Nightmares

Summertime in Machiasport Maine was rarely a local favorite. Most of the people in town waited for fall to come. Everyone loved apple and pumpkin picking. The crisp cool air. Tourist season would open and everyone in town would celebrate. But fall brought on a lot of work for Rose Cheshire. She helped her mom run the Cheshire Bed and Breakfast Inn, and they would be booked for three months straight. Right now, only two of their six rooms were filled. Two nice couples one on their honeymoon, the other had their children with them. The second couple were regulars who came for a two-week stay every year for their anniversary. They had started coming 5 years ago after visiting for the first time for their honeymoon. It was quiet. They didn't wake up early and there were no kids to care for. It was sweet to watch them walk along the beach.

Rose loved the summer months. The warm sunshine, the cool breeze off the ocean. Kai, her teenage son, was on school vacation. He was always happy and willing to help out with the Inn, which made summers even easier for Rose since they had extra hands. This morning she was out running errands around town. It was almost 11, and she was just coming home from the market. A spiral ham for dinner, with veggies. For lunch, she picked up grinder rolls and had leftover lobster meat from their dinner a few nights ago. Lobster rolls were a favorite of hers, and she picked up a healthy choice of toppings to enjoy. Chips to boot. It was going to be a great day. Hopefully, everyone had woken up by now and her mom had cleaned the rooms and restocked what they needed. She glanced at her passenger seat. Four bottles of local farm fresh wine rocked with the car. Everyone had been invited to dinner tonight. It was one of her favorite things to do. A social meal day where all the guests were invited. Both sets of guests had RSVP'd to the supper.

A love ballad blared on her radio and she was singing along, bellowing out the lyrics as she drove. A loud pop made her scream. Her car spiraled out of control as she sped into the other lane. Another car barreled around the corner, heading straight toward her. She was pressing on her breaks, swearing as her car refused to slow down. Jerking her car to the side of the road, the little sports car heading for her screeched, into a whirl, as it passed by turning a 180. Barely missing her. The Little Corolla she was driving slammed into the underbrush that hedged the side of the road. Her groceries tumbled every which way, and she heard one of the wine bottles smash. The smell of alcohol became overwhelming. Hands gripping the steering wheel, white-knuckled as she shook. Her heart was slamming in her chest. It had all happened so fast. Sparks danced behind her eyes, threatening a blackout. She blinked hard, screaming as something pounded on her window.

The pale face of her closest neighbor, Henry Mason, was there. The radio was so loud, that she could barely hear him. “Rose! Are you alright? What happened?” He was fighting with the door handle, but it was locked. “Rose!”

She was staring at him, but her mind was frozen in fear. What had happened?

“Unlock the door, Rose.” His amber eyes were wide with worry, but his panic was ebbing. Her hand came away from the wheel with difficulty, still shaking as she clicked the lock button on the door. Opening the door, he pushed the bramble out of the way and sunk so that he was eye level with her. “Are you okay?” His large hand rested on her knee, “Have you been drinking?” Reaching over her, he turned the radio off.

Rose shook her head. “N-no… I bought wine at the farm for supper tonight. I think one of the bottles broke. What happened?”

“Looks like you lost control of your car. I was heading to the shop, and we almost collided. I think you might be in shock. Do you want me to call you an ambulance?” He asked, looking over her. When she shook her head, he smiled. “Okay, look, you stay here until you feel a little better. If you want to get out, go through the passenger side. The pricker-bush I’m in is not friendly. I’ll check out the car and see what happened.”

Henry stood, moving the brush so that he could get a better view of her front tire. Standing with his hands on his hips, he frowned down at it. Rose’s eyes roamed over him. They had been neighbors for nearly 4 years now, and they had only a few interactions with each other. He was a very good-looking guy. Standing well over six feet, his short black messy head of hair was always pushed back from him running his hands through it. His well-toned and muscled body bespoke of the ex-marine under the pretty smile he often showed off in public. His eyes never really showed joy though, at least not that she had seen. Something dark was there, a sadness that never really left.

She mostly knew him because she dated his best friend, Sheriff Jace Sommers, for a while. Though Jace had been a great guy, he had wanted to move far faster than she had been ready for, and they had called it off. After that, he’d tried setting her up with Henry a few times, but she hadn’t been keen on dating a playboy. Women were constantly chasing him around, and she had heard rumors he enjoyed the company of many of them. She had been surprised that Jace had even suggested it. Though, there were times she regretted not taking him up on the offer. He was always pleasant when she brought her car in for work, and often gave her his ‘neighbor deal’ as she was paying. And what girl wouldn’t love the flirtatious nature of a black-haired, amber-eyed hunk like Henry Mason? She even enjoyed flirting back, which wasn’t something she normally did.

One time, a particularly pretty patron of his had been standing behind her and asked about the same deal as he handed Rose her keys. He'd looked at her unimpressed and asked, “Are we neighbors, Marry Anne? Did you move?” The petite blond had stuttered for a moment before turning away with a blush. Rose knew pretty girls were often the ones treated like this, so it was weird having this role reversal. Now, here he was, the only car that she could have met head-on in the middle of the road that would be able to miss such an ominous collision.

Leaning to the side, Rose started to collect the scattered groceries back into their bags. She frowned at the floorboard. One red and one white wine bottle had shattered. Her car would likely forever smell of alcohol. Which sucked. It was only two years old and she still owed a lot on it. Climbing into the passenger seat, she slid herself out into the road.

Henry had his phone to his ear. “Yeah, right before the bend leading to my place. It’s half in a ditch so I’ll need you both to come.” He was silent for a moment. “No. Tell them there’s an emergency and then give them a discount. I expect you here within thirty minutes.” He paused again. “Because I’m the damn owner and said so.” He was striking, standing there giving orders. Rose felt her cheeks flush. Orders to come get her stupid car out of a ditch, leaving other customers to wait for them to get back.

“Henry,” she said quietly, “You don’t have to do that. I can wait.”

He gave her his charming, two-dimple smile, clicking the phone off. “I don’t have to. I want to.” He looked over the car. “Your front driver-side tire popped. Come to think of it, I can’t remember you ever bringing it in for a tire rotation. You go to your tire guy for that?”

“N-no… you’re the only one who has worked on it. I guess, I thought since it was new it wouldn’t matter.” She blushed as he gave her a chagrined looked. “Know any secrets to getting wine out of the upholstery? And how much do you think this will run me?”

Crunching threw the brush, he leaned against the hood of her car, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’ll make a deal with you, and it won’t cost you a dime.” She gulped at the mischievousness in his eyes.

She frowned up at him. Even leaning he was nearly a head taller than her. At a whopping 5 foot 2, she was well over a foot shorter than him. “You can’t just give me a tire for free. And I know tows are expensive. Neighbor or not, you are too nice to me. People will talk.”

This made him laugh, a booming sound that echoed in the woods. “First off, people will always talk, and I have learned not to care. You should too.” He shrugged nonchalantly, “Second, you haven’t even heard the offer. And third-"

“How many of these do you have?” She giggled.

A spark lit his eyes, “Plenty, to be honest. But you’ll need four tires, you’ve worn yours bald on the outsides because you haven’t rotated them in two years. Not to mention a minimum of one rim, possibly more if there’s anything else wrong with the tire after what happened. There likely will be more. We'll have to touch up the paint and detail the inside to get that wine out. Not to mention if there’s any undercarriage damage. If you were a regular customer, you’d be looking at over a thousand dollars for this.” Rose’s mouth fell open, she couldn’t afford that. “Luckily for you, your local mechanic feels bad that he almost hit you and wants to make up for it. And I also happen to be bringing Jace and his new girlfriend out for drinks and dinner on Friday and need a date so I don’t feel like a third wheel. Also, Jace and Darla could use a romantic night. I'll do the work on your car, at no charge, if you would give them the honeymoon suite this weekend. If it’s not booked already, of course.”

“I can definitely schedule them for the honeymoon suite. But why do you need me to go on a date with you? There are a hundred girls in town that would die to make sure you don’t feel like a third wheel.” Biting her lip, she tucked her hands in her back pocket, her hair falling into her face. She was too embarrassed to look at him.

“I’m not really interested in going with anyone else. I was hoping to run into you so that I could ask you anyway. This wasn’t what I had in mind, but I’m hopeful it will work better for me than past requests.” He stood, closing the distance between them. “When Jace told me that we needed to get to know each other, I took that to heart. I know you’ve probably heard some interesting stories about me, but I’ll have you know, most of them come from jealous ladies who I did nothing more to than turn down.”

When she looked back up at him, his smile had faded and he was watching her seriously. “So, you’re blackmailing me into a date, and holding my car hostage?” She laughed again. “And if it goes wrong, I’ll be indebted to you.” She blushed, looking away.

“Of course not.” A flash of anger lit his eyes. “What kind of guy do you think I am? I thought it was a pretty decent deal…” he looked over as the tow truck rolled down the road. He cleared his throat, “Excuse me, I need to move my car.”