And Moore’s.
Maybe she shouldn’t throw stones when she was riding in a glass truck.
“Whoa!” Moore called out, pointing as Colleen swerved, a car suddenly appearing out of nowhere in the thickening snow.
Heart slamming, she leaned forward, flexing her feet, trying to do anything to distract herself from the close call.
“What was that?” she gasped. “No hazard lights on!”
“The road seems fine. Salted along this stretch. Just a breakdown.”
“I’m about to have a breakdown.” Hand on her heart, she let out a big exhale. “Dang.”
“You okay? Need me to drive?”
She shook her head and reached for her water. “I’m fine. Just–that was close.”
“On a day when we were both dumped and humiliated, the last thing we need is an accident, too.”
“I can’t end up in my own ER after a third date with Tim. I’d never hear the end of it!”
As they laughed, she wanted to ask more about how Jordy was handling so much change–new stepdad, new sibling–but she was happy to know he was still visiting in a few weeks.
Snow outside was getting heavier, the need for her headlights now evident though it wasn’t dark yet. As she saw the signs for I-93 North, she gave him a look.
“Should we go down to 95 and go through Portland?”
“It’ll be worse there.”
“It’s faster.”
“We always go up through Wolfeboro.”
“You just go that way because of the subs at that little café you love.”
“Damn right. Is it my fault my uncle got me hooked on them?”
“They are really good. Especially the chicken pesto one.”
“See?”
“But worth getting stuck in a snowstorm?”
He gave her a thousand-watt smile that lit up all the gloomy, dark places inside her.
“If I have to be stuck in a snowstorm with anyone, at least it’ll be with you.”
“That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“You have great legs.”
“Um… thanks?”
“Bet they’ll taste good.”
“Huh?”
“If I have to resort to cannibalism.”
“You’re thinking about eating me?” The way she said those last two words felt charged. Too charged. Moore smothered a smile with his palm, rubbing his chin, letting the moment fade into an unsettling, though not unpleasant, quiet.
That he trusted her to drive meant a lot, but she also knew he wouldn’t be as sharp after all that travel, so it made sense to have her at the wheel.
On impulse, she decided to go with the Wolfeboro route, because it would make him happy. Moore needed more happiness. Hannah had been nice enough, though she never hung out with the gang at Bilbee’s, and Moore had seemed content, if nothing else, to be with her.
Content was good enough when you were cursed.
“Oh ho ho, I get my sub after all.”
“Can’t have you gnawing on my tibia.”
“So this is an act of self-preservation?”
“Something like that.”
“You just like the chicken pesto.”
“You don’t know me!”
“Actually, I do.” The glance he gave her made it clear he wanted to say more.
Focusing on driving, she hoped her heart would calm down so she wouldn’t feel so jittery. The only thing worse than driving in heavy snow was driving in it anxious.
“I do know you, Colleen,” he continued somberly. “And so does Jordy. Know what he said to me when I mentioned the new performing arts high school?”
“What?”
“He said, ‘Colleen could see my sets.’”
“Awww. But you fly out there for every single one of his plays and musicals.”
“Sure I do, but it’s not enough.”
“It’s more than enough.”
“I mean, I want him here. I want him to know his family. His roots are here in Luview. Mom and Dad aren’t getting any younger. The Forsythe family has so many uncles and cousins. Cammie’s kept him away for too long.”
“You can’t push hard, Moore. A kid like Jordy is going to run away if you push.”
“I know.”
“I know you know.”
“You know damn near everything about me. You might as well be my sister, too, in addition to being Luke’s.”
Every drop of amusement squeezed out of her like an elephant stepped on a tube of toothpaste.
“Ha,” she said weakly. “Right.”
“You know my favorite foods. My favorite beer. Favorite shows. You have this uncanny ability to stop me from throwing a dart like I’m a squinting drunk. You hate that I eat peanut butter on my cheeseburgers but you always have some at the table for me anyhow. You know that I suck at quarter-round trim installation but–”
“Right,” she repeated. “We’re friends. We grew up together. You’re my annoying younger brother from another mother.”
Why wouldn’t her heart stop jumping up and down like there was a trampoline in her chest?
“I’m your bonus bro,” he said softly, the end of his words coming out with a huff, as if he were about to laugh but felt something other than amusement. Colleen forced her eyes to stay straight ahead, because if she looked at him, what would she see?
Not what she wanted to see in Moore’s eyes.
That would never, ever happen. She’d given up long ago.
AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” came on the radio, which meant only one thing could happen next.
They sang along to it.
Then “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” which Moore made a face at and let Colleen sing all the vocals, followed by “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance, which made Colleen groan and beg Moore not to do it.
“No! Please!” she shouted as Moore began singing the words, every one with the drama of Gerard Way.
“I can’t believe you listen to this crap.”
“You know all the words to ‘Shake It Off,’ Colleen, so don’t judge.”
And then she was forced to listen to Moore go into the tortured chorus.
“I wish you had an off button!”
“So does Jordy!”
That made her laugh. Moore’s son was a delight to her, a fellow baseball nerd who went to games with her to watch the Love You team, the Cupids. No one adored the ragtag, misfit AAA league team more than Jordy, with their pink and white uniforms, hearts on every bat, and hecklers in every bleacher.
Unable to stand it any longer, she snapped the radio off.
“Hey!”
“We were losing the station to static.”
“Were not!”
“Then your singing was destroying my aural nerve.”
“Sorry to disappoint you aurally.”
Blanking, her throat went cold with shock, the rest of her heating up.
Was he… flirting?
Awkward silence filled the cab of the truck, or was it just her? She wished the weird tension in the air didn’t exist, but Moore shook his head and seemed the same.
Casual, easygoing Moore. No need to feel uneasy around him. He just did his thing, and seconds turned into minutes, and soon, he was turning the radio back on, shifting from station to station.