Because she wanted it so bad, she made herself move. Made
herself open the door and take a shaky step out onto the pavement. This was
supposed to be good fun. Nothing else.
Nothing else.
Ten minutes later, they were back in the truck with drinks,
snacks, and another five hours ahead of them. More desert, more flat roads and
the endless dotted line, more time in Shane’s truck. More time to want him.
Shane’s music was hit-or-miss. As the desert swallowed hours
and the sun streamed through the cab of the truck, her sound track included an
obscure Rush album, Def Leppard, and a double live album from Metallica. She
managed to fall into a book on her iPhone. This time it was a companionable
silence instead of awkward.
At least she assumed so. Shane wasn’t talking, but he did
tap along to the beat on his steering wheel. Nevada melted into their rear
view.
“Are you sure we can’t go to Red Rock?”
“It’s a little bit outside of Las Vegas. That would add on
another full day to our travel.”
She sighed. As much as she wanted to see one of the most
amazing views of Nevada, they definitely couldn’t afford that kind of extra
time. She scrunched down in her seat and tucked her feet up on the bench. “So
much for that idea.”
“We’ll get a few good scenic areas once we hit the middle of
the country.”
“You’re right.”
She settled back in with her book, and when he put in
another Metallica album in, she snatched his CD case out of his hand. “My turn
to pick.”
“Driver’s choice.”
“Then let me drive.”
“No one drives my truck but me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you guys in a special
relationship?”
“You wouldn’t reach the pedals without blocks anyway.”
“Shut up.” She flipped through the case. “They’re all your
CDs, so I should be able to pick something else.”
“I like Metallica.”
“So I see.” She got to the end of the case and flipped back
to the beginning. “You do realize you were born in the eighties, right? Your
formative years have to be the nineties.”’
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“Dio?”
“Don’t dis Ronnie James Dio, woman.”
“How could I? He’s from upstate New York. We protect our
own.”
“That’s better.”
She grinned. “But what about this one?”
He glanced at her choice. “‘Wind of Change’ is a lyrical
masterpiece.”
She ejected
Master of
Puppets
and slid in the Scorpions’ greatest hits and cranked the sound. She
sang—loudly and about as off-key as she could manage. When she got a laugh out
of him, she sang louder. “Rock You Like a Hurricane” was a perfect anthem song.
The sudden swerve of the truck and the
pop
followed by a screech of brakes and Shane’s arm slamming her
back into the seat happened so fast she didn’t have time to scream. They rocked
to a stop, and the truck slowly listed to the right. The next track on the CD
belted out a song she’d never heard about loving hard all Sunday morning.
Then silence when Shane cut the engine.
“Son of a bitch!” He wrenched his door open and hopped out.
The road was endless and empty save for a tumbleweed
bouncing along the sandy side. Shriveled plants of unknown origin looked like
singed cotton balls. The sun was just above the mountains in the distance. She
opened her door.
“Stay in the truck!”
She hopped out. “What? I’m going to get killed by a passing
car? Oh right, there are no cars.”
His granite jaw flexed, and shocker—he was silent. He went
to the back of the truck, and his face grew even more grim. She wasn’t sure it
was possible, but it did. He slapped the tailgate and crouched.
“You have a spare, right?”
“Yeah, I have a spare—but I need two.”
She hurried after him and hissed out, “Shit.” She dragged
her hair into a messy knot. The sun might be low, but it was still hot. At the
moment anyway. She’d read somewhere that the desert temperatures were a drastic
change once darkness set in.
Kendall stood in the center of the highway and looked ahead.
Nothing but road. Miles and miles—hundreds of miles, to be exact—of road.
“Get out of the road, Kendall.”
His voice was low. Her skin prickled at the tone. She turned
back and saw what had shredded their tires. A rusted length of pipe and the
half-hollowed-out muffler were crumpled and sharp. One tire was mangled, and
the other had simply torn thanks to the skid into the shoulder.
“I don’t think this is exactly in the AAA coverage area,”
she muttered.
He dug his phone out of his pocket. “How’s your signal?”
She ran back to the truck and grabbed her phone. “I’ve got a
bar.”
“Better than me.”
She flicked through her contacts. “I have AAA, actually.”
“Do it.”
“Sure, I can call them for you. No problem.”
He gave her a stony look.
“Okay, calling. Jeez.” She went back to the truck for her
wallet and followed the prompts. She crossed her fingers as the operator came
on.
“Are you in a safe location?”
She looked around. “For now.”
“Is that a yes, ma’am?”
“We’re on the side of the road in the desert.”
“Can I use your phone to determine your location?”
“That would be awesome.”
“Is that a yes?”
Kendall tipped her head back. “Yes.” A sense of humor was
definitely not in the tips-and-tricks portion of customer service training.
Shane’s firm hand on her back calmed her. His forest eyes were
as serious as the chick on the phone. However, his brand of serious she was
coming to crave. Not so much on the phone girl. He stood close to her, probably
to hear the conversation, but she didn’t care. She liked when he crowded her.
“Based on the location of the closest towing company, I
cannot promise the thirty-minute service.”
“We’re just happy with service.”
She went through the reasons for the call and the tow. The
diagnosis was ninety minutes. She turned and banged her forehead into the solid
wall of his chest.
“Thank you,” she mumbled and hit the End button.
A surprised thrill chased comfort as he buried his fingers
in her hair and held her there. Nothing about him was relaxed, but he was
trying to calm her down. She linked her arms around his waist and soaked in his
woodsy scent. “I’m assuming you heard.”
“Hour and a half? Yep.”
“If we’re lucky.”
He tucked her head under his chin. “Yep.” His attention
didn’t seem to be on her but on the situation and their location, but he
continued to stroke the base of her neck. This was the worst possible thing to
happen to them, and she felt more comfortable with him now than when they’d
started the trip.
What the hell was going on with her?
Where the hell was her outrage and fear? Had he really
gotten under her skin this much? The level of stupid was astronomical, but she
couldn’t work herself up. Not when they were together.
Finally he drew back. “Keep a lookout. I’m going to make
sure everything in the back is secure for the tow.”
She nodded. “Hey, since I’m short as hell, how about you
boost me onto the hood. I’ll make sure we don’t have any traffic issues to
worry about too.”
“It would be nice if someone drove by, but I doubt it will
happen.”
“Not much else we can do.”
“No. That’s true.” He followed her to the front and lifted
her. She still had to pull herself onto the hood and swing her leg up. “Do you
really need a truck this big?”
“The last thing I delivered for my furniture business was an
eight-foot bureau.”
She smiled down at him. “Got a Web site?”
“Yes.”
She pulled out her phone. “Let’s see if my bars are a little
better up here.”
He rolled his eyes and patted her thigh. “Don’t fall off,
all right?”
“Don’t mess with the tires, all right?”
“I just want to make sure the axle’s okay. Two new tires is
bad enough.”
“Just be careful.”
“Worried about me?”
“Hey, if you die, then I get the Heron.”
His lips quirked up. “I’ll be right back.”
She shrugged out of her overshirt and tucked it behind her
on the windshield. The wind was cooling off, but the heat from the engine and
the sun baking the hood kept her warm. The view was barren and achingly lonely.
The desert wasn’t one of her top places to live. She’d made a list of all the
places she’d wanted to live when she was a girl. Small towns weren’t exactly
the Mecca of excitement, but the middle of the Nevada wasteland was definitely
not on her bucket list.
Her signal was spotty, but she managed to get a few texts
out to Bells.
She heard grunts and curses as Shane poked around the back.
“Shane. I’m not going to play nursemaid if you break something because you’re
too impatient to wait for the mechanic.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
She grinned and started another game of Words with Friends
with her mother. “Are you sure you don’t need help?”
“No.”
She winced when the truck rocked and the tailgate slammed.
Oscar would be coming out again. He lifted himself onto the running board and
then into the tire wheel well. “Move over.”
Yep. Oscar was definitely back. A slash of grease smeared
his cheek and into his beard, and his face was dusty. “You got under the
truck.”
He pushed her over a few inches and stripped off his thermal
shirt.
She tapped her cheek. “You’ve got—”
“Yeah, I know.” He wiped at it, and she snatched the shirt
out of his hand.
“Hold still.”
He turned his head. “Stop mothering me.”
She grabbed his chin and turned him back to face her. “Stop
being an ass. And stop grinding your molars. You’re going to end up with a
headache.”
“Too late.”
She got the worst of the grease off, but his shoulders were
sprinkled with sweat and grime. His black tank top stretched across his chest,
and she officially wanted to jump him. She needed her head examined.
“Lean back and watch the sunset.”
He followed orders for once but kept his arms tightly
crossed over his chest. She forced her hand in under his biceps and curled his
arm around her. “Enjoy the sunset. We can stress about the tires when the truck
gets here.”
“I don’t know how you turn it off.”
She nodded to the red-streaked sky. “That’s how. The
situation sucks, but that’s beautiful.”
His shoulders eased, and he hauled her against him. “Yeah, I
guess it is.”
Ninety minutes had been a pipe dream. Two hours and fifteen
minutes later Shane heard the rig before it came into view. The desert played
tricks with sounds, especially at night, but he knew that distinctive engine
noise. It wasn’t surprising that they had to wait out the tow truck. A service
couldn’t chain up his Silverado to just anything.
He smoothed his hand up and down her arm. “Up and at ’em,
Sunshine.”
She pressed her nose into his chest and her cold hand under
his shirt along his back. The temperature had dropped, but she hadn’t wanted to
move from their spot. He had to admit it was a good vantage point. Not one
truck, car, or bike had come along, but it would have been the best way to flag
someone down if they’d had the chance.
“Come on, babe.”
“Holy crap. It’s dark.”
“You conked out right after the sun set.”
“Yeah, I guess I did.” She burrowed into his chest. “I don’t
want to move.”
He tipped her chin up. “Helluva view, but I think I’d rather
get a hotel tonight.”
“Wow.” The wonder in her voice tugged at him. How did she
keep pulling him in?
“No city lights to spoil the view, that’s for sure.”
“No. Not a light—” The howl of a coyote cut her off. “Did
you wake me so I wasn’t food? Or because the tow truck was coming?”
“Now a little bit of both.” He slid off the hood and reached
for her. “Get in the truck.”
She opened the door, and the wash of light showed off a
haughty brow. “Get in the truck please?”
He tipped his head back.
Give
me strength
. “Get in the truck before a coyote thinks that sweet ass of
yours is tasty.”
“Jerk,” she muttered. But she didn’t argue.
He jammed his fists under his arms. There wasn’t a damn
thing out there to block the wind off the desert. He waved to the tow truck.
Kendall flipped on the parking lights. The driver pulled a
U-turn and slowly backed up to the truck. The engine chugged into idle, and a
kid jumped out of the truck, weighing a buck forty if he was lucky. He was all
wiry muscles and a few inches taller than Kendall.
Great.
“Hey. Thanks for coming out, man.”
The kid pushed back a battered 49ers hat, and he realized he
wasn’t a kid at all. Sharp blue eyes shone out of a deeply grooved and tanned
face. “I’m Jasper.”
Kendall opened the door. He turned and stared at her, hoping
the stay-the-fuck-in-the-truck message was written on his forehead. But of
course, she ignored it. She jumped down. “Hi. Boy, are we glad to see you.”
Jasper yanked off his hat. “Ma’am.”
Before Kendall could blaze past him and make friends, he
snagged her hand in a firm grip, keeping her at his side. He held out his other
hand. “Shane Justice. We’ve got two flat rear tires.”
“What did you hit?”
Shane kept Kendall’s hand in his and rounded the front of
the truck to the driver’s side. He opened the door. Kendall tried to unlace
their fingers. He looked down at her and held tight.
“Really? You’re going to get caveman on me now?”
He leaned down to her ear. “We don’t know this guy. I
prefer—”
“What? Dragging me around like a child?”
“If I let go, do you promise not to make him your best
friend?”
Her eyebrows snapped together. “You don’t know me well
enough to say stuff like that, Shane.”