My Stardust Melody, Chapter 17
Four days later
"It's just weird, Reid. That's all I'm saying."
Reid gripped the steering wheel tighter as he tried to peer through the windshield. Could snow pour? Because that's what it seemed to be doing. He glanced quickly at his longtime friend, and said irritably, "It sounded a bit like you might be taking up the cause of Luke Snyder."
Nathan shook his head. "No, Reid. I'm always on your side. It's just that I don't understand what's going on. I've seen people dislike you after they've met you, but I've never encountered such a large group of people so dead set against you sight unseen."
"Half this town seems to be related to each other, so it's not that big of a surprise. They're like inbred sheep just following the herd." Thus far, Reid's impression of Oakdale was pretty dismal. Borderline incest, inferior police, rampant rumor-mongering, and nonexistent decent restaurants were only a small sampling of Oakdale's shortcomings. And this morning's weather forecast had called for a possible one to two inches of snow later in the evening, so he could add the local meteorologist to the list of idiotic things. Three inches were already on the ground, and it wasn't even four o'clock yet.
"It's flock of sheep," Nathan corrected. Reid hoped Nathan might go on one of his grammatical rants, but instead he focused again on Luke, much to the doctor's chagrin. "But, Reid, what could he be telling them? Yesterday some fading red-headed woman at a boutique refused to sell me a dress for my mother when she learned I was friends with you. She referred to you as, and I quote, 'that despicable man.'"
Reid shrugged. "I've been called worse."
"Not by nice older women who've never met you," Nathan countered.
Reid impatiently threw his right hand onto the gear shift and gripped tightly. "Look, I was taken in by Luke at one point, too. That's all that's going on." Since Luke seemed to have charmed Oakdale so easily, Reid thought he should feel better about the fact that he'd been duped by the blond millionaire. Unfortunately, Oakdale was rife with morons and jerks, so it really wasn't a balm that they'd been taken in by the all-American innocent act. Not to mention the fact that Reid should have known better--his own mother was just such a schemer.
"But if he's as bad as you say--and you haven't said much--then wouldn't these people know that by now and ignore him?" Nathan leaned forward to fiddle with the radio controls, trying to get a better signal. They hadn't been able to get a station for the past twenty minutes.
"How would I know what passes for morality around here? My chief-of-staff has had five different wives, and people act like he should be nominated for sainthood. You wouldn't believe the amount of moralizing that man spews at me every chance he gets."
"Is there any way you might have had a misunderstanding?" Nathan asked, sitting back in his seat haven given up on the radio.
Concentrating more on the hazardous road than what transpired two years ago, Reid decided against playing dumb and pretending that he thought his friend was referring to Bob. He briefly thought back to the night Damian confronted him two years ago. "No. There isn't," he replied.
Hesitating for a noticeable moment, Nathan asked cautiously, "We both know you have a hard time trusting people because of your family. There's no chance that's not coloring your feelings?"
Reid gave Nathan a fierce look. He hated when anyone brought up his parents or uncle, and Nathan knew that better than anyone. "No," he answered tersely. "And unless you'd prefer to crash into a tree, I suggest you let me pay attention to the road."
Apparently giving up for the moment, Nathan didn't speak for a minute. Reid knew it wouldn't last--Nathan chattered non-stop no matter what the situation. When his friend started to talk, the doctor rolled his eyes.
"I can't believe you got us lost," Nathan complained. "You need to drive slower. I can barely see any of the road signs."
In a similarly testy tone of voice, Reid responded, "Well, I can't believe you thought it would be a good idea to look at a condo so far outside Oakdale."
Nathan huffed and gestured out the window. "It wasn't this far outside of Oakdale."
Reid merely grunted in reply. Maybe if he didn't talk, Nathan would be quiet again. No such luck, however, would happen.
Looking outside, Nathan commented, "I thought this part of Illinois was supposed to be farmland. Why do we seem to be in some sort of forest?"
"It beats me. I'm sure the locals think it's the enchanted forest surrounding their perfect prince." Reid knew he shouldn't have brought up Luke again the moment the words left his mouth.
Expectedly, Nathan asked, "Reid, are you sure there isn't something you're missing about Luke?"
Reid cursed and said, "Don't you think I wish like hell there was?" He wasn't sure why he was getting so upset talking about Luke. It had been two years, and it had been one night. Only it didn't feel like one night. Why couldn't he put the blond firmly in the past where he belonged? Why did Reid feel so drawn to Luke when he knew what ugliness Luke concealed beneath his beautiful smile?
Nathan eyed Reid curiously, seeming to be oblivious to the hostility radiating from the auburn-haired man. "Ummm, I don't know, Reid. I barely know anything about what happened," he said quietly.
Reid took a calming breath, trying to remember that Nathan's motives were good. "More than anyone, I wish I was wrong. But I'm not going to start giving credit to that jerk. It leads to a bad place, Nathan." He slowed the car as the snow was making visibility nearly impossible at the moment.
Nathan didn't heed the warning in Reid's voice. "But why? I know you say he's after money, and I take it you slept with him. But why are you so freaking vehement about him? Did he actually intend for you to lose your job?" he asked.
"Drop it, Nathan." Reid just wanted to leave his stupid interlude with Luke in the past. He wasn't in the mood to parse over every single detail with Nathan, which is exactly what his friend would want to do. Luke fooled and hurt him. Why relive that?
"Okay. Then tell me why you flip out over Luke anytime Henry Coleman's name is brought up."
"Maybe because the man slimed me and tried to get me fired?" he suggested scathingly.
"I don't think that's all. That seems like it was mainly Henry's doing, but it's Luke you go ballistic about."
If Reid hadn't been driving, he would have closed his eyes and counted to ten to keep himself from trying to strangle his oldest friend. As is was, he merely sighed. "What's your point, Nathan?"
"I'm just saying you seem awfully interested in this guy's life. If I didn't know you hated him, I'd say you were acting jealous."
Reid could feel Nathan's eyes on his face. "I'm not jealous," he gritted out. "I could care less about who Luke Snyder chooses to date, take money from, or whatever he does."
"But Reid, why--"
Before Nathan could get the words out, Reid cut him off. "Just drop it," he said. The doctor couldn't believe Nathan was pursuing the idiotic notion that he was jealous. As if Reid would ever feel something as foolish as jealousy over the heartless Luke Snyder.
"But--" Nathan began.
Reid's voice was loud and angry, when he announced, "Seriously, I'm done talking about Luke Snyder."
Nathan quickly replied, "Fine, but Reid, there's--"
"Drop it!" Reid countered. How often did he have to say it for Nathan to leave him alone?
"No, Reid, I mean look out!" Nathan exclaimed and pointed toward the windshield.
Reid slammed on the brakes. A black pickup truck with its hood open was stopped not quite off to the side of the road. He saw someone standing in front of the truck jump into a ditch just as Reid's car plowed into the back.
The airbags deployed as Reid and Nathan jerked forward against their seatbelts. There was a loud crash, and then everything seemed unnaturally silent.
When their momentum stopped, Reid looked quickly to his right. Despite the front end of his car being pretty mangled, he didn't think it was that hard of an impact. The damage was unsurprising, given how cheap Reid's rental had seemed. Tin foil probably had more durability than Reid's front bumper. Even though the collision hadn't seemed too forceful, he worried nonetheless that Nathan might be injured. Airbag injuries weren't that uncommon. "Are you okay?"
Nathan remained slumped forward, and his voice was muffled. "Yes, but I'm going to have one hell of a headache. You?"
"I'm fine." They paused, both still stunned and their nerves racing. Then Reid remembered, "That guy!" He couldn't believe he'd forgotten the man who had been in front of the pickup truck. Panic overtook him as he realized he may have just seriously injured or even killed some innocent stranger.
"Jesus!" Nathan exclaimed, throwing himself back in his seat.
Quickly undoing their seatbelts, they hopped out of the car. The damage to the exterior of Reid's rental was severe. The truck, however, didn't seem to have much more than a huge dent and dislodged bumper.
Reid heard someone groan from the ditch by the truck. Just as he ran around the hood, he heard a man exasperatedly ask, "Were you trying to kill me?" The voice was unfortunately familiar.
Reid locked eyes on Luke Snyder, sitting on the ground in the snow. His hair was damp from where he'd been lying on the ground and his face wet from the falling flakes. Reid stood openmouthed in shock, only able to utter the denial, "No way." He couldn't believe it was Luke. What were the chances?
"You?" Luke said derisively, completely ignoring Nathan who had kneeled down beside him. "Oh, Christ, you really were trying to kill me." Luke dropped his head onto his one bent knee; the other leg was pointing straight out in front of him.
Reid folded his arms, seeing that Luke appeared uninjured. "Don't flatter yourself Mr. Snyder. I wouldn't risk my hands like that." He winced, feeling like his mouth had a mind of its own when it came to Luke. He hadn't meant to sound so hardhearted, particularly now when he felt so relieved that Luke was okay. It wasn't that he particularly cared about Luke's well-being. Reid was sure he'd feel the same about anyone in this situation. Luke certainly wasn't special.
Luke snorted, but otherwise didn't respond.
Nathan moved to help Luke up, but the blond waved him off. Reid noticed the strained look in Luke's eyes for the first time. Without thinking, he approached the man on the ground and stopped just a few feet in front of him. He started to kneel, but stopped himself, feeling uncertain. Would there ever be day Reid didn't feel off-kilter around Luke?
"I don't think I can get up," Luke said. "I twisted my left ankle pretty badly when I leapt out of the way."
Nathan smiled grimly at Luke before quickly glaring at Reid behind him. He delivered the message, "I can't believe you were being a jerk to the guy we injured with our crappy car," in the flash of his dark eyes. Reid's tall friend turned back to Luke and said, "Why don't we sit you in the truck, and Reid can take a look and figure out if it's broken?"
Luke nodded mutely, and the pain in his eyes kept Reid from making any sort of remark. The older man didn't like to see Luke injured, even if the blond was the spawn of the devil.
With the door open and Luke's legs dangling outside the truck, it hit Reid that he was going to have to touch Luke again. Every time he was within proximity of Luke, Reid's libido seemed to take over his body. It didn't seem to matter the situation or how angry he was, the blond seemed to bring out some sort of sex-starved beast in Reid. Reid gritted his teeth, determined that Nathan wouldn't witness Reid fall to pieces over this young, nubile, fair-haired man with soulful brown eyes… Stop it, Reid! You're already failing. He's evil, remember? The devil. Wicked, even. Sinful…Crap, this isn't helping. At least the look on Nathan's face if I jumped on top of Luke right now might be worth the embarrassment.
Deciding to do what he did best, Reid opted for insulting the young man. "So, Mr. Snyder, should I expect Mr. Coleman to jump out of a tree and club me?" Actually, Reid could almost picture Henry in a Tarzan costume swinging from some sort of vine.
"Yes, Reid, you've caught us again. I've been freezing outside my truck for the past hour just in hope that you might drive by and hit me." Luke glared at Reid. If it wasn't already freezing outside, Reid was sure that he would have been able to feel the chill off of that stare.
"Ow!" Luke said as Reid's hands touched Luke's booted ankle.
"I barely touched you!" Reid retorted.
"Be gentle, Reid," Nathan chided, which earned him Reid's best "shut the hell up" look. Nathan just looked at Luke and said, "I don't know how he's a surgeon. You should see how he manhandles my pet Chihuahua."
Distracted momentarily, Luke smiled brightly at Nathan. "You own a Chihuahua?"
"The ladies love Conchita, and she loves Reid despite everything. I don't get it myself; he holds her like a trophy." He mimicked the motion with his hands gripping an invisible trophy above his right shoulder.
"She's no one's prize, let me tell you. I'm just trying to keep her and her disgusting tongue away from my body." Reid worked to unlace the boot without hurting Luke. He could hear Luke suck in a breath as he neared the ankle. Finally, having unlaced it as much as possible, he warned, "This might hurt."
"What might h--" He was cut off by Reid quickly tugging the boot off. "Holy crap! What is wrong with you?"
"Can you move your foot?" Reid asked, ignoring Luke's outrage.
Luke looked down and moved his foot slightly.
Reid felt encouraged at the motion. "How about your toes?" he asked.
That seemed to be easier for the blond. Luke looked up expectantly. "Well?"
"I don't think it's broken. Just a sprain. You'll need to put some ice on it and get it elevated."
Looking down at the snow, Luke replied, "I don't think ice will be a problem."
"Can you drive?" Nathan asked.
"I probably could, but the reason I was stopped was that my truck died. I was trying to fix it when you all came along and tried to flatten me. I think there's a leak and I'm out of oil."
"Well, we can get you back," Nathan replied.
"Yes, it would be a crime for you to freeze out here," Reid replied, annoyed by the suggestion that he had intentionally tried to "flatten" Luke.
"Reid!" Nathan exclaimed in exasperation.
"What?" he asked innocently.
Nathan narrowed his eyes. "Be nice. Go back to the car while I help Luke over there. See if that thing will even start up."
Reid stomped back to the car, dusting snow off his jacket. At least another half an inch had fallen in the ten minutes since he'd driven into Luke's truck. He threw open the door of his rental, pushed the deflated air bag out of the way, sat down, and put the key in the ignition. He turned it and got silence. He banged his head against the steering wheel. Crap.
Slowly, Reid got out of the car. He pulled out his cell phone. No signal. Of course. "Hey, do either of you two have cell phone reception? This car has behaved as expected and is dead."
Luke didn't even bother to look at his phone. "Nope," he merely said.
Nathan looked at his, which was the same fancy smartphone that Reid had, and said, "No luck here, either."
Reid looked up at the sky which was still deluging the threesome in white powdery snow. The Oakdale gods must hate him.
"I guess we can all pile up together in the car," Reid offered reluctantly. Just what I want, to be cooped up with Nathan and Luke Snyder.
Luke shook his head, which only aggravated Reid more.
"Do you have a better idea, Mr. Snyder? Or is it an unbreakable habit to disagree with me?"
From his perch in his truck, Luke smirked. "Actually, I do have a better idea. There's an unoccupied cabin, probably about a hundred yards or so from here in the forest."
"And are we going to break into this thing?" Reid asked derisively. It may not have been Luke's fault that they were stuck in this snowstorm together, but this ridiculous situation made Reid's temper foul.
Luke shrugged as if he wasn't concerned about the prospect of breaking and entering. "Hope not. I'm pretty sure I know where the owner keeps the key."
It's probably some shack without plumbing or even a fireplace. Just the sort of place that I want to be holed up with Mr. Blond and Dimpled. There likely wouldn't even be a chair to hide behind. It sounded like hell. "Fine, lead us to salvation."
"It's just weird, Reid. That's all I'm saying."
Reid gripped the steering wheel tighter as he tried to peer through the windshield. Could snow pour? Because that's what it seemed to be doing. He glanced quickly at his longtime friend, and said irritably, "It sounded a bit like you might be taking up the cause of Luke Snyder."
Nathan shook his head. "No, Reid. I'm always on your side. It's just that I don't understand what's going on. I've seen people dislike you after they've met you, but I've never encountered such a large group of people so dead set against you sight unseen."
"Half this town seems to be related to each other, so it's not that big of a surprise. They're like inbred sheep just following the herd." Thus far, Reid's impression of Oakdale was pretty dismal. Borderline incest, inferior police, rampant rumor-mongering, and nonexistent decent restaurants were only a small sampling of Oakdale's shortcomings. And this morning's weather forecast had called for a possible one to two inches of snow later in the evening, so he could add the local meteorologist to the list of idiotic things. Three inches were already on the ground, and it wasn't even four o'clock yet.
"It's flock of sheep," Nathan corrected. Reid hoped Nathan might go on one of his grammatical rants, but instead he focused again on Luke, much to the doctor's chagrin. "But, Reid, what could he be telling them? Yesterday some fading red-headed woman at a boutique refused to sell me a dress for my mother when she learned I was friends with you. She referred to you as, and I quote, 'that despicable man.'"
Reid shrugged. "I've been called worse."
"Not by nice older women who've never met you," Nathan countered.
Reid impatiently threw his right hand onto the gear shift and gripped tightly. "Look, I was taken in by Luke at one point, too. That's all that's going on." Since Luke seemed to have charmed Oakdale so easily, Reid thought he should feel better about the fact that he'd been duped by the blond millionaire. Unfortunately, Oakdale was rife with morons and jerks, so it really wasn't a balm that they'd been taken in by the all-American innocent act. Not to mention the fact that Reid should have known better--his own mother was just such a schemer.
"But if he's as bad as you say--and you haven't said much--then wouldn't these people know that by now and ignore him?" Nathan leaned forward to fiddle with the radio controls, trying to get a better signal. They hadn't been able to get a station for the past twenty minutes.
"How would I know what passes for morality around here? My chief-of-staff has had five different wives, and people act like he should be nominated for sainthood. You wouldn't believe the amount of moralizing that man spews at me every chance he gets."
"Is there any way you might have had a misunderstanding?" Nathan asked, sitting back in his seat haven given up on the radio.
Concentrating more on the hazardous road than what transpired two years ago, Reid decided against playing dumb and pretending that he thought his friend was referring to Bob. He briefly thought back to the night Damian confronted him two years ago. "No. There isn't," he replied.
Hesitating for a noticeable moment, Nathan asked cautiously, "We both know you have a hard time trusting people because of your family. There's no chance that's not coloring your feelings?"
Reid gave Nathan a fierce look. He hated when anyone brought up his parents or uncle, and Nathan knew that better than anyone. "No," he answered tersely. "And unless you'd prefer to crash into a tree, I suggest you let me pay attention to the road."
Apparently giving up for the moment, Nathan didn't speak for a minute. Reid knew it wouldn't last--Nathan chattered non-stop no matter what the situation. When his friend started to talk, the doctor rolled his eyes.
"I can't believe you got us lost," Nathan complained. "You need to drive slower. I can barely see any of the road signs."
In a similarly testy tone of voice, Reid responded, "Well, I can't believe you thought it would be a good idea to look at a condo so far outside Oakdale."
Nathan huffed and gestured out the window. "It wasn't this far outside of Oakdale."
Reid merely grunted in reply. Maybe if he didn't talk, Nathan would be quiet again. No such luck, however, would happen.
Looking outside, Nathan commented, "I thought this part of Illinois was supposed to be farmland. Why do we seem to be in some sort of forest?"
"It beats me. I'm sure the locals think it's the enchanted forest surrounding their perfect prince." Reid knew he shouldn't have brought up Luke again the moment the words left his mouth.
Expectedly, Nathan asked, "Reid, are you sure there isn't something you're missing about Luke?"
Reid cursed and said, "Don't you think I wish like hell there was?" He wasn't sure why he was getting so upset talking about Luke. It had been two years, and it had been one night. Only it didn't feel like one night. Why couldn't he put the blond firmly in the past where he belonged? Why did Reid feel so drawn to Luke when he knew what ugliness Luke concealed beneath his beautiful smile?
Nathan eyed Reid curiously, seeming to be oblivious to the hostility radiating from the auburn-haired man. "Ummm, I don't know, Reid. I barely know anything about what happened," he said quietly.
Reid took a calming breath, trying to remember that Nathan's motives were good. "More than anyone, I wish I was wrong. But I'm not going to start giving credit to that jerk. It leads to a bad place, Nathan." He slowed the car as the snow was making visibility nearly impossible at the moment.
Nathan didn't heed the warning in Reid's voice. "But why? I know you say he's after money, and I take it you slept with him. But why are you so freaking vehement about him? Did he actually intend for you to lose your job?" he asked.
"Drop it, Nathan." Reid just wanted to leave his stupid interlude with Luke in the past. He wasn't in the mood to parse over every single detail with Nathan, which is exactly what his friend would want to do. Luke fooled and hurt him. Why relive that?
"Okay. Then tell me why you flip out over Luke anytime Henry Coleman's name is brought up."
"Maybe because the man slimed me and tried to get me fired?" he suggested scathingly.
"I don't think that's all. That seems like it was mainly Henry's doing, but it's Luke you go ballistic about."
If Reid hadn't been driving, he would have closed his eyes and counted to ten to keep himself from trying to strangle his oldest friend. As is was, he merely sighed. "What's your point, Nathan?"
"I'm just saying you seem awfully interested in this guy's life. If I didn't know you hated him, I'd say you were acting jealous."
Reid could feel Nathan's eyes on his face. "I'm not jealous," he gritted out. "I could care less about who Luke Snyder chooses to date, take money from, or whatever he does."
"But Reid, why--"
Before Nathan could get the words out, Reid cut him off. "Just drop it," he said. The doctor couldn't believe Nathan was pursuing the idiotic notion that he was jealous. As if Reid would ever feel something as foolish as jealousy over the heartless Luke Snyder.
"But--" Nathan began.
Reid's voice was loud and angry, when he announced, "Seriously, I'm done talking about Luke Snyder."
Nathan quickly replied, "Fine, but Reid, there's--"
"Drop it!" Reid countered. How often did he have to say it for Nathan to leave him alone?
"No, Reid, I mean look out!" Nathan exclaimed and pointed toward the windshield.
Reid slammed on the brakes. A black pickup truck with its hood open was stopped not quite off to the side of the road. He saw someone standing in front of the truck jump into a ditch just as Reid's car plowed into the back.
The airbags deployed as Reid and Nathan jerked forward against their seatbelts. There was a loud crash, and then everything seemed unnaturally silent.
When their momentum stopped, Reid looked quickly to his right. Despite the front end of his car being pretty mangled, he didn't think it was that hard of an impact. The damage was unsurprising, given how cheap Reid's rental had seemed. Tin foil probably had more durability than Reid's front bumper. Even though the collision hadn't seemed too forceful, he worried nonetheless that Nathan might be injured. Airbag injuries weren't that uncommon. "Are you okay?"
Nathan remained slumped forward, and his voice was muffled. "Yes, but I'm going to have one hell of a headache. You?"
"I'm fine." They paused, both still stunned and their nerves racing. Then Reid remembered, "That guy!" He couldn't believe he'd forgotten the man who had been in front of the pickup truck. Panic overtook him as he realized he may have just seriously injured or even killed some innocent stranger.
"Jesus!" Nathan exclaimed, throwing himself back in his seat.
Quickly undoing their seatbelts, they hopped out of the car. The damage to the exterior of Reid's rental was severe. The truck, however, didn't seem to have much more than a huge dent and dislodged bumper.
Reid heard someone groan from the ditch by the truck. Just as he ran around the hood, he heard a man exasperatedly ask, "Were you trying to kill me?" The voice was unfortunately familiar.
Reid locked eyes on Luke Snyder, sitting on the ground in the snow. His hair was damp from where he'd been lying on the ground and his face wet from the falling flakes. Reid stood openmouthed in shock, only able to utter the denial, "No way." He couldn't believe it was Luke. What were the chances?
"You?" Luke said derisively, completely ignoring Nathan who had kneeled down beside him. "Oh, Christ, you really were trying to kill me." Luke dropped his head onto his one bent knee; the other leg was pointing straight out in front of him.
Reid folded his arms, seeing that Luke appeared uninjured. "Don't flatter yourself Mr. Snyder. I wouldn't risk my hands like that." He winced, feeling like his mouth had a mind of its own when it came to Luke. He hadn't meant to sound so hardhearted, particularly now when he felt so relieved that Luke was okay. It wasn't that he particularly cared about Luke's well-being. Reid was sure he'd feel the same about anyone in this situation. Luke certainly wasn't special.
Luke snorted, but otherwise didn't respond.
Nathan moved to help Luke up, but the blond waved him off. Reid noticed the strained look in Luke's eyes for the first time. Without thinking, he approached the man on the ground and stopped just a few feet in front of him. He started to kneel, but stopped himself, feeling uncertain. Would there ever be day Reid didn't feel off-kilter around Luke?
"I don't think I can get up," Luke said. "I twisted my left ankle pretty badly when I leapt out of the way."
Nathan smiled grimly at Luke before quickly glaring at Reid behind him. He delivered the message, "I can't believe you were being a jerk to the guy we injured with our crappy car," in the flash of his dark eyes. Reid's tall friend turned back to Luke and said, "Why don't we sit you in the truck, and Reid can take a look and figure out if it's broken?"
Luke nodded mutely, and the pain in his eyes kept Reid from making any sort of remark. The older man didn't like to see Luke injured, even if the blond was the spawn of the devil.
With the door open and Luke's legs dangling outside the truck, it hit Reid that he was going to have to touch Luke again. Every time he was within proximity of Luke, Reid's libido seemed to take over his body. It didn't seem to matter the situation or how angry he was, the blond seemed to bring out some sort of sex-starved beast in Reid. Reid gritted his teeth, determined that Nathan wouldn't witness Reid fall to pieces over this young, nubile, fair-haired man with soulful brown eyes… Stop it, Reid! You're already failing. He's evil, remember? The devil. Wicked, even. Sinful…Crap, this isn't helping. At least the look on Nathan's face if I jumped on top of Luke right now might be worth the embarrassment.
Deciding to do what he did best, Reid opted for insulting the young man. "So, Mr. Snyder, should I expect Mr. Coleman to jump out of a tree and club me?" Actually, Reid could almost picture Henry in a Tarzan costume swinging from some sort of vine.
"Yes, Reid, you've caught us again. I've been freezing outside my truck for the past hour just in hope that you might drive by and hit me." Luke glared at Reid. If it wasn't already freezing outside, Reid was sure that he would have been able to feel the chill off of that stare.
"Ow!" Luke said as Reid's hands touched Luke's booted ankle.
"I barely touched you!" Reid retorted.
"Be gentle, Reid," Nathan chided, which earned him Reid's best "shut the hell up" look. Nathan just looked at Luke and said, "I don't know how he's a surgeon. You should see how he manhandles my pet Chihuahua."
Distracted momentarily, Luke smiled brightly at Nathan. "You own a Chihuahua?"
"The ladies love Conchita, and she loves Reid despite everything. I don't get it myself; he holds her like a trophy." He mimicked the motion with his hands gripping an invisible trophy above his right shoulder.
"She's no one's prize, let me tell you. I'm just trying to keep her and her disgusting tongue away from my body." Reid worked to unlace the boot without hurting Luke. He could hear Luke suck in a breath as he neared the ankle. Finally, having unlaced it as much as possible, he warned, "This might hurt."
"What might h--" He was cut off by Reid quickly tugging the boot off. "Holy crap! What is wrong with you?"
"Can you move your foot?" Reid asked, ignoring Luke's outrage.
Luke looked down and moved his foot slightly.
Reid felt encouraged at the motion. "How about your toes?" he asked.
That seemed to be easier for the blond. Luke looked up expectantly. "Well?"
"I don't think it's broken. Just a sprain. You'll need to put some ice on it and get it elevated."
Looking down at the snow, Luke replied, "I don't think ice will be a problem."
"Can you drive?" Nathan asked.
"I probably could, but the reason I was stopped was that my truck died. I was trying to fix it when you all came along and tried to flatten me. I think there's a leak and I'm out of oil."
"Well, we can get you back," Nathan replied.
"Yes, it would be a crime for you to freeze out here," Reid replied, annoyed by the suggestion that he had intentionally tried to "flatten" Luke.
"Reid!" Nathan exclaimed in exasperation.
"What?" he asked innocently.
Nathan narrowed his eyes. "Be nice. Go back to the car while I help Luke over there. See if that thing will even start up."
Reid stomped back to the car, dusting snow off his jacket. At least another half an inch had fallen in the ten minutes since he'd driven into Luke's truck. He threw open the door of his rental, pushed the deflated air bag out of the way, sat down, and put the key in the ignition. He turned it and got silence. He banged his head against the steering wheel. Crap.
Slowly, Reid got out of the car. He pulled out his cell phone. No signal. Of course. "Hey, do either of you two have cell phone reception? This car has behaved as expected and is dead."
Luke didn't even bother to look at his phone. "Nope," he merely said.
Nathan looked at his, which was the same fancy smartphone that Reid had, and said, "No luck here, either."
Reid looked up at the sky which was still deluging the threesome in white powdery snow. The Oakdale gods must hate him.
"I guess we can all pile up together in the car," Reid offered reluctantly. Just what I want, to be cooped up with Nathan and Luke Snyder.
Luke shook his head, which only aggravated Reid more.
"Do you have a better idea, Mr. Snyder? Or is it an unbreakable habit to disagree with me?"
From his perch in his truck, Luke smirked. "Actually, I do have a better idea. There's an unoccupied cabin, probably about a hundred yards or so from here in the forest."
"And are we going to break into this thing?" Reid asked derisively. It may not have been Luke's fault that they were stuck in this snowstorm together, but this ridiculous situation made Reid's temper foul.
Luke shrugged as if he wasn't concerned about the prospect of breaking and entering. "Hope not. I'm pretty sure I know where the owner keeps the key."
It's probably some shack without plumbing or even a fireplace. Just the sort of place that I want to be holed up with Mr. Blond and Dimpled. There likely wouldn't even be a chair to hide behind. It sounded like hell. "Fine, lead us to salvation."