"Sometimes phones lose power in storms like this." He paused. "We're going to keep trying."
Mia looked at the dark trees through the rain-smeared glass. "He said she wanted me to wait."
"You did the right thing looking for help."
"But she told me not to leave the car."
"Something changed, and you were alone in dangerous weather. You made the best choice you could."
She seemed almost angry at the answer, not because it was unkind, but because it did not resolve the question she cared about. "What if she comes back and I'm gone?"
"Police know where we're going. They'll help her find you."
Evan turned the truck carefully and drove toward the mill. He checked the mirror more often than usual. Near the access road, beyond the trees, a pair of headlights appeared for a second, then went dark. He told Kelly what he saw and kept driving. Mia noticed his eyes in the mirror and pulled the blanket closer.
"Is that him?"
"I don't know. I'm not going back to find out."
There were things a mechanic could do to save a stranger and things he could do that would only add another victim to the road. He would learn, over the coming months, that the difference mattered more than the stories people preferred to tell about heroism. That night he had no time to think about stories. He had one small passenger to get warm, one address to give the police, and a daughter waiting at home for a carton of milk.
Cole Roadside Service came into view beneath its buzzing roadside sign, the right-hand garage bay throwing a rectangle of yellow light across wet gravel. Evan pulled inside and shut off the engine. He guided Mia through the office door before lowering and locking the metal bay door. Only after checking that the engine was off did he close the building completely against the rain.
"Do you sleep here?" Mia asked, staring at the racks of tires and the oil-stained lifts.
"Only when a repair argues with me longer than it should."
She looked at him, uncertain whether this was a joke. Evan decided not to demand a smile. He found the brown wool blanket in the office cabinet, wrapped it over the foil with her permission, and brought her a clean pair of socks from the emergency supply box Natalie had once insisted he keep.
The socks were too large. Mia pulled them on anyway. He heated water, found cocoa mix in a drawer, and placed a paper cup near her stool. Then he sat at a distance that gave her a clear view of both doors.
"Is this place safe?" she asked.
"The doors lock. The phone works. The police know this address." Evan pointed to each item as he named it. "If something changes, I'll tell you."
"You say that like Mommy."
Evan felt something inside him tighten. "She sounds like a careful person."