Page 49 of A Surefire Love
“Yeah, but you’d have to pay $24.99 for it.” He smiled. “As a pastor, I consider it my duty to dispense unwanted platitudes free of charge.”
She sighed. “It’s not unwanted. It’s just … I don’t know. Too easy. I can’t ignore the doctor and continue as I have been when there’s a fix.”
“It’s never been easy, so continuing as you were isn’t a cop-out. But I also didn’t mean to ignore him entirely. Just taper off coffee.”
“Maybe.” She rubbed her temple. “I wanted answers, and now that I have one, I hate it. It doesn’t seem to fit.”
“Doctors and tests can be wrong. You know yourself better than anyone. If you’re concerned about your diagnosis, get a second opinion.”
“I don’t even know how to do that.”
“Call a different office and make an appointment?”
She stared off over the roof of her car.
If only he could drive her home and set her up with a cup of coffee and a blanket. He’d tell her that she wasn’t broken and she deserved answers, that she was worth any effort.
“I think the best thing for me right now is bed.” She forced a smile and dropped into the driver’s seat.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do. I’m praying for you.” He eased her door shut.
She waved meekly and drove away.
His offer of prayer shouldn’t have been such an afterthought, but he didn’t want to leave her only in the Lord’s hands. He longed to comfort her himself.
“It’s nice and quiet, right?”The cheerful voice blared from the passenger seat.
Blaze blinked and found herself driving through asparsely developed industrial district on the edge of town. Her mind had been elsewhere, exploring questions about anxiety, Mercy, Anson, and coffee.
Coffee. Was Anson right? Should she make herself some? If it helped her focus, she might owe it to everyone else on the road.
She squinted at the rural highway. Following the route the dealership used for test drives, she’d turn left at the next intersection, if her trainee remembered to instruct her to.
“I get it.” Selina, dressed in a Portofino top and on-trend dress pants, chuckled. “So easy to get lost in the drive when it’s this smooth and effortless, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Blaze spared her newest salesperson a placating smile.
Selina was a quick study. That, or the furniture store she’d worked for had trained her on the benefits of getting a customer to say yes repeatedly. Studies showed that if a prospective buyer got in the habit of agreeing, they’d be more likely to agree to purchase. Although, psychological studies were also the reason Blaze tested as anxious instead of distracted.
“I’ll have you turn left at the next intersection. See that sign there?” Selina lifted a long, manicured fingernail.
Blaze looked at her own short, unpainted ones on the steering wheel. Last time she did her nails, she forgot the second coat on three of them. The uneven color had bothered her every day, yet it took a week until she remembered to remove it.
“It’s a beautiful country road, and”—Selina drew out the word playfully—“it has a couple of twists that’ll give you a feel for how this beauty handles. Sound good?”
A quick study indeed. “Sure.” Blaze flipped on the blinker.
As part of her training, Selina was walking Blaze through the entire sales process. Blaze ought to pose a question to mimic a client. Something about safety features or mileage.
“Is this a test?” Selina half-whispered.
Blaze hadn’t managed a question yet, so what did Selina mean? Oh. Blaze had passed the intersection without turning. Where was her head today? Since it ached, it must still be attached. She tamped down the impulse to apologize. “Always expect the unexpected.”
Blaze coached Selina on how to adjust the test drive route when a customer wanted a longer turn behind the wheel, then they headed back toward the dealership. Selina slid back into her upbeat sales persona, and Blaze managed a question or two about the car and one about financing.
When they parked, Blaze continued in her role as though she wanted to buy. Selina showed her to her office and motioned to a seat across from the computer. “Can I get you a coffee before we get to work?”
Blaze lowered into the chair. A wall stood between her and the single-serve coffee maker in the lobby, but her eyes fixed on the spot, so desperate for a caffeine fix she apparently thought she had X-ray vision now. “What could it hurt?”
