Roadside Assistance by Amy Clipston Read Free Book Online Page A

Oh, Whitney had to stay for some cheerleader meeting.”
    “Right.” Darlene smiled. “I’m glad you had a good day.” Her brow furrowed. “Let me know if you want me to help you straighten your hair. You could pull it up in a cute clip tomorrow if you’d like. And I bet Whitney has a cute dress you could borrow too. You could even think about wearing a little bit of makeup.”
    “Thanks,” I said with a tight smile. “I’ll think about it.” Did the woman sit around all day and think of ways to criticize me? And for a second there I’d thought she was actually interested in me. Groaning, I trotted up the stairs and dumped my bag in my room before tapping on my dad’s door.
    “Come in,” he called.
    I pushed the door open, and it creaked in response. The room over the garage was T shaped. At the top of the T was a love seat in front of a flat-screen television, and behind the love seat sat a computer desk and chair. A double bed, two bureaus, and nightstand were in the long part of the room.
    My dad sat at the computer desk staring at his résumé displayed on the screen in front of him. He leaned back in his chair and grinned. “Hey, Baby Doll. How was your day?”
    “Pretty good.” I sat on the back of the sofa and opened the bottle of water. “How about yours? I saw that the trailer is gone.”
    “Yup.” He laced his fingers behind his head. “I took care of that this morning and also scoped out the dealerships around town. I hope to start distributing my résumé around tomorrow. I want to polish it just a little bit more. Would you proofread it for me later on?”
    “Of course I will.” I took a sip of water. “I bet it’ll be hard for you to go from being the boss to being an employee again, huh?”
    He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I get a job, and we rebuild our lives.” He smiled. “So, tell me about your day.”
    Now it was my turn to shrug. “There’s nothing to tell. Cameronville High is just another high school, and I’m just another student.”
    “No, you’re not. You’re special.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Tell me, did any boys fall in love with you today?”
    I rolled my eyes. I know he meant well, but I hated discussing my nonexistent love life with my dad. He liked to tell me I was this great beauty and would knock all of the boys’ socks off at school, but I’d had a whole lot more experience with cars than I’d had with boys.
    Before Tyler, I’d dated Bobby Matthews for about five minutes at the beginning of my sophomore year. He took me to the movies a few times and to one school dance. Our only kiss lasted about a half a second. Thinking back, I wondered if our lips had even actually touched. Megan insisted I intimidated guys with my car knowledge, and maybe she was on to something.When Bobby’s car broke down the night of the homecoming dance, I was the one who got it running again — all the while clad in a hunter green dress I’d been talked into wearing. He never called me again after that night.
    Megan’s theory hadn’t worked with Tyler, but thinking back on our relationship, I wondered if he’d only ever considered me as a friend and never considered me his girlfriend. We’d spent much more time under the hood of cars than we did kissing. Truthfully, he’d rarely kissed me, and he’d never said the words “I love you,” even though I was certain I loved him. Perhaps I needed that makeover Darlene had offered.
    “Dad, please.” I shook my head. “If any guys fell in love with me today, they didn’t bother to tell me.”
    “Don’t worry. Your time will come.” He crossed one leg over the other. “So, did Whitney give you a tour of the school?”
    I sipped my water. “I didn’t get to see her much.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “Did you make any friends?”
    “Yeah.” I nodded.
    “Good.” He smiled. “Do you have lots of homework?”
    “Oh yeah.” I stood. “Tons. I better get on it.”
    “I’ll