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I pull out my phone and find Mark’s name in my contact list. He’s religious about our Friday lunches. If I don’t show him how distressed I am over my flat tire, he’ll probably demand that I make it up to him.
No. The old Mark would do that. The new Mark…
Jesus, am I thinking of him as “the new Mark”, as if the kindness he’s shown me recently is permanent? He really wants to save our marriage, and that’s made him work hard.
Mark picks up on the first ring. “What’s going on?”
I glance around the area. “I’m going to have to miss our lunch. The Range Rover has a flat.”
“Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”
“I’m too far away. You won’t make it back in time for your meeting.”
“You mean you’re not in Santa Barbara?”
I glance up the highway looking for a sign, but I see only black road stretching up the mountain. “No. I’m not sure where I am, actually. Somewhere on the 101. I was on my way back from San Luis Obispo.”
“So you’re in the middle of fucking nowhere, you mean?”
“Yes. Good thing I brought my Kindle.”
“Your Kindle?” Now he sounds angry. “You mean you’re going to sit on the side of the road and read?”
I laugh at the bite in his voice, as if it’s the craziest thing in the world. The Walkers don’t believe in doing anything tedious, and when tedium can’t be helped, they rage against God for the injustice. The luxury of the wealthy.
“I plan to sit in my car. I can probably finish a novel by the time the tow truck gets here.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You’re going to wait on the side of the road for a tow truck? You’re going to get hit by a car.”
I smile. “I’m a country girl. I don’t mind being in the middle of nowhere, and I’m not going to get hit by a car. Besides, I don’t have any other options.”
“The fuck you do. I’ll be there in a half hour.”
“Mark, D&B Farms is too important, and you know Dale will throw a hissy fit if you aren’t there. There’s no way you’ll be here in a half hour, and I won’t even be able to get lunch with you. I have too much to do today.”
“I don’t give a fuck about lunch or Dale’s hissy fit. I’m coming to get you. Send me your location.”
The line goes quiet, as if his command is the final word on this subject. Just the thought of him missing that meeting makes my skin heat. I really shouldn’t care. His schedule isn’t my business anymore, and yet…
I can’t reason away the fluttering in my stomach. He’s making me a priority.
It takes him exactly thirty-five minutes to arrive, which means he must have been speeding. After parking in front of my car, he hops out and strides in my direction. His expression is hidden under his sunglasses, but that square jaw is clenched.
I look away to hide my smile. Even at the peak of his disdain for me, I could always command his emotions when it came to my safety. In my most childish moments, I’d stay out extra late during girls’ nights or ignore his texts when I was gone for the day, just so I could see this angry clench of his jaw when I came home.
He removes his sunglasses, and those dark-green eyes are blazing. “Why the hell did you park here? There’s barely any shoulder. You could have been clipped by another car.”
“I couldn’t move any farther.”
His scowl deepens as he glances at the flat tire. “Yes you could have.”
“I was scared to move.”
He raises both brows. “You should have been scared of getting hit by another car.”
I shoot him a cheeky smile. “I don’t think the tow truck driver would have scolded me like this.”
Mark walks toward me, his expression softening. “I’m sorry for being grumpy. I was just worried.”
