“Jesus Christ, Tessie, I’m trying to drive here. What the— whoa.”
A bump, then a squeal as they slid again, followed by a rhythmic thump, thump, thump as the entire car started to wobble. He cut the speed drastically, the whoosh of the other drivers as they sped past causing their vehicle to rock.
Tess fell against her window. Her hand shot out, holding tightly to the grab bar above her head. She used it to pull her body up and climb back into her seat. Her heart thundered so fast, it was all she could hear over the drum of the pouring rain.
“What was that? What’s wrong?” When Jack didn’t answer, she let go of the handle and grabbed his arm instead. “Is something wrong with the car? Are we okay?”
He shook her off. “The tire,” he grumbled, cursing under his breath. “Must’ve been when I jerked the wheel that first time. Damn it.” With an aggravated sigh, he flicked on his hazard lights and started to coast onto the shoulder.
Tess sank into her seat, crossing her hands in front of her like a child who’d gotten caught being naughty. Swallowing back the fear lodged in her throat, she murmured, “Sorry, honey.”
As he maneuvered the car out of the flow of traffic, Jack ignored her soft apology. Once upon a time he never would have. He would’ve assured her that it wasn’t her fault, maybe taken her hand instead of shaking it off, given her fingers a gentle squeeze. But those newlywed days were long gone. She felt the loss of them like an ache deep in her gut.
“Stay here,” Jack ordered.
Bracing his big body against the door, he ducked his head and left her alone, disappearing into the night. Logically, she knew he crouched down to take a look at the tire. That was logic. Anxiety said only a few feet separated Jack from the cars whizzing by and she didn’t have eyes on him.
Tess nibbled on her thumbnail, wondering if she should ignore his orders and go out to offer him some help. At the very least, she could provide some light for him. She wasn’t that useless.
Grabbing her cellphone from her purse, she fiddled with it for a second before activating the flashlight app. That should make it easier for Jack to see through the nasty weather.
He was back before she’d reached to unclasp her seatbelt. The rain drenched him, leaving his t-shirt plastered to his skin. His sandy brown hair looked black as water dripped down his face. Shaking his head, he spattered her with chilly drops of rain.
Tess killed the flashlight as Jack slid back into his seat.
“No way I can do anything in this storm,” he told her. “Tire’s shot, though. Looks like we might have rolled over a nail or something earlier. How much longer did we have to go until we got to the resort?”
It was so disappointing to hear the weariness he didn’t bother to hide. She’d been looking forward to this getaway for, well, forever. This second honeymoon was supposed to get them through this rocky patch in their relationship. Tess planned this trip down to its very last detail before they set off for the week away. At the time, the upcoming stormy forecast had been the least of her many concerns.
&n
bsp; She was beginning to regret that oversight now.
“I’m so, so sorry. We’ve still got about two hours to go.”
“What? Are you serious? It's after eight!”
“I know.”
“Damn it, I thought we'd be there by now.”
“We were supposed to be farther along—”
“You spent weeks getting me to agree to this, making arrangements.” His voice was an accusation. Like she invited the rain herself, or caused the tire to go bad.
Tess sank in her seat. That part, at least, was true.
Jack glared at her, frustration coming off of him in waves. “Come on, Tessie. What now? This was your brilliant idea. Except now we’re stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bum tire. Wonderful. And it’s still another two hours? Really?”
“Dinner took longer than I expected, and the rain definitely didn't help.” She bit her lip, then admitted, “We were already behind before the tire got all screwed up.”
When he huffed and groaned, running his hands through his rain-dampened hair, she hurriedly added, “Don’t worry, honey. Plans change, right? Plans change all the time. Our reservation will still be there tomorrow. We just got to figure out something for now.”
“Yeah?” he challenged. “Like what?”
Tess held up her phone. “It’s okay. Really. I checked my maps app a second ago. There’s an exit coming up in less than half a mile. I’m sure we can find something there. Someone to fix our tire, or maybe a motel for the night.”
Another huff. “Well, it’s not like we can sleep on the side of the highway. Okay. Fine. Let’s go.”