When Finn came out of the restroom five minutes later, Bonnie had approached the woman and was now sitting at the small table next to the little girl who was smiling at her shyly. Finn bit down on a curse and shook his head in wonder. Wasn’t keeping a low profile kind of important?

He strode toward the table, and Bonnie welcomed him with a smile and patted the chair next to her.

“Finn, this is Shayna and her two daughters. Riley and Katy.” She looked at the little girl when she said Katy, so Finn assumed Riley was the drooly baby now happily chomping on a paper cup. Finn didn’t want to sit, but his height and the fact that the females were all sitting, staring up at him, forced his hand.

“Shayna’s car broke down, Finn.”

“We’ve been in Cleveland since Friday at the children’s hospital, and we’re on our way home,” the woman named Shayna rushed to explain. “The transmission’s been slipping, but I’ve always been able to coax it into cooperating. But I pulled in here to get gas, and I couldn’t shift it back into drive again. I’m blocking a pump. The owner isn’t too happy with me, I don’t think. But I can’t move it. The wheels are all locked up because it’s stuck in park.”

“Finn’s really smart. I know he can help you,” Bonnie said, nodding her head and smiling at Finn. Finn almost growled, but Shayna looked so relieved, he set down his coffee and stood.

“Let me take a look. Show me which car.”

“I’ll stay with Riley and Katy, Shayna.” Bonnie held her arms out for the squirming Riley, and Katy seemed completely fine with the suggestion. Her eyes were glued to Bonnie’s face as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Finn truly hoped she wasn’t a Bonnie Rae Shelby fan, but given his luck as of late, that was probably expecting too much.

“Are you sure?” Shayna was doubtful, looking between Finn and Bonnie as if she weren’t sure she could trust them, but not knowing what other options she had.

“We’ll stand right there at the windows so you can see us and so they can see you, all right?” Bonnie said kindly, and they all trailed after Clyde as he made a beeline for the entrance. The front of the store looked out onto the busy pumps, and Bonnie waved them away as she dug some quarters out of her purse, and she and Katy began feeding the sticker machine to the right of the front doors.

Shayna led him to a green Ford Fiesta that had seen better days and stood, her attention shifting back and forth between him and her children, who watched from inside the store. She looked exhausted, and Finn felt instant remorse for his ill feelings. He climbed inside and turned the key, hoping that the woman was wrong. The gear shift wouldn’t budge. He turned the key off and then just to the right, turning on the radio and the interior lights, but not starting the engine. Then he pumped the gas a few times and turned the wheel. Then he tried the key once more. No luck.

He remembered something he’d read once, just a snippet from some popular mechanics article. Funny—he could even remember the page number. His mind was like that, always associating a number with a piece of information. He called Shayna over and had her follow his instructions, turning the key to the alternator position and pumping the gas pedal while he bounced lightly on the back of the car.

“See if you can pop it into neutral,” he said, and felt the moment the car shifted out of park.

“You did it!” Shayna squealed.

“Now you steer as I push. Let’s get you out of the way before we try anything else.”

Bonnie and the kids came trundling out of the gas station, following them to the far side of the parking lot, sure that he’d fixed the problem. But in spite of the small success, the car still wouldn’t shift into drive, and Clyde didn’t dare shift it back into park for fear he wouldn’t be able to get it out again. He tried everything he could think of and then looked at the young mother in defeat. Her jaw was clenched, and she was blinking hard, and he could tell she was about to cry.

“How far is home?” he asked.

“We live in Portsmouth.”

“Where’s Portsmouth?

“It’s directly south of here, about a three hour drive. My in-laws live in North Carolina so they can’t help, but I can call my parents. They both work, though, and can’t leave until after six.” It was now noon.

“Husband?”

“My husband’s in Afghanistan.”

Well, shit.

“Finn?” Bonnie only had to say his name, and he knew what she wanted. She waited, her eyes on his.

“We’ll take you home.” Clyde said before he could think too hard about it. “It’s not that far out of our way.” Just three hours.

“I can’t leave the car. I have to get it back to Portsmouth, and I can’t pay to have it towed all that way.” Shayna was trying to hold it together, but the loss of the car was apparently the last straw.

“Finn?”

Clyde had no idea why that one word was so effective coming out of Bonnie’s lips, but he found himself suggesting something so horrendous he had to question if Bonnie used her voice to carry out mind control. Maybe that’s why she was a super star.

“We’ll pull it behind the Blazer. I’ve got a hitch, and I can get my hands on some chains. It’ll be slow going, but we’ll get you home.”

Bonnie beamed at him. Yep. Mind control.

Finn went to secure some chains and Bonnie bustled around rearranging bags and boxes to clear out the middle seat. Shayna took what she needed from her car, and the women went back inside for a final bathroom break.