Part 13 (1/2)
In late morning, Kyra stirred.
”Are we almost there?” she asked sleepily.
He'd been seeing signs for a while now, driving well over four hours without a break. His legs were screaming, as were his shoulders, and Reyes wouldn't mind a pit stop, but they were within reasonable distance now. He didn't like getting off the highway unless he had no choice.
”I think so. Thirty more miles according to the last sign. Are you good for it?”
Kyra considered. ”I could use a bathroom, but I can wait. We'll be looking for the Sunset Motel, by the way.”
Yet another seedy fleabag, he guessed. What he wouldn't give to take her to a five-star resort somewhere. Lately, he'd been enjoying a fantasy about them sunning on a white, sand beach together somewhere with a waiter bringing frozen drinks on demand.
”I'll keep an eye out.”
She s.h.i.+fted in her seat, crooking her knee toward him. Reyes felt her studying his profile in an odd p.r.i.c.kle of awareness. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the tear in her jeans, revealing a shapely knee.
”I never said thanks,” she said softly.
”For what?”
She tugged at raveling strands of worn denim. ”Taking care of me. It's rarely been that bad. Usually I can deal with it, no big.”
Instinctively he knew he needed to answer right, not too much weight, not too much levity. ”I won't say it was nothing. You freaked me out. But I suspect being good to you will have its rewards.”
Her lips curled into a feline smile. ”You know, you're right about that. I'm thinking what I put you through last night counts as working for what you want, probably harder than a man should have to. Don't worry, Rey. I'll make it worth your while.”
”I have no doubt.” A billboard caught his eye. ”I think we're coming up on our exit in a few miles. What's so special about this place? Do you have business here?”
She shook her head. ”No, this is vacation. Business starts up again in Sioux Falls. Ever heard of Carhenge?”
Reyes lofted a brow. ”Ah, no.”
”Basically, this family made a replica of Stonehenge out of wrecked cars. It's a memorial for the guy's dad. They did it on their farm, and at first the town council tried to shut them down. But now it's a tourist attraction, and there's a society dedicated to preserving the place. They used a 1962 Caddy as the heel car,” she added with visible enthusiasm.
He understood the appeal of it for her now: rebel spirit, memorial to one's father, and cars. ”Sounds interesting.”
”I've always wanted to see it . . . and I figured since it was kind of on the way . . .” Kyra bit her lip, adorable in her uncertainty, although she wouldn't like to hear that. ”Well, I kind of wanted to share it with you. I mean, you probably think it's dumb-”
”No,” he cut in, oddly touched. ”I think I'd like to see it, especially if it's important to you.”
”I wish I could do something like this for my dad,” she went on. ”But this place is special because the guy's dad used to live here. We don't have anything like it . . . we never stayed in one place long.”
Yeah, he'd gathered as much. ”Maybe there will be something you can do on-site, something to commemorate him.”
Her smile radiated so much frank grat.i.tude it almost tore out his heart. ”Let's get a room first. From the motel, it's less than three miles. They're open daily during sunlight hours.”
It wasn't difficult to find the Sunset Motel, which aimed for quaint more than sleazy. He supposed that made sense, given its proximity to an Americana attraction. They got a room without trouble and stashed their things. If he didn't quite like it, he was getting used to constant travel, but he wouldn't mind visiting a Laundromat. That concern would be out of character, however. A vagabond like he purported to be would just hose things off in the shower and hope for the best.
When he let them into their room, his gaze focused on the bed, one queen, more than adequate to accommodate them in any position she wanted. Reyes stifled a groan. Instead of wrecked cars, he'd rather see her naked. He tossed down their bags and visited the bathroom. As he washed up, he hardly knew the man in the mirror.
Reyes hadn't worn jeans and T-s.h.i.+rts of his own free will since he could afford better. Dressing like this reminded him of wearing cast-off clothing because Cesar didn't see anything wrong with telling anyone who would listen that his kid was growing so quick he couldn't keep him in pants. He'd never known-or maybe cared-how much it stung to know nothing he'd touched had ever been bought just for him.
f.u.c.k it. Clothes didn't make the man. He needed to call Foster to placate him, but his phone was in the other room. If he went out to get it and then went back into the bathroom, it would look suspicious. He'd come too far in her esteem to jeopardize it now. It was only a matter of time until she confided in him completely. And then he could figure out the best way out of this mess, maybe some compromise that would satisfy Serrano, safeguard his own reputation for getting the job done, and leave Kyra her life. Clothes didn't make the man. He needed to call Foster to placate him, but his phone was in the other room. If he went out to get it and then went back into the bathroom, it would look suspicious. He'd come too far in her esteem to jeopardize it now. It was only a matter of time until she confided in him completely. And then he could figure out the best way out of this mess, maybe some compromise that would satisfy Serrano, safeguard his own reputation for getting the job done, and leave Kyra her life.
At least that was what he told himself as he blotted his face dry. He could use a shave, but that could wait, too, preferably until just before he made love to her. If she could take a vacation, so could he.
Kyra took her turn, and when she came out, he saw she'd brushed her hair and put on some lipstick. The paint on her mouth made her eyes look that much more innocent in comparison, and he didn't understand it at all. How could someone who lived like she did have such an unsullied soul?
Reyes held out a hand. ”You ready to check this place out?”
CHAPTER 16.
Carhenge was everything Kyra expected.
It had a campy Americana charm, but she found herself reluctantly impressed by the precision of the replication. She'd never been to Stonehenge, but she'd seen pictures. Rey seemed a little bemused by the idea of a monument like this erected in a random field, but he was patient with her desire to wander around.
A man at a souvenir shop down the road told them they held pagan celebrations, music festivals, poetry readings, and of course, the occasional car show here. Kyra bought a T-s.h.i.+rt and tried to forget what'd happened earlier. Unfortunately, when her gift went wrong, it went way way wrong. wrong.
The site had picnic tables, so they bought lunch and came back. As the day wore on, other tourists showed up to check things out, but n.o.body tried to make conversation. Kyra stifled a smile over that, but Rey didn't look particularly approachable, even in direct sunlight while eating corn on the cob. Right then, she could almost forget all the complications in her life.
She'd never felt this kind of warmth directed at one man. When he turned his head, the sun gleaming on blue highlights in his dark hair, heat coiled in her stomach. His sharp features no longer looked fearsome, only sweetly familiar. Her heart felt strange, a little too large for her chest, when he smiled at her.
They spent almost the whole day, doing nothing in particular. She knew he was trying to give her a good day to make up for what she'd gone through this morning, and she appreciated it. He had to be bored, but she felt weirdly close to her dad as she walked around the attraction.
While she considered that, he cleaned up the remnants of their picnic and then jogged over to a trash can. He paused on the way back to talk with an older man who wore a Carhenge hat. Kyra watched them, knees drawn up to her chest.
Rey came back in a few minutes later. ”If you apply for a Friends of Carhenge members.h.i.+p, you can sponsor one of the Aubrey holes and name it after your dad.”
”Really?” For reasons she couldn't explain, this would mean a lot more than a simple engraved stone.
”Yeah. If you want to come over here and spend fifteen minutes with this guy, we can take care of it right now.”
Her smile of thanks felt strange and tremulous. ”Thanks for checking on it.”
Half an hour later, they climbed into the Marquis with a receipt and a promise that the job would be done. She felt at peace for the first time in longer than she could recall, and Kyra knew she could thank the man beside her for that. As she drove back to the motel, she smiled. He was tough, no question, but he had a tender side, too.
”What?”
”Just thinking about how lucky you're getting tonight.”
He grinned. ”I still have two-thirds of the condoms I bought in Louisiana.”
As she pulled into the parking lot, she slid him a serious look. ”I'm glad fate brought us together again. I can't remember when I've been this happy.”
A shadow flickered in his dark eyes. ”Me, either. Let's go upstairs.”
The stark, sensual lines of his mouth told her there wouldn't be any teasing this time. He wanted her as much as she wanted him, and Kyra found that rea.s.suring. Rey took her hand and led her to their room. They'd just tossed their bags inside the door, and he swept them aside with a foot as he tugged her through the door.