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“Fine,” I told him, storming away from the ravine. “I’m out of here.”
“Miranda!” he shouted, running after me. “Where are you going?”
“As far away from you as possible!” I yelled.
“Look at it this way. You don’t have to worry about telling Iris about the repairs.”
I glared at him.
“The wound is too fresh to joke?” he asked as I took a swing at him. He dodged out of the way, of course, and righted me when I nearly fell on my face. “Look, we’ll just find a motel, bunk down for the night, and call Iris in the morning to explain. I told you, I’ll take responsibility for the car.”
“No problem. We’ll find a motel that accepts magic beans as payment!” I whirled around on him. “Maybe you can tell futures out in the parking lot to pay our way.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, his brow furrowed.
Oh, right, Collin didn’t know we were broke.
“M-my purse,” I spluttered. “My purse was in the car, remember? We don’t have any cash, cards, nothing. You know, I thought maybe the worst you could do to me on this trip would be calling Iris and trying to get me fired, but clearly, I have underestimated you. I didn’t realize you would stoop to vehicular homicide to screw with me.”
“Miranda, that’s not fair. I didn’t do this to you.”
“No, but the aftereffects will still be the same,” I told him.
“Slow down, woman. What could you possibly do? You don’t have any cash. You don’t have any identification. How far do you think you’re going to get?”
I turned on him, snaking my hand into my bra. Collin frowned, perplexed about why I was feeling myself up. “Ha!” I exclaimed, pulling out a twenty-dollar bill I had tucked in the right cup. With the other hand, I presented my driver’s license, which had been nestled under my left breast. “And ha!”
He stared at me. “What—what else do you have in there?”
“Nothing. Well, not nothi—never mind. I always carry my driver’s license and extra cash in my bra.”
“Why?”
“Because of situations like this!” I yelled, throwing my arms wide. “These screwed-up worst-case scenarios that I seem to find myself in.” I pushed past him. “I’m done, do you hear me, Collin? Done. I’m done with you. I’m done with your stupid case. I quit!”
I turned on my heel and stomped off, the drizzling rain soaking through my clothes.
“Not like you care,” I grumbled petulantly. “You’ve got your case, right? You’re covered.”
He caught up to me without really trying. “Don’t do that. I could have gone for the case, but I pulled you out of the car before it fell over the cliff. So don’t pretend that I put this thing ahead of you.” He grabbed my arm—gently, I supposed, given his strength—and made me stop. My momentum threw me off-balance into his side. “And I do care about you. You force me to. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to be induced to care about someone against your will?”
“Did you hit your head on your way down that ravine?” I demanded.
“You’re messy, and you’re loud and chaotic. And you’re kind. You have a profound sense of what’s right. You made me laugh, really laugh, for the first time in decades. I like the way you look at the world, the way it comes through in your photos. I love that you are a constant surprise. I’m two hundred sixty years old. Do you know how long it’s been since I was surprised by anything?”
“So you like me because I’m chaos,” I scoffed. “I am a walking tornado of destruction. That’s not exactly a profession of love.”
“Do you want one?” he asked, grinning at me and leaning in as if to sweep his mouth over mine.
“No.” I reached up and popped him on the nose like a misbehaving dog. I put my finger in his face. “Sorry, that was probably an overreaction. I’m just a little a wired. But really, do not even think about kissing me right now.”
“Ow!” he exclaimed. “I guess you don’t want one.”
I turned and walked down the road with purpose. “Didn’t see that one coming, did you?” I called over my shoulder.rsed his lips. “I may have gotten turned around in a few spots.”
“How long have I been asleep, Collin?”
His lips pressed together, glowing white in the greenish light reflected by the dashboard. The clock read 3:20 A.M.
