II.

Isabelle stood still in the cramped bathroom as she analyzed her previous thought. It startled her. She didn't even know this man. She gasped as that fact connected with what had just occurred. She kissed Charlie and didn't know him. She didn't know if he was involved with someone and she launched herself at him. Oh no, she was a hussy. She was one of those girls that she despised. Though, in her defense, she didn't see anything that would point to him being in a relationship, but who was she kidding? She was grasping at straws. With the luck she had been having he was probably happily married, with the 2.5 kids, the golden retriever, and white picket fence. She pulled one the towels Charlie had pointed out to her and slammed her face into it, letting out a muffled, discouraged shriek.

Down the hall, Charlie sat in his office a bit dazed and confused. All that ran through his head was, 'What just happened?'

Who exactly was this woman?

He wasn't even supposed to be driving the truck today. His employee, Pedro, had called in sick with a family emergency and he decided to take over. He took a shortcut, the rain started to pour, and then he saw a woman standing on the side of the road. She was beautiful and he got distracted by it. So much so that the giant rut in the road filled with rain water and mud, that he could have avoided had he been paying attention, met the wheel of the tow truck and splashed all over her. He had been so embarrassed that he jumped out of the cab immediately. Even dripping wet and filthy she was still very attractive with her long chestnut hair and hazel eyes, he remembered thinking. He wanted to help her with her car, which had been his intention, but somehow that had transitioned to her in his arms and an impromptu mud fight. He hadn't had fun like that in a while.

There was even a moment between them, or so he thought. He had been holding her in the mud to prevent her from falling. Then, it felt like the pull when one holds two magnets in close proximity. He thought that they might kiss right then and there, but she pulled away.

At first, he had been grateful, but in the back of his mind he had wondered what it would have felt like. Then her attitude changed and she wanted to get in her car and drive away as soon as possible. Of course, in his expertise, that wouldn't be the best idea for her. It also just so happened that she would have to drive with him. He had been only thinking about the customer, he reminded himself.

She had been silent the entire way. She didn't even look at him. He couldn't get a feel for her and that was frustrating him. When Jim made his comment about the mud he had snapped a little. He had since apologized, but the way that woman was making him feel was unreal. Then, after he cleaned up and put on the extra shirt he kept in his office, he caught her looking at the pictures of his family behind the counter. The look on her face tugged at his heart. How could she do that; make him all pent up with emotion one second and at ease the next? What made it all the more confusing was what happened soon after. She kissed him. Out of the blue, she kissed him. It was gentle and his lips seemed to have a mind of their own. It was the perfect pace, the perfect amount of time and, yet, not enough time. She pulled away, thanked him, and he proceeded to act like a klutz, which wasn't new since he had had similar instances in his past, and then he retreated to his office in hiding.

Isabelle Darden was certainly an enigma, one that he wouldn't mind figuring out.

Some time had passed and a knock on Charlie's door brought his attention back to reality. Jim stood leaning against the doorway as he shifted his eyes from the computer screen to his direction.

"Let me guess. The brunette that you brought in is giving you butterflies in that stomach of yours?"

"Leave it alone, Jim."

"Leave it alone? I haven't seen you act this way in a looong time. You like her." He pointed out.

"I don't even know her." He said twitching in his chair.

"So, get-to-know-her." Jim emphasized.

He rolled his eyes and went back to his computer screen.

"Fine. Just want to let you know that she just left."

Charlie's neck moved so fast that he thought he might get whiplash from the motion.

"What?!" He exclaimed.

"I fixed her car, printed out the receipt, she paid and left."

"Why—why didn't you come and get me?"

"And interrupt the intense reflection session you were having in here? Besides, didn't you just tell me to leave it alone?"

Charlie growled under his breath at Jim as he bolted from his seat and went to the customer lobby. It was empty. The garage was empty, too. He sighed in defeat. Maybe that was it. Maybe he had lost his chance. But in his head he could hear his father, then his mother, joined by the rest of the Baker family telling him otherwise.

Digging through his pocket he retrieved his cell phone. He needed to talk to someone; actually he needed more than one person. Hitting various buttons on his phone he started to hear it ring.

"Hello?" A female voice asked.

"Nora?"

"Hey Charlie. What's up?" His older sister asked.

It was at this moment he needed the opinion of his older sister the most. She was level headed and knew him well. An additional thought then entered his brain. Not only would Nora's expertise be welcomed, but so would the words of his younger sister.

"I'm patching through Lorraine. I need advice."

"Uh, Charlie…" Jim interrupted.

Charlie looked up at Jim who was holding a black wallet.

"I think she left this."

Charlie's eyes enlarged as he cupped the phone. "She's driving without her wallet?"

Isabelle zoomed down the quiet road. She knew she shouldn't be going so fast since the road was still slick from the rain, but she still applied pressure to the gas. Thankfully, getting her car hadn't been a problem. After having a tiny meltdown in the bathroom she had decided to keep the conversation at a minimum with Charlie and get out of the shop as soon she could with her car. However, she hadn't seen him the entire time she waited. At the time she hadn't been sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but it meant not having an awkward conversation with him which she jumped at the chance for.

Not long after settling in the lobby area in front of the television that was on, Jim, the worker Charlie had been talking to earlier, had come in and told her that her car was good to go. She thanked him, paid the fee, and eagerly grabbed the keys.

"What a day." She breathed.

The sound of a siren and the image of flashing blue and red lights in her mirror cast her out of her semi-relaxed mood.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." She groaned.

She pulled over to the side of the road and rolled down her window, waiting for the officer to come up to her car.

"Do you know how fast you were going, miss?" The cop asked as he crouched down to the level of her window.

He was wearing big aviator sunglasses and a slouch hat. His lips were thin and his face showed no expression. She wasn't going to be able to get out of her ticket, that was for sure.

"I'm guessing over the speed limit."

"That would be correct. Twenty-five miles over the speed limit."

"I'm very sorry, officer."

"License and registration." He stated.

"Of course," she complied.

Leaning over the passenger side seat, she opened the glove compartment and retrieved her registration. She then grabbed her handbag and dug her hand in, fishing around for her wallet.

"License and registration, miss."

"I know, I know. Hang on."

She started to panic as she dumped all the contents of her purse on the seat. She spotted everything that should be in there except for her wallet.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…."

Charlie stared at the wallet on his desk as he leaned back in his chair. She hadn't come back for it. Probably because she didn't know it was missing yet. He wasn't sure what he planned to say to her when she walked in, but after talking to his sisters his confidence was built back up. They got a kick out of his story and said that if being with Isabelle for that short amount of time had done that to him he owed it to himself to find out why, which meant that he needed to spend more time with her.

"Hey, boss, just got a call from the station. They need us to tow a car to the impound lot." Jim said as he poked his head in.

"I'll get the truck." Charlie said, grabbing his keys.

He saw Jim still standing there with an amused look on his face.

"What?" he asked.

"The car is a red Ford Fusion. Care to take a guess of the license plate? I'll give you a hint. It's the same one that was in here an hour ago."

"No way." Charlie said.

Jim simply laughed. "I'll have Nick take the truck. I think you have something else to do." He said, raising his eyebrows.

Charlie grabbed the wallet and headed past Jim. "Thanks, man."

"Good luck, bro!" Jim called out.

Isabelle crossed her arms as she sat in the small cell. This was just not her day…at all. Of course her wallet would go missing. And of course the officer would say that she was resisting arrest when she was just trying to explain to him that her wallet was probably at the last place she was and if she could just contact them they could straighten this all out. She may have used a few choice words in the process, but she hadn't known he would react the way he did.

Though, this was Mayberry-esque.

She hadn't gotten her one phone call yet. She wasn't even sure who she would call. She was still new to the area and she hadn't made that many friends. Biting the inside of her cheek she thought about Charlie. He did have her wallet. It would be a simple phone call.

That's all.

Accepting that reasoning she leaned against the cold wall. Voices caught her interest as one said, "Thanks, Bobby. I appreciate it."

"Darden, you have a visitor." The officer who had arrested her, whom she had dubbed 'Grumps,' said as he came around the corner.

"Visitor?" She questioned.

Suddenly, she saw his face. She was taken aback at first since he had just been in her thoughts. How had he known that she was here?

"Charlie?" She gasped.

He gave her a little wave and held up her black wallet.

"My wallet!" She exclaimed as she jumped up from her sitting position.

Officer Grumps opened up the cell door and motioned that she could come out. "You're free to go, Ms. Darden, but, there is a speeding ticket waiting for you."

She nodded as her attention went back to Charlie. He handed her the wallet and for a moment their hands touched. She dipped her face a bit to hide any redness that may have appeared on her face. Officer Grumps left them and an awkward silence blanketed the area.

"Thank you for coming down here. I don't know how you knew, but I appreciate you returning this to me." She said with limited eye contact.

"Well, when we got the call about towing your car I put two and two together." He explained.

"Right." She looked down at the ground and couldn't think of what else to say except to try and take back what had happened between them. "About what happened between us before…" she began.

"Yes?" He seemed to ask eagerly.

"It was a stupid impulse thing. It's not even me. I don't know what happened and I'm sorry if I offended you or your girlfriend or wife or…"

"There's no girlfriend. No wife." He interrupted hastily.

"Oh?" She said as the feelings she had been suppressing came rushing back.

"Just me." He stated.

"Still…"

They both looked at each other as if they wanted to say something else, but they couldn't find the courage to do so. So, they just stood there.

She suddenly began to chuckle as a thought came to mind. "I guess you've earned the name Superman now. You've saved me twice today."

"Well, I'm not faster than a speeding bullet. According to the record, that might be you." He countered.

"Hey, I wasn't going that fast. Besides, you work with cars so you can claim to be a 'man of steel'…"

He chuckled and added hopefully, "Does that make you Lois Lane?"

Now, it was her turn to laugh. "Not quite. I won't be reporting on this any time soon." She clutched her wallet tightly and lifted it up. "Thanks again for this and for everything today. I have to go meet up with a speeding ticket that has my name on it."

She moved past him and her mind screamed for him to call out her name—to ask her to wait. If he did any of these things it would give her hope. Sure, she was still independent and, yes, she wasn't going to wait around for Mr. Right, but what if this was him? What if all the bad that the day had brought was so that Charlie Baker would be the bright spot? What if something was there between them?

"Isabelle!" He called out.

She smiled to herself then quickly hid it when she turned around to face him.

"I was thinking that after such a hectic day, maybe you'd like to go out for a nice dinner? It doesn't have to be tonight, but…" he trailed off.

She tilted her head as if to ponder and slowly bit her lip.

"As long as we can avoid mud and police officers."

"I can't guarantee anything, but I think we might be able to manage that."

"Okay." She opened her wallet, pulled out her business card, and handed it to him."Give me a call." She winked and turned back to the exit.

She looked over her shoulder once more and saw him staring at the card with a smile on his face. Her breath got caught in her throat. Butterflies were flying around in her stomach and she couldn't breathe.

It was the best feeling ever. Possibility.