Chapter 4 THREE

Rhian was fortunate to have a diner nearby. Her car began to smoke only fifty miles outside of Binan. Her entire life was crammed into the trunk in a series of tote bags and grocery sacks, some luggage, and a long crate that she barely had room for. The rest was in heavy rope-strapped boxes on the roof of her small sedan.

She was skilled at tying knots. Her father would not allow her to join any wilderness groups as a child, but she did manage to accompany her younger brother on all of his Boy Scout adventures. She could do everything from the bowline to the clove hitch to the sheet bend.

She had a business idea (and she had dozens of them) to open a small shop for young women to learn how to do all the things that were normally reserved for boys. An hour with knots would buy them some time. Basic auto maintenance could be completed in two hours. Power tools, for example, would be covered in three hours.

This venture arose from her desire to be away from her father for an extended period of time, as did much of her obsession with earning enough money to never return to her hometown again. Perhaps indefinitely.

She had been free of her father's prying ways for four years. She moved to Calamba after graduating from high school, where she studied English and Philosophy at the Lyceum of the Philippines University Laguna. Her grades were good, and the university had covered all of her expenses.

She was returning to Binan broke, fresh from a break-up, with no internships or interviews lined up, her tail between her legs—and now, of course, she would have to call her father to come pick her up and save her skin. An unlucky start for someone hoping to be free of her parents for good.

Rhian's mother had been overjoyed when she received word of her only daughter's return the day before, when Rhian made the phone call.

"That's fantastic! Your room is exactly how you left it. Oh, and! " Rhian could hear her rustling around on her kitchen desk. "I'll call Jonas and inform him. Did you know he's not married? Isn't it surprising that he's the mayor's son and that he's single? ”

"Oh, Mom..." the thought of dealing with a native of their city sent a shiver down her spine. “No. Don't even begin."

Her mother quickly changed the subject, but Rhian was pretty sure Jonas Santos would be expecting a date by the time she got home.

She had missed her mother more than she had missed her father. The cactus patches on the side of the road, the deep brown flatness of the land, the long winding sky that went on past the curve of the horizon, wind mill farms positioned every few dozen miles and swallowing up the sky with their long rotating blades—there was a lot about West Laguna she hadn't missed, though seeing it around her now brought on a strange sense of nostalgia.

Yes, it was familiar and friendly, but her mother's expectation that she would want to stay here forever was beyond Rhian's comprehension. It would be the equivalent of settling on the moon.

Rhian wasn't entirely sold on the idea of another relationship after her breakup with Simon.

Simon hadn't been particularly bad. It might have been better if he hadn't been—at the very least, Rhian would have a negative image of everything she didn't want in a relationship. Simon, on the other hand, was nice, caring, attentive, and cute—Rhian just didn't feel anything for him. The break-up conversation felt more like she was changing her checking account than changing her life.

Worse, Simon appeared to be feeling the same way. Leaving Rhian was not something he was looking forward to.

Rhian wasn't entirely sold on the idea of another relationship after her breakup with Simon.

Simon hadn't been particularly bad. It might have been better if he hadn't been—at the very least, Rhian would have a negative image of everything she didn't want in a relationship. Simon, on the other hand, was nice, caring, attentive, and cute—Rhian just didn't feel anything for him. The break-up conversation felt more like she was changing her checking account than changing her life.

Worse, Simon appeared to be feeling the same way. Leaving Rhian was not something he was looking forward to.

Some of her classmates had dubbed her the "Ice Queen" at school. She wasn't an Ice Queen, for sure—she liked boys too much, and she'd had a regular boyfriend on top of that until two months ago. But she could still be the Ice Queen, the one who used a shovel to get rid of the snakes that are crawling onto their driveway or the one who got rid of the giant spiders that landed in their bathroom.

She once forgot to write a history essay and found out during class that it was due that day. She dashed back to her dorm, scribbled the essay, and handed it in before class ended. Her professor graded her with an A. Rhian had a wonderful command of the English language.

She stepped outside with a fire extinguisher in hand once the car was safely off the highway and into the diner parking lot. The day was hot—hotter than it was supposed to be, with temperatures easily exceeding forty degree Celcius. It was a dry heat, and she could feel the moisture suck from her skin like she was walking through a giant vacuum cleaner.

She quickly covered the hood in the CO2 slurry spewing from the extinguisher. Her knees felt a little weak as she breathed hard, but her actions were all nerves. She took a rag from the trunk that held all of her belongings and popped the hood. Heat and smoke rushed into her face, forcing her to take a step back. She sprayed the extinguisher once more, knowing that it was probably doing something bad to the insides of her car.

That was fine, though. So long as everything stopped burning.

The smoke cleared after a few minutes. The extinguisher's soupy sludge hissed and chattered as it slid down the engine chassis. She didn't know much about cars, but it appeared that something metallic had melted. She was wise enough to realize that was a bad idea.

Her best guess was that the radiator had overheated from the day. During the hot Binan summers, her father would always advise her to drive with an extra tank or two of water in the back. It had come in handy for him more than once. She had tried to forget such things—had tried to forget a lot about her life in Binan. It was not a friendly place for her. A heavy-duty motorcycle pulled off the road just behind Rhian, and its rider walked toward her now.

Rhian had to come to a halt and watch him approach. That was the type of man he was. Tall and muscular. He was dressed in a tight black t-shirt that was practically painted to his heavily chiseled body underneath. Long sexy lines and delicate ink shapes adorned his steel-hard skin on his arms.

As she watched his pectorals shift, she felt something akin to hypnosis. A dark and thick beard was trimmed close to his chin. His gaze pierced Rhian, and she felt both under-dressed and over-dressed.

She was overdressed because that kind of stare from that kind of man made her feel almost naked. She was under-dressed because that kind of stare from that kind of man made her want to strip naked. He was sex personified, and she wasn't sure she could handle another round in the bed with him.

And a part of her was itching to find out.

Her hair was long and chestnut, and she pushed it to one side as he approached, unsure how to approach the use of that fleshy thing between her teeth.

Was it referred to as a tongue? Words failed her, abruptly ending an alliance formed years ago when she bought her first book of poetry at a swap meet.

"Radiator's shot," he said, looking over the damage. "That's what you get for choosing a foreign vehicle."

She tried to keep her cool and say something intelligent. "Who fires a radiator?" ”

Rhian, you're right. Very astute. Allow him to think you're an idiot, and allow him to relax his guard.

He smiled, though, and gave her a long, up-and-down glance. He was grateful and made a sound decision in his head. He was holding a leather jacket vest with dark white and red patches on the surface. She couldn't make out any of them.

Rhian was hoping in vain that he liked what he saw. It was stupid, idiotic, really, because she was a woman with a personality and a goddamn college degree. She was more than a pair of long legs in skinny jeans and a pair of breasts in a slim shirt, she was more than a piece of meat. But something about this man, something about his vibe, something about his scent made her want to be seen as a piece of meat.

"I meant it got overworked." Most likely from—"

"I know it's because of the heat. I was joking, of course. I'd been on the road for six hours and hadn't stopped. It's all my fault." Her clumsy reluctance was quickly replaced by clumsy babbling. "I should have brought water, but there wasn't enough space in the car with everything else." You know, it's my entire life in there, and I just.... well. I'm trying to establish myself in Binan for a while, and I couldn't leave anything behind, so—"

“Binan?" He grinned. "Hell, I'm from there as well. "Hi, my name is Grim."

He extended his hand. It was large and calloused, nearly twice the size of Rhian's. She took it with a firm grip. Rhian had spent a lot of time practicing her handshake on frat boys in Calamba, and she knew it was easily on par with theirs.

It didn't appear to be on par with Grim's—but then, he didn't try to squeeze her fingers off like those idiots in Calamba.

"Rhian," she introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Grim? ”

He laughed. "I take it you don't know anyone else named Grim."

"Did you?”

"It's a nickname; I'll explain more later."

"Oh yeah? How's that? You going to follow me home?" she asked, slightly cocking her hip.

"Perhaps," he said, motioning to his truck, "you're going to need a ride." "If you want, I can assist you; I make it a point to assist people in need, particularly in Binan."

"We're not from Binan."

"No, but you're from there; do you want my assistance or not?" he said, shrugging.

Not a man who wanted his time wasted. She licked her lips, picturing herself in the truck with this man. Wondering where his hands might wander. He didn't appear to be a man who said "no" often...or at all. If he did hear it, he was not the type of man to pay attention. He was the type of man who always knew what was best...and could back it up.

Her heart fluttered.

“Thank you,” she said, “but no. I have family I can call. They’ll want to see me anyway. I haven’t been with them for quite some time.”

He smiled. “I’ll see you around, then, Rhian. I’ll see you real soon.”

It almost sounded like a threat, coming from him. He didn't appear to be a man who said "no" often...or at all. If he did hear it, he was not the type of man to pay attention. He was the type of man who always knew what was best...and could back it up.