Chapter 15
Becka
What on Earth was going on?
I had no idea, but I didn't like the look on Randy's face as he scrambled out of the limo – on the wrong side, no less. Under the glare of our headlights, he looked worried and maybe even scared.
Until now, I hadn't even realized that Randy was the one driving. If Ihadknown, I might've insisted on handling this myself regardless of what Jack said.
A few months earlier, I'd met Randy through my sister, who'd first methimwhen she'd been waitressing at the local waffle house. It's not like I'd call Randy a friend, but I liked him. He was nice and friendly – a lot friendlier than Jack Ward, that's for sure.
Without pausing to think, I pushed open my car door. Shutting it behind me, I strode toward them, calling out to Randy, "What's going on?"
But it wasn't Randy who answered. It was Imogen, who looked to me and yelled, "Go away! We don't want any."
I felt my jaw clench.Any what?
Whoop-ass?Because that's exactly what I felt like giving her.
By now, I'd had more than enough. I strode forward and sidled up to Randy, who was watching with obvious concern as Jack Ward yanked open the limo's driver's side door.
I called out to Jack, "Wait, what are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" he said, ducking into the limo.
Talk about a non-answer.I lunged forward and yanked open the passenger's side door. I lowered my head and looked inside just in time to see Jack settle himself into the driver's seat. He was holding the screwdriver in his right hand as if he were getting ready to attack the steering column.
"Wait!" I pointed to the screwdriver. "What are you gonna do with that?"
From behind me, Randy grumbled, "He's gonna ruin the limo, that's what."
I asked Jack, "Is that true?"
He replied, "You want this thing moved or not?"
"Of course I want it moved," I said, "but not if it ruins anything."
"Don't worry," he said. "It's fixable."
"But why not just ask for the keys? Or better yet, ask Randy to move it himself?" I gave Jack a hard look. "I know he would if you'd just ask nicely."
With cool deliberation, Jack lowered the screwdriver. With something like a smile, he said, "You wanna try that? Go ahead. I'll wait."
For some reason, his smile – as subtle as it was – was making me just a little bit nervous.
Obviously, he knew something that I didn't.But hey, I knew something, too, and I was perfectly willing to share it. "You know," I said, "sometimes politeness goes a long way in solving problems."
His eyebrows lifted. "Is that so?"
"Definitely. And if you wait, I'll prove it." With sudden inspiration, I said, "First, just get out of the car, okay?"
When he made no move, I said, "Please? I mean, it's hard for me to focus when I'm worried about you ruining something."
More to himself than to me, he said, "This should be good."
I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but it didn't matter. To my surprise, he actually listened to what I was saying and pushed open the driver's side door. A moment later, he was standing outside like the rest of us.
Randy and I were on the passenger's side, while Jack and Imogen were on the other. Forcing a sunny smile, I turned to Randy and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Now, will you please do us a huge favor and move the limo?"
