Page 21 of Barefoot Lake

She’s out of the cab and closes her door before I can answer. I roll my eyes, turn off the engine, and get out. I walk around the back of my truck as she opens the back hatch of her crossover.

She glances up at me when I come up next to her, looking defensive. She’s already opened the hatch to access the spare and has a tire iron in her hand. I eye it warily. She wouldn’t hit me with it… I don’t think.

“I can handle this. Really.” She says it like somebody who’s been doubted too many times before.

I chuckle because I’d bet there are few things Alice can’t handle. “I have no doubt that you can, but will you let me help you anyway?”

She looks in the car and back to me before shrugging. “I guess… if you want to?”

“I do.” I hold out my hand for the tire iron.

“If you’re sure…” She seems suspicious but hands the tool to me anyway.

I start loosening the lug nuts while she sets the emergency brake and wedges something against the opposite tire so the car won’t roll once it’s jacked up. She really does have this under control. I catch myself smiling. It’s just changing a tire, but she can do it, and I kind of like that.

I also like that she’s still letting me help her. She brings the jack over and bends to set it on the ground near me. My hand brushes hers as I take it, and she immediately hops to her feet, taking a step back. I try not to think too much into it.

I finish removing the flat tire, feeling Alice’s watchful eyes from over my shoulder. I have no doubt she’s making sure I don’t fuck anything up. As I set it on the gravel, the flat rotates a bit and I spot the shiny nail head wedged in the tread.

I stand and brush off the knee of my pants.

“You got nailed,” I announce, crouching down to keep a hand on the upright flat. A beat of absolute silence fills the space.

“I — what?! No, I didn’t!”

I purposefully keep my head down, staring intently at the tire and pressing my lips together to keep from laughing. I know exactly what I said, and her flustered reaction is all I’d hoped it would be. She’d been so efficient and stiff all morning, and I was itching to get a rise out of her. I collect myself and roll the tire so the nail is clearly visible on top.

“You ran over a nail.”

I look up at her with my best blank expression. Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes are still a bit wide. I get the pleasure of seeing her expression morph into one that says she’s so done with me. Her hand flashes out and she whips her fingers against my shoulder as if it’s the most natural thing in the world for us to mess around with one another.

“You didn’t have to word it like that!” She’s admonishing me, but she’s smiling, and her face glows. She really is a very pretty woman, and it’s hard not to like her, just a little bit.

I know I didn’t.

I don’t say it out loud. I remember I shouldn’t be flirting with her.

Instead, I stand and lift the tire, heaving it into the bed of my truck. “Tony can patch it up, no problem. I’ll introduce you.” I bend to pick up the tire iron, holding it out to her. “It’s probably easiest if I just give you a ride over there so you don’t have to put the spare on your car. We can just leave your car here for now.”

She hesitates to take the tool from me but relents and wraps her fingers around it.

“I guess that makes sense.” She looks ready to bolt, but she seems to acknowledge my suggestion really does make sense. She locks up the CRV and trudges back to my passenger side door, with me following behind her.

“It’s only a few minutes from here.” I feel the need to assure her, somehow, that it won’t be so bad.

“Isn’t everything ‘only a few minutes’ from anywhere in this town?” She hops into the truck and gets settled.

“You’re not wrong,” I admit, chuckling as I close her door. I circle the truck, get in, start it up, and back out. I refuse to have another silent drive, even if it’s only for a few minutes.

“Did Rain teach you how to change your tire? She never indicated she was handy when we were fixing things in your house.”

Alice nods. “Yeah. I guess she never wanted me to get stranded somewhere. As for the house stuff,” Alice pauses and chuckles, seemingly getting lost in some memory. “She was like that with me, too. Once she knew I could fix something, she’d leave me to it. Usually, she’d make some joke about earning my keep, but I didn’t mind. It was nice to feel useful.”

I realize with a jolt that Rain had given me the same gift — the contentment that comes with feeling useful.

“You know, your mother was kind of a sly woman.”

“Oh, I know.”