Outage (Powerless Nation #1) Read Free Page A

like my driving I’d be happy to let you out here.”
    “I think your driving is fantastic. It’s just your shifting that could use a little work.” The truck let out a grinding sound of agreement as she tried for fourth. The timing of it was too perfect and Dee couldn’t hold back a giggle.
    “Okay, maybe it’s my second time.”
    Mason’s smile lit up his face. “Don’t worry, you’ll get it with some practice. This is a great old truck. They don’t make them like this any more. Is it yours?”
    “No, it belongs to my grandfather. He's a farmer.”
    “That would explain the tools in back.”
    Dee appreciated that he was trying to make conversation, but it was all kind of awkward, especially since she had to concentrate on changing gears without grinding.
      “I take it you're just visiting then?” said Mason.
      “You’re full of questions, aren’t you?”  
    Maybe it had been a bad idea to stop for him. In Maryland she wouldn’t have dreamed of picking up a hitchhiker, but knowing she was heading back home now had made her reckless. Dee glanced at her passenger again. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt that fit him snugly. Natalie would approve of his well-muscled physique even though he looked dusty and tired. She wondered how long he’d been walking.
    She changed the subject. “Do you know where the bus station is in Lookout Falls?”
    “Bus station?” he asked, drawing out the words.
    “Yeah, you know,” she said. “As in the station where the buses are?”
    “I know what a bus station is,” he said, not seeming the least put out by her tone. “Just trying to think if there's one closer than Spokane.”
    “Spokane?” said Dee, not quite keeping a wail out of her tone. “What about Louisville?” That was the next town past Lookout Falls.
    “It's not 'Loo-ee-ville.' Around here they say 'Loo-iss-ville.' They've got the nearest McDonalds, but no bus terminal. Anyway, why would you need a bus when you've got this amazing truck?”
    “Somehow I doubt it could get me all the way to Maryland,” Dee said wryly. “I'd end up like you, with my thumb out, hoping a serial killer didn't pick me up.”
    “Uh-oh, should I be scared?” said Mason, sliding away from her and against the door.
    “Of course. Don't you know I'm taking you back to my lair to dismember you?”
    “Your lair at the bus station in Spokane?”
    “If only,” she said. “It looks like I'm only going as far as Lookout Falls today. Sorry I can't take you further.”
    “No problem,” said Mason. “I don't have to be anywhere.”
    “Where are you headed, anyway?”
    “Oh, around,” was his vague answer.
    “Are you far from home?” she tried again.
    “Not far enough.”
    Dee glanced over at him. His lips were pressed together in a thin line and his hands were clenched in fists so tight that his knuckles were white. She’d obviously touched on a sensitive subject and she searched for something to say.
    At that moment the engine died.
    They were just coming out of a curve and Dee struggled to straighten the wheel. She was going too fast to make the correction and the brakes were slushy. The truck's wheels slipped off the side of the road and a tree loomed in front of them. “Hold on!” she tried to shout, but it was already too late. She heard a loud crack and then darkness closed in.

    When Dee woke up she was lying across the bench seat of the truck and looking into a pair of dark, concerned eyes. She tried to sit up, but Mason held her down. “Just wait a minute. You practically took out the steering wheel with your forehead. I've got a first aid kit in my pack. I'll be right back.”
    Dee closed her eyes for a minute, and when she opened them again she felt warm hands on her face. “Don't go to sleep, darlin'. Let's see how bad that cut is. This might sting a bit.”
    It did sting, but Dee kept her gaze steady on his face. Had he just called her darling? A lock of dark wavy hair fell over his forehead