Glancing around the bus, he was certain none of the occupants—save for him and Payton—were under age fifty. All of them seemed to be part of a couple. The men, like him, sat mostly silent as the women shared, looking like they’d heard the stories many times before.
A few minutes later, they reached the little town of Tequila, which wasn’t the quiet, peaceful town he’d been hoping for. Instead, it was teeming with tourists in jeans and shorts walking in the same direction they were headed. He prayed there was a garage still open and he could persevere in getting the car fixed that evening.#p#分页标题#e#
“It should be somewhere down this way, if I remember right,” Lenny said. Sure enough, a moment later, several stacked tires near the front of a garage told them they’d arrived. In the lingering late afternoon sunlight, the facade looked muted, almost vintage. And open, if the sign in the window was any indication.
Lenny parked the bus in front and turned around to address Cruz. “Why don’t you go see what they can do for you? With the festival, they might be closing shop early. We’ll stick around. Your fiancée’s welcome to wait here.”
“I’ll just be a moment,” he said to Payton, who nodded and waved him off as a couple of the older ladies continued to bend her ear, already enchanted with their new guest. Something he could relate to.
Ten minutes later, Cruz was back on the bus. Payton’s smile looked a little more strained. “He’s going to tow it now. He won’t know more until it’s back. But…” He took a seat next to her, watching her eyes widen in uncertainty. She wasn’t going to like this. “…By the time he gets it back here and can take a look, even assuming it is an easy fix, it’s going to be pushing sunset. And this next stretch of road? We’re going to want all the light we can get. It’s pretty dangerous.”
“You’re saying we’re not going to make it into Puerto Vallarta tonight, aren’t you?” Her voice was remarkably calm, but he could see by the way her hands squeezed tight together she was stressed.
“Yeah. I’m afraid so. Which means, we’re going to need to find somewhere to stay for the night.” He chose not to add that the prospects weren’t very promising based on their timing in the middle of the festivities.
“I think we have just the place for you, if you’re interested,” Lenny said after conferring with his wife for a minute. “Glen and Mags had to bow out of the tour at the last minute on account of Mags breaking her hip. But their room is already paid for and there’s no sense in letting it go to waste. Especially since we’re likely the reason for your current predicament.”
Actually, Cruz would say there was no doubt they had caused it, but there was no reason to belabor the point. He looked to Payton, who was already tilting her head to him as if to say Why not?
“Please say you’ll accept,” Bev said, giving them a toothy grin. “We’d love to have you. And you can join us later on when we tour the distillery and have dinner down in their underground taverns. They’re spectacular, so romantic. We’ve had the reservation for months.”
“We’d love to,” Payton said, her eyes shining with excitement now. She turned to him. “Right, honey?”
“Besides, you can look at it as a little pre-marital celebration,” Bev threw in, likely hoping to clinch the deal. “You can be the guests of honor as we all drink to your upcoming wedding.”
Oh yeah. And then there was that.
It was close to an hour and a half before Cruz made it to the hotel, having gone out with the mechanic to get the car and to wait for his diagnosis. He had to give it to their new Texan friends; they had great taste in hotels. The bright and airy hotel felt authentic and unique and was definitely well tended. Even the hotel clerks were bright and friendly, though maybe a tad too excited to see him.
“Gracias,” Cruz told them and palmed the key they placed on the counter.
As if she was close to bursting, the young female clerk added with a sly smile, “We hope you and the lovely senorita enjoy your stay.”
He paused. He knew that Lenny had mentioned one hotel room, but he’d been almost certain that Payton would have found a way of using those feminine charms to secure an extra room. He decided to be certain. “So…is the senorita still in the room?”#p#分页标题#e#
“Si, senor. She only returned half an hour ago.”
Returned from where? He supposed he should just feel relieved she was back at the hotel, safe and sound, since who knew what kind of trouble that woman could get into alone.