you by 11 o'clock," the man told her much too cheerfully.

"Okay. Thank you very much," she said trying to focus on the fact she didn't need a new car. At least not right now.

Dax was totally 'jazzed' to ride in the Mustang.

"Mom? Can we keep this car?" he asked as they drove.

She was in an area where she could gun it, so she smiled and said, "You mean...this car?"

She floored it and the tires squealed. Dax got pushed back into his seat and his eyes opened wide before he yelled, "Do that again!"

"No, sorry. I can't afford a ticket," his mom said.

Watching his reaction had been worth the risk, and she'd never gotten over the speed limit so it wasn't all that big a risk.

When she turned the loaner vehicle in, Dax was as bummed as he'd been jazzed so his mom said, "Hey, why don't we stop in at the tow truck place and see if Kash is busy?"

Dax's eyes lit it, he smiled then said, "Yes!" forgetting all about the Mustang.

Jordyn knew she should call first, but she was already in town so she pulled into the parking lot hoping to get lucky. And the thought of 'getting lucky' made her laugh out loud.

"What's so funny, Mom?"

"Oh, your mom is just losing her mind lately. That's all," she told him as she wondered if that might not be true.

They walked inside and a bell dinged. A few seconds later, a man who looked about the same age as the police officer, and who was just as attractive, walked into the lobby.

"Hello there!" he said. "What can I help you with?"

"Oh, hi. Um, we were just hoping to talk to Kash," Jordyn said, now feeling a little silly.

He narrowed one eye then said, "You must be Jordyn and that young man must be Dax."

The boy's face lit up as he said, "How do you know my name?"

"Well, my nephew talked about you last night quite a bit."

He smiled at Jordyn then told her, "And even more about you."

"He...he did?" she asked, stuttering as she spoke.

"Oh, yeah. In fact, he couldn't stop talking about you."

The man smiled again then said, "Honestly? I've never seen him like this before. At least not since he came back from the war."

"The war?" Jordyn asked.

"Oh, I thought he'd have mentioned it. Then again, he doesn't talk about it very often, so I guess I just let the cat out of the bag."

Dax was over looking at stuff on display racks and paying no attention.

"I had no idea," she told him.

"He should probably tell you himself. I don't want to say anything else without his approval."

"Oh, okay. Sure. I...I understand," she said.

Jordyn did understand even though she didn't know any details. She also understood she needed to change the subject.

"You must be his Uncle Art."

"At your service," he said with a smile and a slight bow that caused Jordyn to laugh as she noticed the resemblance.

"I just picked up my car, the one Kash towed, and we told him we'd drop by and say 'hi' one of these days, so...I stopped by."

"You just missed him. There's was a pretty accident just out of town, and he's out there bringing in one of the cars that got totaled. The good news is no one was killed, but the car is beyond repair. Initial report is one of the drivers was drunk."

"Thank goodness no one was k..."

She remembered Kash telling her how his parents died and stopped talking.

Art seemed to understand.

"Yes, indeed. We've been through that, and it's no picnic."

He looked right at Jordyn then said, "I understand you've had your share of tragedy, too, and I'm very sorry."

"I have," she said now hoping to change the subject yet again.

"Any idea how long he'll be?" she asked.

"Oh, I'd guess close to another hour maybe. Could I show you and the young buck over there around?"

"Um, sure. He's obsessed with tow trucks now, and I think he really likes Kash, too."

Art smiled then said, "The feeling is mutual. I can assure of that."

He hesitated then said, "And at the risk of really getting into hot water with my nephew, those feelings extend to you, too."

Jordyn's heart skipped a beat and her tummy fluttered, and when she spoke, she stuttered again.

"I...I'll just...get my...son."

She was already looking down then turned to her right and said, "Dax? You wanna go look at the tow trucks?"

He spun around so fast it made Art laugh.

"Come on, my friend. Let's go out back and see what Bertha's doing."

"Is Barbara here, too?" Dax asked.

"No. Kash took her out to get a car that's pretty banged up. But she'll back before too long."

Jordyn followed them around as Art explained the difference between the two remaining trucks on the lot. One only had a winch to pick a car up and drag it in using the car's rear wheels while the other had a bed.

"But you already knew that because Kash drove Betty yesterday, huh?" the man said as he put an arm around Dax's shoulder.

"Can I do the winch?" Dax asked.

Jordyn started to tell him 'no' but Art had already said, "Sure! Hop in and we'll fire 'er up!"

"Mom. Come on!" he said as he grabbed her hand.

"Okay," she said as he nearly pulled her over dragging her with him.

Art not only showed Dax how the winch worked, he let him use it after backing up to a car that also looked totaled. He hooked it up then hollered, "Okay. Lift her up!"

Dax did exactly what he'd been shown, and when the front end of the car came up, the smile on his face was so big it nearly brought Jordyn to tears again.

Art let him lower it, too, then moved the truck back and asked if he had any questions.

"Is Kash back yet?" was the only one he had.

"No, not yet. But if you guys wanted to go get something to eat, he'll be back by the time you're done."

"No, I'm not hungry," Dax said, again surprising his mother.

"Okay, well you can either hang out in the lobby or come back in half an hour or so," Art told them.

"Can we stay, Mom? Please?" Dax nearly begged.

Normally, she'd have said 'no' but Dax wasn't the only one who wanted to see Kash Hardaway so she said, "I suppose we could stay here for a bit longer."

Dax threw his arms around his mom, another surprise she hadn't had in quite some time. She hugged him back and wondered how long it would be before her son would be embarrassed to hug his mother in public. She hoped that would never happen, but some boys were easily embarrassed if other boys were watching so all she could do was enjoy it while it lasted and hope he wouldn't be one of them.

Dax used his mom's cell phone to play a game while she sat there feeling her emotions build and her confusion mount as the time passed.

Jordyn was almost zoning out when the sound of a loud truck registered causing her to sit bolt upright. Dax heard it, too, and did the same thing but for very different reasons.

Both of them were already on their feet when Art popped his head in and said, "Kash is pulling in."

He popped back out and Dax shot ahead of her, so Jordyn grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Slow down, buddy," she said.

"I'm just excited about seeing Kash," he told her.

She almost said 'me, too' but didn't. But she did, however, ask him if her hair looked okay.

"Huh?" Dax replied having no idea why she was asking him that.

"Oh, never mind," she said as she opened the door to the back and held Dax so he couldn't go any further.

Kash saw them and hit the same horn that scared her before, but this time it made her smile—and wave. It was a goofy, happy wave she couldn't keep herself from doing, and when see saw Dax doing it, too, she laughed out loud.

Art guided the truck into position where it could drop the badly-damaged vehicle, then Kash pulled it alongside the other two 'girls', killed the engine and jumped out.

He came around the back and was already smiling when he said, "You came!"

"Yes. Yes, we did," Jordyn called back, the smile on her face as big as the one on his.

"Hey, dude!" Kash said to Dax as he walked over.

When Dax reached out his arms for a hug, Kash not only didn't insist on a handshake instead, he bent down and hugged the boy.

"How you doin', my man?"

"I'm good," Dax told him.

"Awesome!" Kash replied as he stood up and smiled at the boy's mother.

"Hi," he said as he stood there not knowing whether to offer to hug her or if that might embarrass her.

Jordyn desperately wanted to hug him, but had the same concerns as Kash so she, too, stood there looking back at him.

"Hi," she finally said.

Jordyn noticed Art watching, and when he saw her look he smiled and shook his head.

"What?" Jordyn called out.

"It's just me. I'm the only other person here," he hollered back.

She gave Kash a puzzled look causing him to briefly look down.

"I kind of told my uncle about the hug and how it happened."

"Oh, I see," she said surprised she wasn't embarrassed. "Well, hugs are still nice, right?"

"I think so," Kash said as he moved a little closer.

"It's just a hug, right?" Jordyn said.

Kash held his arms out and Jordyn happily moved the rest of the way, closing the gap, then offered him hers, too.

The hug lingered a few seconds longer than a typical hug tended to last, and it ended when Art called out, "That's more like it!"

"Sorry," Kash said.

"Why?" Jordyn asked with a beautiful smile on her lips.

"I don't know. I guess maybe I'm a little concerned you might think we're a little on the 'strange' side and run away."

"I don't think that at all," Jordyn said, still just inches away from him.

Dax was watching the whole time. Just when his mom finished saying that, he looked up and asked, "Are you guys gonna kiss or something?"

His mother's eyes opened as wide as saucers as she sputtered, "What? Kiss. Where did you dream that up?"

"I don't know. You just had that goofy look like girls on TV. You know, when they want some guy they like to kiss them."

"Okay, now I'm embarrassed," she said mostly to Kash.

"Don't be. In fact, you should be proud."

"Proud? Why would I be proud?" she asked, feeling like she was the only one not speaking the same language.

"Because your son is obviously very perceptive. That's why," he told her.

"What...what does that mean?" Jordyn asked.

Kash smiled but didn't answer her.

"So have you seen the place yet?"

"Uh-huh!" Dax answered. "I got to use the winch and everything!"

"Cool beans!" Kash said as he asked for and received a high five.

He looked at Jordyn and said, "I have no idea why I said that. That went out with 'puppy'."

"Okay, I'm totally lost here," Jordyn replied.

"You know. Back when people said things like, 'Slap that puppy in there'."

"Oh. Oh, right. Yes, I do remember," Jordyn said now feeling only slightly less confused.

"I thought you might. People used to say that way back when you were, you know, Dax's age."

The way he smiled caused that flutter again even as she said, "Oh, okay. Now my advanced age is suddenly a big deal, huh?"

"Well, the number must be really big. I suppose if you'd tell me just how big it is, I could try and pretend it isn't, but for now, I have to assume it's...huge!"

Now Dax was lost.

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked, causing both of them to laugh.

"Just grown-up stuff, honey," his mom said.

"Have you guys had lunch?" Kash asked.

"Us? Um, no. No, we haven't," Jordyn said.

"May I take you to lunch?" he asked as he used his amazing smile to his advantage.

"Um, well, I suppose we could..."