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ANNETTE “NETTIE” brOUSSARD stood frozen, her feet firmly planted in the center of the road as a speeding vehicle hurtled toward her. A surge of fear sent a shockwave through her body, momentarily jolting her from the haze of intoxication.

When the Jeep skidded to a stop mere inches from where she stood, terror overwhelmed her so intensely that she feared she might lose consciousness. Despite this, she remained wholly paralyzed, small tremors rippling through her.

A towering figure—everyone seemed towering from her five feet and one inch vantage point—sprang out of the vehicle and charged toward her. “What in the hell is the matter with you?” he bellowed.

Standing there, she had meant to wave down a car to help her and her friends with a tire change. Despite her buzzed brain, it seemed like the right thing to do. Buzzed brain? Hell, she’d been almost three sheets to the wind, which was probably why she stood in the street and not on the shoulder like a sane person.

Softer, the giant asked, “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

As Nettie gazed upward into his mesmerizing sea-blue eyes, she could not respond. The intensity of his concern held her captive, or at least what she interpreted as concern, amidst the shifting shadows cast by his headlights.

“I—”

“Aw fuck. You smell like a brewery,” he said, cutting her off. “I hope you aren’t driving.”

As a wave of anger surged within her at the very thought of the reckless act of driving under the influence, she swiftly gestured toward the car parked on the shoulder of the road. “Lily drove.”

In the stillness of her thoughts, she became acutely aware of the slurred quality of her speech, a stark contrast to the clarity she sought while trying to regain her composure. It was as if the weight of her emotions had seeped into her words, transforming them into a muddled distortion that betrayed her inner turmoil, even as her mind began to sober from the haze of distress.

After narrowing his eyes at her, he turned to the car. “Who is Lily?”

“Hey, handsome,” Nettie’s friend Penelope slurred, her words slightly jumbled from the effects of too much tequila. With an unsteady gait, she wobbled over, her long, sequined blouse shimmering under the Jeep lights. Surprised, the stranger raised an eyebrow as she sidled up to him, a mischievous grin spreading across her flushed cheeks.

“Um, I’m Lily,” her friend, who somehow managed to retain a sober demeanor amidst the chaos, said. She raised her hand as if in a classroom, seeking the teacher’s attention. “I’m sorry about both of them,” she added with genuine concern as she glanced toward the two individuals, their expressions clouded by awe at the stranger. It was a moment filled with unspoken tension, as if the air was thick with an unacknowledged weight, and Lily’s honesty cut through it like a faint ray of hope.

“Please tell me you haven’t been drinking,” he said.

Lily shook her head. “Nope. I’m the designated driver.”

He turned his gaze back to the two women before him. Nettie stood directly in front of him, completely still, as if time had momentarily paused around her. Meanwhile, Penelope gazed at him with wide, flirtatious eyes. Her playful demeanor contrasted with her companion’s rigidity.

As if snapped out of a trance, Nettie grabbed Penelope’s arm. “Leave him alone. He’s going to change our tire for us.”

The stranger raised an eyebrow at Nettie and cocked his head to the side. “I am, am I?”

Her scrambled mind couldn’t handle word games, so she answered her question. “Of course you are. This is the South, and Southern men always help distressed women.”

That generated a grin from him. “Is that so?”

“Of course you are.” Nettie’s eyes sparkled with leftover anger as she pointed her finger at him. She teetered on the edge of falling into his chest as if the movement had almost toppled her over. “You’re a good Southern man, aren’t you?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but I live in Maryland.”

Nettie felt irritated whenever a man addressed her as “Sweetheart.” To her, it was more than a term of endearment; it felt condescending, reducing her identity to a mere label. She remembered moments from her past when she had worked hard to establish herself in a male-dominated world, and such terms undermined her efforts, reminding her of unwanted attention and assumptions about her role. Each utterance of that word seemed to twist the knife of gender stereotypes deeper into her experience, leaving her longing for respect and recognition as an individual rather than a romanticized notion. She would brush off her annoyance in those moments, but the feeling lingered, a reminder of the societal expectations she constantly battled against.

Amidst the darkness, he gestured urgently. “Let’s move off the roadway, and I’ll take care of your flat tire.” With determined strides, he returned to his Jeep. Engaging the reverse gear, he skillfully maneuvered behind Lily’s car, casting a beam of light from his headlights to dispel the enveloping darkness.

“Come on, Nettie,” Penelope said. “Let’s go watch Mr. Hunk change the tire. I bet his muscles ripple under that shirt.” She tottered off toward his vehicle. “You who, handsome, are you single?”

Nettie observed the stranger tense up. Then it hit her. He was a total stranger, and they’d allowed him to stop and help them. She wouldn’t worry about a Southern boy, but he said he was from the North. Didn’t they have rapists and murderers there? Granted, they had them in the South also, but….

She stiffened her shoulders and walked to the car. “What’s your name?” she demanded in her brisk work tone.

From the open trunk, he looked around at her and hesitated. “My friends call me Casper.”

“What kind of name is Casper? Are you a ghost? You don’t look like a ghost, does he, ladies?” She was on a roll and continued. “No, what’s your name?”

He leaned in toward her and said, “What’s yours, sweetheart?”

Once again, she was confronted by that same old “sweetheart” label. It was a term often tossed around with casual affection, but this gentleman was about to discover just how deceptive that label truly was. Beneath her charming exterior lay a complexity he could hardly imagine, and it wouldn’t be long before he realized just how little of a sweet heart she truly possessed.

As her gaze swept over him, she couldn’t help but notice the undeniable age gap that separated them. He appeared to be at least a decade older than her, his face marked by subtle lines of experience and wisdom. His demeanor exuded the confidence that often came with age, and the stories in his eyes hinted at a life lived fully, contrasting with her youthful exuberance.

As Penelope had pegged, he was undeniably handsome. His tousled blond hair looked like a result of the Jeep’s absent top. Despite his appearance, which might have led one to underestimate him, he embodied the all-too-common stereotype of a northerner. This type of individual often flung around labels with reckless abandon, attaching them to people and circumstances without fully understanding their implications or the complexities involved.

However, this was not the appropriate moment for a heated discussion or disagreement. They were in a bind and required his assistance to change the flat tire. Once that task was complete, he would be free to depart. Nettie had reached her limit with his indifferent attitude and dismissive demeanor. Frustrated yet determined to move forward, she took a deep breath and finally introduced herself. “I’m Nettie.”

“Nettie sounds like an odd name to me. So, just call me Casper.” Turning away from her, he lifted the spare tire Lily had loosened but couldn’t lift. Then, he loosened the nuts on the flat tire, ignoring them.

Or, so she thought.

“What are you ladies doing out here this time of morning? This is not a much-used route.”

As the fog of intoxication gradually lifted, Nettie finally grasped the latter half of his statement. A wave of deep curiosity washed over her, mingled with a subtle but unmistakable tinge of fear, intertwining her emotions. She felt an unshakable urge to understand the implications of his words, even as the darker edges of anxiety crept into her thoughts, urging her to tread carefully in this newfound clarity. “Then, how did you know it was here?”

He didn’t look up from his task but shrugged. “GPS took me this way.”

She doubted it but left it since Lily piped up with, “We were at a party, celebrating—”

Nettie nudged Lily in the ribs a bit more forcefully than intended. “He doesn’t need to be privy to our activities,” she said with an edge in her voice. For a reason she couldn’t understand, Nettie was adamant about keeping the fact that it was her twenty-fifth birthday a secret from this unfamiliar—yet striking—individual.

With her lack of filter or awareness of Nettie’s thoughts, Penelope said, “It’s Nettie’s twenty-fifth birthday!”

“Penelope!” Nettie reprimanded. “He doesn’t need to know that.”

Casper looked back at her, giving her an up-and-down perusal that left her feeling vulnerable yet heated. “That’s almost young enough to be my daughter.”

“Oh,” Nettie said, trying not to feel offended by the comment, “you have a daughter?”

He shook his head. “No, but if I did, she could be about eighteen now.”

“Well, I’ll have you know, there’s a big difference between eighteen and twenty-five.”

Lily—the peacekeeper—stepped forward. “Children, let’s play nice.”

Casper stood and put the flat tire in the car’s rear, locked it down, and closed the trunk. “Done. Now, you’ll want to go slow on this tire. I’ll follow you until— How far are you going?”

“Don’t tell him,” Nettie said, her back still bowed for no reason whatsoever.

“Nettie, it’s okay,” Lily said. “We’re headed back to Biloxi.”

Casper smiled. “How ironic, so am I.”

“That’s what a mass murderer would say,” Nettie spat out without thinking. She needed to work on her brain-mouth filter when she drank.

“They would.” He turned back to his Jeep, turned it on, and honked at them. “Let’s get going, ladies. I don’t have all night.”

The three piled into Lily’s car with Nettie in the passenger seat. Penelope passed out almost the moment she sat in the back. “Are you sure you should let him follow us?” Nettie asked.

“Chill, Nettie. He seems fine. He did change the tire after all.”

As she reflected on the encounter, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off about the man. Perhaps it was the lingering effects of the tequila coursing through her system or the realization that she was unexpectedly drawn to an older gentleman. Either way, she tried to brush it off. After tonight, she likely wouldn’t see him again. Biloxi was large enough that they wouldn’t happen to run into each other at the market.

“You liked him,” Lily said teasingly.

“What? No, I didn’t.” Although she had no affection for him, she couldn’t help but admire his striking appearance, especially for someone his age. His well-defined features and confident demeanor exuded a certain charm that was hard to overlook, making her appreciate the allure he possessed despite her personal feelings toward him.

“Oh yes, you did, and it scared you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have pulled your prosecutor hat on him.”

Recalling her role as a prosecutor, she realized that she had an upcoming court session in the morning. She was scheduled to handle another round of arraignments for individuals charged with driving under the influence. She had vigorously fought to keep these cases in jail, believing that releasing them would only lead to repeated offenses.

The tragic loss of her parents, caused by a driver under the influence, fueled her determination to prevent other families from enduring the same heart-wrenching nightmare.

As she slowly drifted off into a peaceful slumber, her mind was preoccupied with the impending day at court. She couldn’t help but wonder how many offenders she would encounter in the morning. She stood in the courtroom with Casper on the docket in her vivid dreams. This scenario presented her with her first moral dilemma as an assistant district attorney.

She awakened before determining the amount of bail to ask for or whether to release him. “You’re home, Nettie,” Lily said.

Nettie stretched and noticed the headlights behind them. Great, now the northerner knew where she lived.