Page 54 of Endurance

“I’m Kallie, and this is Gabby. Believe me when I say it’s more than just a pleasure to meet you,” I joked. “If you hadn’t shown up, we’d be walking ten miles to the nearest gas station to find a payphone.”

“I can believe that. Cell phone service around Bakersfield is known to be the worst in the country. There’s not much around these parts. Where were you ladies headed to, anyway?”

“Napa Valley from Santa Monica, but we took a minor detour and ended up a little lost,” Gabby said.

“A minor detour? You’re halfway to Death Valley. I’ll say you were lost!”

He shook his head and chuckled, then sat on the ground next to the flat tire and began to work. Fifteen minutes later, the full-sized spare was secure. George stood up and wiped the dirt off his hands on his tan coveralls.

“You should be all set now. The air in the tire is a little low. You’ll want to fill it at the next gas station. Just try to avoid any potholes in the meantime.”

“I can’t thank you enough,” I told him. “Is there anything I can do to repay you? I have a bit of cash on me and—”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it. You don’t need to give me anything. I’m happy to help,” he assured, then smiled to reveal the deep age lines on his tanned face. After he collected his tools, we bid our farewells and watched as he puttered down the road on his tractor.

“Man, did we ever catch a break!” Gabby said.

“For sure. At the rate we were going, I thought we’d never make it to Napa Valley. You ready to go?”

“Yes, but…about Napa Valley.” She hesitated, and I was pretty sure I knew what she was thinking. By the time we got to Napa and checked into our room, the wineries would most likely be closed for the day—and forget making it there in time for the wine tour by train. While we could still go on as planned tomorrow, it seemed pointless to drive all that way for just one day.

“Do you want to scrap the trip and just head back to my place? I’m sure we can call the B&B and get a refund if we explain what happened.”

“Kals, I’m so glad you said that! After yesterday and last night, I just can’t get excited about it anymore. I was afraid to say so because it was my idea to detour in the first place. I just think I’ve had enough adventure for a while,” she said with a small laugh. I couldn’t agree more.

As I drove back in the direction we came, Gabby repeatedly checked our cell phones for service. We stopped at the next gas station to add air to the tire just as George suggested we do, asked for directions, then continued on our way. The clerk’s explanation of how to get back to where we needed to be was meandering and hard to follow, so I just tried to follow the landmarks I remembered passing, even if they were scarce.

When we reached Bakersfield, I sighed with relief to know we were heading in the right direction. And when our cell phones started chiming with notifications, I nearly wept.

“Finally, we have service!” Gabby announced. “It’s weak, but it’s something. I’ll pull up the directions back to your place, then screenshot them in case we lose service again.”

“Good idea.”

“You’ve got a bunch of voicemails on your phone. Want me to play them on speaker?”

“Sure.”

My mother’s voice was the first to sound through the speaker.

“Hey, Kallie! It’s mom. I was just calling to see if you and Gabby got to Napa okay. Call me when you get this.”

My mom was a forever worrier, so her message was no surprise. However, the following message was unexpected.

“Kallie, it’s Colton Donavan. When you can, give me a call back.”

As he rattled off his phone number, I wondered how he’d gotten my number but then realized he must have gotten it from Riley. When my inbox advanced to the next message, I was shocked to hear Colton’s voice again.

“Kallie, it’s Colton again. Hey, I’m sorry to bother you, but I can’t reach Sloan. I was wondering if you’ve heard from him. Give me a buzz back.”

I frowned as a computerized voice told me it was the end of my messages. I glanced at Gabby in confusion.

“That’s strange. I wonder why he’s trying to get a hold of Sloan.”

“Kals, I just looked at your call log. That guy Colton called three more times after the last message. Sloan called once, too, but didn’t leave a message. You don’t think something bad happened, do you?”

My stomach did a nervous flip, and I bit my lower lip.

“I don’t know. Can you dial Sloan for me? His number is in my contacts.”

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