“See if you’ve got service to call a tow. If not, we’ll have to walk into town and call someone.”
She nods, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself before swiping at the screen. Her face falls almost immediately, and I wince before she has a chance to say anything.
“Zero bars.” Her voice is dry, tumbling from her throat like gravel. I watch as she squeezes tightly enough over my phone that her fingers go white before looking over at me. “What about you?”
I glance away from her, clenching my jaw in embarrassment. My voice is quiet, and I keep my eyes focused on the road ahead of us.
“Forgot it at home.”
It’s a bad habit of mine, especially when I’m in a rush to get somewhere. I just don’t have anyone who needs to get a hold of me anymore, so I’m not very attached to the thing. This is the first time in a while that I’ve felt truly bad for leaving it behind.
“Right. Excuse me for a moment?”
She steps out of the car without waiting for me to respond, and I watch hesitantly as she closes the door behind her and proceeds to wander a few feet away. She’s holding her phone up into the sky, one hand shading her eyes as she hopes for a magical signal. I know this area well enough to know that she’s not going to get anything, but I’d feel bad telling her not to try. I doubt she’d listen to me, anyway.
I jolt in my seat when I hear her shout, unbuckling my seatbelt, so I can jump out of the car as quickly as I can manage.
“Fucking useless!” she shouts as I make it free.
She’s gripping her phone in both hands, yelling at it like it can hear her. Even when I’ve managed to get under her skin, she doesn’t usually lose her composure so completely, and I find myself wanting to look away. I’d known she was feisty from the look in her eye every time she insists I call her Mary, but I didn’t realize she had quite this much fire in her.
She must hear my door close behind me, because she whirls on the heels of her ankle-high boots with a scowl, her face positively stormy.
I almost expect her to stomp over and blame the whole thing on me, but she clenches her free hand into a fist and closes her eyes for a long moment. I watch her very obviously swallow down her frustration, smoothing her face out of the angry snarl it’s set in. She takes several deep breaths.
It’s kind of startling to see her eyes snap open and watch her paste a wide smile on her face. The difference is so stark that I have to blink several times to confirm what I’m seeing.
“Not much of a choice, I guess,” she chirps. “This way, right? Let’s go.”
And then I’m left blinking after her as she marches right past me, down the exit ramp, hips swaying with every step. It takes me a long moment to get my feet moving, and I’m glad she doesn’t look back to make sure I’m following her.
I don’t think she’d take very kindly to the sight of me grinning while I watch her stride confidently down the shoulder of the highway in her snappy clothes and sexy boots.
Even if it is the best damn sight I’ve seen in a long time.
EVERETT
The cheerful red and white awning over the front door of the diner is a welcome sight for both of us. Even more welcome is the mechanic’s business sign tucked behind a gas station right across the street. Things are finally looking up. Some air conditioning and food might be able to salvage the day.
I nod at the door. “Go on over to the diner and get some food. I’ll go across the street and see if I can get the mechanic to tow your car and fix it.”
Mary’s brows furrow, and she shakes her head.
“It’smycar. I’m not going to sit in the diner just because you’re a man.”
I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. I should’ve known that she’d misinterpret me.
“What are you planning on doing over there?” I ask. “You don’t know anything about cars, and they’re going to charge a city girl like you an arm and a leg. Just let me handle it.”
I’m not great with words, but I hope she understands that I’m just trying to be helpful here. She’s trying to help me, and I’ve done nothing to make that easy on her. The least I can do is lend a hand with something I’m actually halfway decent at—looking kind of intimidating and not letting people scam me out of money.
She stares at me for another long moment, considering, before finally huffing a sigh out through her nose.
“Fine.” She throws her hands in the air. “I’ll go sit in the diner and be good.”
I roll my eyes as she turns her back on me, but I can’t help watching her hips move beneath her skirt. She looks too damn good for my peace of mind, and I can’t tell if I’m glad for it or not.
The little mechanic shop is tucked behind a gas station boasting a whopping two pumps and a half broken sign. There are about seven trucks parked around it, all of them at least 30 years old. It bodes poorly for the possibility of them stocking parts that will fit Mary’s car.
