Page 68 of Love in Tandem
“I’m starting to wonder if Hopkins promised that money because he figured they wouldn’t be able to complete the challenge on time. And honestly, Sophia . . . I’m beginning to hope that too. Because I can’t find it. I just can’t find it. And I’m starting to lose faith that I ever will.”
The branches blurred when Sophia lifted her teary gaze back to the tree. So much for something encouraging.
Faith. Zach shook his head at the grinding crunch of the ice machine struggling to do its job in the cheapest hotel they could find near Kosciusko.
Sure, Charlotte. All life’s troubles could be solved with a little faith. That might’ve been a cute philosophy back when they had a solid chance of completing the challenge, but now that they’d lost another entire day of biking—now that they’d lost their bike—Zach failed to see how a little faith was going to get them across the finish line in time.
Which is why Zach had done exactly what he said he was going to do and filed a police report. Not that it would help. Officer Earl had seemed more concerned about whether the fish would be biting tomorrow than the case of the missing tandem.
Zach slapped his hand on the side of the grinding ice machine. Maybe Charlotte should add this stupid machine to her list of prayer concerns. An avalanche of ice cubes poured into his bucket the next second.
Without moving, Zach lifted his gaze to the ceiling as if he could see through the floor into her room. Maybe she already had.
It felt weird not being with her. All their time together, starting with Ben’s wedding, had bonded her to him in a way he couldn’t explain. Almost as if he couldn’t imagine going back to their separate lives once this was over.
But they would. They had to. No way could he settle down in Bailey Springs. Bad enough growing up there. No way was he ever going to convince Charlotte to leave it either.
The scent of chlorine hung heavy in the air as he walked past the main lobby. A lanky college-aged guy with an ear full of piercings sat behind the desk. Apparently not a lot of action taking place tonight. He and Charlotte hadn’t had any trouble getting two rooms.
Too bad they couldn’t afford to stay more than one night. And not just because of their dwindling funds. They were running out of time.
Zach climbed the stairs up to the second floor, where he and Charlotte had rooms across from each other. He hadn’t talked to her since dropping off the change of clothes he’d picked up for them at a thrift store close to the police station.
He paused outside her room, tempted to knock. But what would he say? Sorry I don’t see a future between us. But hey, no reason we can’t still be friends and make out in mud piles when the situation arises, right?
Yeah, he didn’t think that’d go over too well.
He swiped his room card, the air conditioning chilling his skin as soon as he stepped inside. After adjusting the temperature, he settled on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Something told him he was in for another restless night. This time because Charlotte wasn’t at his side.
Highway traffic competed with the soft twitter of birds as Charlotte stepped outside the hotel the following morning. The golden sun heated her skin and felt good after being inside the cold air conditioning all night.
Carrying the Styrofoam cup of coffee she’d helped herself to in the lobby, she meandered down a worn path to where a rugged bench sat next to a filmy green pond surrounded by overgrown grass.
For all her talk about faith, she couldn’t deny the doubts that had circled in her mind in the dark of night. What if they didn’t find their bike? No way they had enough money left to purchase another one. And even if they did, now they’d need to bike at least seventy-two miles a day to have any hope of finishing on time.
She sank to the bench, the thin shorts Zach had found for her at a Salvation Army thrift store providing little protection against the bench’s splintered wood, and offered up the same prayer she’d prayed all night long. God, just . . . please.
At one point yesterday evening she’d thought about knocking on Zach’s door. But what she would say, she didn’t know. Hey, I know we don’t have a future, but I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you and could use a giant hug, maybe a marriage proposal, to help me feel better about this whole losing-a-bike situation, perhaps life in general.
Yeah, she didn’t imagine that would have gone over very well.
Heavy footsteps clomped down the path behind her. She turned, squinting against the cheery morning sunlight, to find Zach ambling her way. “Hey,” he said, taking a seat next to her, coffee in hand.
“Hey.” She scooched over to make room for him, the bench snagging her shorts in the process. “Any word yet?” she asked, gently unlatching the fabric from the bench’s jaws.
He shook his head, staring straight ahead at the pond.
She hadn’t figured there would be. They drank their coffee, making small talk about how they’d slept and the water pressure in the shower and the choice of vending machine snacks.
“We should probably come up with a plan B, don’t you think?” Charlotte said after they’d covered at length the nautical decor of the rooms and the texture of the bath towels.
“Any suggestions on what this plan B should look like?”
“Not really, other than it should probably include a plan C, D, and E.”
“I’ll keep asking around. See if there’s another tandem bicycle we can buy.”
“With what money? We barely have enough for food.”
