Page 27 of An Uncertain Road

She steered the car to the side of the dirt road in front of a building labeled First Bank of Portsmouth, but her face showed exactly what she thought of his request. “Are you sure this is the time to stop? We can’t miss the arrival window.”

Jensen pulled the cover off the engine and leaned over to examine all the lines and attachment points, taking care to avoid the spots that were hot from hours of driving. He straightened, ready to dig his tools out from under the seat when Flora joined him. “I’m going to check all the connections and make sure nothing has come loose. It could be a problem getting fuel to the engine. It won’t take long to find out, so you can sit and wait with Fred and Beth.”

The words had no more left his mouth when Jensen realized he shouldn’t have added that last part. He’d only meant she could relax instead of worrying, but her expression clearly stated it hadn’t sounded that way.

To his surprise, the frustration in her eyes cleared, and she took a deep breath. “I was hoping to watch you fix it. If you don’t mind.”

Was she intending to hover and make sure he did everything how she wanted, as she had at the shop before the tour started? A small part of him wanted to believe she might want to spend time with him, but he quieted that errant longing immediately. “What for?”

She chewed her bottom lip for several seconds before answering, her eyes earnest when she finally turned them toward him. “I’d like to improve my mechanical knowledge. What better time than when we’re out here driving and working on the car for days on end?”

That wasn’t at all what he expected. “You seem plenty knowledgeable about how the car runs. Enough to know your mind on how it should be set up to race, anyway.”

Her lips quirked in a rueful smile at his reminder of the hours they spent debating how to prepare the car for the tour. “Knowledge and actual experience are two different things. I want to know that I can repair the car on my own when needed. I was hoping you’d let me practice under your supervision for the remainder of the tour. You’re very skilled with the mechanics, so there’s no doubt I’d be learning from the best.”

Jensen assessed her as he considered the request. It was appealing to imagine having her at his side, working together on the car instead of facing off over ideas about it. He could envision hours of watching her delight in accomplishing something hard, of seeing her grow and knowing he got to be part of it. It sounded like a dream.

But perhaps that was the very reason he should say no.

CHAPTER 13

Flora stopped herself from fidgeting with that loose button again while she waited for Jensen to answer her request. Did he see through the ruse? It wasn’t a lie. She did believe there was always something to learn, and that applied to her experience with engines as well as it did anything else.

Yes, she had more ability to work on the car herself than she was letting on. But if he hadn’t bothered to notice she was capable of it before now, that wasn’t her fault.

She’d waited all day for the right moment to put her plan into action, and while she never would have wanted the car to need a repair before reaching the day’s stop, it was convenient for her purpose. If he agreed, she would have a good excuse to keep an eye on Jensen’s work on the car and prove beyond a doubt that he wouldn’t sabotage their trip.

But would he agree?

She watched his face as he considered her request, but it was unreadable. She fought the urge to tap her foot as she waited. As important as it was for her to know he was trustworthy, they were still in the middle of a leg and had a stop to get to in the next hour.

Finally, he nodded once. “I’ll show you what I can. Let me get my tools, and we’ll see if we can figure out this problem.”

Delight spread through Flora. She refused to believe it was anything more than relief that she’d get to discover what he was up to, but there was a tiny part of her mind that was giddy at the thought of spending time working alongside him as she’d imagined.

That part of her needed to keep to itself.

Setting her attention on the car, Flora let Jensen explain how to check the lines connecting various parts of the engine, even though that was something she already knew quite well how to do. Finally, he handed her a wrench, and they got started, one on each side of the car. Flora tried not to look too deft at handling the wrench or knowing which way to turn it to tighten the connections.

They’d worked through most of the lines before Jensen finally stood and pointed at the metal clamp holding a rubber tube on his side. “Here’s the culprit. This fuel line is worn out, and a leak formed around the clamp. We have time to fix it if we work fast. Let me grab an extra line and a new clamp.”

Flora went around to his side of the car and followed his instructions to hold the new line. She watched him remove the cracked rubber tube and handed him the new one when he was ready. Their hands brushed, and their bodies were close enough that she could smell his soap mixed with sweat from the day when he reached forward. Spending time close together like this was necessary if she was going to determine his motives, but it was also likely a terrible idea for her heart.

Soon enough, he stepped back from the car and wiped his hands on a rag tucked into his waistband. “Why don’t you try to start it, and we’ll see if we were successful?”

Flora returned to her seat, feeling Fred and Beth watching as she reached to start the engine. To her relief, it turned over immediately and started running as smoothly as ever. Jensen grinned as he replaced the cover and gathered his tools. Glancing toward the back seat, Flora found Beth and Fred weren’t celebrating as much as she’d expected. She turned to face them. “We should make it in time. Isn’t that a relief?”

Fred nodded without comment, and Beth offered a smile that didn’t quite seem genuine. Neither response was characteristic of the couple. Fred straightened Beth’s light jacket in a protective gesture that caught Flora’s curiosity. But it didn’t seem like the time to ask if they were all right. Not when the clock was still ticking.

Once everything was cleaned up, Jensen climbed into the passenger seat and offered her a half smile. “Thanks for your help. Having extra hands made it a simple fix. Now, let’s get to the check-in.”

But neither of them moved. Jensen’s eyes held such admiration that she couldn’t look away. Flora’s breath turned shallow, and she swallowed around the emotion rising in her chest. Henri had never looked at her like that, with an honest, real appreciation for what she’d contributed to their racing career. He’d tended to push her to do more and drive better, critiquing instead of encouraging.

A shout of greeting from a team racing past them on the dirt street pulled Flora from her daze. They had a leg to finish. She pushed the pedal forward and set the car into motion, thankful it seemed to be completely back to normal, and with a little time still to spare before the arrival window passed.

It was a relief to finally drive the car to the inspection area and get their official check-in time. Fred and Beth immediately went to find their rooms and then likely take an evening walk as they were fond of doing. Considering the difference in their behavior that day from the beginning of the trip, Flora resolved to find Beth when there was time to talk and ask how they were doing. It was possible she’d been so focused on the race that she’d missed something going on in the couple’s life.

Or maybe Jensen was the distraction. Flora found her eyes drawn to him even now, as they waited for the mechanical inspection that would determine their points for the day. He stood leaning against the Decauville with his legs crossed at the ankles, looking as though he didn’t have a care in the world. Was he that good at hiding his feelings? Flora was an anxious mess, ready to burst into tears over the events of the first few legs of the tour.