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Author: Kristan Higgins
“Well, when we got the news, a bunch of folks asked me to take them to the same place, but sure, I’ll take you there. You might want to call first and see if they have any cars available. ”
They didn’t. Ten minutes later, I’d tried the other two rental car companies in the area. The surly driver was right. Oh, this was maddening! Apparently, when the fleet had been grounded, the people already at or en route to the airport (and I would’ve been among them, had I not done my stupid random act of kindness) had been bused to the rental places and snapped up the rather few cars in stock. I was stuck here.
Well. That would be okay. I could stay a day or two. I had my laptop, of course. I could work from my room…let’s see, I didn’t have court this week, so that was good…I had a meeting with opposing counsel on a case, but I could conference-call that one. And maybe I could even see a little more of the park, and that unfinished feeling would fade.
I wheeled my luggage, Coco in tow, over to the desk clerk. “Hi,” I said in my warmest tone, the one I used on Judge McMurtry’s clerk when I needed an extension. “Listen, I have a little problem. I don’t have a way of getting home, so I’ll need to keep my room for another day or so. ”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” the girl said. “Sorry to say, we’re booked. ”
“Booked?” I blurted.
She smiled sweetly. “This Elderhostel group has all the rooms. I’m really sorry. Do you want me to try somewhere else in the park?”
“Yes, please,” I said, a trickle of panic flowing up my spine. The girl began typing…and typing…and typing. “Anything?” I asked tightly.
“I’m super sorry,” she said after typing seven or eight more pages. “A lot of the park is already closed, and it looks like Elderhostel kind of owns the rest of the rooms we do have this next week. ”
“Well, what am I supposed to do?” I asked.
“We have tent rentals available,” she suggested.
“I’m not sleeping in a tent!” I protested, my voice a tad shrill. “Do I look like the camping type? Plus, I was already almost eaten by a grizzly bear! And I’d freeze to death! It was thirty-four degrees last night!”
“Harper. ”
Super. Insult to injury. I turned around. “I’m a little busy, Nick. ”
His face was neutral. “You can come with me. ”
My mouth dropped open. “You. ”
“Yes. I’m driving East. I can get you to an airport along the way. ”
“You’re driving?”
“Yep. ” He folded his arms across his chest.
“How far?”
“All the way to New York. ”
A prickle started in my stomach, reminding me of something before my brain caught on. Oh. right. There it was. My face flushed.
“Take it or leave it, Harper,” Nick said, glancing at his watch. “I’m leaving in fifteen minutes. ”
CHAPTER TEN
AN HOUR LATER, I WAS sitting in Nick’s rented Mustang, Coco and her bunny at my side, a map on my lap. We were heading east on Route 2. The plan was for Nick to take me to Bismarck, North Dakota. All the other airports between here and there had grounded their tiny fleets, thanks to some glitch in an air-traffic-control-software upgrade. Damn computers.
Glacier was behind us, the Rockies towering in the rearview mirror as clouds scudded among their peaks. Thanks, Teddy, I thought with a pang as we left the park, and I turned back to say goodbye. Someday, maybe, I’d come back. Sure. My future child and I would vacation here, and I’d show him/her the spot where Mommy was almost mauled by the giant grizzly bear. Or not. That might be upsetting to a child. Note to self: buy Dr. Spock ASAP. With a sigh, I turned to face forward and fondled Coco’s silky little ears.
Nick’s ’Stang was a convertible, of course. A man can’t have a suitable midlife crisis without his trophy car being a convertible or his trophy wife being a blonde. The wind ruffled Nick’s hair as if directed by the gods of GQ Magazine. Add to this the fact that he wore blue-tinted sunglasses, a black T-shirt and jeans and looked irritatingly gorgeous. Coco, who got quite squealy around Dennis, had thus far ignored Nick. Good doggy.
Nick glanced at me, making me realize I was staring at him. “So what happened to Dennis?” he asked.
“He had an earlier flight. We, uh…we couldn’t get seats on the same plane. ”
“Really. ” His tone suggested he knew something different.
“Mmm-hmm. ” Abruptly, I shifted my attention to the map. “So, okay, the interstate is about—”
“We’re not going to. ” He didn’t look at me.
“But—”
“I know. ”
“Nick, that means—”
“Yup. ”
“Seriously, Nick? You do realize that not taking the interstate will add hours and hours to our lovely sojourn together, don’t you?”
“Yes, Harper. I’m aware. But this is my trip. You’re merely baggage, emotionally and cargowise. ”
“Ha, ha. ”
He deigned to look at me. “It’ll take about thirteen hours, all told. ”
I glanced at my watch. “Okay, it’s one now, so if we take turns driving and drive all night, we’ll—”
“We’re stopping for the night. ”
I gritted my teeth. “Great! Then we can enjoy each other’s company that much longer. ” I smiled sweetly at him, which he ignored. Fine. So we’d stop at some hotel. I’d be in Bismarck…let’s see…I could be there tomorrow by ten, assuming we drove till nine tonight and were on the road by seven tomorrow morning. Not bad. Survivable.
But still. Stuck in the car with Nick. The hum of electricity was quite uncomfortable.
“So. A road trip, huh?” I asked.
“Yep. ”
“Quite the midlife crisis you’re having, Nicky. ”
“I’m thirty-six,” he said.
“Almost thirty-seven,” I couldn’t help saying.
“And it’s been a lifelong dream,” he said, finally looking at me. “As you well know. ”
I sure did. Pulling Coco onto my lap, I turned my attention out the window. U. S. Route 2 was no more than a two-way road, though it was a corridor through the entire Northwest. We’d left the mountains surprisingly fast, and around us were only the Great Plains—fields of browning grass as far as the eye could see, and above us, the endless blue sky, streaked with thin white clouds. The air was cool, the sun relentless, and I was glad to have slathered on the fifty-factor sunscreen, as I burned easily. Towns with sweet names and tiny populations were listed on the map—Cut Bank, Beaver Creek, Wolf Point.
Nick had been quiet since offering me the ride. I was rather sure he regretted it now. For someone who’d blurted that he’d never stopped loving me, kissed me into the middle of next week and was now chauffeuring me to the next state, he seemed a bit…constipated. Perhaps therein lay the problem.
“So, Nick, do you want to talk about what happened this weekend?” I offered, turning to look at him. Strands of hair had escaped my ponytail, and the wind whipped them into my eyes.
Nick glanced at me. “No. ” Then he reached into the backseat, groped around for a second and pulled out a faded Yankees cap. “Here,” he said.
I took the extended offering. “Won’t I turn into a pillar of salt if I wear this? Being from Red Sox Nation and all?”
He gave me a lightning smile, and my heart answered with a quick trill. “Give it a try and let’s see,” he said, turning his eyes back to the road.
I put on the hat. Not only did my hair stop whipping around, my face was shaded, too. “Thanks,” I said. He nodded. “Okay, well, if you’re not going to talk about things, I will,” I added.
Nick closed his eyes briefly.
“Here’s the thing, Nick. Um, that thing you said when we thought the bear would eat us…pretend I didn’t hear. Just a little blast of u
bersentimentality, heat of the moment, death imminent and all that. ”
He sighed. “No, Harper. It was the truth. ”
Well, crotch. “You still…love me. ”
“Yes. ”
My ability to remain speechless lasted roughly three seconds. “And you also said you hated me, too. ”
“Yes. ”
“I don’t think you meant that. I don’t hate you. ”
“I can’t possibly state my relief. ” He took a swig of water.
“And as far as the kiss…well. We were both feeling very nostalgic. Let’s just give each other a free pass on that, okay?”
“Are you going to keep talking about this, Harper? Because I can let you out any place along here. ” He gave me a look, his expression veiled.
“Okay, fine. Sorry. ” I looked straight ahead. The road stretched to the horizon, and the fields beside us seemed endless. Not a heck of a lot of scenery, apparently. I glanced at the dashboard. Super. We were doing forty. The speed limit was seventy-five.
Being a native New Yorker, Nick had always relied on public transportation. He got his license only his senior year of college, something I’d often teased him about when we were together. Back then, on the rare occasions when he did get behind the wheel, he was your basic novice…hands at ten and two, eyes fixed on the road, puttering along at the speed of a limping snail. I could see things hadn’t changed.
“Want me to drive?” I offered.
“Nope. ”
“The speed limit’s a wee bit higher than you’re going. ”
“I’m aware of that. ”
“This car is wasted on you. ”
“Shut up, Harper. ” He reached forward and turned on the radio. Country music, expected here in the land of cowboys. The singer’s woman had left him for another man. Not exactly groundbreaking material.
“I brought my iPod,” I informed my driver.
“I brought mine too,” he said. “But let’s listen to the local station and drink in the scenery, shall we, dearest ex-wife?”
“Oh, of course. So how’s life been, Nicky-bear?”
“Very good, thanks. ”
“You’re a successful architect?”
“Yes. ”
“What type of buildings do you design?” I couldn’t seem to stop the interrogation, but crotch. We were stuck in the car together. What else were we supposed to do? Relive our happy times?
“We make corporate buildings, mostly. ”
“Skyscrapers?”
“Not so much. The biggest building we’ve done is eight stories. We’ve done some boutique hotels, two museum wings. But someday, a skyscraper. The firm is still relatively new. ”
“Do you ever do houses?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Once in a great while. The real prestige comes from the bigger stuff. ”
And prestige was what Nick had always wanted. Maybe to show his father that he was somebody, maybe because he just wanted to be the best. We hadn’t been together long enough for me to find out.
“Good for you,” I said.
“And I’m sure you’re a big success as well,” he said, an edge to his voice. “So many divorces, so little time. ”
“Speaking of,” I said, suppressing a surge of irritation. Flipping open my phone, I was happy to see I had a signal. I hit Tommy’s number. He picked up on the first ring.
“Tommy, how are you?” I asked.
“Oh, Harper. Hi. Um…not that good. I’m really sad. ” He certainly sounded sad. Sadder even than the current singer, whose dog had just been run over by the wayward wife as she stole his John Deere. Was there no Carrie Underwood out here? No Lady Antebellum?
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