she just had to walk away, to leave it for a few hours, or sometimes a few days, before she could go back to it and see if it were any good. When she was in the midst of it, she was too close to it to make any kind of rational decision.
Andie hit the button on the steering wheel to turn on the radio, and they fell back into one of their stretches of silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Every now and then, she would glance over, watching his hand out the window rise and fall on the wind as it kept tune to the music, and she couldn’t help but smile at the childlike gesture.
As she turned her eyes back to the road, a woman standing on the shoulder caught her attention. She looked to be somewhere in her thirties, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. Her hair was somewhat disheveled, pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, and as she heard Andie’s car approaching, she turned quickly and extended her arm, her thumb up in the air and a hopeful expression in her eyes.
As Andie sped past her, she lifted her eyes to the rearview, watching the woman drop her arm back to her side and shove her hands in her pockets as she continued walking up the side of the highway.
Andie chewed on her lower lip, looking back to the rearview every few seconds, watching the woman get smaller and smaller until she finally disappeared.
“You know what I think is really sad?” she said.
Chase turned his head to look at her.
“That we live in a world where you have to be afraid to help people.”
He barked a short laugh. “Where did that come from?”
“That woman,” Andie said, looking in her rearview even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to see her anymore. “The one who was hitchhiking. I mean, you’d have to be crazy to stop and pick up a hitchhiker. That’s just asking for trouble. But at the same time, that poor lady could be out there for hours. And what if she’s just a normal person, not a thief or a killer, just someone who needs help? No one in his right mind would stop to pick her up. And if someone did stop, then she would have to be concerned for her own safety, because what kind of lunatic would let a complete stranger who could very well be crazy into his car? How could she be sure he wouldn’t pick her up just to take her into the woods somewhere and kill her? So not only do we have to be afraid to help people, but we also have to be afraid of people who want to help us. I just think that’s really sad.”
She took a small breath, looking over at him. His eyebrows were raised ever so slightly. “Wow,” he said, a smile curving his lips, “that was quite a rant.”
She bit her lip and shrugged. “But…do you know what I mean?” she asked softly, feeling a little embarrassed that she had just vented so openly.
His smile grew a bit more pronounced as he turned in his seat to face her. “You know something? I’ve never met anyone who lives as cautiously as you do. So by the book,” he said, using finger quotes. “Do you always play by the rules?”
She pressed her lips together, turning back toward the road as the familiar irritation crept its way up her spine. She knew it was too good to be true, the temporary ceasefire that had miraculously developed between them this afternoon.
Chase turned forward in his seat, clasping his hands behind his head. “You know what I think is sad?”
Andie kept her mouth closed, afraid of what he would say next. She didn’t want to go back to the way things were that morning. In fact, she just wished she hadn’t said anything at all.
“I think it’s sad that we’ll never know her,” Chase said.
She glanced over at him suspiciously.
“Think of how many people there are in the world that you’ll never know. Like that guy right there,” he said, nodding toward the car that whizzed by them. “What’s that guy’s name? Where’s he going? Is he happy with his life? Did he want Bella to end up with Edward or Jacob?”
Andie’s lips twitched as Chase brought one of his hands down from behind his head. “Or how about the guy you bought the pretzels from,” he said, gesturing toward