“How is she?” McKenna felt obliged to ask.
“She’s waiting for you.” He nodded in the fashion of someone used to tipping a hat, but as long as McKenna had known Parker she’d never seen him wear one. He stepped around her and walked down the hall. McKenna watched him go, but he didn’t turn to glance at her. She’d been dismissed as if she was one of his needy students. Impulsively, she wanted to stick her tongue out at him, but someone might see her and it was a childish act.
“Lydia, are you all right?” McKenna asked breathlessly when she entered her friend’s room. Lydia lay in bed looking pale and drawn, although she smiled. Her right leg had a cast on it up to her knee.
“McKenna, I’m fine. I fell off the attic ladder. It was so stupid. I was getting down a case for the trip and my foot slipped. Both the case and I came crashing down.”
“Are you going to be all right?”
“I’m okay now. The doctor says my leg will heal just fine.” She smiled and McKenna thought Lydia was trying to put her at ease. By her expression, Lydia must have thought she looked panicky.
“I’ll be up and dancing again before you know it.” Again Lydia smiled.
“Why didn’t someone call me last night?”
“You couldn’t have done anything. I was in surgery and then I was asleep from the anesthesia. I had Parker call you this morning.”
“Adrienne called me.”
“Maybe he got to her before you. And you know Adrienne. She’s probably called everyone by now.”
“Can I get you anything? Are you in any pain?”
“I could use another pillow.”
McKenna pulled a pillow from an empty bed and lifted Lydia forward to put it behind her.
“That’s much better.”
McKenna settled into the chair next to the bed. Lydia’s face looked less pale than it had when McKenna had first seen her against the white sheet.
“I’m not going to be able to go on the trip with you,” Lydia said.
“Forget about the trip. You’re going to need help when you get home.”
“I’ll have plenty of help at home. Other than Sara and Adrienne practicing their remedial nursing skills, Emory was here when I woke up.”
Lydia had been on-again, off-again in love with Emory Woodson for as long as anyone could remember.
“I’m just sorry you’re going to have to cancel.” Lydia adjusted her pillows.
“Cancel,” McKenna said. “I’m not going to cancel.” The words had come out automatically, as if she were used to getting her way.
Even hearing that Lydia had fallen didn’t make McKenna respond with talk of cancelling her trip. Lydia was going to be fine. And besides, McKenna had planned to go alone and only agreed to let Lydia come to satisfy their friends. She’d be alone again, but she was going.
“You’ve waited this long—”
“I’m not waiting any longer,” McKenna interrupted.
“But I’ve gotten used to thinking of us both going. You know, Thelma and Louise.”
“Sorry. I was going alone initially. I’ll just go back to the original plan.”
Lydia pushed herself up a little farther. “I knew you’d feel this way. Even though you’d never think of doing this if Marshall was still alive.”
“Probably not. With Marshall we’d be involved in expanding the business. I don’t want to spend thirty years inside a factory, developing newer and newer products, and never see the world.”
“Why is that road so important to you?”
“It’s not the road.”
“It is,” Lydia contradicted. “If it wasn’t that road, would you take the highways or even fly? You want to take that car over that road.”
McKenna stared at the wall behind Lydia for a while. “It’s been a wish of mine for a long time. And Marshall’s, too.”
“Marshall never said anything about wanting to drive 2,400 miles, or wanting to drive that road.”
McKenna refrained from telling her that there were some things that husbands and wives shared that other people knew nothing about.
“Why do you think Marshall had that replica in his office?”
“He liked cars,” Lydia replied.
McKenna shook her head. “He didn’t just like cars. He loved cars. Loved everything about them—the smell of the oil, the sound of a perfectly pitched engine, the squeal of the tires against the road. Every year he couldn’t wait for the new models. Even the new paint colors excited him.”
“I know,” Lydia said. “Marshall lived and breathed cars.”
“I asked him once about the car. Why he had the replica on his desk.”
“Did he say he wanted one, wanted to take it on a road trip?”
“Not in those words. He said it represented a dream. He wanted the freedom the car represented. Not that he regretted marrying me. I wasn’t the tether holding him in place. It was the business. We had so much responsibility because of it, the welfare of our employees depended on us. He took that seriously and said driving away wasn’t in his plans any longer.”
“When was this?” Lydia’s voice was soft. McKenna felt as if she was trying to protect her from the memory of things she and Marshall would never do.
“Shortly before he died. You remember the business was taking a slight hit. We’d begun the custom work and we were pouring a lot of financing into it.”
Lydia nodded. “And then he was gone.”
McKenna felt her eyes tear up. “And then he was gone.”
“And you decided to fulfill his dream.”
She smiled at Lydia, a genuine smile. “It wasn’t just his dream, Lydia. It was mine, too. I didn’t build that car in memory of my husband.”
Lydia gave her a scant look.
“Well, not totally. Building it was my idea, only mine. It was a way to help me deal with Marshall’s death, take my mind off everything. Once I started, it became me. I wanted to do it. I wanted to put all those pieces together and complete it. And I wanted to take it on the road. Men aren’t the only ones who think taking off into the wild is their birthright.”
Lydia held her hand and squeezed it. Then she released it. “I’m sorry that I can’t go with you now.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll have no problem being on my own.”
“Well...you won’t be going alone, actually.”
McKenna raised her brows, curious. “I won’t?”
“Parker is going to accompany you.”
McKenna couldn’t believe her ears. “Parker!” She almost screamed. “Parker Fordum?” She stood up and took a step back. “You’ve got to be kidding.” McKenna’s stomach churned at the thought of Parker sitting next to her in the small car.
“McKenna, Fordum is on sabbatical. He’s a perfect replacement,” Lydia said.
“Lydia, he’s old, has no imagination and he wants to label and define everyone into a neat, little box. That’s not the kind of person I am or the kind of trip I’m going on.”
“He’s not that old. He’s younger than you are.”
“That’s not what I mean. He acts old, set in his ways. He’s too much of a by-the-book person. He would never fit into the way I want this trip to be.”
“McKenna, he’s not like that at all. Parker is a warm, funny individual who loves adventure. Give him a chance.”
McKenna was shaking her head before Lydia had finished speaking.
“You can’t go alone. It’s too long a drive and too dangerous. And Parker could help out if the car breaks down.”
“Is he a mechanic? Does he know the first thing about a car, about a ’59 Corvette, other than how to drive one? And it has a standard transmission. Can he even drive a stick?”
“You still need someone to help you,” Lydia insisted.
“No, I don’t,” McKenna said. She was sorry she’d ever mentioned the trip to her friends. Maybe it would have been better if she’d just called them from the open road and told them she was off and would be back when the adventure was over. She sighed. It was too late for that now.
“I don’t need his help. I built that car. If it breaks down, I can fix it.”
“McKenna, I’m not doubting your intelligence, but you might just need someone with strength to help you along.”
“Lydia, it’s more than that. You and I are women. The whole dynamic changes with a man. We can’t stay in the same hotel room, so that means more expenses. I’m not familiar with his habits, his likes and dislikes in food, his pet peeves. You and I had agreed to eat simple, healthy food and to exercise everyday so we wouldn’t get run-down or develop any health problems. I rarely even talk to Parker other than sharing a polite conversation at a party.” She’d always cut short or avoided conversation with him altogether. And then there was the matter of Marshall and Parker.
“Then you two can spend the time getting to know each other.” Lydia put her hand up when McKenna began to speak. “He’s already agreed to spend part of his sabbatical on the road with you, so don’t mess this up. You don’t leave for two days. You’ll have time to get used to the idea.”
“What idea?”
McKenna turned to find Parker Fordum in the doorway, holding a bouquet of flowers in a glass vase. She stiffened at his unexpected presence, then forced herself to relax. While she and Parker were like oil and water, he and Lydia had been friends since their college days. McKenna usually tried to be at the other end of the room whenever they were at the same event. She couldn’t imagine spending weeks on the road with him. Alone.
“The idea of traveling a long distance with you,” Lydia responded truthfully.
McKenna wanted to glare at Lydia, but she transferred her attention to Parker and said, “I was a little surprised when Lydia told me you agreed to stand in for her on our trip.”
“She’s very persuasive.” His voice was almost a drawl, yet McKenna knew he’d spent his entire life in and around Chicago.
So he didn’t want to go, she thought. McKenna took a step forward, coming up against the bed. “She tells me you’re on sabbatical. I bet you’re trying to finish a book. I wouldn’t dream of taking you away from that. I know how proud you are of the books you write. And you probably have a deadline to meet. I can complete my trip alone. That was my plan from the very beginning.”
“The book’s done,” he said. It sounded like a dismissal. “I have some editing to do. I can do that in the car when I’m not driving.”
“And there’s safety in numbers,” Lydia chirped. “Since I can’t go, McKenna, I’d feel so much better if I knew you were safe with Parker.”
Safe with Parker, she thought. How could she be anything else. He was the epitome of boring. Yet McKenna felt trapped. She couldn’t say what she really felt—that she’d rather spend the weeks having the hairs pulled out of her legs one by one than sitting in a car with Parker clicking away on a laptop as she chauffeured him from Chicago to Los Angeles. This was supposed to be a fun trip. It was her adventure. She didn’t want it spoiled.
“I have my credit cards in case of an emergency. I’ll be careful. Nothing will happen.”
“That’s not exactly true,” Parker said.
McKenna clamped her back teeth together to keep from shouting at him.
“Other than the car breaking down, there are hundreds of things that can happen to a woman traveling alone.”
McKenna groaned. “Not that eighteenth-century damsel in distress story? You’re not my knight in shining armor.”
“No, but I’m all you’ve got.” His voice was stronger than McKenna had ever heard it. She stared at him as if he’d grown horns.
After a long moment, she glanced at Lydia. Her friend looked tired and McKenna felt guilty that the argument was contributing to her condition.
“Lydia, I have to go now. I’ll be back later.” The implication was she’d return when Parker was not in residence. Then she turned to Parker. “Can I see you outside?”
“McKenna,” Lydia said, stopping her. “I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, Lydia, you don’t need to apologize. And if you want, I can postpone the trip,” she told her, feeling true compassion for her friend.
“No. You’ve got your heart set on it. You’re excited when you talk about it. Parker will be good company. You’ll see.” With that she gave a little wink.
Outside the door, McKenna turned to Parker. “I know Lydia’s convinced you that I need a companion, but I assure you I don’t.”
“I was being truthful when I said there were a hundred things that could happen to you,” Parker said.
“Those things can happen even if you’re with me. So since the consequences are the same no matter the circumstance, I’d just as soon go alone.”
“Have it your way. Just don’t tell Lydia.”
“Thanks, Parker.” McKenna smiled. She couldn’t believe her luck. She expected a heated argument, but he was being extremely reasonable. McKenna almost put her hand on his arm and squeezed it as a way of confirming her thank-you, but stopped herself before she did so. “Good luck with the book.”
She walked away, her step a little lighter. McKenna didn’t look back. She knew Parker was staring after her. Despite the way she felt about him, he made her conscious of her body. She was wearing jeans and a shirt, but she felt as if he could see right through her clothes.
The impulse to strut invaded her brain. She could give him a real image to keep when she was gone. Forcing herself to walk normally, her entire body was hot by the time she turned the corner leading to the elevator. She dropped her shoulders and took a deep breath.
“Thank God, I’m going alone,” she said out loud.
She was disappointed that Lydia wouldn’t be with her. Having a companion along had its advantages, but the idea of the open road and the freedom of doing whatever she pleased without anyone to censure her or question her decisions was exhilarating.
By the time McKenna reached her car, an idea was forming in her mind. All the arrangements were made for her mail, her bills, her house. She was practically packed. Since she would be traveling alone, why wait two days? She could begin her trip in the morning. The weather forecast was good for the next few days. All she needed to do was go to the bank and she’d be ready.
Her spirits rose in anticipation. Negotiating Chicago’s traffic didn’t even bother her today. By this time tomorrow, she’d be on some less traveled road and having the time of her life.
This was going to happen, she sang silently, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel as she made her way home. This was really going to happen. The open road, a vintage car and freedom. The old McKenna was out and the new McKenna Wellington was driving to Los Angeles, ready for whatever adventure awaited her.
CHAPTER THREE
SUNLIGHT HADN’T BEGUN to paint the horizon when McKenna hit the button and the garage door started its upward trek. Her heart thumped. After three years of working, testing, searching for parts and finally getting everything to work in unison, she was beginning her journey today.
McKenna slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. The Corvette purred to life. Putting it in gear, she checked the mirrors and looked over her shoulder, ready to back out.
But her heart jumped into her throat and she stomped on the brake. The small car shrieked to a stop. McKenna threw it in Park and sprang out of the driver’s seat.
“Parker Fordum, what the hell are you doing here?”
He sauntered toward her. Getting too close and standing in her personal space, he looked down on her. “I thought you’d try something like this,” he said.
“Somethi
ng like what?”
“Like leaving ahead of schedule. Like disappearing without a word. Like getting your butt into more trouble than you can get out of.”
“Well, who asked you to come along? I’m going by myself. Now get out of my way.”
He stood in the middle of the driveway. McKenna went back to the car and got in the driver’s seat. Before she could start the engine, Parker pulled up the passenger seat, dumped his duffle bag in the small space behind and climbed into the passenger seat.
“The car looks great.” He smiled genuinely. “Will it ride as smoothly as it did in the ’60s?”
Exasperated, she glanced behind her. His duffel bag used up more than the available space, pushing his seat slightly forward. And giving McKenna a view of his profile.
“Parker, get out. Go away. I don’t need you.”
“I’m going with you,” he stated as if it was a foregone conclusion.
“No, you’re not.”
“I promised Lydia I’d take care of you. Now, you have two choices.”
“Which are?”
“I weigh about 180. You can try to hoist me out of here and drive off alone.” He dropped his chin and looked at her with a doubting-Thomas expression. “I doubt you can do that, even with all the ingenuity Lydia tells me you have. Or you can back out of this garage and head for LA with me. Your choice.”
“Parker, we agreed yesterday that you were not coming with me.”
“No, yesterday I decided not to argue the point. It wasn’t going to make a difference, so why go through the effort.”
“That’s exactly why I don’t want you with me.”
“Because I don’t argue?”
“Yes, and because you’re not a companion. You’re just someone taking up a seat.”
For a long moment he said nothing. McKenna thought she’d gone too far. She didn’t usually insult people. It wouldn’t be good for business. And it wasn’t her personality.
Finally he spoke, repeating, “You have two choices.”
“I have one more choice,” she said, pulling the key out of the ignition. “I can stay here.”
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