"I'm deciding how long I should look at it and pretend I know what I'm looking at before I get back in out of the rain."
"You don't know how to fix your car?" she asked, with such obvious surprise that he bristled.
"No, I don't. I also own shoes and don't have a clue how to tan leather." He started to yank down the hood, but she raised a hand to hold it open.
"I'll take a look."
"What are you, a mechanic?"
"No, but I know the basics." Elbowing him aside, she checked the battery connections first. "These look all right, but you're going to want to keep an eye on them for corrosion if you're spending any time on Desire."
"Six months or so." He leaned in with her. "What am I keeping my eye on?"
"These. Moisture can play hell with engines around here. You're crowding me."
"Sorry." He shifted his position. Obviously she didn't remember him, and he decided to pretend he didn't remember her. "You live on the 'Island?"
"Not anymore. " To keep from bumping it on the jeep, Jo moved the camera slung around her neck to her back.
Nate stared at it, felt the low jolt. It was a high-end Nikon. Compact, quieter and more rugged than other designs, it was often a professional's choice. His father had had one. He had one himself "Been out taking pictures in the rain?"
"Wasn't raining when I left," she said absently. "Your fan belt's going to need replacing before long, but that's not your problem now." she straightened, and though the skies had opened wide, seemed oblivious to the downpour. "Get in and try it so I can hear what she sounds like."
"You're the boss."
Her lips twitched as he turned and climbed back into the Jeep. No doubt his male ego was dented, she decided. she cocked her head as the engine groaned. Lips pursed, she leaned back under the hood. "Again!" she called out to him, muttering to herself "Carburetor."
"WHat?"
"Carburetor," she repeated and opened the little metal door with her thumb. "Turn her over again."
This time the engine roared to life. With a satisfied nod, she shut the hood and walked around to the driver's side window. "It's sticking closed, that's all. You're going to want to have it looked at. From the sound of it, you need a tune-up anyway. When's the last time you had it in?"
"I just bought it a couple of weeks ago. From a former friend."
"Ah. Always a mistake. Well, it should get you where you're going now."
WHen she started to step back
he reached through the window for her hand. It was narrow, he noted, long, both elegant and competent.
"Listen, let me give you a lift. It's pouring, and it's the least I can do."
"It's not necessary. I can-"
"I could break down again." He shot her a smile, charming, easy, persuasive. "Who'll fix my carburetor?"
It was foolish to refuse, she knew. More foolish to feel trapped just because he had her hand. she shrugged. "All right, then." she gave her hand a little tug, was relieved when he immediately released it. she jogged around the Jeep and climbed dripping into the passenger seat.
"Well, the interior's in good shape."
"My former friend knows me too well." Nathan turned on the wipers and looked at Jo. "Where to?"
"Up this road, then bear right at the first fork. Sanctuary isn't farbut then nothing is on Desire."
"That's handy. I'm heading to Sanctuary myself."
"Oh?" The air in the cab was thick and heavy. The driving rain seemed to cut them off from everything, misting out the trees, muffling all the sound. Reason enough to be uncomfortable, she told herself, but she was sufficiently annoyed with her reaction to angle her head and meet his eyes directly. "Are you staying at the big house?"
"No, just picking up keys for the cottage I'm renting."
"For six months, you said?" It relieved her when he began to drive, turned those intense gray eyes away from her face and focused on the road. "That's a long vacation."
"I brought work with me. I wanted a change of scene for a while."
"Desire's a long way from home," she said, then smiled a little when he glanced at her. "Anyone from Georgia can spot a Yankee. Even if you keep your mouth shut, you move differently." she pushed her wet hair back. If she'd walked, Jo thought, she'd have been spared making conversation. But talk was better than the heavy, rain-drenched silence. "You've got Little Desire Cottage, by the river."
"How do you know?"
"Oh, everybody knows everything around here. But my family rents the cottages, runs them and the inn, the restaurant. As it happens I was assigned Little Desire, stocked the linens and so forth just yesterday for the Yankee who's coming to stay for six months."