I picked up my cell and stared at the blank screen. If I was smart, I’d call her now and warn her of what was coming. Then again, it might ruin her trip, and that was something I definitely didn’t want to be responsible for.
I briefly considered that I could keep this all hidden from her, but then I remembered where I lived and how quickly news traveled. There was no way in hell I’d be able to keep this secret.
And frankly, Ellie deserved better than that.
I almost dialed her number, but chickened out at the last second. Jeff was supposed to check in soon. I’d wait until then.
39
ELLIE
The loud pop,followed by the wobble of the steering wheel, felt like some kind of damn sign that I should just turn around and forget about this whole trip.
It was bad enough that I had Jeff following me around and yapping the whole freaking way. If he called Ryder, I’d never live this down. He’d likely go on and on about how lucky I was to have a man with me to help me out, and this was exactly why he didn’t want me going on my own.
“Pull over,” Jeff said as I already started steering to the side of the road.
“Really?”
“Yes, you have a flat tire,” he said, acting like I didn’t already know that.
“You know, it’s lucky for me that I have a man with me. How ever would I know that my tire was flat if it wasn’t for a man sitting beside me to point it out?”
Jeff grinned at me, kicking open his door as the Jeep coasted to a stop. “You know, you’re a lot of fun, Ellie. I’m glad we’re doing this together.”
“I know you’ll regret that statement by the time this trip is over. In fact, you’ll be wondering how to get away from me halfway through the trip.”
“Highly unlikely,” he chuckled, getting out to check out the damage.
I looked both ways before opening my door and getting out. Not that we’d find much traffic around here. This road was pretty much desolate, which was why so few took it to begin with. If you got stranded out here, it could be for days.
Jeff let out a low whistle, lowering to his haunches to check out the damage. “Geez, Ellie. What the hell did you do to your tire?”
“What do you mean? I didn’t do anything.”
He ran his fingers along the treads, his brows furrowed as he checked it out, finding more than one nail dug into the rubber.
“Did you drive through a construction site?”
“I haven’t gone anywhere. I just had new tires put on two days ago because of this trip.”
His frown deepened the longer he looked at it. Then his eyes darted around the area in suspicion.
“What? What is it?”
When he didn’t immediately respond, my gut started churning with worry.
“Nothing. We probably hit a bad patch of road back there. Let’s just get this fixed. I’m assuming you have another tire.”
“Of course. It’s in the trunk.”
“Do me a favor and stand away from the road. I don’t need you hit by a passing vehicle.”
Rolling my eyes, I did as he asked while he dug out the spare and everything he needed. If I really had to, I could change a tire, but making sure the lug nuts were tight enough was not something I felt confident enough to do.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
Laughing, he got down on his knees and started changing the tire, timing himself like he was part of NASCAR. Why men always thought they had to do everything in record time was beyond me.
