and almost helpless.
“Would it be a
good idea to use your phone? I thought the bad guys could trace it. And who
would you call? Triple A? The police?”
He shook his
head. “Not a good idea. We should lay low as much as possible. But we’re kind
of stuck here otherwise.”
“We both have
feet. And there’s an exit with a couple of gas stations less than a mile from
here.”
Ethan stared at
her.
“At least,
that’s what the signs said back there,” Ashley explained, pointing behind them
at the back of the road signs. “We can just walk to one of them and see if
someone will tow our car and then fix it.”
Ethan slammed
down the hood. “You don’t mind walking?”
“Of course not.”
She tried not to think of her pretty, strappy sandals and the eight blisters on
her feet. “Just let me grab my bag.”
She reached
into the back seat and pulled out the tote she’d bought at the drugstore to
carry their toiletries. The bag had “West Virginia, Wild and Wonderful”
scrawled over the front in bright blue lettering.
“Hold on,” she
called out to Ethan, who had already started down the road. Ashley pulled out
the sunblock she had purchased as an afterthought. She squirted out a little
and rubbed it onto her face and bare arms. Then squeezed out some more on her
hand.
Ethan had
walked back over to her. “Are you coming?”
“Come here.”
When he took a few slow steps over to her, she pulled his head down toward her
and rubbed the sunblock into his cheeks, nose, and forehead.
“For God’s
sake, Ashley,” he groaned. “That stuff smells horrible.”
She sniffed his
skin. “No, it doesn’t.” She finished her massage of his face and patted the top
of his head. “It smells like the beach. And you’ll thank me later when your skin
isn’t burned to a crisp. It’s noon, the sun is blazing, and it must be a
hundred degrees out today. You’ve got red hair, so I bet you burn easily.”
That comment
got a cool glare.
“Fine,” he
said, touching his face, as if he was making sure it was still there. “Can we
go now?”
They went.
It was
swelteringly hot, cars kept whizzing by, they both were sweating profusely, and
Ashley’s blisters starting to break open.
Before they had
reached the exit, she was pretty sure the blisters were all bleeding. She could
feel wetness around the straps of her sandals, and it felt like the leather was
rubbing against raw skin. But she didn’t look down to see. She wasn’t about to
call Ethan’s attention to her injuries.
Once they got
off the exit, the nearest gas station was still a distance away. Every step
felt like hell for Ashley. It was all she could do to keep from sobbing from
the pain.
But she had
always been stubborn. Always been proud. And there was no way she was going to
act like a weakling in front of Ethan.
He grumbled a
few times about her not keeping up, but in general, he was too focused on their
crisis situation to pay much attention to her.
The gas station
was—miraculously—full service, and there was a garage and a tow truck
available. By the time they approached it, Ashley was gasping from the pain,
and there were tears in her eyes, but she refused to brush them away. Not in
front of Ethan.
A middle-aged
man in a dirty work shirt stepped up to greet them. “Howdy,” he drawled. “Y’all
have some trouble?”
Ethan briefly
explained the situation in clipped tones.
“Fifty dollars
to tow,” the man said, eyeing them as if they’d come in from another planet.
It was a
reasonable price, and they had no other options. “Good,” Ethan agreed. “Is
there anywhere for us to wait?”
“Some chairs
next to the desk there. And there’s a Coke machine in front. Looks like y’all
could use a cold drink.”
“We could use
something stronger than Coke,” Ethan muttered under his breath.
The man seemed
to have heard him because he hid an amused smile.
Before he
turned away, Ashley asked in a voice that only broke a little.
“Would it be a
good idea to use your phone? I thought the bad guys could trace it. And who
would you call? Triple A? The police?”
He shook his
head. “Not a good idea. We should lay low as much as possible. But we’re kind
of stuck here otherwise.”
“We both have
feet. And there’s an exit with a couple of gas stations less than a mile from
here.”
Ethan stared at
her.
“At least,
that’s what the signs said back there,” Ashley explained, pointing behind them
at the back of the road signs. “We can just walk to one of them and see if
someone will tow our car and then fix it.”
Ethan slammed
down the hood. “You don’t mind walking?”
“Of course not.”
She tried not to think of her pretty, strappy sandals and the eight blisters on
her feet. “Just let me grab my bag.”
She reached
into the back seat and pulled out the tote she’d bought at the drugstore to
carry their toiletries. The bag had “West Virginia, Wild and Wonderful”
scrawled over the front in bright blue lettering.
“Hold on,” she
called out to Ethan, who had already started down the road. Ashley pulled out
the sunblock she had purchased as an afterthought. She squirted out a little
and rubbed it onto her face and bare arms. Then squeezed out some more on her
hand.
Ethan had
walked back over to her. “Are you coming?”
“Come here.”
When he took a few slow steps over to her, she pulled his head down toward her
and rubbed the sunblock into his cheeks, nose, and forehead.
“For God’s
sake, Ashley,” he groaned. “That stuff smells horrible.”
She sniffed his
skin. “No, it doesn’t.” She finished her massage of his face and patted the top
of his head. “It smells like the beach. And you’ll thank me later when your skin
isn’t burned to a crisp. It’s noon, the sun is blazing, and it must be a
hundred degrees out today. You’ve got red hair, so I bet you burn easily.”
That comment
got a cool glare.
“Fine,” he
said, touching his face, as if he was making sure it was still there. “Can we
go now?”
They went.
It was
swelteringly hot, cars kept whizzing by, they both were sweating profusely, and
Ashley’s blisters starting to break open.
Before they had
reached the exit, she was pretty sure the blisters were all bleeding. She could
feel wetness around the straps of her sandals, and it felt like the leather was
rubbing against raw skin. But she didn’t look down to see. She wasn’t about to
call Ethan’s attention to her injuries.
Once they got
off the exit, the nearest gas station was still a distance away. Every step
felt like hell for Ashley. It was all she could do to keep from sobbing from
the pain.
But she had
always been stubborn. Always been proud. And there was no way she was going to
act like a weakling in front of Ethan.
He grumbled a
few times about her not keeping up, but in general, he was too focused on their
crisis situation to pay much attention to her.
The gas station
was—miraculously—full service, and there was a garage and a tow truck
available. By the time they approached it, Ashley was gasping from the pain,
and there were tears in her eyes, but she refused to brush them away. Not in
front of Ethan.
A middle-aged
man in a dirty work shirt stepped up to greet them. “Howdy,” he drawled. “Y’all
have some trouble?”
Ethan briefly
explained the situation in clipped tones.
“Fifty dollars
to tow,” the man said, eyeing them as if they’d come in from another planet.
It was a
reasonable price, and they had no other options. “Good,” Ethan agreed. “Is
there anywhere for us to wait?”
“Some chairs
next to the desk there. And there’s a Coke machine in front. Looks like y’all
could use a cold drink.”
“We could use
something stronger than Coke,” Ethan muttered under his breath.
The man seemed
to have heard him because he hid an amused smile.
Before he
turned away, Ashley asked in a voice that only broke a little.
Similar Books
