Page 84 of Dark Roads

Have a good night.

She tried to not obsess. Tried not to be stung. He was just keeping his distance because he thought he was protecting her. Meanwhile, she’d gone and put a target on her own back.

She hadn’t been lying—she was tired—but she barely got any sleep. She’d replayed the car ride with Vaughn in her head over and over, and the only other set of campers had partied late. She hadn’t minded the music that played until after midnight, though. She’d felt less alone.

Now the morning silence was suddenly broken by the crunch of tires. She looked over her shoulder. Someone was driving into the campground. The engine was loud. Jonny?

She got to her feet and listened as it drove past the other sites. It seemed to be heading toward her. The truck came into sight. Red. She couldn’t see through the windshield, only the reflection of the forest, but she recognized the camper. It looked like Mason’s truck. She’d seen it parked a few times in front of the diner, but he normally drove his Harley to work.

The truck parked, the driver’s-side door opened, and Mason climbed out with an apologetic smile.

“You all right?” he said. “You look scared half to death.”

It was strange seeing him here. Her boss. She’d never seen him anywhere other than the diner. She thought of her bathing suit pieces hanging on the line to dry, the string bikini.

“Sorry, yeah. I’m kind of jumpy.” She moved to the side to block his view of her clothes. “It’s creepy now that most of the other campers have cleared out. What brings you by?”

“The diner was broken into last night.”

She frowned. Did this mean she was out of a job? “Oh, no! That’s terrible.”

“Yeah. There was a shoot-out, but no one was hurt. Vaughn thinks it was the same person who robbed those campers from Alberta.”

Beth thought about Hailey. Was it her? But why? Breaking into the diner would only bring more attention, and that seemed like the last thing she needed right now.

“So the diner’s closed?”

“For a few days. I could use some help on the cleanup. How’s the battery?” He nodded toward her car.

“It’s been shaky. I haven’t tried it yet this morning.”

“Let me have a look.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.” She slid behind the wheel, popped the hood, and turned the key when he asked. His shadow moved underneath the crack in the hood. She thought about her dad.He’d be upset that her car wasn’t running right. She felt a rush of shame that she hadn’t called her parents for days.

“When’s the last time you checked your oil?”

Good question. She’d meant to do it before she left Vancouver weeks ago.

“I don’t know.”

Noises as Mason checked, metal scraping. He made a disapproving sound.

“You’re pretty low. You can’t drive or you’ll kill your engine.”

Mason closed the hood with a bang. She got out to talk to him as he pulled off his gloves and put them back into his tool kit. “I’ll give you a lift.”

“Thanks.” She gave him a relieved smile.

“No problem. I’ll drive you back later and we’ll fill up the oil.” He put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “I’m glad I checked on you.”

She thought of Amber, stopped down a lonely road, waiting for someone to help her. Then she imagined herself with smoke billowing from her hood. That’s all it took. Bad timing.

“Me too.”

Once they were on the highway, she thumbed through her messages, wondering if Jonny knew about the break-in. It would be rude to text him in front of Mason, who had started telling her more about the damage. She’d wait until they were at the diner. She slid her cell phone back into her pocket and realized she’d left her keys in her car’s ignition. She grimaced. Just her luck.

Mason glanced over. “I know some tradespeople who can fix the walls and replace the windows. We’ll be up and running soon.”