Deal Of A Lifetime

“Deer?”

Opening her eyes, she said to him slowly, “I thought they’d be bedded down in this rain.”

“I see.” He didn’t see. All he cared about was whether they both survived the crash. Then, as he looked around, he cared even more about how they were getting out of this mess.

* * *

STARING AT THE blur of rain on the windshield, she was glad she was driving the sturdy, indestructible old pickup, because the tree would’ve done a lot more damage to a car than to the twenty-year-old truck. As far as her passenger... She glanced sideways. “I’m all right. Are you all right?”

The man rubbed his forehead. When he took his hand away, Sera saw a goose egg already forming above his right eyebrow. Leaning forward, she pressed her hand to his head.

As he jerked away, his head bounced off the window. “Ouch. This thing is a death trap.” He pushed on the door, which gave a loud whine.

Sera leaned back against her door. The man wasn’t very appreciative. “I was just trying to help.”

He held up his hands. “You’ve done enough already, trust me.”

She huffed out a blast of air. “Fine.” She turned the key. The engine sputtered and died. She closed her eyes and muttered a quick prayer. She turned the key again. The engine ground over and over... Please... The engine caught and she breathed a sigh of relief. She would have to rock the truck out of the ditch. Alex could get in or get out. She gave up trying to be nice. He pulled the door shut just as she put the truck in first gear, pressed the throttle and then quickly moved the handle to Reverse. The truck rocked forward, then backward, then stalled. She tried twice more but with no luck. She looked at her companion and tried to adopt what she thought was a hopeful tone. Maybe she had been too harsh. “We’re a little bit stuck.”

“What was your first clue?” Alex rubbed at the growing bump on his head before sending her a look. “So now what?”

Sera stared out at the branch pressed across the entire width of the windshield, blocking her view. Reddish buds were just pushing into leaf. The engine ticked in the silence.

She cleared her throat. “We walk.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him turn to look at her, but her gaze remained on the windshield. “Can’t you call a tow truck?” he asked.

She debated how to break the news to the newcomer. “I don’t have a cell phone.”

“You don’t have...” His hand slapped his coat pocket. “I have a cell phone.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed a button. The interior of the cab lit up. He swiped the screen and waited. The light went out and the cab returned to darkness. “What the heck?”

Sera drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. If anyone was going to get them out of this dilemma, it was she. He was obviously totally dependent on technology. “Probably no signal.”

Alex looked from the phone to the woman and back again. “What do you mean, no signal?”

“I mean, there are no cell towers on this side of the valley.”

Mumbling under his breath, Alex shoved the phone back into his pocket. “This phone can do everything, he says. When I get my hands on that guy...”

The rain pounded a beat on the metal roof of the cab. Already the windows were steamed up. Sera waited until his mumbling faded before stating what she thought was the obvious. “I’ve got a bush on my side. Can you open your door? The sooner we start walking, the sooner we’re home.”

Alex pushed on the door with such force it slammed into the tree trunk they had just missed.

“Hey, you just dented my door.”

He gave her a steely-eyed glare. “How can you tell?”

“You might have a point.” The man was getting cranky. And could she blame him? Maybe she should’ve shared the candy bar. At least then his sugar level would be up. She slid across the seat, where, although his feet were outside, he still leaned against the truck. “Excuse me, can you move? I can’t get out.”

Rather than move away, he turned, putting him much too close for comfort. Perching on the edge of the passenger seat, Sera waited for him to move away. Rain pattered the leaf-strewn ground around them. When his arms reached forward, she leaned back into the cab. His voice was gruff as he pulled up her hood. “It’s raining out here. Can’t have you getting wet.”

His hands pulled the hood tight around her face. She took a deep breath to slow her heart rate. “I won’t melt.” Suddenly realizing his jacket had a hood as well, she reached over his shoulder to return the favor, which would have been fine if the truck weren’t at a slight angle. When she reached forward, she started to slide off the seat, Alex automatically reached out to stop her fall. Her forward momentum, though, pushed Alex backward and they both landed in a patch of leaves with a soft splash. His arms wrapped around her waist, she lay motionless on top of him. “Are you okay?”

“Am I okay? Lady, ever since I met you it’s been one disaster after another. If you hadn’t—”

Not wanting to hear any more about the candy bar, she kissed him. And wonder of wonders, he finally stopped complaining. Which was all she wanted to do. So she kissed him again.

* * *

ALEX LAY IN the wet leaves. Suddenly the icy water trickling into his ears was of less consequence than what had just happened in the last few minutes. This woman, this monster-truck-driving woman who he had known for a grand total of two hours, had just kissed him. In the cold rain. With warm lips. He tightened his arms around her waist just as she pushed herself away. The only sound was rain pattering down. “What was that about?”

She stood and, gripping the edge of the truck bed, worked herself up onto safer ground. “Let’s go, city boy. The sooner we start walking, the better.”

He lay back and stared up into the tree. Raindrops splatted the middle of his forehead. Had he been dreaming? She acted as if nothing had happened. And that kiss was definitely not nothing.

Putting the confusing double negative to the back of his mind, he jumped up, retrieved his carry-on, and then slammed the truck door, the exertion only partially alleviating his annoyance. He was with a completely irrational woman. His Italian leather loafers squished through puddles as he gripped the sides of the truck bed to pull himself up onto the road. At her touch on his sleeve he wheeled around. “Where did you come from?”

Her brow furrowed. She pointed to the right. “Ready?” She took off down the road. Alex looked back at the truck, hopelessly mired in the muddy ditch. He could stay here and pray for a passing vehicle, or he could follow the country girl. Heavy trees and shrubs crowded the road on both sides. He hurried to catch up. “How far to your place?”

“Maybe two miles.” The woman had quite a stride. She could give Manhattan pedestrians a run for their money. “So you live in the country, as well.”

“Yep.”

He wondered if she had taken offense. “I just meant like my cousin. Do you live on a farm?”

She stopped and faced him, poked his chest with her finger. “Look, I’m tired, I’m hungry and I don’t feel like chitchat. Okay?”

“Fine. I was just making conversation.” He continued on, lengthening his stride with determination. “But what was the deal with that kiss back there?”

Again with the finger in the chest. “First, I don’t know what you’re talking about. And second, we will never speak of this again.”

Despite his best city-block-eating pace, she caught up, and they continued along the road until they left the thickest trees behind.

In the distance he saw a brief flicker. “Is that—” He squinted. “It is. Headlights. Maybe we can get a ride.”

“They’re going in the opposite direction.”

“Aren’t you the epitome of positive thinking? Are you telling me the locals won’t stop for a couple of drowned rats in the middle of a monsoon?”

“I wouldn’t. Look what happened to me. If I hadn’t agreed to take you home—”

He stopped, indignant. “Me? You’re blaming this on me? You’re the one who took her eyes off the road to focus on a Hershey’s bar.”

Sera wheeled around. This time she gripped both shoulders with her hands and stood on her tiptoes. “Cool it with the Hershey’s bar. I wouldn’t have taken my eyes off the road...”

Nose to nose in the middle of the road, Alex had forgotten all about the oncoming vehicle until the headlights blinded him. But he could still see Sera’s wet, white face, her dark, curly hair and lips, made red by her constant biting. He heard the whir of an automatic window and then a woman’s voice. “Hey, you guys need a ride?”

Still absorbed in the stark color contrast of his companion’s face, Alex was reluctant to answer. But of course, he had to. “I do. I mean, we do.”