Chapter 16 #2
His refusal to respond was vexing. Hmm, vexing . Good word— she’d read it last night. Totally appropriate.
It was eerily quiet as they worked on their tasks. Kalista was only a quarter of the way through rolling the newspapers when Tyler put in the last flyer. Without a word, he left the basement and went upstairs.
She stopped and watched him go. Instead of being vexed, she was troubled. She’d hurt people’s feelings before—some because they deserved it, others accidentally. Either way, it rarely affected her this much. How long was he going to give her the silent treatment? She hated the silent treatment.
An apology was in order. Her least favorite thing. Hopefully that would thaw the ice between them, and they could go back to the way things were when she first got the job and he was so friendly and complimentary to her.
After filling Bo’s truck with the papers, she got inside.
Driving this thing wasn’t so bad, and she was surprised by how quickly she was getting used to it.
Totally not as comfy as her BMW, and she’d have to ask Bo to fix the janky air-conditioning before it got really hot, but she didn’t need it in the mountains right now.
As she went along the route, she got into a rhythm. She didn’t even mind getting out and putting the papers in their special places for their particularly persnickety customers. When she stopped by Mrs. Joyce’s house, the woman was outside with her little dog, Pepé.
“Thank you so much, young lady,” she said, while Pepé, a fluffy white little thing, sniffed Kalista’s sandals. “I’m so glad you delivery people take the time to bring this to my doorstep. I’ve got a bad hip, and it can be difficult for me to walk all the way to the end of my driveway.
“You’re welcome.” An unfamiliar yet pleasant feeling came over her. She smiled and went back to her truck.
She didn’t bother to turn on the radio since she couldn’t get a decent station anyway. Britney Spears was already in her head, and she sang along as she continued her route, feeling completely unbothered and still happy after Mrs. Joyce had thanked her.
The truck lurched. Sputtered. Then completely stopped.
“What the...” She turned the key. Nothing. She put the truck in Park, then back in Drive. Still nothing. “Don’t tell me this piece of junk is broken down... Uh-oh.” She looked at the gas tank. The red pointer was aimed straight at the capital E .
She clutched the steering wheel. How could she run out of gas? Back home her father had a chauffeur who took care of filling up all their cars, but she still had to get her own gas if she was out and about. Checking the tank hadn’t even been on her radar.
Now she was stuck in the mountains with no phone and happened to be at that one part of her route where there was nobody close by.
Her throat started to close. I’m gonna die... I’m gonna die...
A more rational voice took over. “Don’t be stupid,” she muttered.
Didn’t she pass by a cabin a short while back?
She got out of the truck, locked it, then walked back the way she came.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been walking, but the sun had risen a little higher in the sky, making it easier to see.
When she came upon the small honey-colored cabin, she almost fainted with relief.
There was a car in the driveway too. Hooray!
She knocked on the door. Knocked again when no one answered it. Then a third time. Were they sleeping? Or not even home? That panicky feeling returned.
The door suddenly opened, and a tall man appeared. “Kalista?”
“Logan! You have no idea how glad I am to see you.” Weird that he was here on her route, but there was no time to dwell. “I ran out of gas.”
“I didn’t know you lived around here.”
“I don’t. See, I was delivering the paper.” She shook her head, still a little embarrassed by her job. “Whatever. Do you have any gas?”
“Sorry, I don’t. And I’m kind of in a hurry. Is there anyone you can call?”
She nodded. “Mr. Hudson.”
Logan nodded and let her in the cabin. “You work for The Clementine Times ? Cool. Seb’s your boss then.”
Kalista frowned. “How do you know him?”
“This is his cabin.”
He had a cabin? When she walked inside, she was impressed. He must make a decent amount of money to afford a place like this. She was also struck by how tidy it was, considering the messy state of his office.
“Phone’s in the kitchen.” Logan went to the couch, where a small pile of clothing was next to a large backpack. He picked up a shirt and rolled it up.
Kalista took the receiver off the hook and dialed The Times .
Viv had suggested she memorize the number just in case she got into trouble on her route.
At the time, Kalista thought that was a stupid idea.
What could possibly happen? Lesson learned.
She let the phone ring and looked at the microwave clock.
Six thirty. Too early for Mr. Hudson to be there.
After a few seconds, she almost hung up. She didn’t want to bother Viv at this hour because of her own stupidity, but she might have to.
“ Clementine Times .”
“Tyler! It’s Kalista!”
“Oh.”
She ignored his bland tone and quickly explained what happened. “I’m at Mr. Hudson’s cabin. Logan’s here—”
“Who’s Logan?”
“Jade’s brother.”
“Ms. Smith?”
Now that everyone was identified, she said in a small voice, “Can you bring me some gas?”
“You ran out?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. Embarrassing, and irresponsible. “Yes. I’m sorry—”
“Be there when I can.”
He hung up before she could thank him. She put the receiver back, then leaned against the counter, her shoulders slumping.
Logan hoisted his backpack over his shoulder. “Can you do me a favor? Would you mind locking up?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks.” He opened the door. “Nice meeting you.”
“Bye.” She gave him a limp wave. When he was gone, she sat down on the big brown couch and looked around the living room.
No TV here either. She was tempted to do some snooping— something she often did at her friends’ houses.
Amazing what you could find in someone’s medicine cabinet.
It would give her something to do until Tyler showed up.
But something stopped her. Mr. Hudson was her boss, and she had to respect his home. He’d hired her for her first job, after all. She owed him that much.
With nothing to do in the house, she grabbed the key and went outside, then locked the door.
If she needed to get back in, she could unlock it.
Tyler had to be irritated with her, because she was irritated with herself, but a sense of peace filled her as she sat on a large flat boulder near the front of the cabin while waiting for him to show up.
She did like being up here in the little mountains.
Ozarks, she thought they were called. Birds chirped, a faint breeze rustled the green leaves.
.. It was calming. The boulder was big enough for her to lie down on, and when she did, she looked through the tree branches and watched the puffy clouds as they slowly rolled by. ..
“Kalista. Hey. Wake up.”
She felt tapping on her shoulder and opened her eyes. Tyler stood over her, his glasses slipping to the front of his nose. She rubbed her left eye. “Did I fall asleep?”
“Yeah.” Tyler straightened. “I put gas in your truck.” He turned and walked to his car.
“Hang on.” She hurried to him.
He hesitated, then turned around.
“I’m sorry, Tyler. I should have checked my gas gauge. I didn’t even think about it.”
Glancing away, he muttered, “It’s okay.” Then he jumped in his car and drove off.
Tears pricked her eyes. He didn’t give her a chance to apologize for the other day. He didn’t even offer to give her a ride back to the truck. It was as if he couldn’t physically stand to be around her. That hurt more deeply than what Ryan and Abbie had done.
She walked back to the truck, trying hard not to sniffle. When she reached it and got inside, she turned on the engine and watched the gas gauge go to the halfway point. She blew out a breath and recentered. Never mind Tyler. He could be vexing all day long if he wanted. She didn’t care anymore.
She had papers to deliver, a job to do. She put the truck in Drive and drove off to finish her route.
It wasn’t long before her bluster weakened.
She should still be furious. Sure, she was rude to Tyler on Saturday, but that was only because she was frustrated and hangry.
He’d been cruel to her several times over since then, except for buying her funnel cake.
Yes, she should be incensed that he dare treat her this way.
But she wasn’t. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand. She was just sad.