Page 29 of Come Take Me Now

“Ugh, I have the worst sense of time.” She laughs at herself.

“We’re halfway there,” I tell her.

Another thirty minutes later, we circle the lake past the trailheads and campsites. Trees line the perimeter of the water, and she sits up taller in her seat to take in the views. At the end of the paved road, I pull off to the side, and her eyes dart to me.

“Are we stopping here?” she asks.

“Not quite,” I answer, flipping the switch to engage four-wheel-drive mode. The truck shifts under us, and a small gasp escapes her lips as her eyes grow wide.

“What’s going on?”

“The four-wheel drive is kicking in.”

“Oh. I didn’t expect that to be so dramatic,” she says.

Once the dash alerts me that the truck’s ready, I throw the shifter back into Drive and continue down a dirt road. “When Robby and I were teens, we took his dad’s Jeep out here and found a cool pull-off spot,” I say with both hands on the steering wheel. This wasn’t a maintained road and required full control of the truck to avoid being pulled off to the side. A truck this tall has a rollover risk.

“I can’t wait to see,” she says, gripping the handle above her window. “So, if my math is right, isn’t four-wheel drive for your truck six-wheel drive?”

I chuckle. “That’s not how it works, but I guess so. It just means both sets—front and back—are being used.”

We get to the spot, and I pull up to the side and back in. This particular spot is secluded, lined by tall trees, and there’s a drop-off to the lake. I put the truck in park and apply the emergency brake with my foot. Tilly hops out; the dirt and stones crunch under her Converse.

“Hey, what’s that hissing noise?” she asks as I walk around to her side. “Do you hear that? It’s like a whistle,” she adds. I hold up my hand to tell her to be quiet while I listen. I bend my knees and hear a faint whistling from the inner tire on her side.

Fuck.

“I must’ve picked up a nail,” I say.

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry.”

I shrug. “It’s fine. I don’t really feel like getting the spare down, so I’ll just take both inner tires off.”

“You can do that?”

I nod. “Yeah, it looks dumb, but this truck unloaded can run on just two back tires.”

She sits in the cab while I take the inner tire off both sides of the rear tires, and damn, jacking up my heavy ass truck wasn’t part of the plan tonight. At least it’s a pleasant enough evening and not stifling like the afternoon was.

Outer off, damaged inner off, and outer back on. Rinse and repeat on the other side.

The good inner tire can be a spare if one of the main four picks something up on the way back without having to pull the true spare from under the truck. I don’t break a sweat as I maneuver the tires, and if anything, a kick of energy runs through me instead of making me feel worn out after the workday.

When I have the two tires off and stacked next to the truck, I open her door. “All done?” Tilly asks. I wipe my hands on my jeans, feeling extra grateful to have worn my dark-wash ones today.

“Yep, no big thing.”

Just have to get my tire fixed tomorrow.

I lead her to the drop-off, and her focus is pulled toward the lake. It’s dark blue, reflecting the few clouds in the sky. There’s a buzz in the air from nearby bugs, but I have no complaints about being here with Tilly. “This is really pretty,” she murmurs.

“Yeah, you are.”

She turns to me and blushes, clearly trying to hold back a smile. “Stop, you’re embarrassing me,” she jokes light-heartedly. “That was the most drama-free car trouble I’ve ever dealt with, by the way.”

I throw my arm around her shoulders and press her into my side. “Nothing worth stressing about. The ride back won’t be fun. I’ll have to watch my speed, but it’ll be fine.”

“Is your tire going to be okay?”