Will couldn’t detect even a slight wheeze in Drake’s words. “Your asthma didn’t bother you.”
“It did a little. I just took hits on my vape pipe as needed. Although your mom tried to pinch some of my brownie at lunch.” Drake mock-frowned, then grinned. “I set her straight about their magical qualities. Gotta tell you, man. She looked tempted.”
“Probably for the best she doesn’t indulge. But it might have helped my dad loosen up a bit,” Will replied in a low voice as he spied his parents walking toward him. Dad’s expression was blank but Mom had the happy grin he remembered seeing as a kid when he’d done something right.
“Will, I’m so proud of you,” Mom gushed. She wrapped him in her arms and rocked him side-to-side, as she had whenever he’d done something to make her happy.
“Coming through,” Ollie barked from the left, dragging the wrapped stack on the fully laden pallet.
Dad tucked his hand around Mom’s arm and moved her out of harm’s way, while Will and Drake sidestepped the same direction.
Once Ollie was past, Dad stuck out his hand. “You did it, son.” His voice was oddly somber, but his gaze was full of hope. “Always said you could do anything you set your mind to.”
He had? Shocked at his father’s change of heart, Will sawed in a breath. “Dad, when I get back home, we should sit down and talk.” It seemed like an ideal time to speak to his dad about Will’s expansion plans and what role Jared Bradford played in them.
Dad gave a terse nod. “You know where I am.”
Given a gift with one hand, had it slapped away by the other. Will refused to let it ruin this moment, when his friends had banded together to solve a problem.
“Jared!” Mom dug a knuckle into Dad’s arm. Seemed she was of a like mind. “Will, when you get home, you bring Ava and Guin over for supper, you hear?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Now, I know you’re planning to drive all night, but if you get tired, stop somewhere. I don’t want you to have an accident.” Mom cupped his cheek. “I had Dad load a couple of sleeping bags in the truck, just in case.”
“Mom, if we have to stop we’ll find a hotel.”
The lines on his father’s forehead deepened. “William Bradford, those bags aren’t taking up extra space. Just nod and promise your mother you’ll be careful. It doesn’t cost anything to make her happy,” he instructed in a steely voice.
“I promise we’ll be careful.”
Ava returned and set two overnight bags on the ground between the overhead door and pedestrian entrance.
Ollie and Dirk had finished wrapping the final pallet and moved it across the concrete floor. The truck’s winch squealed as Dirk worked the control to raise the heavy load.
“Let’s clean this place up so Ava and I can get on the road.” Will moved to the maintenance closet at the far end of the room.
Jules stopped him by stepping in front of him. Fists propped on her hips, she shook her head. “Truck’s loaded and you need to head out. Look around, Will. You have plenty of other people here who can clean. Go.” She nudged his shoulder.
Undecided, Will hesitated.
“Go!” Jules insisted.
“Okay. I’m going.” Will crossed to the open bay doors. He laced his fingers through Ava’s then spun back to face his friends. “Couldn’t have done this without you today. It hasn’t been easy and we hit a lot of snags. We worked around each problem because you were all willing to pitch in. It means a lot.”
“You should save the speeches for a celebratory dinner when you get back,” Drake admonished. “Guin and I will make the arrangements, but you’re paying.”
Will beamed a grateful smile at his friend. At all his friends and family. “Deal.”
~ ~ ~
Ava’s head bobbed forward. Her eyes weighed a ton and no matter how much she resisted, it seemed there was no way she’d be able to keep them open.
Her heart had raced for the first two hours they’d driven, but had finally settled into a nearly normal rhythm. At least the truck had a large, open cab. Nothing like the small confines of her car. Will’s occasional pat on her arm helped ease the nerves roiling through her. His touch allowed fatigue to creep in. The truck bounced with each bump they hit and when she closed her eyes, the world was painted red by the lights from oncoming cars.
“You can sleep, if you want.” Will reached over and patted her arm again.
Ava checked the time on her watch. They’d been on the road five hours. Her ass hurt from sitting and her back ached. She shook her head. “No, I’ll try to stay awake to keep you company.” Nonetheless, she leaned her temple against the cool window.
“What do you think? Should we should stop for the night and get a fresh start at dawn?”
“How far are we?” She looked out the window, but didn’t see any signposts with clues as to where they were.
“Just passed through Los Banos. We’ve been lucky that traffic is so light.”
Ava peered into the murky darkness, then rolled her eyes heavenward. Stars blinked and the half-moon floated above them. “Do you want to stop?”
“Maybe in the next hour. Can you wait that long?”
“Don’t worry about me. Are you okay?” He’d groused earlier that steering the loaded vehicle required more strength than he’d have thought.
He shrugged his right shoulder and rolled it, then did the same with his left. “My neck is a little tense. But I know you’ll rub it for me when we stop.” He winked, like he had something else he wanted her to rub.
“I’ll just add massage to the schedule then. For maximum sleeping efficiency though, we should only allow six and half minutes for the rubdown.”
Will tossed her a startled look. A smile spread slowly across his lips. “You were cracking a joke, yeah?”
“Yeah. Surprise!”
She had lightened up since that first day when she and Guin had driven north. She’d even been in a car . . . well, truck for five hours and the world hadn’t ended. And the change for the better was thanks, in a big way, to this wonderful man. He’d taught her the value of letting her hair down and giving up control occasionally. She could be relaxed and still do her job. Will had shown her that taking time for friends and family resulted in people willing to pitch in when things got a little rough.
“If we stop—” A loud bang cut off her words.
The truck veered wildly in the roadway and Will grappled the wheel, trying to correct their path. His forearms and biceps bulged as he struggled to regain control. Ava braced one hand on the dash and the other on the door handle. Her purse flew off the seat, scattering its contents over the floorboards.
“Jesus Christ!” Will shouted as he finally gained control.
Ava’s breath seized in her lungs. Adrenaline blasted through her limbs, a sickening jangle that made her heart race. Sweat broke out on her face and back as Will cursed and fought his way out of the skid.
The truck pulled to the right, aiming for the side of the road all by itself. Will maintained his white-knuckled grip on the wheel, intent on pulling off the interstate, out of the traffic lane.
As soon as they were fully on the shoulder, Will shut off the ignition, propped his elbows on the steering wheel, and buried his face in his hands.
Chapter 30
“What was that?” Ava asked when she finally caught her breath. She undid her seat belt and slid across the bench to Will’s side.
“Tire blew.” He shuddered. “Got to check the wine.” A loud click accompanied by a hissing noise filled the still air between them as he released his safety belt. Peering into the mirror for traffic, he shoved open the door, then dropped out of the truck.
Ava scurried after him. “Will the bottles be okay?”
Will dug in his pock
et for the key to the padlock on the gate. “Don’t know. The stacks were balanced, but we shimmied all over the road.” His voice filled with dread.
Ava rested her hand on his waist, tucking her fingers into the belt loop at the small of his back. His motions were jerky as he poked the key in the lock. The lock sprang free and he worked it out of the hasp. It clattered on the steel of the gate when he dropped it.
“Will, I don’t smell wine. I don’t see leakage, either. I think it might be okay.” She crowded closer to him, lending him positive thoughts.
“Good point.” He hesitated before shoving the gate up.
Two identical stacks of boxes stood intact in the center of the cargo area.
Will wrapped his arms tight around her shoulders and buried his face in her hair. Breath shuddered in and out as he calmed himself. He muttered, “What else can go wrong?”
Ava worked her hands between them, resting her palms on his chest. “Nothing. That’s it. We’re done.”
“Are we? Why do I feel like there’s another shoe about to smack me in the head?” His eyes glittered in the low light, his face grim.
“Haven’t we handled everything thrown at us for the past few days?” She slid one hand up and cupped his neck. “If anything else happens, we’ll deal,” she finished adamantly.
“Yes ma’am.” He chuckled as he dropped his head and possessed her mouth in a fast, hard kiss that weakened her knees. When he ended the contact, his grim expression was back. “Better see about fixing the flat.”
He swept his hand down her arm, linking their fingers together, and towed her around the side of the truck.
The tire was shredded, with only bits of it still clinging to the wheel. Ava looked from the tire to the boxy metal container and marveled that the heavy truck hadn’t toppled during the wild maneuvering.
“Oh, Will. We were so lucky.” She hugged his waist, her cheek pressed to his chest.
He snorted. “If you can call a flat in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere lucky.” He squeezed his arms around her, then eased her away. “Better see if we have a spare and a jack.”
He skirted the end of the vehicle and then leapt into the back with an athlete grace that stole Ava’s breath. She wrapped her arms around her waist and suppressed a shiver. The entire episode could have gone horribly wrong. They’d been fortunate.
Stomping footsteps and muttered curses wafted on the breeze as Will moved around in the truck. “Found a jack but no tire iron.” He popped his head out of the back. “Can you look behind the seat and see if our luck has run out?”
“Hey, hold those negative thoughts.”
She made her way to the passenger door and swung it open. Climbing on the running board, she tilted the seat forward and rooted under it. Her fingertips connected with a long iron rod. She tugged it free. “Found it.”
Will jumped from the truck, landing lightly on his feet. “Good. Now, about a spare.” He squatted at the rear and studied the undercarriage. A scowl deepened on his face as he duck-walked forward. Halfway up the length of the truck, he dropped to his back and scooted underneath.
“Son of a bitch!”
That didn’t sound promising. “Did you find a spare?”
Will wriggled free of the truck, swearing loudly. “There’s a well for a tire. Unfortunately, it’s empty.” He examined his elbow. Blood oozed from the road rash he’d given himself crawling under the rental.
Ava gently brushed away the gravel embedded in his skin. “We can call for service. Mom said there was twenty-four hour roadside assistance with the rental agreement.” She hastened back to the cab and grabbed the contract from the glove box. “Let me call.”
Will propped his hands on his hips and scanned the empty interstate. “Why isn’t there any traffic? Normally there’d be all kinds of cars on the road.”
Ava paused from searching the documents for a customer service number. “It is past midnight.”
“Shouldn’t matter,” Will mumbled.
With another guttural curse, he kicked the shredded tire. Then limped toward her.
Ava shoved the papers into his hands and reached inside the cab to find her phone. It had flown from her purse along with the other contents, but she located it at the far end of the footwell. The screen shield had a new jagged crack, but the display lit up when she tapped the home button. From the rental agreement, Will read off the number for her to enter.
The call rang five times before it shuttled to voice-mail. “So much for available roadside assistance.” She disconnected, and then redialed.
The voice on the phone yawned through a greeting. “Customer Service, how may I help you?”
“Thank heavens. We’ve had a flat and there is no spare. Can you dispatch someone with a replacement?” As she relayed the contract number, she smiled at Will and laid her hand on his shoulder. She engaged the speaker phone so he could hear.
“Absolutely. Tell me your location.”
Will squinted down the road. “Post mile eleven on Interstate Five. We passed a rest area about ten miles back.”
“Did you get that?”
“Got it,” came the reply. There was a long pause, during which Ava could hear the pounding on a keyboard. “Looks like we can have someone there in about . . . eight hours.”
Ava groaned. Eight? Hours? Dismay and frustration overwhelmed her.
Before she could reply, Will had snatched the phone from her. “Listen, that’s not good enough. We’re on a schedule. I have a deadline to meet.”
“I’m very sorry, sir. We simply don’t have anyone able to respond at this time of night.”
“That’s not how your contract reads. It says twenty-four hour assistance. Guaranteed.” Will’s voice got deadly soft.
Ava suppressed a shudder, glad she wasn’t on the receiving end of such intensity. It was withering enough just being in proximity to his blazing anger.
Customer Service Guy released another yawn. “I am sorry, sir. All of our assistance fleet operators are out on other calls at the moment. You’ll just have to wait your turn.”
Will’s tension waved over Ava. The muscle in his jaw ticked violently. “Perhaps you don’t understand. We’re stranded on the roadside, in the middle of fucking nowhere, in the middle of the fucking night.” He blew out a noisy breath, then dragged another in. “Okay, can you locate a company in the area who can come out to replace the tire? I’ll pay.”
Will’s chest heaved raggedly as they listened to more keyboard pounding. Ava moved around his back and rested her hands on his shoulders. She dug her fingertips in, massaging the knotted, rock-like muscles. He angled the phone again, tipping it backward to be sure she heard. He groaned when she hit a particularly rigid spot near his neck.
An eternity later, the phone operator grunted. “It doesn’t appear we have any authorized service partners in that area. I can call around, but I doubt any repair service would be able to get to you any faster than we can.”
“Shit! Get someone out as soon as you can. We’ll be waiting right here.” Will’s fingertips whitened on the edge of the phone. He muttered, “It’s not like we can go anywhere.” He gave them Ava’s phone number and instructed them to contact her as soon as whoever they dispatched was en route.
“Fuck!” Will spun in a circle, his fingers shoved through his hair. When he faced the truck again, he kicked the remains of the tire again. “Fuck!” he muttered more softly.
Ava took the phone from him. “So, we’re stranded. At least we have each other.” Her attempt at humor fell short of the mark.
Will released a grating breath. “We’ll have to make the best of it. We passed an exit around ten miles back. Next one forward is probably about the same distance.” He looked at her feet and grimaced. “Don’t suppose you brought tennis shoe
s?”
Ava regarded her sandals. Cute, but not very functional. When she’d packed her bag, she’d planned her outfit for tomorrow so she didn’t have to bring a second pair. Biting the inside of her cheek, she sighed.
Cupping a hand around his neck, Will let his head drop backward. Pops and clicks of his bones accompanied the movement. “Looks like we’re sleeping in the truck.”
Dread swirled up her ribs, but she shoved it away. “Good thing I have experience at that. I can show you the ropes.”
Will’s chuckle started low in his belly. He wrapped his arms around her tight, and the laugh rose to rib-level, rumbling against her chest. By the time the sound escaped his mouth as a guffaw, she laughed giddily with him.
“Oh, Ava. I do love you.” He drew her tighter to his body and held on, his shoulders and chest shaking with mirth.
“I love you too, Will.” There! She’d told him. She let the words she’d held back for the last few days fly free. It tasted good on her lips . . . as intoxicating as the fine vino stacked in the rear of the disabled rental truck. “I doubt anyone else would see the humor here.”
“Gotta laugh, or I’ll cry. This is not what I had envisioned when we stopped for the night. I was planning a nice wide bed, with mood lighting, a spacious shower to play in before we hit the road tomorrow. God, I’m sorry.”
“Will, one of the things you’ve taught me in the last few weeks is the importance of being flexible. I’ve learned to fly by the seat of my pants and enjoy the ride. We can still make this work in our favor.” She speared her fingers through his hair, enjoying its texture.
In response, he nuzzled his face in her neck, his lips pressed below the hollow under her ear, soft stubble rasping against her jaw.
Powerful desire surged in the hidden spot between her thighs, the hot rush of liquid need undeniable. She palmed his neck and arched against him. Her already taut nipples hardened with the contact and made her purr as pleasure zipped along her spine.
Chaos Among the Vines (Romancing the Vine Book 2) Page 24