Life In Reverse(25)

“Yes it is.” She squeezes my arm. “Okay, have a safe drive and I’ll see you later.”

“See ya, Mom.”





MILES AND MILES of blue sky and bright sunshine stretch out before me. There is something about driving on an open road with the windows down and the breeze blowing through my hair that makes me feel alive. The sweet smell of Ponderosa Pine trees is all around me and I lift my shoulders as I inhale. Snow Patrol blares through the speakers, my fingers tapping out a beat against the steering wheel.

My eyes are drawn to Zack’s rabbit’s foot hanging from the rearview mirror, swaying to and fro in the wind. He and I used to sit on the bleachers behind the high school and talk about driving cross country when we got older. All those plans we made together. Now, he’s wandering the world in a different way—without me.

I’m so lost in my head that I have to swerve to miss the black Mustang pulled over on the side of the highway. But I definitely don’t miss the middle finger sticking up from the hood as I pass by. I steady the wheel, trying to calm my racing heart while glaring at the idiot in my rearview mirror. Until he turns around with his hands on his hips to glare back—and I discover the idiot is none other than Vance Davenport.

I check for traffic before I make a U-turn and double back to where his car sits on the side of the road. As I get closer, and he recognizes me, the scowl on his face transforms into a smirk. He stares down at the ground for a moment before his eyes climb to mine, carefully watching me as I exit the car. Sweat drips from his temple down to his neck, soaking the top of his t-shirt. Lifting his arm, he wipes it from one side of his face.

“You’ve been dying to give me the finger since we met, haven’t you?” I tease, tossing a water bottle at him. When I see the glimmer in his eye, I realize my words have a double entendre. I dig my teeth into my lip, hard, as though that can somehow erase the red from my cheeks.

“I’m not touching that one with a ten-foot pole.” He twists the cap off the bottle and takes a swig before dumping the rest over his head. His hair and shirt are drenched, droplets of water glistening against his skin. It’s not a bad look for him.

“That’s Fiji water. It’s valuable. And you just wasted it.”

“Well it’s f*cking hot out here, Mickey, and I’ve been sweltering in this heat for a while.”

I jerk my chin toward the Mustang. “What’s wrong with your car?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t still be standing here.” He shakes his head from side to side, spraying water in every direction. “I’m pretty accustomed to messing around with cars but this has me kind of stumped.” I walk past him and over to the car, then stare into the open hood. He comes to stand beside me. “You know anything about cars, Mickey?”

“I know how to change a flat tire.”

“That would be cake if that were the problem.” His cheeks puff up with air and he blows it out, scratching his head.

“So why didn’t you call a tow truck?” I cast a blank look in his direction. “Never mind. I know why. You’re a guy and you’re stubborn.”

“Damn straight.”

“Well….” I step around him to the side of the car and notice a bouquet of white lilies on the back seat. I wonder for a split second if they’re for a girlfriend but decide to mind my own business. “I could give you a lift to wherever you need to go, and then pick you up after I leave Eugene.” He averts his gaze then, staring off into the distance for far too long until something weighs in the air besides the unusual humidity. “Vance?”

“Yeah, uh… if you don’t mind I’ll just tag along and catch a ride home when you’re done. He drops the latch of the hood and it comes down with a hard slam. “Let me call a tow truck. It could be a while.”

We sit side by side along the curb as we wait. Vance remains quiet and won’t meet my eyes. After too much time passes, I can’t take it anymore.

“Vance. What’s bothering you? I wasn’t snooping or anything, but I saw the flowers in the back seat. Is there someone waiting for you? Because honestly, I don’t mind taking you wherever you need to go.”

His face is like stone when he decides to let me see it, but again, his eyes hold a truth he’s unwilling to share. “No. No one is waiting for me.”

“Okay.” Refusing to push, I let him have the silence he seems to desperately need. At least until we hear the roar of an engine closing in on us.

The driver jumps down from the tow truck and untangles a cluster of chains, hooking them onto the car when I shout at them. “Wait.” Both he and Vance swing their heads my way. “Vance, don’t you want to get the flowers from the back?”

He stands there for what seems like an eternity, until the driver spurs him into action when he comments that he doesn’t have all day. I watch him drag his feet to the door then open it, hesitating again before he swipes the flowers from the seat.

Vance gives the driver information for the service station as well as his identification number for some auto membership that’s going to save him a small fortune. I wait for him in the car, doing a quick check of my cell phone to see if I have any messages. Already, I have three texts from Anna with additional details for the customer meeting. The door opens and I drop the phone in my purse.