“You’re welcome,” she breathes.
Silence falls between us, eyes locked. We stay that way for a heartbeat as the tension rises. I snap my gaze away. Maggie clears her throat, reaffirming her grip on the wheel, her focus back on the highway. Ten minutes later, the outline of a gas station pops up on the horizon. Thank god. The awkward in thislittle van is stifling. We’re like one step forward and three back when it comes to being in the same space.
My stomach grumbles, but when I check my banking app, it’s in the red.
Again.
Three hundred came out for electricity this morning. All of the bills come out of my account. Mom’s still has a reasonable amount in it, but I won’t touch that.
I swipe a hand through my hair, muttering, “Fuck me.”
Maggie glances at me with a tight smile. I wouldn’t have been able to pay for the gas to make it to the next event and back home, anyway. I flip Kales a text for funds and toss my phone on the dash. Maggie pulls into the gas station, parking before she kills the engine. “You want something?”
Gaze set on my phone, I pluck it up, but there’s no reply from Kales.
“Nah, I’m good.”
Maggie worries her bottom lip through her teeth as she nods and climbs out, wandering toward the gas station store. I run both hands down my face. “Christ.”
It’s not like it’s the first time we’ve gone without when the ranch bills come out, but I’d forgotten the power bill was due this week.
Fuck, I’m an idiot.
A broke, hopeless idiot.
Five minutes pass before the driver’s door opens and Maggie slides into her seat with a bag full of items. She places a to-go coffee in the small holder on the dash by the steering wheel and then hands me one.
“I said I was good.” The words come out too harsh. But the last thing I want is to owe her. To owe anyone.
“I know, but you look like you could use a little kindness today.”
I stare at her.
How did I think she was irritating before?
She’s—
The bag of food drops onto my lap.
“I got two of everything. Feed me while I drive?”
I open my mouth to reply, but nothing comes.
“It’s okay, I won’t bite. At least, not while I’m driving.” She chuckles, sipping her coffee before replacing it in the holder. I don’t have one on my side, so I wedge the hot cup between my legs and open the bag. There’s breakfast burritos wrapped in foil, two of them. Two bags of chips. Four candy bars.
“Oh, and I got you some shades, cowboy. How do you travel without sunglasses?”
I spot the aviators on the bottom of the bag. Hell.
She pushes hers back in her hair as she starts the van. It rumbles to life.
“Okay, Hadley. Feed me, I’m starving.”
Fuck me. Damn this little woman.
“Wha—” I clear my throat. “What do you want first?”
“Hmmm, chips?” She turns onto the highway. “No! Burrito.”
