Brokenhearted Beauty(Divine Creek Ranch 19)(43)

A woman who might’ve been in her late twenties or early thirties jumped out of the driver’s seat and yelled, “What the fuck’s your problem?”

Incensed, Leah climbed back out of her car and said, “Excuse me? What’s wrong with you? I was parked here and you just slammed into me!”

“Don’t get snippy with me, bitch,” the slattern yelled, slamming her door and coming around to look at their mutually crushed front bumpers. “Look what you done to my car!”

“No! Look what you did to my car! You just ran into me.” The smell of coolant rose in the air and steam wafted out of Leah’s hood. She wanted to cry but she didn’t dare show weakness.

The woman bobbled her head and waved her finger dramatically. “I pulled in because you waved me forward, bitch! I got places to go and people to see and now instead of doing what I need to be doin’ I’m standin’ here while you bitch at me!”

Leah wondered where it was she needed to go and who would want to see this woman braless, in a mustard yellow tank top, with grease-stained raspberry-colored sweat pants, wearing white socks and rubber flip-flops. She’d taken time to do her hair, at least. There were two skinny pigtails at odd angles on top of her head that would’ve been cute on a two-year-old. She’d topped her look off with crookedly drawn eyebrows and a lit cigarette stuck in the corner of her mouth.

“I’m talkin’ to you, bitch! I wanna see your fucking license and your insurance papers. You’re buying me a new car.” The sparkle in her eyes spoke volumes.

Leah stood her ground on the other side of the mangled front bumpers, looked at the front of the building, and nearly shouted a prayer of relief. The nice sales attendant stood outside of the convenience store on a cell phone and she was waving at Leah and gesturing at the security camera directed right at them. Then she pointed at her eyes and at the wrecked vehicles. Leah had a witness and there were cameras.

Okay, so the town wasn’t completely decrepit. She still wanted the hell out of it but that clearly wasn’t happening for a while.

Leah pointed in the direction of the surveillance camera. “Lady, you’re about one brick shy of a load. The entire accident, for which you are at fault, was recorded. And if you think I’m buying you a new car to replace your jalopy you’d better think again! I’m not giving you anything but an insurance claim for the damage you did to my car.”

The woman snorted and showed her dirty, crooked teeth. “You think so, huh? You ain’t from around here are ya?” She waved her hands at the damage and her boobs danced with the movements. “This is all on you, bitch, with your fancy clothes and hair and expensive car.”

“We’ll see about that,” she said, gesturing with her thumb at the sheriff’s deputy who had just pulled into the parking lot. Leah waited for him to get out of the car, hoping to get this problem cleared up quickly so she could call a tow truck, her insurance company, and to see about a rental. She’d probably be there until the early evening as it was. The lady from the store looked worried for her as the woman kept yelling at her.

She hated feeling so alone and resisted the urge to simply go sit in her car, ignore the crazy bitch, and wait for the deputy to come get her side of the story.

You can’t do that. She probably knows him. She’ll talk circles around you. Stuff that wimpy introvert down deep and let the tigress out. Pretend she’s a shoplifter and be firm. The law is on your side.

“Now…someone tell me what the hell happened here,” a fat pig of a man in a rumpled brown uniform drawled in a thick accent as he waddled over to the two vehicles. The air carried a whiff of skunk on it as he approached and she resisted the urge to point out the crumbs littering the front of his uniform. As he approached she realized he wasn’t but an inch or two taller than her. She removed the insurance card from her visor and pulled her driver’s license from her wallet.

“This damned mouthy bitch wrecked my car!”

The sheriff’s deputy hitched up his pants, which jiggled his belly and knocked some of the crumbs loose, and growled something into his radio. He looked at her papers and said, “Mizz Woodworth, can you tell me your version of what happened?”

“Deputy, my car was parked beside this pump while I went inside to pay for my gas. I got in my car and before I could even start it, this person pulled in and slammed into my vehicle. What this person is telling you is a bald-faced lie. She hit me. That’s not only my version of what happened, it is also the truth.”

The entire time she was speaking, the crazy bitch was talking over her. The sheriff’s deputy narrowed his eyes at Leah and said, “Are you getting snippy with me?”