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“Like tornados?” I swallowed hard, biting back the fear creeping into my chest. “I don’t think—”
“No, no tornados,” he cut me off, chuckling. “The only thing we might have to worry about is wind and hail… well, and the flooding rains. But the cabin is up on a hill, so I don’t think that’s going to be an issue for us.”
“Flooding,” I echoed, kicking a rock as the rain stayed light. “Well, I guess that’ll give me some time to figure out what the hell I’m going to do.”
“Yeah, I guess so. I can probably pull some strings and get you a rental.” His voice sounded guarded, and I glanced up at him, wishing I could read his expression.
“That won’t be necessary at all,” I said quickly. “I don’t need any help. I’ll be able to swing something. I just need to call my sister when I get a chance.”
“Is your phone dead, too?”
I shrugged. “It’s somewhere in the bag, but yeah, probably.”
“So you’ve gone this entire time without it?” He looked at me with the most surprised look, like I had just said something taboo.
“Uh, I have. I had a lot more to worry about than my phone.” I shrugged my shoulders as the thunder cracked overhead. There was something eerie about the evening, though I think it was mostly because of the debris scattered everywhere and the stillness of the night, which had only just hours before been filled with terrifying high winds and a tornado.
“I guess that’s true. I just can’t think of anyone I know that’s not attached at the hip to their phone. Even the guys working for us out at the ranch keep up with their phones like they might keel over and die without them. There ain’t even service half the time, but you better believe they got them.”
I nodded, noting that he talked about the ranch like heownedit. “Society has groomed us to be attached to them. It’s an addiction, one I refuse to be a part of. You miss out on the life in front of your face if you’re too busy living in a screen. Too much wasted time.”
“Ah, back to your hippy shit, I see.” He shook his head as we continued down the road. “It’s too bad about your van, though.”
“Yeah, it’s fine. It’s not like I have some attachment to it,” I said with a shrug, peering out into the darkness of the night. Most trees were broken and looming like black shadows in the distance.
It was kind of creepy.
“So, you said you were visiting your sister in Arizona?”
I glanced at him, seeing the curiosity on his face, but then remembered that he hadn’t been ready to share anything about himself. “Yeah.”
“Where at in Arizona?”
“You’ve probably never heard of it.”
“Try me.” He gave me an unimpressed look, and I nearly rolled my eyes.
“You haven’t been upfront about anything about yourself, so why would I do anything other than the exact same when it comes to you?” I challenged him, setting Takoda down to walk on his own as he squirmed in my arms. He wasn’t used to being carried so often, but I just couldn’t bear the thought of him running off. He never really had, but we were in a strange place—and more storms were coming.
“I don’t know why I was such a jerk about that,” he grumbled under his breath. “I just don’t want this to get weird between us.”
“I don’t really know how it could get any weirder unless you were just released from prison for murder or something.” I eyed him, taking a step away from him. “But I figure you would’ve killed me by now.”
He laughed. “Yeah, no. It’s not anything like that. I just... I’m from a very prestigious family in the area, and most people know who I am—and then they want something from me.”
“Let me guess...” my voice trailed off as I feigned being in deep thought. “Would you happen to be one of the Littleton heirs? A rich rancher?”
“How’d you know?” He narrowed his eyes.
I snorted. “You can’t be fucking serious right now? Youtoldme your last name, and I guessed about the ranch—you mentioned the guys working for you there. I just put two and two together. Have no fears, I have no idea who you are, nor do I have any interest in getting to know you more. I just want to survive and get the hell out of here when it clears.” I made sure to sound confident and a bit snide, matching the guy’s energy.
I didn’t want him to know he was the best lay I’d ever had.
Or that he made my stomach jitter with excitement.
It would pass once I was on the road again, Arizona bound. He’d just be a blip on the timeline of my life—he was probably the settle-down family kind of guy anyway.
And that was thelastthing I wanted.
