guess we’re going to go see that Nicholas Sparks movie.”
They drove his truck. And when she questioned why they would do that instead of taking her vehicle, he said that he didn’t want her running up any more miles on her vehicle than was necessary. He proceeded to share a long lecture on vehicle maintenance and the importance of low mileage. He might have continued, but he had looked at her face and could tell her eyes were glazed over.
“Marti? Are you listening?” He gently prodded.
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“Why not?” He was surprised. Anyone else would have claimed to have been paying attention. Not her. And she seemed proud of it.
“Dead horse,” she said simply.
“You saw a dead horse?” He glanced around wondering where she would have seen one on the interstate.
“Nope,” she said. “You are beating a dead horse. I can only listen for so long.”
Part of him wanted to laugh, the other part was frustrated that she was ignoring his pearls of automotive maintenance wisdom. “I just thought with this being a new vehicle that you might have some questions about the maintenance schedule. I didn’t mean to bore you.” His hands had a white knuckle grip on the wheel as he tried to control his temper.
She stared up at him in surprise. “You’re joking right? I mean about the scheduled maintenance?”
“No, why would I joke about that? Every vehicle sold has a book outlining what needs to be done and when.” He was getting frustrated.
“Huh. There’s a book?” Suddenly she seemed interested.
“I’d call it more of a booklet. It comes standard in all vehicles.” He watched her. She was tapping her chin with one finger. It was pretty cute.
“Standard in all vehicles you say? And where might this magical booklet be found?” She glanced about, pulled down the visor, was about to open the console, when he stopped her.
“If you are looking for the booklet…glove box.” He sighed and pointed. He smirked as she turned her head and anticipating her next question, he responded. “And yes, a glove box is where it is kept in all vehicles which works nicely since glove boxes are standard in every vehicle.” He shook his head. She had done it again. She had raised his ire and then put out the fire. Damn, he could really like this woman.
They were still riding in companionable silence when they arrived at the theater. And the only thing that had changed was that now they were holding hands. They let go to exit the truck, and then he met her around on her side again to walk into the theater. He backed away from her extended hand. “Oh, I should warn you. I don’t do PDAs.” And with that, he drew closer, but planned to simply walk beside her.
She shrugged and looped an arm through his. Marti was humming and happy as the walked up to the ticket booth. They were about to see their first movie.
Glancing conspicuously at her arm looped through his he said, “I thought I just mentioned that I don’t do PDAs.” He waited for her remove her arm, but it didn’t happen.
“Oh, well I do.” She gave him a defiant look that showed she was prepared to argue. “Listen I spent years in a marriage where just about every aspect of my life was dictated by the other person. I won’t do that again. This is my compromise.” And she jutted out her chin and dared him to argue with the soundness of her reasoning.
As much as it pained him, he loved her spirit. This woman was going to rock his world. Maybe that was for the best. He didn’t move to New Hope for his life to stay the same. He wanted a change. He wanted life to be different. And this was definitely different. She was nothing like anyone he had ever known. And he meant that in the best possible ways.
The movie was good, another fine example of the typical bittersweet love story that was the hallmark of all Nicholas Sparks novels. During the movie, she had looped her arm through his once more and snuggled against his shoulder. And although it took him a moment to get used to it, he had warmed to her closeness by the time the movie ended. In fact, he was feeling downright mushy. He was thinking that if he convinced her to come into the house for a bit, he might just get her to stay.
As they walked