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“This junk?” He picked up a baseball hat with the word “love” spelled out in rhinestones on the front.
“I made five thousand dollars for filming a thirty-second video wearing that hat.”
“What?”
“How do you think I make money?”
“I wasn’t going to ask.”
She rolled her eyes. “One way is sponsors. People pay me to promote their products. This is all stuff that if I throw it in a video somewhere, mention it on my blog, or post a link to the company’s site, I’ll get paid.”
He shook his head. “In the meantime, we have to hoof it into town because there’s no spare.”
“Hoof it? It’s like fifteen miles! We can hitchhike and get help once we find cell coverage.” With that, she packed up her laptop, hiked up her skirt, and put out her thumb.
He came to her side. “How have you survived life this long? You can’t hitchhike. Do you know how dangerous that is?”
“Well, I can’t very well walk fifteen miles in these shoes.”
She’d swapped out the tennis shoes for the same clunky high-heeled sandals from the day before.
“What about those H-O-T, oh-so-comfy shoes from this morning?” he said in a high-pitched tone, mocking her comments from the video at the lighthouse.
“Ha. Ha,” she said, just as a beat-up old station wagon pulled to a stop in front of them. “You worry too much. Watch and learn.” She winked.
A young man got out of the car. He looked to be in his teens and probably weighed a hundred pounds. Noah could take him if he had to. Hell, Daisy could take him if it came to that.
“You guys need a ride?” he said to Daisy’s legs. Noah chuckled.
“Yes, we do,” Daisy said. “Is there a fix-it shop in town that could send someone to fix my tire?” Her voice was higher and syrupier than normal. Like the voice she used in her videos. So, he was right. Shediduse her looks to get what she wanted.
“I work at the motel. It’s just down the street from the repair shop,” the kid said. “I’m heading to work and can drop you.”
“Perfect. Thank you,” Daisy said, trailing her fingers down the kid’s arm. Oh, he’d seen that move before. She’d used it on him just this morning. Unlike him though, this kid lapped it up like a thirsty puppy.
“Noah?”
He suppressed an eye roll. “Just sec.” He put the top up, grabbed his duffel, and locked the car. One gun was strapped to his ankle, but he wasn’t about to leave his backup weapon on the side of the road.
It was all he could do not to grab the keys and insist on driving. Daisy had already parked herself in the passenger seat, leaving him no choice but to sit in the back. He scowled at her before shoving his bag in and sliding in after it.
Daisy smiled at the kid, who was shaking with nerves. Probably never talked to a woman so pretty, much less had one in his front seat. Noah just hoped it didn’t affect his driving.
“Eyes on the road, kid,” Noah grumbled as they made their way into town.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Oh, man. Could this trip get any worse? First, she’s saddled with a bah humbug escort who cringed at having to put more than two words together. Then, her beloved Ethel breaks down. Now, here she was, sitting next to a pimply-faced Don Juan, who wouldn’t stop staring at her legs. Sure, she’d poured it on a little thick to ensure a ride, but he’d taken her fun, flirty chatter for something else.
The kid, who was just outside of puberty, laid a sweaty palm on her thigh. She heard a rumble from the back seat but took care of it quickly.
Daisy removed his hand from her leg. “I don’t think so.” No stranger to turning down men, she was nice but firm.
After that, the teen driver lost his eagerness, and they rode out the ten-minute drive in silence.
They parked at the motel where he worked. “Pretty much everything’s within walking distance,” he said. “Garage is that way.” He pointed down the street. It was visible from where they stood.
“Thank you for the ride,” Daisy said. The kid nodded and went inside, leaving them in the parking lot. “I guess this is what they mean by a one-horse town,” she said, and Noah laughed.
