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Before they got back on the road, she redressed his wound with the new butterfly bandages. All the while contemplating Noah’s spontaneous kiss at the motel. Even though she’d goaded him into it, his spur-of-the-moment seizing of the day surprised her. In a good way. Maybe there was hope for him yet.
She carefully pulled the skin together and matched up the sides of the wound. In case they couldn’t find a doctor soon, she would do her best to help him heal.
While she worked, Noah called Bobby, put him on speakerphone, and explained what had happened. “We’ll return the truck as soon as we can.”
“Hell, you can have it,” Bobby said. “I feel sick about putting you in danger. Plus, the money you left is twice as much as that piece of junk is worth.”
Noah chuckled. “All right. Please call me if the guy shows up again.” Bobby agreed, and they hung up.
“Good thing chicks dig scars,” Daisy said. “Because if you keep refusing to see a doctor, that’s exactly what you’ll have.”
They grabbed a drink for the road, and Daisy posted the hike video as they pulled out of the store parking lot.
“Think you can handle this beast?” Noah asked about an hour later.
“I’m willing to try.”
“I wanna do more research on these candidates, but I don’t want to stay in one place very long. You wanna drive for a spell?”
“A spell? Sure,” she said in a southern drawl. “I reckon’ I can do that.” That earned an eye roll.
They crossed the state line into West Virginia, and she fiddled with the radio until she found a country station. After several minutes, she lost patience.
“Hand me my phone, will ya? This is taking too long.”
“I do not like where this is headed, but here.” One hand on the wheel, she used the other to open the music app on her phone.
“I can’t believe they don’t just play this on repeat. Sorry, but it must be done.” She hit play, maxed out the volume, and started singing “Country Roads” at top volume, using the cat’s brush as a microphone.
When the song ended, she was breathless from the exuberant performance. He looked at her like she was crazy. “How can you not sing along to this?” she asked.
“I told you. I don’t know the song,” he said. “Can I get back to work?”
“You arefromWest Virginia. There’s no way you don’t know that song,” she mumbled. “Fuddy-duddy.”
She drove for about thirty minutes before noticing he’d quit typing. When she glanced over, he was sleeping, head tipped back, mouth agape, and snoring softly.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Noah jerked awake at the sudden quiet. The grumble of the engine and Daisy’s humming must have lulled him to sleep. Panic shot through him as he glanced out the window to see a vaguely familiar sight. “Daisy, where are we?”
“I don’t know. A little town called White Springs? White something Springs. I don’t remember the exact name. You wanna call your parents and tell ’em we’re coming?”
Noah’s eyes snapped open, and he looked around frantically. They were parked at the pump of a gas station he knew well. He must have slept for over an hour.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, um. Nothing,” he said. No reason to mention that she’d inadvertently stopped at the only town he wanted to avoid. If he kept his mouth shut, they could fuel up and be gone before anyone was the wiser.
“Don’t suppose you want to pump while I pee and get a snack?”
He shook off the tiredness. “Sure,” he said, unbuckling. “That’s fine. I’ll drive again too.” Right out of this town.
He got out to pump the gas. His arm throbbed, and he had a crick in his neck from sleeping at a funny angle. Maybe tonight, they could find a decent hotel with comfortable beds. One with a hot tub even.
After setting the pump to automatic, he walked a few feet to stretch his legs. Perhaps he should call his parents. It had been a while since his last visit. No, he was working. Plus, he didn’t want to put them in any danger.
A white suburban turned onto their street, and he ducked his head as Daisy approached from behind.
