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“Or kill it dead.”
“I wonder if he will find bacon?”
“I’m sure he will. He seems to be good at getting people to do what he wants them to do.” Martha poured herself a small cup of coffee, wondering how deeply to delve. “Did all that talk of the past upset you, Kathleen?”
“You heard the doctor—I didn’t drink enough, that’s all. I was too busy chatting to our lovely Josh because you were giving him the silent treatment.”
“I was focusing on the driving. And if you don’t stop matchmaking, I’m going to call Liza.”
“That’s blackmail.”
“It is. I learned it from you.” Martha sipped her coffee. “I wonder if we should spend another day here. I could amend our bookings.”
“Today is Kansas and Oklahoma. No need to amend anything.”
Was it safe for them to travel? What if Kathleen collapsed while she was driving and they were miles from the nearest big town? What if she needed to find another doctor? Where would she start?
Josh returned with bacon and after they’d finished eating they headed back to their rooms to pack up their gear.
Martha caught up with him by his door.
“Are you leaving?” Yesterday she’d been more inclined to drive over his foot than offer him a ride, but that was before the drama of the night before. The calm and kindness he’d shown had changed her opinion of him.
“Martha—” his voice was gentle “—the last thing you wanted was me coming along on your trip.”
“That was yesterday. And it wasn’t because I didn’t like you. It was because—” Oh this was so embarrassing. If she told him about Kathleen’s matchmaking she’d never be able to look him in the eye again. “I’m not good with strangers. It takes me a while to warm up.”
He studied her for a moment. “Since we arrived here, you have engaged almost every member of staff in conversation. If you were any warmer, you’d be a risk to the planet. I’ve rarely met anyone as friendly as you. Except with me.”
Okay, so that excuse wasn’t going to work.
She felt a rush of desperation. “You don’t understand—Kathleen has this misguided idea that I need her—help.”
“Help?”
“I had a bad breakup.”
“How bad?”
“Well, it ended in divorce, so pretty bad—he cheated.” She blushed. Why was she telling a stranger all this? “I needed to get away from everything—by which I mean my life—so I took this job. And somehow Kathleen managed to get me talking, because that’s the kind of person she is, and I told her the truth, and she came up with this ridiculous plan to—”
“To?”
“Match me up with someone to help me get my confidence back. And I know how ridiculous that sounds. I’ve been telling her the same thing.”
“You mean a rebound relationship?”
Martha ground her teeth. “Believe me, it was not my idea.”
“I was the chosen one?”
She should have let him leave. “She thought you had potential. Are you laughing? Because there is nothing funny about this.”
He pulled off his sunglasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “So that’s why you didn’t say a word to me on the journey yesterday?”
“I was mad with her. And frustrated. And embarrassed in case you worked it out. And also a little nervous because back then I didn’t know that you were a really decent guy who could find a doctor, and food, and produce a good bottle of wine—that was lifesaving by the way—and be generally fantastic. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t—I mean, I wouldn’t have caught her the way you did. She would have banged her head. Injured herself.”
“That’s a lot of feelings for one small person.” Smiling, he reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “She’s going to be fine. You heard the doctor—heat, travel, dehydration, jet lag—it all adds up, particularly in someone of her age.”
