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“As soon as I noticed the smoke, I pulled into the slow lane, hoping for an exit ramp to get off. I didn’t want to stop on the highway. I was far from town and wasn’t sure how long it would take a tow truck to get to me.”
“Normally, I’d say that was smart, but driving on an overheated engine causes irreparable damage.”
I shivered at his word choice. “Maybe it’s for the best.”
Jake glanced over at me before turning his attention to the road. “What are you talking about?”
Feeling resigned, I sagged farther into the seat. “I think it’s time for me to replace Berta. You can tow her to my farm.”
When he remained silent, I continued. “I’ll go to the used car lot tomorrow. There’s a van there that could work.” It was a little more than I wanted to pay, but the salesman said vans were popular, and it wouldn’t be there long.
Jake gave me a noncommittal grunt.
I turned in my seat to face him. “What does that mean?”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” He said each word carefully before turning his head to look at me.
I ripped my gaze from his. “I just said it was, didn’t I? I thought you’d be pleased. You said restoring Berta is a waste of everyone’s time.”
Jake was quiet for so long that I wasn’t sure he was going to respond to my outburst. Finally, he said quietly, “That’s not exactly what I said, and besides, I changed my mind.”
I shifted in my seat so that my knee was folded on the seat and I was facing him. “I’m sorry, you did what now?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I said I changed my mind.”
I leaned closer, wishing I could see his eyes and figure out what he was thinking. Was he messing with me? “You had a change of heart?”
I didn’t think that was possible.
“Yes.” Just that one simple word.
It was like pulling teeth to get information out of this man. He was infuriating. “So, first, you think restoring her is a waste. Then you say it’s not.”
I didn’t know what to believe or why he was saying what he was saying.
“I want to help.”
“You want to help me?” I asked, letting disbelief fill my tone. My impression of him was that I was an inconvenience to him, something he needed to take care of so he could get back to more important work. I irritated him.
“That’s right. My partner, Ryan, and I talked about your situation.” He swallowed, and I was mesmerized by the slow up-and-down movement of his Adam’s apple.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
“We want to help you. We’d like to restore Berta.”
The warmth I’d felt at his earlier declaration quickly chilled with the use of the wordwe. “Why would you be interested in doing that when I said I couldn’t afford a complete restoration?”
A few nights ago, I lay in bed daydreaming about getting the money to cover the repairs.
“If the garage restores Berta, it’s good for both of us.”
“How does that work?” I couldn’t imagine how restoring Berta would be good for him, especially if I couldn’t pay for the work.
“We’re helping you out. It looks good for us.”
My eyes narrowed on him, and I wished more than anything he wasn’t driving so I could see his expression. “You want to fix Berta to help yourself?”
Jake sighed, shaking his head. “I’m not explaining this right. I’m not good with this stuff.”
