Page 37 of Trouble Walked In

“It’s not just about music, or about the tour. Maybe Della’s not as passionate about music as she used to be. Maybe it’s not enough. You can't just make her be happy and perform like a dancing bear just because it’s convenient for you.”

“Nothing about this is convenient.” He resisted the urge to hit the steering wheel. “We have to do something. A lot of people are going to be affected by this little stunt of hers.”

“It’s not a stunt,” Lizzie snapped. “It’s a cry for help. Have some damn compassion.”

The GPS beeped. “In two miles, turn right.”

“I love Della like she was my own sister. I care about her more than you’ve ever wanted to admit. But I also have compassion for the hundreds of people whose jobs depend on her showing up and honoring her commitments. Don’t you? Once upon a time you were one of those people.”

Lizzie pressed her lips together and glared out the window.

He wasn’t sure how much of her resistance was because she thought he was wrong and how much was because she wanted to punish him for the past. “I know you love Della more than you like being pissed off at me. I know you’re worried about her. I am too. Can we call a truce? At least until we help Della? Then I’ll get out of your life, and you can go back to hating me.”

Renic let road noise fill the empty space between them.

Lizzie stared out the window.

His hands ached. He forced himself to relax his grip on the wheel.

“In one mile, turn right.”

He should say something. She frowned at something he couldn't see. Her own thoughts, maybe. The way her dark hair spilled around her shoulders to frame her face reminded him of when they first met. She’d been so focused on her sisters’ performance that she hadn’t noticed him watching. He’d been able to study her profile until the curve of her cheeks and the light in her eyes were burned into his memory.

She’d captivated him that day with her loyalty, love, and unstoppable dedication to her sisters’ happiness. He’d never had anything like that in his own family, not even from hismother. It had taken his breath away to experience it up close, if only from the sidelines.

His thoughts wandered back to the bedroom and the way she’d looked with her hand on his sheets. The temperature in the SUV kicked up a notch or two. “Lizzie, I just want you to know—”

A loud boom rocked the SUV, and suddenly it was hard to control the wheel.

Renic immediately let off the gas as awhomp whomp whompsound filled the air. Shards of rubber spun out as the tire deflated and disintegrated.

Lizzie squeaked and grabbed onto the door handle.

Renic swore and resisted the urge to slam on the brakes. The car swerved to the left. He wrestled it back to the right and fought the vehicle to a standstill in the middle of the road. His pulse skyrocketed as adrenaline and delayed reaction danced on his nerves.

The promised turnoff was just ahead on the right. A run-down looking bar with a sign that read Still & Grill occupied the corner on one side of the road, an empty field on the other. There was nothing else in sight.

Lizzie put a hand on her chest and breathed out. “Sweet baby Jesus.”

They exchanged glances.

“Perfect!” Renic said. “Just freaking perfect.”

“We have to get out of the road,” Lizzie said. She turned to look out the back window as if she expected a truck to somehow materialize and ram into them at any second.

Renic gritted his teeth. “That’s what I’m doing.”

He slowly and carefully maneuvered the car into the surprisingly full parking lot of the Still & Grill, selecting one of two open spots near the road and turned off the car. Quiet that only exists in the country infiltrated the SUV.

“I don’t suppose you have emergency services out here in the sticks?” he asked.

“This is a rental, isn’t it?” Lizzie pointed at his phone. “It comes with roadside assistance. You just have to call.”

He reached across her lap to open the glove compartment, and his hand brushed the top of her thigh. A rush of heat tingled his fingers.

Lizzie smacked his hand away. “What the hell are you doing?”

He gave her a wide-eyed innocent look. “I need the rental agreement so I can call for help. What did you think I was reaching for?”

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