Read Online I Owe You One by Natalie Hyde - Free Book Online Page A

the first email came.
    Rough road. Spilled coffee. Need new pants .
    It didn’t sound like a good beginning to the trip.
    â€œDidn’t he take another pair of pants?” Zach asked. “He really should have got some good travel clothes. I saw this documentary on traveling in Africa once, where this guy’s hat was eaten by an elephant. A few days later he found it in a pile of, well, you know what. He washed it out and it was as good as new.”
    I should’ve been grossed out, but it was pretty funny. “Did that really happen?” I asked, wondering if Zach was pulling my leg.
    â€œYup.” Zach’s face was totally serious. “I think it’s on the hat company’s website now.”
    I hoped Frank wasn’t planning on being around any elephants.
    Just before we left the shop for the day, Frank sent another email. 17-mile detour. No motels. Sleeping in truck.
    I tried not to feel too guilty that night as I lay in my soft bed in clean pajamas. But then I spied my Spider-Man comic in its plastic cover, and I didn’t feel so bad.
    The next morning, Zach opened the shop while I went over to give Mrs. Minton an update.
    â€œFrank’s on his way to get the transmitter,” I told her.
    â€œIs there going to be enough time?” Mrs. Minton asked, worry etched on her face. “The race is in five days.”
    â€œSure,” I said, trying to ooze confidence.
    â€œWhat about the tower? Is it fixed yet?”
    I didn’t answer right away. I’d been so obsessed with getting the transmitter, I’d totally forgotten about the tower.
    â€œNot quite done yet,” I said. Inside, I was panicking. How dumb was that? What good was a transmitter if there was no tower or antenna?
    What could I tell her that wasn’t a lie? I didn’t know how I could possibly get a ninety-foot tower fixed and upright in five days.
    A man isn’t afraid to ask for help, Wes.
    â€œYou don’t happen to know anyone with a really tall ladder, do you?” I joked. Well, I was only half joking. It was going to take something really tall to lift that tower back into position.
    I could feel Mrs. Minton’s eyes on me. I looked at the ground.
    â€œI wonder if Steve could help,” she said.
    â€œSteve?”
    â€œSteve Anderson. He works for Harrington Hydro.”
    â€œWhy would someone from Hydro help me?”
    â€œAs a favor to me, I guess,” she said. “I helped Steve train for the World Karate Championship a few years ago. He won a silver medal. Now he has that nice tall bucket truck. I’m sure if I asked him, he’d be happy to help.”
    I’m sure I looked stunned. Mrs. Minton taught karate? Was there anything she couldn’t do?
    As good as her word, Mrs. Minton arranged for Steve and his crew to go over and fix the tower the next day. I went over and saw them hammer the bent pieces straight and try to fit it all together again. It was a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. I hoped that it wouldn’t take too long. Mr. Anderson assured me that if they didn’t finish by nightfall, it would be done by the next day. I thanked him and then left, hoping I didn’t owe him some kind of debt now too.

    The next day was pretty quiet at the shop. Windshield cracked by turkey vulture was the next message from Frank. I didn’t know what to make of that. I was starting to feel very glad I had stayed home.
    Tornado warning came next.
    I was starting to wish we weren’t getting updates.
    The next one made my stomach ache. It said simply Lost .
    â€œHe’s never going to make it, is he?” Zach asked.

    Day three had us hovering around the computer, afraid to look. Had Frank made it or not? We didn’t hear about any tornadoes touching down or hijackings of ice-cream trucks, but we still worried.
    When we did get up the nerve to check, the mailbox was empty.
    Finally, just after lunch, another email.
    â€œWell, did he get