while I was at it.” Looking at Clara, he said, “Give it a try.”
She turned the key and the engine shuddered to life.
Amos laughed loudly. “I think all I did was put a bandage on a limb in need of amputatin’, but she’ll keep goin’ for a little while longer.”
Clara thanked them both for all they had done, but she found her eyes lingering on Drake a little longer, as if she was waiting for him to finish what he’d been saying, but he remained silent.
Finally, she stuck out her hand. “It was nice to meet you.”
Drake smiled. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
She shrugged. “I’m already dirty. What’s a little more grease?”
They shook hands; when she made to let go, Drake held her hand a heartbeat longer, but Clara didn’t mind.
When she finally drove away, now plenty late in getting back to work, wondering if Eddie would be angry with her, her eyes kept darting to her mirror. Drake stood in the middle of the road, watching her.
She wondered what he was thinking.
Chapter Nine
C LARA COLLECTED THE PLATES and dishes, the glasses and silverware, the bowls and pans that still held what was left over from dinner, and brought them to the sink. Her mother washed them, Christine’s hands deep in the soapy water; those she’d already cleaned were drying on a towel beside her. Music played on the radio, an old-timey ballad, a man’s voice crooning in the kitchen and out through the open window into the early evening.
“ If you’re heading for a sunny honeymoon ,” her mother sang softly.
Clara frowned as she gathered the last items: Tommy’s unused setting. Christine said he hadn’t been home since their misunderstanding that afternoon. Clara had waited, their dinner growing cold, but finally gave up. She imagined he was sulking somewhere, probably with Naomi whispering more nonsense in his ear, forcing the gulf between Tommy and his family even wider. Clara worried about her son, but until he returned home, she didn’t know what more she could do.
“How were things at the bank?” Christine asked.
“Pretty slow,” Clara answered, forcing a smile; this was the second time her mother had asked that question. “Eleanor MacGregor wanted me to say hello. She says you’re overdue for a visit.”
Clara wondered if her mother would remember her mentioning the greeting from one of her oldest friends, then worried that the realization might embarrass her. But Christine replied, “That was nice of her,” and Clara understood that their earlier conversation had been forgotten.
Outside, the sun was slowly setting. A pair of boys raced down the street, riding a contraption they’d built out of an old apple box, loose boards, and some scavenged wheels. The symphony of birdsong steadily quieted for the night, with only a few intermittent calls. For Sunset, it was just another day coming to an end.
But for Clara, it had been anything but ordinary.
It had been headed for ruin; the outburst from Tommy, her mother’s continued confusion, her worries about Eddie Fuller, and finally the truck’s breakdown had left her ready to give in to despair.
Then Drake McCoy had shown up…
When she’d needed help the most, Drake had given it, had even gone out of his way to do so, and Clara had found herself enjoying his company, his smile, especially the way he made her laugh. Back at the bank, standing at her teller window, she had found herself thinking of him, wondering what he was doing, what it was like to race a car for a living. Still, her daydreams had turned sour; watching him fade from sight in her rearview mirror was the last she would ever see of him.
Then, to make matters even worse, she’d thought about Joe.
She remembered all the years they had spent together, how passionately she’d loved him. She recalled how delighted they had been when she first learned that she was pregnant, how nine months had felt like forever, how everything had changed for the better one September morning
She turned the key and the engine shuddered to life.
Amos laughed loudly. “I think all I did was put a bandage on a limb in need of amputatin’, but she’ll keep goin’ for a little while longer.”
Clara thanked them both for all they had done, but she found her eyes lingering on Drake a little longer, as if she was waiting for him to finish what he’d been saying, but he remained silent.
Finally, she stuck out her hand. “It was nice to meet you.”
Drake smiled. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
She shrugged. “I’m already dirty. What’s a little more grease?”
They shook hands; when she made to let go, Drake held her hand a heartbeat longer, but Clara didn’t mind.
When she finally drove away, now plenty late in getting back to work, wondering if Eddie would be angry with her, her eyes kept darting to her mirror. Drake stood in the middle of the road, watching her.
She wondered what he was thinking.
Chapter Nine
C LARA COLLECTED THE PLATES and dishes, the glasses and silverware, the bowls and pans that still held what was left over from dinner, and brought them to the sink. Her mother washed them, Christine’s hands deep in the soapy water; those she’d already cleaned were drying on a towel beside her. Music played on the radio, an old-timey ballad, a man’s voice crooning in the kitchen and out through the open window into the early evening.
“ If you’re heading for a sunny honeymoon ,” her mother sang softly.
Clara frowned as she gathered the last items: Tommy’s unused setting. Christine said he hadn’t been home since their misunderstanding that afternoon. Clara had waited, their dinner growing cold, but finally gave up. She imagined he was sulking somewhere, probably with Naomi whispering more nonsense in his ear, forcing the gulf between Tommy and his family even wider. Clara worried about her son, but until he returned home, she didn’t know what more she could do.
“How were things at the bank?” Christine asked.
“Pretty slow,” Clara answered, forcing a smile; this was the second time her mother had asked that question. “Eleanor MacGregor wanted me to say hello. She says you’re overdue for a visit.”
Clara wondered if her mother would remember her mentioning the greeting from one of her oldest friends, then worried that the realization might embarrass her. But Christine replied, “That was nice of her,” and Clara understood that their earlier conversation had been forgotten.
Outside, the sun was slowly setting. A pair of boys raced down the street, riding a contraption they’d built out of an old apple box, loose boards, and some scavenged wheels. The symphony of birdsong steadily quieted for the night, with only a few intermittent calls. For Sunset, it was just another day coming to an end.
But for Clara, it had been anything but ordinary.
It had been headed for ruin; the outburst from Tommy, her mother’s continued confusion, her worries about Eddie Fuller, and finally the truck’s breakdown had left her ready to give in to despair.
Then Drake McCoy had shown up…
When she’d needed help the most, Drake had given it, had even gone out of his way to do so, and Clara had found herself enjoying his company, his smile, especially the way he made her laugh. Back at the bank, standing at her teller window, she had found herself thinking of him, wondering what he was doing, what it was like to race a car for a living. Still, her daydreams had turned sour; watching him fade from sight in her rearview mirror was the last she would ever see of him.
Then, to make matters even worse, she’d thought about Joe.
She remembered all the years they had spent together, how passionately she’d loved him. She recalled how delighted they had been when she first learned that she was pregnant, how nine months had felt like forever, how everything had changed for the better one September morning
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