“While we negotiate a price for your truck you need a car, for getting around, back and forth to work. Take this one for as long as you like.”
I struggled to form both words and thought; finally I managed, “Duane, first of all…whose car is this? I mean, who does it belong to? Won’t they miss it?”
“No. It’s one of mine. I hardly use it.” He reached for my hand and placed the keys in my palm.
“One of yours?”
“Yeah.”
I couldn’t stop blinking at him. “I can’t take your car.”
He shrugged. “Sure you can.”
“It’s a classic! I mean, I’m no expert on cars, but this isn’t a recent model. This must be over thirty years old.”
“About fifty years, actually. It’s a 1966 Mustang 289.”
Now I was blinking and shaking my head, and my thoughts were a breathy whisper when they slipped out, “You’re crazy.”
He finally smiled, though it was swift and gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. I made a mental note that Duane Winston liked it when I called him crazy.
“Take it for a test drive.” His hands were on me again, steering me to the driver’s side door. He opened it and gently pushed me inside, taking the bag from my shoulder and setting it on the floor behind my seat.
Meanwhile, I was greedily devouring the inside of the classic car with my eyes, unthinkingly slipping the keys into the ignition, pressing the clutch, and turning it on. It was…majestic. Something about the car almost felt alive, even sitting idle, humming beneath my fingers, anxious for the road.
Duane claimed the passenger seat and I glanced at him, finding his attention affixed to my face and a warmth there that made my heart race.
“What?” I narrowed eyes at him.
“Are you going to touch it or drive it?”
“Honestly? I haven’t made up my mind.” I stroked the steering wheel. It was covered in soft white leather. In fact, all the upholstery was white leather; the inside smelled like leather and Duane’s cologne. “I don’t think…I mean, I don’t know if I can.”
“Don’t you know how to drive a stick?”
“Yes. But that’s not what I meant.” I let go of the wheel and faced him, clasping my hands together on my lap so I wouldn’t reach for it again. “I mean, I don’t understand what’s going on. I should get a rental car in Knoxville until I find a replacement for the truck, something newer.”
“No. You shouldn’t.” He wasn’t smiling now. In fact, he looked frustrated. “That’d be a waste of money. This Mustang is a classic, yes. And, sure, it has over six hundred thousand miles on it. But I’ve rebuilt the engine and most of the other parts are new. It has new tires, brakes, suspension. It runs as good as a new car, I wouldn’t let you drive anything unsafe. You’re not going to have any problems with it, and it handles the mountain roads real well.”
I shook my head and reached for his hand, seeing he’d mistaken my meaning. “That’s not what I meant. I trust that this car handles like it looks—beautifully.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“The problem is this car is a classic. It is far too valuable for me to use as a loaner.”
“Then it’s not a loaner. I’m giving it to you. It’s yours.”
My mouth fell open again and a small sound of confused protest escaped. “Duane.”
“Jess.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am serious.” He looked serious.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you need a car and I have four.” He shrugged.
“You could sell it. I’m sure it’s worth a bundle.”
“I can’t sell it because I just gave it to you.”
I gritted my teeth before hollering, “You can’t give me a car!”
He lifted his voice to match the volume of mine. “I just did!”
I stared at him, the stubborn set of his square jaw, the way his left eyebrow was slightly raised in challenge. He was so stubborn and irritating…and cute. And sweet. And thoughtful. And presumptuous.
“I’m not taking it,” I said finally, shaking my head. “It wouldn’t be right.”
“Quit being so stubborn.”
“Being rational isn’t being stubborn. You can’t just go around giving people cars. You’re not Oprah.”
Duane’s lips flattened in a way that made me think he was trying not to laugh because his eyes were shining. “What gave me away? Was it the red hair?”
Without thinking, and in a way reminiscent of our bickering childhood, I responded flatly, “No. It was the feel of your circumcised penis last week.”